Deal or No Deal... or PC?

[Ach111es]

I have a friend that is selling their iMac 21.5 3.2 i3 (the 2010 version) for $600

and I found an iMac 27" 2.8 i7 for 1000, with

I need a new desktop and screen for 1000 or less and I want it to be able to withstand at least 5-6 years. My current is a 1.4 ghz celeron with 80gb HD and 16inch box monitor, which has lasted 10 years and was 800 back in the day.

Would I be better off customizing a PC and picking up any old LCD with a DVI/VGA hook up? Or is the iMac too good a deal to pass up?

I will be storing tons of files (hate externals), watching HD video, picture editing, converting some video and different types of files (.rar's and such), emails, word processing (making pamphlets, flyers) and editing video.

currently all of this goes at a snails pace so it is a hassle and I find myself going to my friends house to use his quad core hp a lot.

thanks to all for your help in advance!

 

[Matthew Yohe]

Those are really great deals, but I would be certain to get AppleCare with it. But that will only secure you for about 3 years. After that it could possibly fail. Who knows what will happen with computers in 5 years anyway. I mean 5 years ago, Apple was almost ready to sell their first Intel computers, and those prices have changed drastically.

 

[Ach111es]

thanks matt for the quick reply, i will make sure to get apple care if I do get them. its funny that my little xp machine hasn't crashed for 10 years...and its survived countless viruses and trojans.

 

[lythium]

Based on your being able to withstand even owning that dinosaur for so long(jk)... Youll get at least 5 years out of either of the mac deals(nk).

 

[biggd]

Storage won't be an issue on both
Get the bigger screen as an investment in the future

 

[vincenz]

Definitely get the bigger screen. Especially if you want it to last as long as your previous computer. Kudos to you for that btw!