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24in iMac - white or ali?

P

Philsy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 29, 2004
633
16
South coast of England
Hi

I'm considering upgrading to a 24in iMac - the extra screen space would be useful. However, I see that there are some good deals on the outgoing 'white' iMac.

Are there any issues with these that I should know about? And what advantages does the latest aluminium iMac offer?

Thanks

Phil
 
The aluminium iMac IMO looks nicer, is thinner and has an incredible keyboard...
 
There are no problems that I know of with the last white models. Your major disadvantages of the new alluminum iMacs are the glossy screen, you need to look at that in a store to see if the reflections bother you. and the video card seems to be worse in the new iMacs than in the last gen.
 
psychofreak said:
The aluminium iMac IMO looks nicer, is thinner and has an incredible keyboard...
Click to expand...

... and Faster Bus Speed (800 MHz), faster CPU, Santa Rosa. Can take up to 4 GB (not 3 GB) of memory, bigger and faster (7200 rpm) hard drives, iLife '08
 
a456 said:
... and Faster Bus Speed (800 MHz), faster CPU, Santa Rosa. Can take up to 4 GB (not 3 GB) of memory, bigger and faster (7200 rpm) hard drives, iLife '08
Click to expand...

...and 802.11n wireless. :)

And frankly, the screen feels much better for me. Check it out in a store before you opt out of the latest iMac.
 
Thanks for the replies. Sounds like a white one for over £200 less is worth going for then.
Click to expand...

No! Don't buy the old one. It'll be worth less when you want to sell it on.

Also, wait 2 weeks and then you can get Leopard, saving yourself more money.

You'll lose more than £200 when depreciation and the cost of Leopard are combined.

If you can find one with the 7600GT video card, then the old one is better.
Click to expand...

According to the VGA charts at Toms Hardware.com, the 7600GT and Radeon HD2600 are about even. The 7300GT on the lower white iMac isn't very good however.

yup 3 to 4GB is a huge plus
Click to expand...
No, but the Santa Rosa architecture with higher bus speed IS.
 
If you want to save some cash, you'll be very pleased with the white model. However, the glossy screen on the new aluminum models is just gorgeous. I can't help but stare at them every time I walk into an Apple Store.
 
Well IMO if you have an Intel Core 2 Duo white iMac, it's not really worth the upgrade (which is me). I noticed some people saying that the white iMac will not be worth as much because it is an older model. If you are planning on keeping the iMac till it is absolutely wore out and don't need the latest and greatest then go ahead and get the white and save a few hundred. And about the size difference, regardless of which version you get both will take up significantly less room than a Dell.
 
Just thought I would throw my .02 cent in fwiw:

I think the new Al imacs are beautiful! But when my friend got one I spent some time on it an after several hours *I* personally didn't like the glossy screen (it's a very personal choice, and OPINION here so don't attack me guys! ;) be kind to a new poster! (but have been reading these forums daily for several years)

So I bought the "old" white 24" with the nvidia 7600GT with 256mb, and a 500gb HD and am VERY pleased. I also have the new SR LED Macbook Pro 2.4/2gb/160gb/nvidia 8600/256mb - 15.4" to compare it to.

Of course I belong to the 40 something club so the matte screen on the old white one is what *I* like!

Just an opinion. But as others have mentioned, get it with the better graphics card if you can find one - I was lucky enough to get my new.
Whatever you decide, you'll enjoy it! :)
Good Luck!

_______________________
My Mac's:

:apple:24" (white) imac, nvidia 7600GT/256mb, 500gb HDD, 2gb ram
:apple:MBP/2.4/2gb/160
:apple:Powermac G5 2.5dual/4gb/750gb + 20" +30"
:apple: macmini, 5g ipods: black 30gb, RED nano 8gb
 
If you wait until Leopard is announced before buying the older model, I believe you'd be entitled to receive Leopard free through the up-to-date program.
 
Actually the aforementioned friend with the *new* Al 24" imac and I had both placed orders w/Apple... I decided to cancel mine since it was so close to the announcement - he did not. When the new ones came out, he had still not received his yet and wanted the new one, so he ordered it. (he had never even opened the "old" white one!) When he got the Al one, he loved it...I didn't! :) So I bought his unopened white one from him since it was the same specs I had wanted minus the 2.33 bump. (he was going to give the white one to his daughter at college, but she wanted the new Al one! so I got lucky!)

