I've owned my 24" 2.8GHz "Extreme" / 2GB / 500GB for just about a week now, and I am 100% happy with it! I post this because while I was awaiting delivery, I worried myself sick with second thoughts. So if you are considering this same purchase, here's what I've got to tell you...
o The 24" screen is PERFECT in every way. It is quite honestly the nicest-looking display of any type that I've ever seen. The colours are gorgeous!
o I was worried it would be too big; it's not. (I upgraded from a 14" iBook G4 that I've used for four years.) It took about 10-minutes to get used to.
o I was worried it would be too bright; it's not. It's located in front of a big window looking outside, and the brightness range is adequate for facing bright sunlight to the darkest nights.
o I was worried it would be too shiny and reflective; it's not. I have never yet been distracted by any reflections.
o I was worried I'd be sitting too close to it; I don't. I sit about 15" away as my desk is very narrow. No trouble at all.
o I was worried that I should have spent a little less $$$ and got a 20". I was wrong. The C2D "Extreme" is incredibly fast. It rips DVD's about 15x faster than my iBook, without noticeably slowing anything else down.
o I was worried that it would be one of the "noisy" ones; it's not. I can barely hear the drive whirring away, and once in a while the fan too. But for all intents and purposes it is silent.
o I was worried that I should have got more than 2GB RAM. So far, so good. No page ins/outs noted.
o I've got two LaCie d2 external drives connected thru FW800. Good Lord is that connection ever fast! Who'd ever want USB?
o I was worried that I wouldn't need all this power. Wrong, I do!!!
In every way this machine is a huge leap beyond any home computer I've ever owned, and I've owned Commodore PET's, a Vic-20, a C-64, an Atari 400, an Amiga 500, an Amiga 2500, and an iBook G4. In their time they were all cutting-edge machines, but this iMac set an entirely new standard. If you're considering an upgrade from whatever you've got now, I'm sure you'll be every bit as happy with this as I am. Yes it is a lot of money, but it is a lot of computer, and clearly a lot of thought went into creating it.
o The 24" screen is PERFECT in every way. It is quite honestly the nicest-looking display of any type that I've ever seen. The colours are gorgeous!
o I was worried it would be too big; it's not. (I upgraded from a 14" iBook G4 that I've used for four years.) It took about 10-minutes to get used to.
o I was worried it would be too bright; it's not. It's located in front of a big window looking outside, and the brightness range is adequate for facing bright sunlight to the darkest nights.
o I was worried it would be too shiny and reflective; it's not. I have never yet been distracted by any reflections.
o I was worried I'd be sitting too close to it; I don't. I sit about 15" away as my desk is very narrow. No trouble at all.
o I was worried that I should have spent a little less $$$ and got a 20". I was wrong. The C2D "Extreme" is incredibly fast. It rips DVD's about 15x faster than my iBook, without noticeably slowing anything else down.
o I was worried that it would be one of the "noisy" ones; it's not. I can barely hear the drive whirring away, and once in a while the fan too. But for all intents and purposes it is silent.
o I was worried that I should have got more than 2GB RAM. So far, so good. No page ins/outs noted.
o I've got two LaCie d2 external drives connected thru FW800. Good Lord is that connection ever fast! Who'd ever want USB?
o I was worried that I wouldn't need all this power. Wrong, I do!!!
In every way this machine is a huge leap beyond any home computer I've ever owned, and I've owned Commodore PET's, a Vic-20, a C-64, an Atari 400, an Amiga 500, an Amiga 2500, and an iBook G4. In their time they were all cutting-edge machines, but this iMac set an entirely new standard. If you're considering an upgrade from whatever you've got now, I'm sure you'll be every bit as happy with this as I am. Yes it is a lot of money, but it is a lot of computer, and clearly a lot of thought went into creating it.
