Anybody have experience with a 17" CD iMac?

[SkyBell]

Hello all. Recently, I've been looking at used Macs, just for fun. I don't plan to replace my eMac for a while, as it serves my needs perfectly fine for the time being. But I do recognize that it will need to be replaced eventually, and I figure the next time I upgrade, it should be at least to an Intel Mac. So, I've been "shopping", so to speak.

The 17" CD iMac has caught my eye recently. It seems to be going for reasonable prices (and should be going for even less when I'm ready) for decent specs. After looking at the other early Intel Macs out there, it seems like the perfect choice. (All-in-one, iSight, etc.)

However, I have a friend who had this model of iMac, and it was a complete nightmare for him. IIRC, it went through a few logic boards, HD failure and fan replacement. Eventually Apple just sent him a new 20" Alu iMac after so many repairs. I certainly don't want this happening to me. I figured it was just a lemon, as that happens sometimes. But it's been unusually hard for me to find decent reviews of people who have actually owned one of these for a few years. All I see are reviews from when it first came out, and that doesn't really give me a good idea of well these things work.

So, I'd like y'all to share your experiences with this machine, if you would kindly.

 

[flopticalcube]

Its Rev A . FWIW, I think the C2D 17" is better value. Rev B. More RAM (3 vs 2GB max). 802.11n vs g. Faster CPU. Never had a single problem with mine.

 

[iBookG4user]

I've had a 17" Core Duo iMac since they came out in 2006 and it has never given me any trouble at all. I've upgraded the RAM to 2GB and the hard drive to 500GB (was a bit more work than it should've been, but doable nonetheless) and the Mac still works as fast as it should. I've never had to take it in to the Genius Bar once in the 4 years that I've had it . (In contrast I've had to take every other recent Mac that I've owned to the Genius Bar at least once, save for an iBook G4. The iMac is the most reliable computer I've had in the past few years.)