Considering a prev gen 21.5" - Will this work?

[xheathen]

Hi all,

Not too long ago I ended up just upgrading my Windows box a new Sandy Bridge platform, and honestly I'm having buyers remorse like crazy. I was planning on trying to get a mac mini and the update really is just dragging on. So I pulled the trigger on an upgraded Windows machine and really just regret it.

I'm back to trying to switch from Windows to Mac. To save some money I was considering going with a refurb 21.5" previous generation i3.

I'm a freelance designer that does a lot of print graphics and web development stuff, so I'll be using Coda + Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign. Add in browsers, iTunes and other lighter programs and the occasional game and that sums up my computer usage.

Can that iMac handle it? Or am I going to be dying for some more speed? Or maybe I should wait for the current generation iMac to come up as a refurb? Or maybe try and find one on ebay w/ applecare? I'm just trying to be very budget conscious because I don't have a ton to spend, and I have to buy new software with it as well (Upgrade to CS5 from my current CS4 just to use it).

Any ideas are super helpful

 

[iSayuSay]

Why the regret? Aint your pc use a quite up-to-date hardware? Is it because of windows or what? Well i'd say go with base 21.5" iMac 2011. It's a real powerhouse on a reasonable price. Performance difference between stock iMacs is quite small, unless u upgrade to i7, all i5 used on current iMac is quite similar.

 

[alust2013]

Yes, a previous gen i3 would handle that fine.

 

[aniketroxx]

It can easily handle that stuff Chill

 

[xheathen]

Why the regret? Aint your pc use a quite up-to-date hardware? Is it because of windows or what? Well i'd say go with base 21.5" iMac 2011. It's a real powerhouse on a reasonable price. Performance difference between stock iMacs is quite small, unless u upgrade to i7, all i5 used on current iMac is quite similar.

It's a lot of little things. It was the 4 hours of fiddling with the drivers to get my monitor to work, only to find out the HDMI cable for some reason conflicts with the new Intel drivers. So I had to use the DVI cable, but wasted half the day.

Randomly I'll come back to my desk and it'll have restarted and I can't seem to find the problem as it works flawlessly the rest of the time.

Getting a new computer and switching out things like iTunes is a HUGE pain in the ass.

The list kind of goes on for a ton of small things that are just slightly annoying.

I don't mind windows so much as a whole - I think Win7 was such a vast update that they definitely have a competing set of functionality. But I kind of like the way apple functions a little better as an OS. What I specifically dig is the program management between spaces and expose. I find I can manage far more effectively with that combination.

My wife has a mac mini, and every single gadget in our house is apple. I just prefer to work on her system in general. Obviously I have some qualms as no OS is perfect, but between the small headaches and just having a generally more integrated feeling with all our other platforms, I just regret keeping my machine the only Windows machine in the house.

 

[xheathen]

Good to hear that it can probably handle that. I was thinking about just getting into it as long as I can run my business until maybe a year or two down the road save up enough to just go all out and get a more mid-range with a large monitor.

I've got a 24" right now, but it's not IPS and I've had issues recently where I'm just not seeing the correct colors (the prints look a little too different for my taste). So I had planned on using my 24" as a 2nd monitor, but using the 21.5" IPS panel to make sure I'm seeing the colors I think I'm seeing.

I was in the middle of shopping for an IPS panel for this reason and just stopped myself thinking I needed to just switch over if I'm planning to in the future AND looking to drop another several hundred on a new IPS panel. Possibly save up a little more and try to get the i3 27" from last year. I still have some saving to do though...

 

[caughtintheweb]

Why dont you buy the previous generation i7 2.93 Ghz? Its on the refurb store for 1539. I think it will handle all your needs for years to come. Its a steal of a deal if you dont mind not having thunderbolt ports.

I got that model couple of weeks back and my usage is very similar to yours. I primarily use it to edit and touch up pictures in my CS5 and its so damn fast in the i7.