Questions about a new 27" iMac - like which one :)

[ukdavvy]

Hi

I need a new desktop for the usual reasons
Office apps, Aperture, Photoshop, surfing and kids things

The sensible option is the regular one which would do all of the above in its sleep but I cant stop wondering if I shouldnt spend the extra for the quad core, which I can stretch to buy am looking for reasons as to why I should

One thing influencing me is that I will actually run a MS OS on it using either parallells or bootcamp for some old old PC software I have which I wish to keep using now the only PC in the house is about dead

This got me thinking about games
I havent played for aeons but used to be a big PC gamer in the early 90's
Consoles just arent the same

SO the question is what kind of a job would a new quad core 27" iMac make of running a contemporary PC game in bootcamp or parallels?

If it works and works well I will probably spend the extra
If its going to be pants I'll stick with the vanilla 27"

Oh and which version of Windows would you recommend?
Im wary of ever buying anything new but as my experience of Vista is universally bad Im not touching that and I think XP may be about to lose its support
And call me naive but what considerations do I need to make to virus and malware checkers if I have a Windows install under parallels?

Cheers!

 

[avihappy]

Eh, if you are a gamer, the Radeon 4850 isn't exactly a high end card. It's more medium-high type performance. It can play older games (like COD4, HL2, and L4D) very well. But, if playing the latest and greatest cutting edge PC games on high settings is important to you, a Mac isn't really great for that. Also, don't even try to game in Parallels, it'll be agonizing.

So with your criteria, if the only reason you are considering quad is for high end enthusiast gaming, then you should just with vanilla.

And for malware checker, yes you will want to install it under Parallels. MS is now making a free (and very good one) called Microsoft Security Essentials.

If you want to do gaming in boot camp, use win 7. If you want to use parallel for some old nongaming programs, use XP (as it's lightweight enough for being in a VM).

 

[zedsdead]

The i7 would be overkill, but I am thinking the i5 version would be the best for you. Best graphics card and high end processor.