To buy or not to buy?

[4Mac]

Hi all,

I am a current PC user (have been for 11 years) and I am very much interested in buying an iMac. I have been following Apple news over the past several months, and what holds me back somewhat is the anticipated switch to the Intel platform.

It seems to be anyone's guess as to when the switch will occur on the iMac, but I'm just concerned about the software compatibility in the future. Assuming I acquire an iMac now, I would like to keep it for several years.

Any opinions on this issue would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[doucy2]

buy this powermac to tie you over until the intel switch (and if you really like it you could even put some serious upgrades in it)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5817735982

then next year defanitly buy a intel based mac

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Well I'm guessing the iMac would switch to Intel about half-way into 2006.

What I would recommend is getting something like a Mac Mini for now and getting the iMac once it's Intel. The Mac Mini doesn't cost too much money so even if you don't make a lot of money back when you sell, you know you haven't spent a lot in the first place.

 

[FFTT]

The first Intel based Macs will surely offer some new features, but you're still facing the woes of REV A public lab rat testing.

Apple also tends to hold back a few desirable features on their first releases, so it's best to wait for at least the REV B's after all the customers voice theiropinions.
So you're talking maybe late 2006 for the REV B's to surface.

If I needed a new computer right now on a reasonable budget, this newest Rev C iMac G5 offers quite a bit for the money.
It has all the most current standards and added DDR2 RAM and PCI-Express
which are both considerably more future proof than the last models.

Macs generally hold a very strong resale value, so if you do find yourself wanting to uprade in a few years, the machine you buy today will help towards that purchse and in the meantime, you'll be much more familiar with all the benefits of OS X and be able to make a very well informed decision on your next purchase.

 

[4Mac]

Thank you for your input, FFTT. I appreciate it! I did not think of being a lab rat tester, and you are absolutely right. Certainly wouldn't want that!
It's just like first year cars...problems are ironed out the following year.

Thanks again!

The first Intel based Macs will surely offer some new features, but you're still facing the woes of REV A public lab rat testing.

Apple also tends to hold back a few desirable features on their first releases, so it's best to wait for at least the REV B's after all the customers voice theiropinions.
So you're talking maybe late 2006 for the REV B's to surface.

If I needed a new computer right now on a reasonable budget, this newest Rev C iMac G5 offers quite a bit for the money.
It has all the most current standards and added DDR2 RAM and PCI-Express
which are both considerably more future proof than the last models.

Macs generally hold a very strong resale value, so if you do find yourself wanting to uprade in a few years, the machine you buy today will help towards that purchse and in the meantime, you'll be much more familiar with all the benefits of OS X and be able to make a very well informed decision on your next purchase.