Is the iMac 21,5" right for me?

[diegobgr]

Hello!

I have finally decided to leave Windows and switch to Mac OS.:)

I'm going to buy advanced 21,5" iMac (1 TB and ATI 4670). In a future, I will like to buy a PS3 to play, but now I want play games like Team Fortess 2, Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2...with my iMac.

Do you think that the iMac is a good deal now and for some years? I am going to use it for lots of things, from games like I said to photography.

[Hellhammer]

If you're not in hurry, wait for the update, it should be pretty significant for 21.5"

[diegobgr]

I'm not really in hurry. I just want it. :p It will be great get an i5 and a ATI 5xxx.

In fact, the sonner that I can get it is about July, so...(I hope to get the iMac and the iPhone HD for my 3G).

I repeat : Do you think that the iMac is a good deal now and for some years? I am going to use it for lots of things, from games like I said to photography

[Hellhammer]

I'm not really in hurry. I just want it. :p It will be great get an i5 and a ATI 5xxx.

In fact, the sonner that I can get it is about July, so...(I hope to get the iMac and the iPhone HD for my 3G).

I repeat :

So is July the soonest you can get it? (sorry didn't get what you meant)

Update will likely be worth it BUT the iMacs are already great machines. Keep in mind that the i5 21.5" might get is DUAL CORE, not quad. ATI 5xxx will likely be a nice upgrade as well but it depends on the chip Apple will use

[diegobgr]

Yes, July is the soonest. (Sorry for the mistake).

Yes, I know that they will be Dual-Core, but I think that the are really great and I won't need Quad.

I will use it for iWork (or Office), iPhoto and Aperture 3, a little Photoshop, iWeb...to manage my multimedia (I have about 20k songs, 10k pictures...) and gaming the games I've said.

What do you think? Is the right deal?

I could buy a great gaming PC with a great graphics card, but I will like to buy a PS3 for gaming so...

[Hellhammer]

Yes, I know that they will be Dual-Core, but I think that the are really great and I won't need Quad.

Just wanted to make sure as so many people think they are quads ;) Yes, it'll be a great bump anyway due high clocks, 32nm, Turbo etc

I will use it for iWork (or Office), iPhoto and Aperture 3, a little Photoshop, iWeb...to manage my multimedia (I have about 20k songs, 10k pictures...) and gaming the games I've said.

What do you think? Is the right deal?

I could buy a great gaming PC with a great graphics card, but I will like to buy a PS3 for gaming so...

Yeah, it seems to be solid deal. By July, we might have new ones around already (at least more info). I have PS3 for gaming and I absolutely love it, so easy and can use iMac at the same time.

[diegobgr]

I hope that Apple will announce the new iMacs by the WWDC, so I will be able to get it in July.

[Hellhammer]

I hope that Apple will announce the new iMacs by the WWDC, so I will be able to get it in July.

We will see... It's only 3 weeks away!

[diegobgr]

Yes...I can't wait! :D

[Ballroomblitz]

I believe the iMac is in mid cycle, so July may be ambitious for thinking of a product update.

I switched over to Mac and my first purchase was the Macbook Pro of which I waited from January till I guess April until the update was announced and launched. With the product cycle on that product well over the nominal average i thought it was right to wait however still took a solid three or four months.

With the product cycle of the iMac in mid cycle I went and bit the bullet on the Imac 21.5" with discrete (separate, not onboard) video about three weeks ago now. My two options were to buy now and start enjoying my product, or potentially wait till August / September...maybe shorter, perhaps longer. If you can wait till then it is always good to get the newest hardware at the best price, buying early in the product cycle is less expensive than buying hardware at the end of the cycle. Seeing we're mid cycle, it was a good deal and I'll get lots of use now when I need it as waiting is way beyond my window of need. I don't mind waiting two or three months, but potentially a lot longer than that and I would have to agree that I really didn't have a need to want one to be serieously researching it that hard.

I think your choice is a good one, only question is how much time do you have to wait before making the choice. Good luck, happy computing.

Waiting may give a bigger screen size, two gens back I believe were a 19 and 24 inch, current generation is a 21.5 and 27 inch model. Perhaps the next will be a 24 and 27 variant, you'd have to wait just to find out.

[TiffanyBee]

I couldn't wait & I love my iMac! I have the one you plan on getting, the 1TB, ATI 4670. It runs everything wonderfully! My only error message was from MS Word..sadly. It opens slower than Photoshop does for me. It's an incredible machine.

If you have the will power, by all means, wait. If you're impatient (like me), just dooo it. iMacs are notorious for retaining their value. You could always sell your iMac & pay the difference for the update.

I felt that the update wouldn't be that significant enough for me to wait. But no one knowss what Apple will doo.

[Ballroomblitz]

Looks like the iMac will be updated soon, i now think it shouldn't be too much longer perhaps within a couple of months. Good luck, either way you go it is a very good purchase.

[MathijsDelva]

I too think it won't take very long anymore. Especially since the iMac now still has the 9400M instead of the 320M for the base model. I'm pretty sure we'll see the following within a max of 2 months:

Base 21.5"
320M
C2D/i3
1TB

2nd 21.5"
Radeon 5xxx
i5
1TB

Base 27"
Radeon 5xxx
i5/i7
1TB

2nd 27"
Radeon 5xxx
i5/i7
1.5TB