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Not Sure About Imac!!!

A

andy317

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 13, 2008
45
2
Hi all,

I am new to this forum so please be nice!!!

I have been toying with the idea of buying an Imac for a while now and to be honest I haven't taken the plunge due to conflicting reports that it is good/bad.

I am not an avid gamer (maybe Football Manager and my g/f plays the Sims 2) and don't really care for others due to having consoles for gaming.

I would like the Imac due to its space saving design, I like the look of ILife and it all seems simple to use. Now my question is, would I regret getting it??

That has been my problem, I keep thinking I should get a PC and get the a good graphics card but think it would be an overkill. I have been using pc's all my life and never used a mac (except in the shop) and don't know what I should do.

Are Imac's mainly aimed at graphic designers/students?

Also I have looked at the refurb store and have seen the current model 20" 2.4 Ghz at £779 from £949. Do I get this or wait for the new Penryn Imac??

Sorry this is rather long winded!!

Thanks
Andy
 
Of course we think you should buy a Mac. Consider what board you are posting on.

Consider buying the 24" because the quality of the monitor is a little better than in the 20"

Also if you can figure out how to buy in U.S. dollars, you would only pay 500 pounds. So maybe you should consider buying a new Mac from the U.S. and having it shipped to you.
 
My last 2 Macs have been iMacs (White Intel and now Aluminum). I think that it would be a good choice for a desktop as both a student/graphic designer. They are pretty slick and plenty powerful.

The refurbs are a good way to go... You can use the money you save and max out the RAM.
:D
 
first off welcome!
you will NOT regret getting an imac. the imac will do everything you need it to do and then some. like stated before if you can afford the big 24" then go for it because it is a beautiful monitor and computer and it has everything that you could want. i would reccomend holding off just a little while long to see when they update the imac with penryn because that will be a good upgrade. Don't be so nervous, macs don't bite!
 
It sounds to me like your the perfect person for an iMac.

I'm the same as you -- I game on my Xbox 360 so don't need my computer to do that for me.

I use my 24" iMac for everything else in my life and it performs like a Rock Star in that capacity.

Go out and get one! Do it today!

Have fun.

darren
 
...and don't forget: iMacs run Windows too. Even better, if you use Parallels, you can clone your current PC right onto your iMac so you never have to worry about losing anything you have currently. You can just open a Windows ... um ...window ... on your iMac and there's your old PC! Wth all its software, settings and files! You can drag and drop from there to your Mac environment. Very handy for some areas where Mac is not (yet) well served - like personal finance software.
 
Buy The 24" iMac...

The 24" iMac is the greatest thing since sliced bread! I have 4gb Ram and it runs like a dream..i use photoshop, final cut pro, logic 8 and reason 4.0. You'll regret not buying this if. :)
 
There is always alot of trepidation when considering moving away from PC to Mac. I know there was for me. But as many, many people have said before me, and Im saying now, I wish that I had done it sooner. If games are a non-factor to you, then there is nothing a Mac cant do that a Windows box can. And Macs do it better.

It takes some time to re-adjust your thinking but after a while getting back on a Windows machine will seem strange.
 
TallManNY said:
Of course we think you should buy a Mac. Consider what board you are posting on.

Consider buying the 24" because the quality of the monitor is a little better than in the 20"

Also if you can figure out how to buy in U.S. dollars, you would only pay 500 pounds. So maybe you should consider buying a new Mac from the U.S. and having it shipped to you.
Click to expand...

How would I go about doing this?? Apple won't ship from the US (will they??:confused:)

If I go with the refurb over here then I will save £170, if the next upgrade is just mainly the processor then should I just go with the refurb.

The other thing I am worried about is it going out of date quickly, with a PC you can upgrade everything easily.

