Correct iMac for the normal consumer..!

really depends on what you need but the BTO prices are insane that's for sure, BTW you can install ram yourself on the 27" that's how i'm planning to save some money other than that it depends on your definition of normal use and since your suggesting upgrading some stuff maybe your not the average consumer after all

imo if you want a bit of future proofing you might get the basic 27" just because you can upgrade ram later on the 21.5" models i believe you cannot upgrade ram

MacWanter said:

Base 27 cant get i7. Nuff said.

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Why would a normal/casual computer user need an i7 processor?

I'm not sure if I need one. It will allow me to compile code in 1/4 of a second instead of 1/2 a second? Though for $200 plus my work discount, I may opt for it.

MacWanter said:

i7 = longevity + ram = easy 10 years.

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Not with the way apps are being threaded now...this is a 3-5 year machine if you actually use it as a home machine for more than just email/browser/file storage. In other words, if you want to stay with the times, plan on upgrading in 3-5...apps are growing exponentially

a 2009 macbook air could last a normal user 10 years. (in my mind a normal user uses facebook, gmail and plays flash games..)

Thinking the base $1999 model isnt good enough for a normal user is borderline cray.

MacWanter said:

i7 = longevity + ram = easy 10 years.

Click to expand...

I am getting a similar iMac to the one you listed. I just think its funny that after asking for people's thoughts that first person to reply gave you their honest opinion and then you said the 27in doesnt come with i7 nuff said. LOL. Sounds like your just trying to brag about your computer choice and not really willing to listen to others thoughts. Oh and a workhorse desktop computer that lasts 10 years easily? wow that is just so absurd I do not even know where to begin, but ill try, check out the 2002 iMac G4, with maxed out specs that thing had 1gb ram, 32mb graphics, 80gb hdd, usb 1.1, and a 800mhz processor. I sure hope the people who owned that computer did not plan on it lasting all the way to today. (10 years later)

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/10/core-i5-or-core-i7-does-your-computer-need-the-extra-juice/

Not trying to pile on...just trying to illustrate that you'll likely be buying a $200 idle CPU upgrading the i5 to i7...unless you're going to be encoding video...regularly

MacWanter said:

i7 = longevity + ram = easy 10 years.

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Uh, no, at least to have a machine that is not dog slow.

You might get 5 or 6 years out of it if you could upgrade certain components, but it looks like Apple's making it harder to do that as time goes on.

And, you will not be able to upgrade to the latest OS, which also happens to be around the 5 year point.

Thanks for the laugh...

Chihawk725 said:

I am getting a similar iMac to the one you listed. I just think its funny that after asking for people's thoughts that first person to reply gave you their honest opinion and then you said the 27in doesnt come with i7 nuff said. LOL. Sounds like your just trying to brag about your computer choice and not really willing to listen to others thoughts. Oh and a workhorse desktop computer that lasts 10 years easily? wow that is just so absurd I do not even know where to begin, but ill try, check out the 2002 iMac G4, with maxed out specs that thing had 1gb ram, 32mb graphics, 80gb hdd, usb 1.1, and a 800mhz processor. I sure hope the people who owned that computer did not plan on it lasting all the way to today. (10 years later)

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Sorry, but I sit here thoroughly enjoying this post as I read it on my 2002 dual 1 GHz MDD Power Mac G4 with a 40 GB hard drive and slightly better specs than the rest listed above. It turned 10 in September.

Sure, the Firewire ports are long dead (leaving me with an even slower USB 2.0 connection via an added PCI card for our 1 TB backup drive), the USB ports on the back of the Studio Display went berserk a few months ago, the power button on the front has long been broken (thank heavens for the ADC connector and Studio Display power button), it fights going to sleep more than a 5-year-old who just watched A Nightmare on Elm Street (due to the USB errors constantly thrown up by the aforementioned Studio Display), it has recently decided to sometimes power itself off when it does go to sleep and then require a break before it wants to work again, and we planned to replace it at the beginning of this year when everyone thought the new iMacs would be out but it has been an awesome computer and we've gotten more out of it than I could ever have imagined. Yes, hubby is long past the ability to play games on it but the XBOX downstairs more than makes up for that and it still works just fine for me to do what I need and our kids to do their school work.

The value we've gotten out of our current Mac (and only the 2nd one we've purchased in over 16 years) actually concerns me because we're about to invest nearly the same amount of money in our very first AIO Mac and I know I have no hope of seeing such longevity ever again. We will sincerely miss the upgradeability that we've long enjoyed but the successors to the Power Macs are well out of our price range and current needs.

