What should I buy

[Panyo]

Hi all, hope i am posting this in the correct area.

I am close to purchasing a iMac and I am wondering which model would be the best for me. As a complete amateur and never having owned or used an iMac is where my confusion is coming from. my budget is about £2000 at the moment and really cant go above this. The main use for the iMac will be for my degree work also for general web use/emails etc. Now and again I might try and play a game like civilization or games of that genre.

I have read a few of the forums and looked on line for information. if anyone could point me in the direction or advise that would be amazing.

oh by the way this is a great site. lots of info and good advice

 

[rkaufmann87]

Hi all, hope i am posting this in the correct area.

I am close to purchasing a iMac and I am wondering which model would be the best for me. As a complete amateur and never having owned or used an iMac is where my confusion is coming from. my budget is about £2000 at the moment and really cant go above this. The main use for the iMac will be for my degree work also for general web use/emails etc. Now and again I might try and play a game like civilization or games of that genre.

I have read a few of the forums and looked on line for information. if anyone could point me in the direction or advise that would be amazing.

oh by the way this is a great site. lots of info and good advice

Based on your moderate needs, a 21.5 " base model will be much more than adequate. However my advice is to go to your local Apple Store and test out different models until you fine one you like.

 

[marzer]

Hi all, hope i am posting this in the correct area.

I am close to purchasing a iMac and I am wondering which model would be the best for me. As a complete amateur and never having owned or used an iMac is where my confusion is coming from. my budget is about £2000 at the moment and really cant go above this. The main use for the iMac will be for my degree work also for general web use/emails etc. Now and again I might try and play a game like civilization or games of that genre.

I have read a few of the forums and looked on line for information. if anyone could point me in the direction or advise that would be amazing.

oh by the way this is a great site. lots of info and good advice

What features are important to you? Screen size 21 or 27 inch? Fast solid state drive or are you good with the performance of a conventional hard drive?

For a very capable machine that'll last you for many years of general computing and occassional gaming, the 27" with 675MX and Fusion drive is well within the budget.

What's your sales tax?

 

[Panyo]

Based on your moderate needs, a 21.5 " base model will be much more than adequate. However my advice is to go to your local Apple Store and test out different models until you fine one you like.

Thanks mate. guess I should try that

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What features are important to you? Screen size 21 or 27 inch? Fast solid state drive or are you good with the performance of a conventional hard drive?

For a very capable machine that'll last you for many years of general computing and occassional gaming, the 27" with 675MX and Fusion drive is well within the budget.

What's your sales tax?

our sales tax here is 20%. I like the idea of having a 27" screen. mainly for netflix and pictures. I know i can get a very good PC for the budget I have but apple design and reviews are hard to ignore. I have an ipad 4 and that's brilliant, was hoping iMac's are as impressive.

guess i am going to have to start reading up on the iMac due to the 675MX or fusion drive not making any sense to me. amateur

 

[marzer]

guess i am going to have to start reading up on the iMac due to the 675MX or fusion drive not making any sense to me. amateur

That's really the best thing you can do. Research the available choices (Apple or others) and features to make an informed purchasing decision. On an internet forum, you'll be baraged with a multitude of opinions based on very different needs, experiences and budget than yours. But in the end, you want the best possible purchase for your money and needs.

Here's a starting point. And then web search for reviews from popular techs sites like Macworld, Arstechnica, CNET, etc.

 

[Panyo]

That's really the best thing you can do. Research the available choices (Apple or others) and features to make an informed purchasing decision. On an internet forum, you'll be baraged with a multitude of opinions based on very different needs, experiences and budget than yours. But in the end, you want the best possible purchase for your money and needs.

Here's a starting point. And then web search for reviews from popular techs sites like Macworld, Arstechnica, CNET, etc.

Cheers mate thanks for your time and replys

 

[pommie82]

Looking in what you are claiming to do by just using the web and checking email just from them points i think it would be a complete waste of money if you ask me because iMacs are a very powerful machine. i use mine every day for something and it never idle doing nothing.But if you are just going to do emails and use a safari you have a lot of power wasted really.Doing emails and surfing will not use any really sources at all really.Just going on the specs of the new iMac lines now as we speak one core processor would be more then enough for emails,games,web browsing,

i have a iMac 2008 model and its working fine and it used every day for many of tasks i use my mac for video editing,photo editing,music converting in to high bit rate. I also record things from eye tv.So my mac getting a lot of use doing several tasks

Macs are great for doing the tasks i have stated.
Many of times i have been converting video and editing pictures and had plenty of power to be doing something else too.


if you are going to be playing a lot of games then i would say a windows machine would be a lot better for you then using a mac really and the more you are paying for mac would get a really good gaming machine that would last you for many of years.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Yours is not an excuse

if you are going to be playing a lot of games then i would say a windows machine would be a lot better for you then using a mac really and the more you are paying for mac would get a really good gaming machine that would last you for many of years.

- Can't some buy a computer for purely aesthetics?
- Maybe the OP has built up an affection for the OS X user experience based on reviews.
- Maybe the OP simply wants to try something different for a change.
- Maybe that's why they have $2,000 to spend.
- Have a complete Apple experience by complementing their iPad with the iMac.

I personally have saved for my iMac. I am in IT and use Windows everyday. While I have no problems with platform, I want a change. I would like to use something different. I like the iMac, the aesthetics of it, the huge 27 in screen, the ability to have 3 or 6 full web pages up or even apps.

Maybe I want a desk with less clutter. Right now I have 3 PCs on this desk, I would to reduce that down to just the Mac and my notebook.

I of course will be running multiple virtual machines, music, photo management, watch movies. It will be my everyday computer for email, web browsing etc.

 

[Serban]

- Can't some buy a computer for purely aesthetics?
- Maybe the OP has built up an affection for the OS X user experience based on reviews.
- Maybe the OP simply wants to try something different for a change.
- Maybe that's why they have $2,000 to spend.
- Have a complete Apple experience by complementing their iPad with the iMac.

I personally have saved for my iMac. I am in IT and use Windows everyday. While I have no problems with platform, I want a change. I would like to use something different. I like the iMac, the aesthetics of it, the huge 27 in screen, the ability to have 3 or 6 full web pages up or even apps.

Maybe I want a desk with less clutter. Right now I have 3 PCs on this desk, I would to reduce that down to just the Mac and my notebook.

I of course will be running multiple virtual machines, music, photo management, watch movies. It will be my everyday computer for email, web browsing etc.

Nice, i like your thinking...i took that decision this year too

 

[seroposi]

Based on your moderate needs, a 21.5 " base model will be much more than adequate. However my advice is to go to your local Apple Store and test out different models until you fine one you like.

Very good advice here. My base 21.5" serves me well though i do not do any gaming. Were you though to buy say the 27" and you found this too big I think, and stand to be corrected, you have about 14 days to return it to the Apple store ( if you bought from them ) for exchange or refund.