Might get an imac, have some questions.

[Nadesico]

1. Is there a way to use bootcamp and XP from an external drive.
I would like to use the internal one for OSX only and keep all windows seperately.

2. I have never been much of a gamer since I traded my pc for my current dual processor 450hz g4 5+ years ago, when people talk of the differance between the 7300 card and the 7600 card is it a matter of one plays with more FPS or is it bad enough that you would get slow down or worse yet a jerkyness in video?

3. I'm kinda nervous with all the dead pixel/stuck pixel threads, does anyone have an idea of what percentage of imacs(thinking of a 24 inch) normally have these problems 1% 5% more then 5%?

4. If the internal hard drive goes down is it possible to boot up OSX from an external drive so you can try to repair/format/retrieve data yourself without taking it in to be serviced?

5. Is it safe to go on a dvd burning spree with the unit being so thin, and the heat generated for burning dvds or will I have to allow cool down after X amount of DVDS being burned.

I know places like Mac Mall and Amazon have $150 rebates on selected models, does anyone know of a place that has the rebate on a model with just the 7600 card added or 7600 + ram added all stores I have seen that sell them with the 7600 have them loaded and are way out of my $ range.

Sorry for all the questions but this thing is gonna have to last me between 3-4 years and it's the first comp I'll have that I won't be able to open to add or subtract parts as time goes by which is kind of scary.
One part fails and it's dead without taking it in and paying to have it fixed.
The only reason I am considering an Imac is that a 24 inch screen makes it seem like a heck of a deal.

 

[plinkoman]

1. Is there a way to use bootcamp and XP from an external drive.
I would like to use the internal one for OSX only and keep all windows seperately.

2. I have never been much of a gamer since I traded my pc for my current dual processor 450hz g4 5+ years ago, when people talk of the differance between the 7300 card and the 7600 card is it a matter of one plays with more FPS or is it bad enough that you would get slow down or worse yet a jerkyness in video?

3. I'm kinda nervous with all the dead pixel/stuck pixel threads, does anyone have an idea of what percentage of imacs(thinking of a 24 inch) normally have these problems 1% 5% more then 5%?

4. If the internal hard drive goes down is it possible to boot up OSX from an external drive so you can try to repair/format/retrieve data yourself without taking it in to be serviced?

5. Is it safe to go on a dvd burning spree with the unit being so thin, and the heat generated for burning dvds or will I have to allow cool down after X amount of DVDS being burned.

I know places like Mac Mall and Amazon have $150 rebates on selected models, does anyone know of a place that has the rebate on a model with just the 7600 card added or 7600 + ram added all stores I have seen that sell them with the 7600 have them loaded and are way out of my $ range.

Sorry for all the questions but this thing is gonna have to last me between 3-4 years and it's the first comp I'll have that I won't be able to open to add or subtract parts as time goes by which is kind of scary.
One part fails and it's dead without taking it in and paying to have it fixed.
The only reason I am considering an Imac is that a 24 inch screen makes it seem like a heck of a deal.

1.) I'm not sure.

2.) if you don't game, than the 7300 will be more than adequate, and will certainly have no issues with video playback; but if it were me, I would get the 7600.

3.) there are 2,304,000 pixels in the 24" iMac. If only 1 is stuck or dead, 95% of all people would never even recognize it; so it's anyones guess as to how often there are bad ones. I would just recommend not worrying about it; just buy it and if it's bad, see what you can do about it.

4.) yes, it is possible to do that.

5.) if I can burn 30 consecutive dvd's in my 1" thick PowerBook, I highly doubt you would ever have a problem in an iMac.

are you a student by any chance? If so, you can use the educational distance and get it BTO right from apple with 10% off. I doubt you will find an iMac elsewhere with nothing except the video card upgraded and have a rebate.

 

[emptyCup]

1. Is there a way to use bootcamp and XP from an external drive.
I would like to use the internal one for OSX only and keep all windows seperately.

Not currntly

2. I have never been much of a gamer since I traded my pc for my current dual processor 450hz g4 5+ years ago, when people talk of the differance between the 7300 card and the 7600 card is it a matter of one plays with more FPS or is it bad enough that you would get slow down or worse yet a jerkyness in video?

The base card is better than one from 5+ years ago. The better card, with more video RAM, is of benefit to gamers and people who want to drive large external monitors or who keep tons of windows open at once

3. I'm kinda nervous with all the dead pixel/stuck pixel threads, does anyone have an idea of what percentage of imacs(thinking of a 24 inch) normally have these problems 1% 5% more then 5%?

This affects all LCD displays and seems to be becoming rarer as technology improves. I don't know the percents but any display with more than a few stuck pixels, or with stuck pixels close together or distractingly in the middle of the screen, will be replaced.

4. If the internal hard drive goes down is it possible to boot up OSX from an external drive so you can try to repair/format/retrieve data yourself without taking it in to be serviced?

Yes.

5. Is it safe to go on a dvd burning spree with the unit being so thin, and the heat generated for burning dvds or will I have to allow cool down after X amount of DVDS being burned.

It's safe (how many DVD's are you planning to burn at once anyway?)

I know places like Mac Mall and Amazon have $150 rebates on selected models, does anyone know of a place that has the rebate on a model with just the 7600 card added or 7600 + ram added all stores I have seen that sell them with the 7600 have them loaded and are way out of my $ range.

The 7600 id a Build To Order option and I don't know of any place besides Apple where you can get it.

 

[carfac]

1. Is there a way to use bootcamp and XP from an external drive.
I would like to use the internal one for OSX only and keep all windows seperately.

Possibly look into Parellels- you can set up psydo-HD's, and do that on externals- and it stays isolated from Apple and OS X

2. I have never been much of a gamer since I traded my pc for my current dual processor 450hz g4 5+ years ago, when people talk of the differance between the 7300 card and the 7600 card is it a matter of one plays with more FPS or is it bad enough that you would get slow down or worse yet a jerkyness in video?

I dunno- I have a 20"er...

3. I'm kinda nervous with all the dead pixel/stuck pixel threads, does anyone have an idea of what percentage of imacs(thinking of a 24 inch) normally have these problems 1% 5% more then 5%?

I have not had any problems (in 3 iMacs)

4. If the internal hard drive goes down is it possible to boot up OSX from an external drive so you can try to repair/format/retrieve data yourself without taking it in to be serviced?

Yep- but you knew that by now, if you're reading this post!

5. Is it safe to go on a dvd burning spree with the unit being so thin, and the heat generated for burning dvds or will I have to allow cool down after X amount of DVDS being burned.

"Burning" is just a figure of speech. Please do NOT set fire to your iMac or it's superdrive.

I have burned 3 in a row, no problms...

Dave