I know I'm completely off topic but couldn't help responding given the humor of our current Mac situation. Now, if you'll all kindly delay your online purchases until I can get mine in (we're on Mac life support here, lol), I'd be ever so grateful. Actually, it's going to be a BTO 27" so I know I'm praying to the computer gods for several more weeks anyway.

Good luck to all who are about to drop a nice chunk of change into Apple's pockets...the freaking wait is over.

I'm with you lephelps! although my iMac is an 800MHz G4 with the floating screen and is about 11 years old. But it is sitting on the desk, and I'm using my MacBook at the moment. I am upgrading (after waiting since the first of the year), and hope to order tonight. Here's to getting 10 years out of the new one!

I gave my G4 tower away to a friend when I got my Mac Mini in 2009. It's still going strong.

I7 buys you hyperthreads and a bit of clock bump. What are you planning on doing that will make I7 worthwhile?

MacWanter said:

As I saw on this site the BTO options...The price was insane. Originally I was going to get the $1999 27 inch model. Sadly prices turned me to the 21.5 inch model. The $1399, one that is. Upgrading the ram, fusion drive, and processor totals out to slightly over 2000$. It's a high price... But it seems the only value, to me. Thoughts?

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s

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MacWanter said:

As I saw on this site the BTO options...The price was insane. Originally I was going to get the $1999 27 inch model. Sadly prices turned me to the 21.5 inch model. The $1399, one that is. Upgrading the ram, fusion drive, and processor totals out to slightly over 2000$. It's a high price... But it seems the only value, to me. Thoughts?

Click to expand...

There is no $1399 model in the 21.5" size

MacWanter said:

i7 = longevity + ram = easy 10 years.

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looooooool,



No. Just no. These machines are not made to be relevant for that long. Sure a computer might physically work, but it's going to be a drag and slow even after five.

CaptMike said:

s

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There is no $1399 model in the 21.5" size

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sure there is

Chihawk725 said:

I am getting a similar iMac to the one you listed. I just think its funny that after asking for people's thoughts that first person to reply gave you their honest opinion and then you said the 27in doesnt come with i7 nuff said. LOL. Sounds like your just trying to brag about your computer choice and not really willing to listen to others thoughts. Oh and a workhorse desktop computer that lasts 10 years easily? wow that is just so absurd I do not even know where to begin, but ill try, check out the 2002 iMac G4, with maxed out specs that thing had 1gb ram, 32mb graphics, 80gb hdd, usb 1.1, and a 800mhz processor. I sure hope the people who owned that computer did not plan on it lasting all the way to today. (10 years later)

Click to expand...

The Sony Vaio I'm typing this on now was purchased in 2002 (replaced HD once). It works just fine for everything I do with photoshop. Video editing would choke it. I'm going to buy a top of the line fully loaded Imac for video editing. I expect it to last a good long time with that SSD ...hopefully.

mushroomtip said:

sure there is

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That's education pricing. Non-education prices for the 21.5" models are $1299 and $1499.

MacWanter said:

Base 27 cant get i7. Nuff said.

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I think the 27" has more user serviceable parts. This would enable a cheaper overall configuration by doing your own upgrades where necessary. The $1400 21.5" with upgrades is a dismal value when you break it down. I mention that only because you were concerned about this.

MacWanter said:

i7 = longevity + ram = easy 10 years.

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This isn't true at all. The i7 is absolutely meaningless to longevity. Hyperthreading which is the major gain with desktop i7s (mobile types have it on all cpus) grants more logical cores. It helps with load balancing on heavy workloads assuming well threaded processes. For your use it will probably be as meaningless years from now as it is today. Apple doesn't update the software forever. Eventually you end up on the last supported version. At that point it just is what it is, and for light use I see little difference. The most likely thing to retire it would be hardware failure prior to the 10 year mark. The other thing is that ram only guarantees longevity in the sense that the OS can become more memory hungry with future versions, and file sizes or applications may follow a similar trend. I think the upgrades in favor of longevity are absurd unless you have a good idea of what will prematurely retire the computer. If you use it for games and one gpu grants 50% higher framerates for a modest upgrade fee, that is longevity. Going to an i7 and bumping ram to check facebook will do nothing. If you have a PowerPC machine today, the biggest problem is lack of compatibility.

.

If you think current prices are high, you should have paid $2000 in 1984 dollars for the first Mac that had 128k memory.

mushroomtip said:

sure there is

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Nope,

This is the CURRENT pricing for non HE consumers