Andy
 
consider your needs before your wants

What will you be using the imac for, work or pleasure?
Does your current machine work? Does it fulfill your needs?
If work, calculate the increase in production or productivity you'll gain by switching to the imac. Factor in how much money per hour your time is worth.
Let's say the imac will gain you an extra hour of productivity for a day. Your time is worth twenty dollars per hour (or pounds, you get the picture), and the refurbed imac will cost you eleven hundred dollars. Your imac will pay for itself in fifty five work days.
Assuming they update the line again in June or July, you conduct the same analysis to see if upgrading is worth it. If it is, great! Your current machine has already paid for itself, and on top of that you can recoup most of your investment by selling it on ebay or craigslist. If it isn't, wait for the next revision and repeat.
Face it, unless you're squeezing every mb of ram and every processor cycle to do a job, you're probably not going to tell much of a difference between my white 2.16 ghz c2d imac with 3 gig of ram, and the 20" aluminum 2.0 or 2.4 ghz with 4 gigs. We all want the latest, greatest, biggest and baddest, but we have to be honest with ourselves about our needs versus our wants and make a rational decision. Otherwise, with intel's roadmap, you're going to get punked by apple every six months or so for upgrades that you really don't need.
 
clyde2801 said:
What will you be using the imac for, work or pleasure?
Does your current machine work? Does it fulfill your needs?
If work, calculate the increase in production or productivity you'll gain by switching to the imac. Factor in how much money per hour your time is worth.
Let's say the imac will gain you an extra hour of productivity for a day. Your time is worth twenty dollars per hour (or pounds, you get the picture), and the refurbed imac will cost you eleven hundred dollars. Your imac will pay for itself in fifty five work days.
Assuming they update the line again in June or July, you conduct the same analysis to see if upgrading is worth it. If it is, great! Your current machine has already paid for itself, and on top of that you can recoup most of your investment by selling it on ebay or craigslist. If it isn't, wait for the next revision and repeat.
Face it, unless you're squeezing every mb of ram and every processor cycle to do a job, you're probably not going to tell much of a difference between my white 2.16 ghz c2d imac with 3 gig of ram, and the 20" aluminum 2.0 or 2.4 ghz with 4 gigs. We all want the latest, greatest, biggest and baddest, but we have to be honest with ourselves about our needs versus our wants and make a rational decision. Otherwise, with intel's roadmap, you're going to get punked by apple every six months or so for upgrades that you really don't need.
Click to expand...

Sorry, it will be for pleasure mainly, I may need Micro-(whats its name) Office at some point as I will be looking at possibly an Accountancy, Law or even IT course.

I do see your point in the upgrading part and TBH when my PC packed in a few years ago it was not worth upgrading, I would of had to buy a new PC instead (using my dad's laptop at the moment and not really convenient) hence the reason why I am looking at either a PC or Imac, I must say though, I really do like the look of the Imac!! :D

Andy
 
from my experience, it's a great computer. I like it, I would totally recommend getting it. I like a lot too because because if the screen is to small you can always add on another one
 
andy317 said:
Sorry, it will be for pleasure mainly, I may need Micro-(whats its name) Office at some point as I will be looking at possibly an Accountancy, Law or even IT course.
Andy
Click to expand...

The Mac version of MS Office (2008) is more advanced than the latest Windows version.
 
In short, yes, get a mac. Here are the main reasons, I get from the mac-naysayers, on why people would regret a Mac:
1) They are not upgradeable
2) They can't play the latest and greatest games, because of not having a great graphics card

Reason number 2 shouldn't be an issue to you. It is true that an iMac will not play the absolute latest and greatest games at some mind-blowing resolutions, but many of us Mac users (including yourself as it seems) don't care. I have an XBox360 for that. FYI, an iMac will play the Sims 2 fine. My wife also plays it on our 20" 2.4 GHz iMac.

Reason number 1 just isn't that big of a deal with Macs. They last a long time and remain as fast as the day you got it. OSX is not like Windows where every new version requires a hardware upgrade.

I use Windows PCs, Macs and linux/freebsd machines on a daily basis. Each one is good for certain things. For a general purpose home computer, Macs are the best IMO.
 
Oh yeah, the third reason I hear a lot from the Mac-haters is:
Everything runs on windows and not on a Mac.

I thought this also. I found that this is really only true in the business environment. Even then, I still use my Macbook at work and get by just fine. I do have to start up parallels on occasion and run Windows 2000.
 
Oh. If you're between systems anyway, go ahead and get a mac, especially if its for pleasure.

Unless, of course, you genuinely enjoy malware, viruses, bloatware, driver problems, and having to reinstall your os every 9 to 18 months. Then, I would suggest windows.