I do however have a sister who ordered one online ( I *think* it was from smalldog- I'll check if you like) who also wanted the 7600GT, and got a 24", brand new factory sealed. Hers also had the iLife '08 disc in the box when she opened it!
 
macjay said:
If you wait until Leopard is announced before buying the older model, I believe you'd be entitled to receive Leopard free through the up-to-date program.
Click to expand...

So is Apple going to do the up-to-date thing with Lepoard for sure then?
A gal I work with is wanting a new white one while there are still some left but she was holding off to hear whether they were going to do that or not but is getting antsy.
 
MacAngel40 said:
I *think* it was from smalldog- I'll check if you like
Click to expand...
Thanks for offering, but I called Small Dog earlier this week and they only have the 2.16 GHz/7300GT in stock -- and they don't expect that to change. OTOH, if you have a line on a different source, I'd be very interested.

Hers also had the iLife '08 disc in the box when she opened it!
Click to expand...
That's good news. The SmallDog web site mentions iLife '08 with the 24", but I was wondering if that might be a cut-n-paste error. (I forgot to ask when I phoned them.)

BTW, will iLife '08 be bundled with retail copies of Leopard (i.e., the boxed $129 version)? I know it's part of the "bundled software" on the ALU IMac install disks, but I don't whether it's included on the retail Leopard DVDs. Since I don't see it mentioned anywhere on apple.com/macosx/leopard, I'm guessing the answer is NO.

...thanks again, MacAngel40,

LK
 
White or ali

Am I the only one that read the topic line for this post and saw it as racially insensitive?

"White or ali"

"Ali" must be in reference to Muhammed Ali I thought to myself. Muhammed Ali was black and so is the new iMac. Well isn't that terrible.

It wasn't till I read a couple of posts that I realized the OP was referencing "alluminum" and not the greatest heavy weight of all time.

Carry on then.

Darren
 
For LK

LK-
Do you remember when the mac mini PPC right before they switched them to Intel, had a "silent upgrade" ... it was fairly well documented. Anyway, I was one of the people who got that "silent upgrade". I ordered a mini (ppc G4) with the 1.42Ghz, and the only option was the 32mb VRAM, however, when I received it from Apple, it had a 1.5Ghz and 64mb of VRAM! The BOX however stated the specs that it was suppose to be - NOT the upgraded specs!

I called my sister and she did indeed use smalldog. She took a look at her box and it says that is the 7300 BUT it is actually the 7600GT with 256mb ,,,
not the 128 as with the 7300. I don't know what to think about that. Either she got REALLY lucky.... or Apple just put the 7600GT cards in the last batch of white 24" that they produced? Might be worth checking out.

Although it is none of my buisness! but because I am female and curious...;) since you list your computer as the 24" new Al....may I ask why you are looking for the old white one? Is it the screen? Like I said, I am just curious! (actually wondered how many people like me, would pay full price for the "old" one over the new one for the matte screen! LOL)
 
kixsand said:
Am I the only one that read the topic line for this post and saw it as racially insensitive?

"White or ali"

"Ali" must be in reference to Muhammed Ali I thought to myself. Muhammed Ali was black and so is the new iMac. Well isn't that terrible.

It wasn't till I read a couple of posts that I realized the OP was referencing "alluminum" and not the greatest heavy weight of all time.

Carry on then.

Darren
Click to expand...

LOL, thanks, that was great.

As for the question, I'd say a new imac with leopard is the way to go. The only possible advantages to the old one are graphics (only if it has the 7600, and even then, it's not entirely clear), screen (and that's a matter of preference), and price. The new one has a lot more going for it (not least of which is leopard).
 
kixsand said:
Am I the only one that read the topic line for this post and saw it as racially insensitive?

"White or ali"

"Ali" must be in reference to Muhammed Ali I thought to myself. Muhammed Ali was black and so is the new iMac. Well isn't that terrible.

It wasn't till I read a couple of posts that I realized the OP was referencing "alluminum" and not the greatest heavy weight of all time.

Carry on then.

Darren
Click to expand...

You just made my day!
Too funny!!!!

Have a good one! & thanks for the laugh! :)
 
MacAngel40 said:
So is Apple going to do the up-to-date thing with Lepoard for sure then?
A gal I work with is wanting a new white one while there are still some left but she was holding off to hear whether they were going to do that or not but is getting antsy.
Click to expand...

The whole question is whether that older model will be included in the Leopard up-to-date (it's definitely part of iLife '08 up-to-date).

Now that I think about, I'd say probably not since it's already a discontinued model.
 
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