Hi All,
Ive been having some frustration with my 3.5-year-old iBook lately. Its a 1.33 GHz G4 upgraded to 1.25 GB of RAM running 10.4.11. 14 screen, 60GB hard drive. I also have an external hard drive for backup purposes.
Im a senior studying Finance and MIS, so I do a LOT of work in Excel. Now the main problem I have is that Excel (2008) takes FOREVER to start up. I dont know if this will be improved with a new computer or not. I also have a small screen (14) which makes it tough to cross-reference spreadsheets and word documents. I also work with kind of large data sets. I have to use it to watch DVDs for class (Arabic language) and I enjoy tinkering with Photoshop.
Im sure that the laptop could last a few more years, but Ive wanted to upgrade to the Intel chips and leopard for a while now. Not to mention it would allow me to play some Civilization 4, which I miss a lot and cant run currently. Im also torn with the fact that my laptop SHOULD hopefully last another 2 years before it dies. I know that it wont be able to run Snow Leopard when that comes out, so its pretty much at the end of its upgrades.
So I am considering buying an iMac as a main hub for work and keeping my iBook for travel and library trips. The iMac could do the heavy lifting and then I would not have to upgrade my laptop for a long time. Im also tired of having a laptop. I dont bring it out of my room much unless Im going on a trip somewhere, so Im more of a desktop person. And I think Id prefer a 24. Not sure why, but I feel like I might as well go big or go home. And I think that Ill ultimately wait for the updates to come out later in the month to buy.
So should I buy an iMac? 20 or 24? New or Refurb? Maybe just suck it up and stick with the iBook for a while longer? I'd appreciate any input.
Ive been having some frustration with my 3.5-year-old iBook lately. Its a 1.33 GHz G4 upgraded to 1.25 GB of RAM running 10.4.11. 14 screen, 60GB hard drive. I also have an external hard drive for backup purposes.
Im a senior studying Finance and MIS, so I do a LOT of work in Excel. Now the main problem I have is that Excel (2008) takes FOREVER to start up. I dont know if this will be improved with a new computer or not. I also have a small screen (14) which makes it tough to cross-reference spreadsheets and word documents. I also work with kind of large data sets. I have to use it to watch DVDs for class (Arabic language) and I enjoy tinkering with Photoshop.
Im sure that the laptop could last a few more years, but Ive wanted to upgrade to the Intel chips and leopard for a while now. Not to mention it would allow me to play some Civilization 4, which I miss a lot and cant run currently. Im also torn with the fact that my laptop SHOULD hopefully last another 2 years before it dies. I know that it wont be able to run Snow Leopard when that comes out, so its pretty much at the end of its upgrades.
So I am considering buying an iMac as a main hub for work and keeping my iBook for travel and library trips. The iMac could do the heavy lifting and then I would not have to upgrade my laptop for a long time. Im also tired of having a laptop. I dont bring it out of my room much unless Im going on a trip somewhere, so Im more of a desktop person. And I think Id prefer a 24. Not sure why, but I feel like I might as well go big or go home. And I think that Ill ultimately wait for the updates to come out later in the month to buy.
So should I buy an iMac? 20 or 24? New or Refurb? Maybe just suck it up and stick with the iBook for a while longer? I'd appreciate any input.