If you're a registered masocist, you should buy one with Vista.
 
clyde2801 said:
Oh. If you're between systems anyway, go ahead and get a mac, especially if its for pleasure.

Unless, of course, you genuinely enjoy malware, viruses, bloatware, driver problems, and having to reinstall your os every 9 to 18 months. Then, I would suggest windows.

If you're a registered masocist, you should buy one with Vista.
Click to expand...

Can I ask for people's personal opinion.

If you could save £170 ($345) would you go with the refurb or just wait for the upgrade and get a new one?

Andy
 
Go for the refurb. Why wait 3, 6 or whatever months for an update when you can be using an imac now?

Some of the prior comments from before apply now. If in so many months, they come out with a killer update to the imac, you can still resell your current one for a decent price on craigslist or ebay. On the other hand, if it's basically the same form and function with a processor that's 5 to 10% more efficient on certain bench tests, you may do well to keep the current one.

I got a white c2d imac 20" on a special price new out of the box for 9 bucks less than the current alumimum imac (and no sales tax). it has a matte screen, possibly a better quality one, and some say a better graphics card. OTOH, its shiny sister has a faster front bus speed and holds 4 gigs of ram instead of 3. Both qualify for applecare.

Naturally, the refurb special came out the day after i bought my machine. I have no regrets about it. Comments on the boards and tests show that more than likely i wouldn't be able to tell the difference performance wise.

If money is an issue (and if you're looking at a refurb, i'm assuming it is), you may want to consider ram. laptop dd4 5300 chips are CHEAP now. 2 gig sticks at bestbuy for 66 bucks. i'm not sure if the new chips will require new, different, pricier ram. if there is a 10% peformance boost on the new chips to come, it would be offset by cramming 4 gigs into the refurb.

and as for the 24" imacs, i've got a new samsung 22" w/s lcd next to my 20" imac for a total of 42" of screen real estate, and it cost me a heckuva lot less than even the refurbed 24's on the apple site.
 
andy317 said:
Can I ask for people's personal opinion.

If you could save £170 ($345) would you go with the refurb or just wait for the upgrade and get a new one?

Andy
Click to expand...

I think it's a budget question. How much are you willing to spend? How long are you willing to wait? Regardless of what you do, you will have a nice system that will meet your needs and then some. The future updates are likely to provide a penryn chip and possibly a slight speed boost, as well as a better graphics card, but these are speculations. All of the current software will run fabulously on the refurb model, except for hard core games. You will have the option of installing a Windows partition if you want/need it. MS office also has OSX versions, but you could also run it on a windows partition if you already have the software, or prefer the windows version.

See? You can't go wrong with the iMac regardless of which one you decide to purchase. As far as saving money by ordering it from the US? I don't think this is a good idea. The shipping will cut into that margin of funds saved. I shipped a 20" iMac to the UK about 3 months ago via UPS and it cost $324 insured, and got held up in customs for a week. There are cheaper ways to ship, but this was the cheapest way to be able to track it's progress, which I can't imagine anyone not opting for on such an expensive item. It would also have to be sold you from a 3rd party, as Apple won't do this.

Good luck to you on whatever you choose, and welcome! :)
 
Get the 24". You won't regret it. Look at my sig. Other than iPods, I've been buying Apple products since August '07 and I'll never buy anything else. Once I made the plunge, I was hooked. I was a PC user since '93 and built my own since '94. I'll never do that crap again.
 
Thank you to all that has replied, the help on this forum has been fantastic and I am very grateful!! (Glad I became a member now).

I am thinking of buying the 20" 2.4Ghz refurb today so you may find me on here more often.

If anyone has anything else to add as to why I should/shouldn't buy a refurb or whether the Imac would/wouldn't be perfect for me then please share!!

Thanks Again
Andy
 
The 20" 2.4 GHz refurb will serve you well. First order of business would be to max out the RAM to 4GB.

You will love the speed and power of the iMac. Enjoy!
 
Hi again all,

I have just found out that my mum is able to get discount from Apple of 8%, with this in mind should I get a refurb for £779 or get a new one for £873?

Also I know it is not the correct place to ask but I like the look of the macbook as well. Can you advise which would be best for me? :confused:

Thanks
Andy
 
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