buying a new mac

[satellite]

i'd like some advice on purchasing my next mac.

i am looking to upgrade my 400 mhz g3 with a newer model. i paid $4500 for my g3 three years ago this June, right before the release of the G4 (talk about not paying attention!). i don't want that to happen again.

i have been considering the imac this time around, because it has so much of what i will need at a not so expensive cost. The majority of my time is spent with email, surfing, burning cds, creating web pages, or playing games. I spend a lot of time with my computer. I love it. I play with it. I ocassionally feed it (generally coke, via the keyboard).

I noticed a lot of great deals right now (presumably because they will be realeasing new, faster models at MWNY). My question is, considering my use, should I wait until July (+ a few months to ship) or take advantage of the discounts now? My g3 has been a dream for the last three years and I really have no excuse for buying a new computer except that (1) my hd is too small (2) gaming tends be pretty slow (3) I'd really like to take advantage of the built in cd burners of newer models. On the down side, I am not looking forward to the smaller imac monitor.

One more thing while I am here, is the price jump between the 700 & 800 mhz imacs worth the 100mhz?

thank you,
satellite

 

[edesignuk]

Personally I would advise everyone to stop buying any apple kit until after MWNY, it isn't far away now, so u may as well wait and see what they release.

 

[iGav]

Originally posted by verbose101
Personally I would advise everyone to stop buying any apple kit until after MWNY, it isn't far away now, so u may as well wait and see what they release.

I agree..... you never quite know what Apple will be releasing...... so if new models do come out... you're likely to get a solid deal on some of the older models....... and at the very least be able to buy the new and improved models for the same price as the outgoing ones......

Just a thought.....

 

[Macmaniac]

Definantly wait! I made the huge mistake of buying a G3 iMac in december and a month later the new G4 iMac came out and there were big price drops on my model! MWNY is so close I would wait, Apple can be very unpredictable!

 

[AlphaTech]

Seems to be the trend to recommend waiting until after MWNY, especially with it being so close. When you do purchase a system, get the fastest you can.

If you have an external monitor, and you can use it for the new system, get a tower. Since you made the comment about your current drive being small, the tower allows you to add upp to three more hard drives inside it. Granted, you can only add one more off the provided ribbon, but ATA cards are rather cheap (as are the hard drives). It's also a snap to upgrade the video card later when you want to (advantage of Apple using AGP for video) or add a second one via one of the four PCI slots.

You will also get a faster system for less money if you go with a tower then the iMac (G4). The mid-line G4 is [currently] a 800MHz processor, which runs about $1600. That is faster, and cheaper then the 800MHz iMac. It also has more expansion and upgradability then the iMac.

[edit] The 933MHz tower is currently $2200, I had some number inversion going on earlier. The 800MHz tower would still be better then going for the 800MHz iMac since you get a lot more expansion for the money. I would even say to go with the 933MHz tower right after MWNY when everyone starts to clear out their stock to make room for the new models. [/edit]

 

[Geert]

Originally posted by AlphaTech
Seems to be the trend to recommend waiting until after MWNY, especially with it being so close. When you do purchase a system, get the fastest you can.

If you have an external monitor, and you can use it for the new system, get a tower. Since you made the comment about your current drive being small, the tower allows you to add upp to three more hard drives inside it. Granted, you can only add one more off the provided ribbon, but ATA cards are rather cheap (as are the hard drives). It's also a snap to upgrade the video card later when you want to (advantage of Apple using AGP for video) or add a second one via one of the four PCI slots.

You will also get a faster system for less money if you go with a tower then the iMac (G4). The mid-line G4 is [currently] a 800MHz processor, which runs about $1600. That is faster, and cheaper then the 800MHz iMac. It also has more expansion and upgradability then the iMac.

[edit] The 933MHz tower is currently $2200, I had some number inversion going on earlier. The 800MHz tower would still be better then going for the 800MHz iMac since you get a lot more expansion for the money. I would even say to go with the 933MHz tower right after MWNY when everyone starts to clear out their stock to make room for the new models. [/edit]

I agree alpha,
a tower is best buy.
iMac is really nice, but indeed no expansion also to later upgrades of video cards and such.
And I would definitely get a dual this time.
dual rules!!!

 

[coolocity]

The new iMacs are really nice, and I wouldn't really worry about the whole upgrade thing, as long as you get it after MWNY. Besides, those mintors are great!

 

[Geert]

The systembus of the new iMac is also slower than that of the PM.
I saw a test between a 800 Mhz iMac, with 733 PM, and the PM was faster on all grounds. from burning dvd, to framerates in a game.

 

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by Geert
The systembus of the new iMac is also slower than that of the PM.
I saw a test between a 800 Mhz iMac, with 733 PM, and the PM was faster on all grounds. from burning dvd, to framerates in a game.

Just like how the 800MHz TiBook compares to other models, as shown below...

More info can be found here.