Buy or Wait?

[NannyJordyn]

Hello!

So, I'm new around here, but I've been stalking the forum (yes, stalking) for the past few days, searching for any information on iMacs.

Here's my situation. Recently, my external hard drive failed, and I lost all of my iTunes files. I was able to get them back, but now they're waiting to be downloaded. My laptop itself doesn't have the storage capacity to hold my iTunes library, and I no longer trust external hard drives, as this is the second one to fail me after only a few short months. So, I have nowhere to keep these files right now.

My plan is to purchase an iMac. Ideally, I'd like to get one as soon as possible, however, I've read in here the most people are reccommending waiting until the refresh, or whatever.

What do you all suggest?

This is what I'd be getting if I got one right now:

* 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
* 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
* 2TB Serial ATA Drive
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM

Do you think it's worth waiting for the refresh? I'll mostly be using the iMac for listening to music and watchin tv shows and movies, browsing the Internet, and possibly some photo editing/graphic design.
How do my configurations look for what I'm going to be using it for? I really don't understand half of it... As much as I've looked into it all, I have no clue what half of it means.

Same goes for the new "thunderbolt" or whatever it is. I hear it's good, and many people are saying WAIT, but I also see a bunch of people saying it's useless right now, and not really worth it at the moment.

Anyway, I'm completely torn as to whether I want to buy now or just wait... I've changed my mind about ten times in the past two days. So, I figured I'd come in here and ask for opinions based on my situation. I'm kind of lost without my iTunes files, and it worries me actually not having possession of them right now, but I usually get really frustrated when I buy a product only for them to release a new one a week or two later.

Thanks, and I look forward to reading your opinions!

 

[skiltrip]

Wait!

If the geekbench scores on the new MBP are any indication, the next iMac quads are going to be ridiculously fast.

I just got a 2010 i7. And I'm feeling some benchmark envy, but I'm staying strong. Haha.

Just wait if you can.

 

[Annerz]

You should wait! Not too long

 

[NannyJordyn]

Thanks for your opinion. Any idea on how long the wait will be? Would make this waiting thing so much easier if I at least knew how long I had to wait. Hahaha. But I get that no one really knows for sure... Just personal guesses based on other stuff.

 

[room271]

There isn't a right answer on this but if it helps...

I am waiting for the update. Yes the current iMac is fast enough etc etc. but if you are going to spend £1500-£2000 on a PC then you may as well wait a month or so and get a substantially faster CPU and Graphics card, Thunderbolt, and a bigger hard-drive. And possibly other surprise improvements too. And all these improvements could make your new PC last 6 months longer, or even more.

At least that is my thinking!

***edit*** Just saw you asking about when the update will happen. Wish I knew this too.***

 

[vincenz]

Definitely wait. The refresh should be here by the end of summer hopefully. Those new processors look blazing fast.

 

[NannyJordyn]

There isn't a right answer on this but if it helps...

I am waiting for the update. Yes the current iMac is fast enough etc etc. but if you are going to spend £1500-£2000 on a PC then you may as well wait a month or so and get a substantially faster CPU and Graphics card, Thunderbolt, and a bigger hard-drive. And possibly other surprise improvements too. And all these improvements could make your new PC last 6 months longer, or even more.

At least that is my thinking!

You had me at bigger hard drive. I'm already going for the 2TB, is there a chance they'll go larger than that?

See, the thing is that I have more than that value in files waiting for me to download through iTunes. Kind of why I'm so torn.

 

[NikFinn]

Just looking at your potential specs, and I'm not sure why you're spending so much money? Are you buying solely to future-proof your purchase? I'm sure you could easily get by with the base 21.5" iMac for simply browsing the web, listening to music, and watching tv shows/movies. Hell, I can get by just fine doing those things on my 2 year old MacBook Air...

 

[NannyJordyn]

Just looking at your potential specs, and I'm not sure why you're spending so much money? Are you buying solely to future-proof your purchase? I'm sure you could easily get by with the base 21.5" iMac for simply browsing the web, listening to music, and watching tv shows/movies. Hell, I can get by just fine doing those things on my 2 year old MacBook Air...

The base wouldn't work for me, as I have more than 500 GB in iTunes files. I'd rather have my files on an internal hard drive and backed up onto an external as opposed to an external backed up onto another external. I'm going with the 2 TB to leave room for my future purchases.

I was originally going to go with the 21.5", but I'll probably be using it as a tv in my room, to watch my iTunes movies and tv shows. Sure, the 21.5" would do fine for this, but I'd much rather watch on a 27".

As for the rest, well, the more I looked at the iMacs, and the more I read up on them, the more I wanted the best. Maybe it would have been best for me to have bought one right away, and not let myself think too much about it, but I'd rather spend big now and be happy with my purchase for many years, over spending less and a year from now wondering why I didn't go bigger.

 

[badmoth]

I vote "wait". I'm projecting though as I'm in the same situation (waiting). Question: can you download your data-recovered files more than once? If you're going to need an external HDD for back-ups anyway, why not get the external now and download your music to it? Then you'll have it while you wait for the new iMacs. Patience!

 

[mrsir2009]

Hang in there, its only a month or two away

 

[NikFinn]

The base wouldn't work for me, as I have more than 500 GB in iTunes files. I'd rather have my files on an internal hard drive and backed up onto an external as opposed to an external backed up onto another external. I'm going with the 2 TB to leave room for my future purchases.

I was originally going to go with the 21.5", but I'll probably be using it as a tv in my room, to watch my iTunes movies and tv shows. Sure, the 21.5" would do fine for this, but I'd much rather watch on a 27".

As for the rest, well, the more I looked at the iMacs, and the more I read up on them, the more I wanted the best. Maybe it would have been best for me to have bought one right away, and not let myself think too much about it, but I'd rather spend big now and be happy with my purchase for many years, over spending less and a year from now wondering why I didn't go bigger.

If you're going to use it as a TV, I can see why you want the 27". I'm sure the best is more appealing to you, because it is to me too. It just comes down to a question of what you need. For what you specified the uses for, I can pretty much guarantee the base 27" will easily handle movies, music and browsing now and for years to come. You seem to definitely want the best though, so I would wait if I were you.

 

[plumosa]

I know that you don't want to back up to 2 externals, but it will tide you over in the mean time til summer when new imacs will most likely come out.

There is no guarantee that the hard drive inside your computer or even a new imac won't also die, so its best to back up it anyways. This way you're only buying one extra hard drive than you should if you were going to get the imac tomorrow!

buy two of these:
500 gb hard drive 49.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Or two of these:
1 tb 79.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136782

and ONE of these: external enclosure 29.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817145133

OR
if you don't mind not having a case: A universal drive adapter for about the same price. This would make it easier to swap back and forth
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/U2NV2SPATA/

You don't need to have two external cases, you can just pop them back and forth, I do it all the time.

 

[nkd]

Man are you guys really that sure that we will have new imacs in a month or two. I am thinking we wont see anything before summer at the earliest with iphone announcement. Summer is usually when apple usually announces the new imacs. Plus intel having issues with their new sata controller is not a positive sign either. It might have made a summer launch if not earlier.