An iMac or go back to Windows?

[sdavis891]

I am a 3rd year University student looking to purchase a new Mac. I've had a 13" MacBook Pro since before I started university (mid 2009 model 5,5) and it's performed in every way I've needed it too. I upgraded the harddrive and the RAM. Unfortunately, the SSD I bought awhile back has encountered an invalid node and the Genius Bar said that eventually it'd come back.
On a side note, with the lack of interest in console gaming, and new consoles coming out next christmas, I would like to go back to computer gaming. I not at all interested in getting another macbook, because most of my classes don't allow computers while the professor is lecturing and I live so close to campus that I don't bother bringing it with me anywhere.
I've been seriously considering an iMac 27", with the upgraded graphics card, ram, and processor. (I'm talking about the high end one). But I want to consult those of you who have experience in this field.
I had bootcamp on my MacBook, I was comfortable with that but with how old the model was, it could not perform on new generation games. I'd like something that will last few years to come, as so I would not have to fork out more money for another system.

I absolutely adore the OS, I have a hard time working in Windows because of how long its been, plus my program I am taking in school is graphic arts/printing industry related so all the computers in our building are iMacs.
I do plan on waiting until mid August to purchase, as well as I'd save some money with the university/college sale.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[B...]

Sounds like you want the Mac OS, and therefore an iMac. Whatever you do, wait until the end of the summer for the back to school promo and mabye even new computers.

 

[sdavis891]

Would you think they'd update the specs of the model by the end of the summer? But I'm asking as if its worth it to go all out and boot camp windows or just get a Windows based PC

 

[B...]

Would you think they'd update the specs of the model by the end of the summer? But I'm asking as if its worth it to go all out and boot camp windows or just get a Windows based PC

Probably not the iMac. But it is one of the best all-in-one computers on the market now, so if you can afford it, it is a great choice.

 

[macman312]

Maybe the iMac fully as upgraded as you can afford and then put bootcamp on it?

or the other thing you could do is get like the base 13" Macbook Pro and take that to school if you ever need to and build a windows desktop for gaming? You could probably do both for under $2,500

 

[jlehman]

Maybe the iMac fully as upgraded as you can afford and then put bootcamp on it?

or the other thing you could do is get like the base 13" Macbook Pro and take that to school if you ever need to and build a windows desktop for gaming? You could probably do both for under $2,500

I'd recommend something like this. The education pricing for the base 13" MBP is $999 and would be fine for your graphic stuff. You can always hook it up to a bigger screen. Then you can dump money into a building a PC yourself or buying a pre-built one. I know someone who had the top spec early 2012 iMac (3.4 i7, top graphics, and 16GM RAM) he doesn't even use it to play games on anymore because it would get so hot he would start having issues in the game plus he said it was just too big of a screen to game on sitting at a desk.

The new redesigned iMac's do seem to have better cooling. I work at a college and have deployed 10 so far. I like them but i wouldn't want one as a "gaming computer".

At work I have a 2010 15" MBP in clamshell mode into a 24" monitor. At home i have a 2011 Mac Mini and Ivy Bridge PC i built myself. If you have the money and want to keep it simple, I guess the 27" iMac would be good. I just don't think it's worth the money. My friends was north of $2,500 and he only runs Adobe products on it anymore.

 

[sdavis891]

See my problem is I know how to open a computer, replace basic things such as ram and graphic cards in PC's but I don't have the first clue on how to build my own. I've thought of buying one off tiger direct for 13-1400 but I haven't touched a pc for years since I've got my
MacBook Pro, and I don't know what's top line right now, vs what will go out in a year or two

 

[macman312]

You don't need to know much about it, there are plenty of forums and websites out there to help you. Personally I'd be going for the iMac though because I can't stand the UI of windows

 

[sdavis891]

I agree with you on the whole interface but I guess ill wait and see what the Developers conference brings out and go from there.

 

[webcity]

Would you think they'd update the specs of the model by the end of the summer? But I'm asking as if its worth it to go all out and boot camp windows or just get a Windows based PC

From experience, running Windows on a Mac gives you much better performance than running Windows on a PC anyway. I remember reading an article in a PC mag a couple of years ago which did a roundup of the 5 fastest Windows laptops and funnily enough, a Macbook Pro with Bootcamp/Windows was by far the best performer.

 

[Wolfpup]

I am a 3rd year University student looking to purchase a new Mac. I've had a 13" MacBook Pro since before I started university (mid 2009 model 5,5) and it's performed in every way I've needed it too. I upgraded the harddrive and the RAM. Unfortunately, the SSD I bought awhile back has encountered an invalid node and the Genius Bar said that eventually it'd come back.
On a side note, with the lack of interest in console gaming, and new consoles coming out next christmas, I would like to go back to computer gaming. I not at all interested in getting another macbook, because most of my classes don't allow computers while the professor is lecturing and I live so close to campus that I don't bother bringing it with me anywhere.
I've been seriously considering an iMac 27", with the upgraded graphics card, ram, and processor. (I'm talking about the high end one). But I want to consult those of you who have experience in this field.
I had bootcamp on my MacBook, I was comfortable with that but with how old the model was, it could not perform on new generation games. I'd like something that will last few years to come, as so I would not have to fork out more money for another system.

I absolutely adore the OS, I have a hard time working in Windows because of how long its been, plus my program I am taking in school is graphic arts/printing industry related so all the computers in our building are iMacs.
I do plan on waiting until mid August to purchase, as well as I'd save some money with the university/college sale.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

If you don't mind the extra money and really prefer the OS, then no harm in getting a Mac. You get much less bang for the buck but the high end iMac with the best GPU it can have looks like it would run today's games fine.

Hmm...I suppose another option would be to maintain two PCs, one running OS X, one running Windows, so you could use a cheaper OS X one, and have something with better bang for the buck for games.