Refurb Imac or New Imac... Check the specs

[stakis]

Hey all, I have a question about which IMac to get... not to sure of the tech specs but I did read that alot of people are saying that the refurbs are a better deal.... so here is my options... I'm at the 1999.00 price range, so I can do either of these:

The new one:
# 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
# 640GB Serial ATA Drive
# NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 256MB
# Apple Mighty Mouse
# Apple Keyboard (English) + User's Guide

or this Refurb:

Refurbished iMac 24-inch 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
24-inch glossy widescreen display
2GB memory
500GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight Camera

And lastly, I can save 600 bucks and go with this one...

Refurbished iMac 24-inch 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
24-inch glossy widescreen display
2GB memory
320GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
Built-in iSight Camera

Now, I guess it all comes down to what I use this for... basic surfing, DVD rips, ichat, Windows (on Bootcamp) to play the odd game

thanks for all your opinions.

 

[ctro82]

I'm in the same situation as you, use-wise, and I went for the third option. Maybe they'll be quad cores coming out in the fall or early next year. I'll sell this one and upgrade then.

 

[Mike in Kansas]

I got the 24"/2.8 GHz back in September for $1800. It's an incredible deal right now at $1200 for a refurb. There were even some close out new ones for $1400 earlier on this week, but they've been snatched up. I think you can still find them at resellers if you really want a new one.

I use mine for photo editing, video editing, some online gaming. I was reluctant to go up by another $400 to get the 3.06 due to the cost. Honestly, when I went into the store I was looking to buy the 20"/2.4 and walked out with the 24"/2.8. I figure I upgraded enough as it was!

I'm not too sure that the refurb 3.06 is worth $700 more than a refurb 2.8 for what you're doing. Maybe someone who has one can answer that. All I know is, the 2.8 does a very good job rendering video and ripping from DVD. Sure, the 3.06 will be faster, and it will game better. Only you can answer if it's worth the additional cost.

I personally believe that the 24/2.8 refurb is the deal of the year.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Depends on how long you intend on keeping it. Short term I'd save the cash since cash is king, and go with the 2.8.

OTOH if you keep your computers until they die then probably the refurb 3.06 Ghz w/ 512MB VRAM. I think VRAM is going to become increasingly important for Macs. That machine has a nice mix of CPU and GPU power.

I guess the only other consideration would be if you plan on buying a MDP Cinema Display. Clearly that is Apple's future. However, I suspect all the other manufacturers will include DVI as well as MDP on future products the same way VGA and DVI coexisted.

 

[stakis]

But definitely I should be making a choice between the two Referbs and not even consider the new release?

 

[stakis]

Also, what about the benefits of the Nvidia Chipset when Snow leopard comes out? isn't there going to be some crazy new features that come out that the old Imacs won't be able to take advantage of?

 

[NRose8989]

But definitely I should be making a choice between the two Referbs and not even consider the new release?

Yep, After being completely un-impressed with the update I went with the 2.8 refurb.

The question now is: what do you want to do with your iMac?

If you still want to do some gaming, then the 3.06 would be a better option. Not saying that the R2600 couldn't handle most games at lower settings, it's just that the 8800 does it much better, even at higher settings.

but for everything else, the 2.8 will be fine and the R2600 actually performs better doing core image stuff over the 8800.

Like someone said above, get the refurb 2.8 then upgrade the RAM. then next year(ish), when the rest of the line up moves to nehalem, you can sell what you have then upgrade because the $1199 price point for what you get is a steal.

 

[rittchard]

I'm a little confused, you say you are at the $1999 price range, but the specs on the new one you list seem to be the baseline $1799 model? If you are at $1999 you can upgrade the graphics card to the GT 130 or wait a few weeks for the HD4850.

Refurb might be a better deal (and it should be, it's a refurb!) but you will likely get more mileage (at least from a gaming perspective) with a newer/better graphics card and more RAM. Either of the high end choices should be able to play any game currently out there decently.

 

[Blue Sun]

I just picked up a brand new 3.06GHz, 8800GS iMac for $2,400 AUS (a saving of $600) at the Apple store. I couldn't believe how much it was discounted, and had to pick it up.
I couldn't justify paying $3,699 for the new top end iMac considering it has the same processor, and that the only upgrade from the older iMacs is the RAM capacity.

I'm extremely happy with it.

 

[adammelancon]

I saw the new updates and was not too impressed. I have waited since October 08 when my PC died to get a new iMac.

I ended up going with the refurb 24" 2.8 for $1199 and it comes in tomorrow! I can't wait!

It was a great price for an amazing machine. I just hope the HD 2600 PRO video card will be able to take advantage of OpenCL.