Advice on adding longevity to an iMac

[Alwaystriumph]

First time poster soon to be a first time owner of a iMac desktop.

I have a question about how to add to the life of the iMac I will be purchasing. I had a PC that I had for 5 years that has lately been dying a slow death. I was dismayed by this because I took good care of it as much as a novice user can. I kept the computer clean by and made sure I didn't download shady programs or files. I want to get a Mac and I want it to last. It's expensive but I'm willing to invest ($2000 with a company discount I get of about 7 percent) in a good machine.

I am going go get a 21.5" 2.8 ghz i7 quad core with a 1 TB drive. 4 gb of ram that I will upgrade to 8-16 myself.

Is their anything I should get, upgrade, or do when I get it to make it last beside keeping it in the box?

Thanks,

New to Apple

 

[McGiord]

Maybe an SSD?
External HDDs for back ups: Time Machine and Bootable Clone.
Just good ventilation around it, and to keep it clean be careful how you clean the glass and aluminum.
Besides that, if you have the money and want to get Apple Care, it is up to you, you have 1 year to decide over it.

 

[Spike88]

IMO, ordering (or 3rd party) SSD would add faster program / file access but if one doesn't need this configuration, is as waste of dollars. Best to add this configuration when one needs it. For example, in 3+ years - when faster file access is needed. And in 3+ years, the SSD drives will be double/triple their current capacity, and less expensive as well.

Buying i5 or i7 is a good idea for future proofing. Go with i7 if you think you need that extra "future" power. If typical home user of file / print / internet / word processing, the i5 is more then enough power.

One should only add more ram (apple or 3rd party - at much less cost) is one needs it as well. Typical home user only needs 4 Megs Ram. 6 Megs for home power users. For typical home user, very few iMacs use 8 Megs Ram. If you feel your iMac needs more then 4 Megs ram, I'd recommend 3rd party RAM - at 1/2 the cost of Apple Ram.

Buying/installing a large drive is a good thing. Especially if you like to store lots of many little files or large files. As a minimum, go with 1 TB internal. If you can afford, go with 2 TB size. If DIY, then order 1 TB now and DIY upgrade to 2 TB when you need it.

IMO, CPU and Video sizing must be set at original purchase. If you need i7 in 3 years, then order i7 now. If you need 2 GB Ram on video card, also order it now. Memory and internal HDDs can be upgraded later. And, SSDs can be installed later - when they are more affordable (at much larger sizes).

Long mumblings short... "sizing" your base purchase depends on your usage and if you a DIY upgrade person...

Hope this helps...