What Should I do??

[cartmell]

I'm in a dilemma. I'm gonna switch from PC to Mac but I don't think I can wait much longer for the updates to the iMac. I originally wanted a 20" iMac 2.33ghz, 2gb Ram, 500Gb HD for the pricely sum of £1,250. But then I thought I would wait to see what would happen when it was upgraded.

I went to the apple shop last week to compare the 20" and 24". I used the 24" first. Big mistake as now I would rather have the 24".

The problem is should I wait until the update (whenever that is) or should I buy a 2nd hand unit like this :-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Apple-iMac-24-many-upgrades-WORTH-1900-TODAY_W0QQitemZ280088311729QQihZ018QQcategoryZ4603QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Or should I just go for a brand new 20".

I could last a couple more months struggling with my super slow PC, but I want something new to play with.

Also, If i were to buy a refurb iMac from Apple could I get any upgrades to it? And what type of condition are these things in? I dont want to be forking out over a grand for something only for it to have scratches on it.

thankx for any advice

 

[KingofAwesome]

I'm in a dilemma. I'm gonna switch from PC to Mac but I don't think I can wait much longer for the updates to the iMac. I originally wanted a 20" iMac 2.33ghz, 2gb Ram, 500Gb HD for the pricely sum of £1,250. But then I thought I would wait to see what would happen when it was upgraded.

I went to the apple shop last week to compare the 20" and 24". I used the 24" first. Big mistake as now I would rather have the 24".

The problem is should I wait until the update (whenever that is) or should I buy a 2nd hand unit like this :-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Apple-iMac-24-many-upgrades-WORTH-1900-TODAY_W0QQitemZ280088311729QQihZ018QQcategoryZ4603QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Or should I just go for a brand new 20".

I could last a couple more months struggling with my super slow PC, but I want something new to play with.

Also, If i were to buy a refurb iMac from Apple could I get any upgrades to it? And what type of condition are these things in? I dont want to be forking out over a grand for something only for it to have scratches on it.

thankx for any advice

I don't think you can get any upgrades to refurb macs. I have heard about surprise upgrades (for example, a mac listed as having 512MB actually having 1GB) from time to time, but you can't guarantee something like that.

I bought my first mac about a year ago, and I decided to ease into it with a G4 mac mini, which I got on ebay after a month of casual hunting. This has the benefit of letting you save a little money by using your PC display, and by buying an older model to begin with, it won't depreciate as much when the new models come out.

Also, I'd recommend getting a firewire cable to connect the PC to your new mac, so you can transfer files over a little faster. And if you get a mini with a small HD, you can grab an enclosure for the PC HD (and backup the data, reformat, and copy the data back on) so you can keep a little more of the old PC to ease the transition.

You'll enjoy the new system, no matter what you get.

 

[wizwaz3]

Also, If i were to buy a refurb iMac from Apple could I get any upgrades to it? And what type of condition are these things in? I dont want to be forking out over a grand for something only for it to have scratches on it.

thankx for any advice

Like KingofAwesome said, sometimes you get surprises. I ordered a 24" refurb from Apple and it came to me practically brand new. I noticed some light scuffing on the chin, but I was at an extreme angle. The only other scratch I found was a small scratch on the back. It depends on who owned it before you, really. And no, you can't upgrade when you buy the computer, but you can upgrade from third party companies once you get it (which is cheaper anyways).

 

[cartmell]

I dont know if i could handle any scratches on the iMac. I think it would just drive me crazy.

Is it worth waiting for the upgraded iMac??

 

[emac82]

If you need it now, buy it now. If you can wait, then wait. But there will always be something bigger and better coming out. If you buy the 24" iMac now, it will still be a great machine a year from now, even 3 years from now. I have a year and a half old iMac 17" G5 and it is still a fast machine, and it works great.

 

[kixsand]

You should take a look at the threads on the forum that discuss exactly what you would be getting if you were to wait on the Santa Rosa systems. To me, it didn't sound like a whole lot.

Processer speed to go from 2.33 to 2.4
Bus speed to increase from 667 to 800
Ram capacity will go to 4gb over the current 3gb.
Likely the option to go a more gaming oriented video card.

So...if you are the type of user that is likely to really push the performance limits of your ocmputer with pro graphics apps or intense gaming then you might want to wait. If this isn't you then you should be able to go ahead and take the plunge now.

I recently got a 24" iMac and absolutely love it...no regrets at all. If you can swing the extra money for the 24" you should do it...steal from those less fortunate if you have too...

Kidding!

Good luck.

darren