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Buying a Used iMac

M

meliss1026

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 11, 2009
5
0
17 inch iMac.
OS X is 10.5.6
1.83 gHz intel core 2 duo
2 GB ram (max amt allowed)
Plus a superdrive.
The guy selling it is claiming its in Mint Condition but he is the second owner.
He bought it in 2007..I'm assuming its either from 05 or 06.

Worth it for $550? Plus he is putting CS4 on there. what do you guys think?
 
CS4 is $600 alone...

I have the model above that one (2Ghz, 3GB RAM etc etc), and it runs just fine, I did alot of FCP and PS work on it and it drummed along ok, and that was back when it only had 1GB RAM!
 
Thanks for your help, just one question. by "okay" do you mean it was slow or anything? I'm buying it to replace my older desktop computer that I use just for PS. If I got the iMac I would use it for the Cs4, itunes, and some light browsing, ichat, etc etc because I have a day-to-day laptop that is a little more convient.

Do you think that would be fine for it? I posted the same thread on another site and one of the points brought up to me was that it wasnt worth purchasing for the price because of the fact that the ram was maxed at 2 gb and that in a year or two its going to out-of-date
 
Well would you be updating PS at every release? Would you be updating to the latest version of Mac OSX at every release? Cause then yes, in about 3 or 4 years it would be out of date.

What's the specs of your old machine?

Also what graphics card does the iMac have?
 
I have no idea about the graphics card, but my old desktop is from emachines and has a 1.8 processor and 256 MB memory. Its from '05 i believe.

I mean I don't think I would be updating it at every release, I don't really keep up with that (I'm normally a PC user..windows update does its thing whenever and I never have to keep tabs on it) and as far as cs4 and ps go..I probably wouldn't update..I love doing graphic design..but I'm not so serious about it, its kind of a side hobby for me.
 
flopticalcube said:
If its a 1.83C2D then it must be a GMA950.
Click to expand...

Oh jesus, OP don't touch that, it'll be horrible for PS, save up a lil bit more and buy a new Mac Mini, it'll be far faster, and up to 4GB RAM, future proof for quite some time.

Hmmmm after reading your post meliss1026, it might be worth it after all, if it's just a side hobby, it'll definitely be far far faster than your old machine!! I guess as it comes with CS4 it's a pretty slick deal, it's just not the most ideal machine, but as a side hobby I guess you could get away with it :)
 
Schtumple said:
Oh jesus, OP don't touch that, it'll be horrible for PS, save up a lil bit more and buy a new Mac Mini, it'll be far faster, and up to 4GB RAM, future proof for quite some time
Click to expand...
+1.

If you like the 17" iMac design, then a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo model will be able to have 3GB of RAM and comes with a MUCH better graphics card (ATI X1600). That will do you a treat for several more years. Looks like he's selling you CS4 (if indeed its a genuine copy) and throwing in the iMac to sweeten the deal.
 
I mean to my understanding...he has cs4 and is just loading it on the laptop for me just to sweeten the deal. I mean basically what i normally do for my "graphic design hobby"..I design business cards, postcards/flyers, and stuff for fun for my own personal entertainment (ie. blends, website headers, etc etc) I mean I do want to get into web design a bit but just to design my own (for my portfolio), my works website (hair salon), and probably just a blog or something.

Based on the fact that I had old comp for about 4 years now and the only reason i want to replace it is the fact i want a more updated version of ps that i know it couldn't handle. (Its slowing down a lot even though I restored factory settings etc etc..damn windows)

Do you guys think I should still get it? I really appriciate your help =)
 
flopticalcube said:
+1.

If you like the 17" iMac design, then a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo model will be able to have 3GB of RAM and comes with a MUCH better graphics card (ATI X1600). That will do you a treat for several more years. Looks like he's selling you CS4 (if indeed its a genuine copy) and throwing in the iMac to sweeten the deal.
Click to expand...

That's the model that's sitting behind the MBP that I'm typing on, I've stolen the wireless keyboard and mouse for ease of use, shhhh don't tell it :p

meliss1026 to give you an idea of what you can achieve, me and my mate did this using my iMac, it got us triple distinctions in our course. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5bjGj0U5v4

WOW, didn't realise the Mac Minis were $599...

Ok, to sumarise, the Mac Mini will be miles faster, but the iMac comes with CS4, your choice...
 
meliss1026 said:
I mean to my understanding...he has cs4 and is just loading it on the laptop for me just to sweeten the deal. I mean basically what i normally do for my "graphic design hobby"..I design business cards, postcards/flyers, and stuff for fun for my own personal entertainment (ie. blends, website headers, etc etc) I mean I do want to get into web design a bit but just to design my own (for my portfolio), my works website (hair salon), and probably just a blog or something.

