switching to the IMAC, some q's

[badtwistoffate]

Finally made the switch and bought the refurbished imac below. I know the deal with refurbish and am not worry (even got the apple plan for 3yr) but was wondering about the stuff inside the machine.
Seem pretty close to the new ones but do you think I could run some games if I wanted to and do some multitasking and run several programs at once? Not going to be doing anything too heavy but would like to be able to, you know?

Also does the imacs contain ethernet ports for internet? To plug into a router or does it have to go wireless?

AT last, do you think I could run Parallels to get windows going on it later if I so desired?

Thanks


Model Refurbished 17-inch iMac
Processor 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 Cache 4MB Shared
System bus 667MHz
Memory 1GB (2x512MB) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300), supports up to 3GB
Hard drive 160GB Serial ATA; 7200 rpm
Optical drive Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 2.4x Dual Layer burn (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Display 17-inch (viewable) widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD, 1440 x 900 pixels, millions of colors
Video Built-in iSight; Mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video connections via adapter
Graphics ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 SDRAM

 

[HLdan]

You should be able to do run some fairly recent games at medium settings. Don't look for Bioshock to play too well unless it's set at the lowest graphic detail and at a lower resolution.
Your Mac is plenty fast so you should be able to throw quite a few apps at it without any slow downs. Max out your ram to 3GB since ram is very cheap. You can get great deals on ram at www.4allmemory.com and www.otherworldcomputing.com.

Parallels or VMWare Fusion will run Windows great on your Mac even Vista. VMWare is best for running Windows without eating up too much of the CPU. Parallels works best for gaming. Although I don't use Windows for anything more than testing compatibility for some apps I use VMWare Fusion and love it.
Congrats on your new purchase. You should qualify for the $9.99 Leopard upgrade.

 

[ingenious]

Finally made the switch and bought the refurbished imac below. I know the deal with refurbish and am not worry (even got the apple plan for 3yr) but was wondering about the stuff inside the machine.
Seem pretty close to the new ones but do you think I could run some games if I wanted to and do some multitasking and run several programs at once? Not going to be doing anything too heavy but would like to be able to, you know?

Also does the imacs contain ethernet ports for internet? To plug into a router or does it have to go wireless?

AT last, do you think I could run Parallels to get windows going on it later if I so desired?

Thanks


Model Refurbished 17-inch iMac
Processor 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 Cache 4MB Shared
System bus 667MHz
Memory 1GB (2x512MB) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300), supports up to 3GB
Hard drive 160GB Serial ATA; 7200 rpm
Optical drive Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 2.4x Dual Layer burn (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Display 17-inch (viewable) widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD, 1440 x 900 pixels, millions of colors
Video Built-in iSight; Mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video connections via adapter
Graphics ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 SDRAM

You'll be fine for multi-tasking several applications, but, from what I hear, you won't want to do any super-serious gaming on it (I'll leave the opportunity open for a gamer to really explain that! ).

No, no special ports for the internet, just 802.11a/b/g/n, (Wireless-A/B/G/N or Wi-Fi or Airport, whichever name your prefer) Bluetooth (may or may not have Bluetooth. It depends on whether or not this is an 17" Edu iMac, the only Macs in recent times not to have BT), and Ethernet. If you need to use a dial-up connection, you'll need to purchase an external USB modem. Apple (rightfully) thinks dial-up is on its way out and thereby now omits telephone modems from its computers.


Yes, Parallels or Fusion or Boot Camp will work fine.

Also, I doubt you'll have any problems with your refurbished computer. Apple checks them out.

 

[stealthninja]

about the internet I believe it has both, i know it has an ethernet port

 

[ingenious]

about the internet I believe it has both, i know it has an ethernet port

Yes, it has Airport (Wi-Fi) and Ethernet, but (probably) not Bluetooth (without a USB dongle...it may've been a 17" Edu iMac and they didn't come with BT).

 

[superleccy]

You've got a nice machine there. I'm sure it'll do everything you want (aside from the usual Mac limitations on games).

If you ever find it's running a little slow, you can always upgrade the RAM to 2Gb. But don't worry about that until then.

And get Leopard!

Enjoy!
SL

 

[penter]

it sounds great. better than mine, and i bet you got it for a lower price, too, since it was refurbished.

I wouldnt advise you to max out on RAM. Go with 2 GB. Idk what kind of user you are, but 2 more than plenty for most. Also, it is advised to have equal amounts of memory on both memory slots, that Is, put 1 GB on each slot.
Unless you are able to find two 750 MB RAM cards (which i doubt), then you'd be good! you could have 3 GB RAM, and have both slots equally balanced.

Congratulations, btw!

 

[wordmunger]

Yes, it has Airport (Wi-Fi) and Ethernet, but (probably) not Bluetooth (without a USB dongle...it may've been a 17" Edu iMac and they didn't come with BT).

I have a computer with the identical specs (but 2GB SDRAM), and it runs great. It has bluetooth. I think if you have a superdrive it's not the education version, so I believe it's extremely likely you have bluetooth.

Lovely computer, does everything I ask of it.

 

[badtwistoffate]

Yeah it is the non-edu model. Its almost same specs as the 20" i believe without the extra storage space

More Q's
Since you mentioned leapord. Do you think their would be any problems running it?
Can i do dual screen with another 17" or 20"?

 

[penter]

no, you shouldnt'a have problems running leopard. im getting it for myself, and i have lower specs than you. I just dont know about the multiple monitors.... depends on the graphics card. Most likely, though

 

[TheStu]

Yeah it is the non-edu model. Its almost same specs as the 20" i believe without the extra storage space

More Q's
Since you mentioned leapord. Do you think their would be any problems running it?
Can i do dual screen with another 17" or 20"?

You absolutely can do dual monitors. IIRC, the imacs use the MiniDVI connector so you will have to figure out which of those adapters you will need and then hit up an Apple Store or the InterTron to buy it.