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Another "Which should I buy?" Thread

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DUDEMANGUY5

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 8, 2010
124
0
Hey everyone!

I am now in the market for an iMac.
I am a student (looking to save some money) and am eligible to get the back to school promotion!

I do a little video editing, a bit of the Sims (and SimCity when it comes out for Mac), Photoshop, and web browsing as well as backing up my iPad, iPhone, and iPod.

Anyway, I want an iMac for the large screen and the powerhouse processor as well as the large amount of storage space so I can just "throw" all of my photos and videos on it whenever I want and not worry about space.
Right now, I have a 2010 MacBook Pro 13" (250GB) and a 2012 MacBook Air (128GB SSD) and I am running out of space.
I do own external hard drives but I don't like having to carry them around and using up my USB ports.

The 2 iMacs that I am considering are:

The late 2012 27", 3.2 i5, 8GB RAM, 1TB FusionDrive, 675MX 1GB graphics for $2124 (With $100 back to school promotion)

or

Refurb Late 2012 27", 3.4 i7, 8GB RAM, 1TB FusionDrive, 680MX 2GB graphics for $2199 (not eligible for back to school promotion)

I have never bought a refurbished model before and I wanted to know other people's experiences with Apple's Refurb department.

Also, If you have another recommendation for my needs let me know!
 
DUDEMANGUY5 said:
I have never bought a refurbished model before and I wanted to know other people's experiences with Apple's Refurb department.
Click to expand...
Apple refurbished products are considered by most to be a very good deal, as they're pretty much like buying a new Mac, except for the box.
Apple Certified Refurbished Products are pre-owned Apple products that undergo Apple's stringent refurbishment process prior to being offered for sale. While only some units are returned due to technical issues, all units undergo Apple's stringent quality refurbishment process.
Click to expand...
Click the link in that quote for more details on the refurbishment process.
  • Apple Certified Refurbished Products are available online from the Apple Refurb Store and are not sold in local Apple stores
  • Educational discounts do not apply to refurb products.
  • Refurb products come with the same warranty as new products, and qualify for AppleCare
  • Refurb products have a changed serial number that identifies them as refurbished
  • Refurb products come with whatever OS version and software they originally shipped with as new
  • Refurb products come with the same items in the box as new products, only the box is a plain one, not the new box.
  • A refurb product could have some cosmetic signs of prior use, but rarely do
  • A refurb Mac may have some cycles on the battery, but not a significant enough amount to affect usable life
  • The refurb store inventory changes frequently, sometimes several times a day, and doesn't have any direct relation to upcoming product releases. What's available in the refurb store is determined by what has been returned to Apple.
  • If you're looking for a particular item, refurb.me can alert you when it becomes available.
 
I personally have not had a refurb mac from Apple, but I have gotten refurb ipads, and it was basically like new. From what i hear the macs are the same. So there should be no problem going the refurb route. Out of the two, I would say go with the refurb. You wont get an itunes gift card, but you will have a better computer for the long haul.
 
Yep, another vote for the Refurb here. Thats a great deal for the spec and will last you a good 5 years.
 
Another vote for the refurb.

.2 ghz increase and i7 processor instead of i5
1gb additional graphics memory

For $75 is a deal, especially for items that you cannot upgrade yourself later.
 
I've bought refurbs and were always impressed with the value.

I'm waiting for the Haswell iMac refresh (for 802.11ac and PCIe SSD) so that will be the first non-refurb Mac I have bought in years.
 
Does anybody know the read/write speeds of the 7200rpm hard drives as well?
That's another viable option to save money
 
DUDEMANGUY5 said:
Does anybody know the read/write speeds of the 7200rpm hard drives as well?
That's another viable option to save money
Click to expand...

Once you go SSD, you'll never go back. Spinners just can't even compete.

I paid $2420 (+tax) for that refurb 680MX model new, except with i5 instead of i7. It's a really good deal.

Note that nothing you're doing will really take advantage of the 680MX yet. I don't think SimCity will stress it either. But it's good to have around at that price.
 
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