New(old) iMac just bought, but was it the right choice?

[666]

Greeting knowledgeable ones!

Just picked up my first Mac but now I've got it home am having some doubts on if it was the right call or not so thought I'd ask the experts here on MacRumors what they think!

Basically I went in to buy either the higher end 21.5 or the lower end 27 (both the same spec, just an extra thunderbolt and a few inches of screen to differentiate them as far as I know?) and after spending a bit of time on each pretty much decided on the 21 as the 27 was a "bit much". Then whilst the sales guy was checking the stock he said that for the same money as the 21 he could do me a 27" clearance model they had, telling me it had a faster processor, better graphics card and of course the bigger screen. It wasn't ex-display or anything, just old stock out the back.

Long story short that was the one I went home with - a 27 quadcore 2.8 i5 with ATI 5750 1Gb graphics but now I am home I am really wondering if I made the right decision as this is now already succeeded year old tech and for the same money I could have bought this years model (and nothing playing in the back of my mind!)

What to do - these things aren't cheap and I should get the best out of my hard earned but am I getting the best bang for my buck with year old tech?

Thanks for listening!

 

[Spike88]

What do you use it for? re: Typical home user with basic File, Surfing, hobby photos, Print type stuff, or basics + professional level movie / Photos, games, etc. etc?

Sizing computer is much like sizing a vehicle. Do you want a strong V8 but based on usage, a large size 4 or medium size V6 engine does great. The turbo V8 would be a waste of power.

How much "load" do you need to haul around??? This defines the engine size.

.

 

[666]

I'd say I'd come under the fairly typical home user bracket in that I do all you mention (bar the gaming) plus I'll be using Logic to lay down some demos and hopefully increasing my productivity through photo and video work with the bands I work with (could even save a few quid there!) but it's a long way from being 'pro'!

So from that, yes the one I bought will no doubt be more than enough to cover what I need it for, I guess I am just thinking more long term and that this 'new' computer is now last years spec and dropping as much money as I am on this my nrain tells me I really should be as up date as I can be as I am tied in for quite some time....

Not being particularly clued up in specs/performance etc is there a noticeable difference in what I bought versus this years models?

 

[AntDre20]

im not an expert but from the sounds of it, what u really did was buy the 27" imac because it was physically bigger so to ur eye thats what caught u... personally i would have bought the 21.5" 2011, which i did, but to be honest if your not into gaming, video editing or phot shopping all that much and ur basically an average home user, u probably wouldnt know the difference except u urself knowing that u bought the 2011 imac.

 

[666]

I think I was sucked into the spiel of getting more for less (got to love sales!) and here I am now working out exactly that......am I really getting more for less?

 

[Spike88]

I think I was sucked into the spiel of getting more for less (got to love sales!) and here I am now working out exactly that......am I really getting more for less?

Did you get a good deal from that store? Not too sure.

To compare, simply go into Apple.com, pick your country (region) and compare the brand new 2011 machines. Add in software, other options and remember to add Tax. If into buying used, look at the Apple Store Refurb section and look for a similar machine. Machine specs that you currently have. With financial numbers of NEW and Refurb from "their online" store , compare against your local store (the iMac that you just bought). Did you get financially ripped off? Only you can answer that question (by comparing same specs iMac machine you just bought - within your specific region).

My 2010 iMac wasn't the fastest. It was "in the middle of the pack" for my basic + "some" heavy weight load demands. If I wanted to future proof, I could have gotten the next higher specs. But to me (for my usage), it wasn't financially worth it. Especially for my home usage and computer replacement every 5 years lifespan vision. For me, my current iMac with 8 GBs of RAM should last 5 years - based on my needs.

How long do you plan to keep your iMac? How long do you want to pay for "future proofing"? Did you get ripped off? Many very hard regional and personal questions....

.

 

[kioshi]

Seems to me you got a good deal - if you got the top 27' 2010 mac you got a good video card (which is only present in the top 2011 imacs) and they have similar geekbench scores according to this:

http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-comparison-chart/?compare=all-intel-macs

I myself saved money and waited to get the 27' just because of the display and resolution, it arrives in 1 week, and I'm a home user who likes to game every now and then. And.... I find the 27' screen gorgeous, I don't think you'll regret it, just imo

 

[DePaulBlueDemon]

I would have done the same. The difference between the 21" and 27" is not just a few inches, there's a HUGE bump in screen real estate. Do yourself a favor and watch an HD video in full screen and then come back and tell us what you think!

 

[666]

Spike88, having read around a bit it would seem that the mac I picked up today was last years top of the line 'off the shelf' 27 and it cost me the same as this years higher spec 'off the shelf' 21. For this I am getting a load more screen 'real estate' as DePaulBlueDemon says, and a big saving of around 25% or so compared to its original price (and indeed the difference between the 21 and 27 now) but whilst I don't really know what those geekbench scores are all about that Kioshi links to I had a look and the 2010 i5 is listed at 6726/7871 whilst the new21 comes in at 7890/8647 (higher than the 27 with the same internals!)

I assume geekbench scores work as the higher the better and if so how 'real world' is that difference?

Thanks a lot for the comments so far!