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buying first mac tomorrow, few questions

M

mike789

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 2, 2008
30
0
Hi, I'm buying my first mac tomorrow. I have a couple questions before I make the final purchase. This is what I plan on getting:

iMac 20''
2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x2GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory

I'm also getting final cut pro studio (im a film major). Will this configuration run it well? I can't afford much more.

Also, is there any reason to wait? I've heard so many rumors of things "maybe" coming out june 9.

I'm waiting until tomorrow so I can get the free ipod and printer. there are so many printers to choose from. I did some research and found the canon ip4500 to be the best? anyone have that one? what do you guys suggest.

sorry so many questions- just want to make sure i get the "great apple experience" everyone talks about

thanks
 
Glad to help out:

1) Final Cut will work well on that, better on a Mac Pro, but it will still run well on the iMac you are looking for.

2) I highly doubt an iMac update June 9th - the only Mac possibly to get updated then will be the MacBook, but even that I have some doubts. Plus, the iMac specs were updated only a few weeks ago - new as it is.

3) With Printers, not I don't have this one, but, every printer is different from every different person's point of view - that meaning if you are looking for an A3 full colour Laser printer, your not gunna be happy with a £60 / $100 black and white inkjet that only does A4. Keep looking around, decide on a printer that does what you want to do for your needs.

Hope this helps for you man,

Regards, Moggy.


Edit: As said in post #2, You can get much better deals for extra RAM elsewhere from Apple if money is on your mind. For the US go to http://www.newegg.com/ and here in the UK i go to play.com
 
For what you're going to do I'd say 4GB RAM is excessive. 2GB should be more than enough.
 
As Sky Blue just stated save yourself aload of dosh and buy the RAM from somewhere like crucial ,oh and the iMacs have only just been updated so to mirror what samarium just said there's bob hope of them getting updated this month

RAM is dirt cheap these days so no matter if you need it or not id Max it out anyways
 
I keep seeing people talking about buying RAM from a third party. As a current PC user, soon to be first time Mac owner, is it as easy to install RAM on your own in an iMac as in a PC tower?
 
The price Apple charges for memory has come down since the "700 bucks for adding 4g?" era. It's only 200 bucko's to upgrade to the 4g option.

It's still cheaper to buy elsewhere as you can shop for the best deal. Straight from Crucial 4g is only 100 bucks.

Use that extra 100 to get yerself something nice.
 
kkat69 said:
The price Apple charges for memory has come down since the "700 bucks for adding 4g?" era. It's only 200 bucko's to upgrade to the 4g option.

It's still cheaper to buy elsewhere as you can shop for the best deal. Straight from Crucial 4g is only 100 bucks.

Use that extra 100 to get yerself something nice.
Click to expand...

How many RAM slots does the newest iMac have?

Kind of frustrating that if you want the 24" you only have the option of 2 or 4, considering they're using 2x1GB.

And also, does opening the system violate the warranty as is typical with most PCs?
 
Nevermind.. I probably should've taken a better look at that link, since you apparently never open the system up.

And it looks like there's only two slots.

I'm smart. :)
 
Yes it'll run Final Cut Pro Studio fine.

I will wait a week.

Install RAM yourself. Max out your ram if you are doing video work or other type of work with large files, whoever says otherwise have no clue.
 
Bob Loblaw said:
Nevermind.. I probably should've taken a better look at that link, since you apparently never open the system up.

And it looks like there's only two slots.

I'm smart. :)
Click to expand...

Yah, 2 slots, and they are accessible externally. Very easy to do, also very easy to mess up. Important part of replacing the ram is ensure it's CLICKED IN! It may appear your over forcing the ram chips but your not. Until you hear the click they probably aren't properly seated.

Good luck to you!
 
you will be more than fine

even some indy movies did that on an imac

but as any student, you will love your mac and wonder why anybody ever chose a pc if they paid the same price you did
 
If your in the States, newegg is a cheap place for your memory. You want DDR2 SODIMM PC6400 800Mhz. This does not void the warranty, just pop off the door and put it in (you may have to give an extra hard tug on the flap for the old RAM to pop out).

Also if you can stretch to it, its really worth it to get the 24". If you had gotten the 20" with 500gb and 4gb RAM, thats only a few dollars less than the stock 24". So you could buy the stock 24" and buy some more RAM and a firewire external drive further down the line if you find you need it. As well as a better higher quality screen you also get a faster processor. Its really worth it.
 
nick9191 said:
If your in the States, newegg is a cheap place for your memory. You want DDR2 SODIMM PC6400 800Mhz. This does not void the warranty, just pop off the door and put it in (you may have to give an extra hard tug on the flap for the old RAM to pop out).

Also if you can stretch to it, its really worth it to get the 24". If you had gotten the 20" with 500gb and 4gb RAM, thats only a few dollars less than the stock 24". So you could buy the stock 24" and buy some more RAM and a firewire external drive further down the line if you find you need it. As well as a better higher quality screen you also get a faster processor. Its really worth it.
Click to expand...

I'm currently battling myself on whether to get the 20" or 24". I had been set on the 24", but now I'm having second thoughts.
 
24"

Buy the 24 inch - the screen is better, and YES, get the max RAM. I just bought some at Newegg for my MacBook Pro less than $90.00 - consider getting a notebook rather than the iMac, for portability, and you can always hook it up to a larger monitor for the video editing. I have a 28 inch monitor from Viewsonic that is about $600 - it is great.
 
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