Based on the fact that I had old comp for about 4 years now and the only reason i want to replace it is the fact i want a more updated version of ps that i know it couldn't handle. (Its slowing down a lot even though I restored factory settings etc etc..damn windows)

Do you guys think I should still get it? I really appriciate your help =)
Click to expand...

It should be able to handle most of the CS4 features bar a few that would require a better graphics card. You could try searching the forums for CS4 and GMA950 to see if others have had +'ve or -'ve expriences.
 
flopticalcube said:
It should be able to handle most of the CS4 features bar a few that would require a better graphics card. You could try searching the forums for CS4 and GMA950 to see if others have had +'ve or -'ve expriences.
Click to expand...

Just did that, looks like it runs CS4 just fine, I say pull the trigger, it'll be a great little machine for a good few years to go, it's a bargain with CS4, and although the Mac Mini is alot faster for only $59 more, it doesn't come with CS4, which would push the total price up to $1199 and it'll be a down sight quicker than your old PC!
 
Thank you guys so much. i think i'm going to go ahead and purchase it. I really appriciate the input. I'm just crossing my fingers now that the machine really is in mint condition like the guy said.

Schtumple..video was cute thank you for sharing =)
 
:p it's quite all right, hope you enjoy it!

If you have any problems/queries, theirs loads of guides on this site, and on apples support site, and if you do a search, chances are whatever questions you have will have been answered before.
 
brop52 said:
You max out at 3.3GB of RAM and can install 2X2GB. You have a Rev B Intel iMac. Buy it for
image-3160356-10521304
$36.49 from Newegg and get $5 and 2% cash back.
Click to expand...
Not sure if the edu model (GMA950) can take more than 2GB.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/faq_cd/imac-intel-how-to-upgrade-memory.html

The iMac "Core Duo" 1.83 17-Inch (IG) and iMac "Core 2 Duo" 1.83 17-Inch (IG) -- the "iMac (Mid 2006)" and "iMac (17-Inch Late 2006 CD)", respectively -- can be upgraded to "2 GB total (a 1 GB SO-DIMM in each of the two slots)". However, as these models use slower integrated graphics (IG) that "borrow" system memory, it is critical that you install two modules of equal capacity for optimum performance.
Click to expand...
 
OK, its probably too late for this advice, but I'll shoot anyway. :) This comes from the owner/user of TWO white iMacs.

My iMac at work (school) is the 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo education model, with the GMA950. It has the stock 1GB of RAM, also, running a fully up-to-date copy of Leopard. It is usable, though not fast. Actually, it times it gets DOG slow.

My home iMac is the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo with the X1600. It has 3GB of RAM, also running Leopard. It runs like a dream. I have had absolutely no problems with it AT ALL with anything I throw at it. Granted, its not as fast as a new system, but it is equal to my wife's white Macbook (just bought it in October, but its the previous gen. with the X3100 graphics and 2.1GHz C2D and 4GB RAM) in most everything - some things are faster on the iMac, some on the Macbook.

Now, here's the kicker - I got my home iMac for $499 from eBay. Give it a look, because if that one you're looking at has the GMA950 you'll be sorely disappointed - that video card is the whole reason I sold my old Mini to get this iMac, and boy am I glad that I did. However (playing devil's advocate here) the GMA950 machines are not useless, just much slower at anything graphically intensive. :)
 
He's loading cs4 on it, but not including the disks. I'd buy a external drive and make a backup of it. Or clone the drive to another drive that would work in your machine if something happens...it does have a three or four year old hard drive in it.

As for the cs4, I'd try to make sure you launch the program before you buy it and make sure the serial number is ok. He may have a valid copy of the suite, or it may be pirated. I'm not sure if cs4 has a copy protection scheme to keep someone from loading it upon three or four different systems. If it does, you may find your copy is no better than one downloaded from a torrent site.
 
js81 said:
Now, here's the kicker - I got my home iMac for $499 from eBay. Give it a look, because if that one you're looking at has the GMA950 you'll be sorely disappointed - that video card is the whole reason I sold my old Mini to get this iMac, and boy am I glad that I did. However (playing devil's advocate here) the GMA950 machines are not useless, just much slower at anything graphically intensive. :)
Click to expand...

PS generally doesn't require a fast GPU, just a fast CPU, so they'll be fine.
 
clyde2801 said:
He's loading cs4 on it, but not including the disks. I'd buy a external drive and make a backup of it. Or clone the drive to another drive that would work in your machine if something happens...it does have a three or four year old hard drive in it.

As for the cs4, I'd try to make sure you launch the program before you buy it and make sure the serial number is ok. He may have a valid copy of the suite, or it may be pirated. I'm not sure if cs4 has a copy protection scheme to keep someone from loading it upon three or four different systems. If it does, you may find your copy is no better than one downloaded from a torrent site.
Click to expand...

Good advice. I thought it included the disks. PS is a serious pain if you don't have a good copy and ever have to reinstall it.
 
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