Deciding between iMac or ACD.. some insight please :)

[gdeputy]

Alright, here lies my situation.

I have a Macbook air 13", brand new, I absolutely adore it. It's a great great machine.

Having this mac makes me want a beautiful (god are they beautiful) make desktop, but I have a relatively new desktop PC that is in all honestly more powerful than the iMacs, and being a PC is very upgrade friendly.

Herein lies my dilemma. I LOVE the iMac for it's display, having OSX is a bonus, but I don't know how much I would benefit from the updates specs because I would want to play a game or two on it, and the iMac is (and lets be honest here) bottlenecked at the GPU, and not upgrade friendly.

SO, here are my options I've mapped out.

Spend 1699 + tax and buy a 27" iMac. I'll have OSX on a larger screen, and the ability to use it as a monitor for my MBA (current Graphics on PC doesn't have mini display port, only DVI and VGA)

OR, spend 979 + tax on a 27" ACD and be able to use my MBA and my PC on it (would become my PC native monitor.)

Regardless, my current PC monitor is 3 years old and I'm ready to upgrade that. If I buy the monitor alone, I would be able to buy an additional 8GB's ram, as well as a Radeon 6870 Graphics card, which has Mini Display Port, allowing me to run the ACD and being a HUGE improvement over any card apple is currently offering (and almost guarenteed will be offering in the next refresh) all while being under 1350 total.

That would bring my PC to 3.8ghz Dual Core, 12GB ddr3-1333, Radeon 6870 1GB ddr5, and of course the beautiful ACD.

So, which option do you guys think?

I do love the idea of an iMac, but don't know

So basically, it's 1699 for an iMac 27", or around 1350 for 27" ACD and new components for my PC. Either way the MBA would work.

Sorry if that was confusing, it was to me.

 

[Richard1028]

because I would want to play a game or two on it, and the iMac is (and lets be honest here) bottlenecked at the GPU, and not upgrade friendly.

Seriously? An iMac vs. a PC for gaming? It's a no-brainer.

Don't get too bogged down on your "feelings" for the nuts and bolts which is the iMac. Choose what's best for the task at hand.

You're still left with your MBP to swoon over for other things.

 

[jcia]

3rd party Monitor?

I would definitely not go with the iMac route. If you want to play games you are better off staying with your current PC. As already said, you already have your MBA for your OS X needs.

On the ACD I have no input, as I've never owned one. However I would buy a monitor from another manufacturer (cheaper and great quality), the way I see it is, I buy macs because of OS X rather than its looks (but it also helps that they look good). Maybe some other members can tell you how good are ACDs in comparison with other brands.

 

[gdeputy]

I would definitely not go with the iMac route. If you want to play games you are better off staying with your current PC. As already said, you already have your MBA for your OS X needs.

On the ACD I have no input, as I've never owned one. However I would buy a monitor from another manufacturer (cheaper and great quality), the way I see it is, I buy macs because of OS X rather than its looks (but it also helps that they look good). Maybe some other members can tell you how good are ACDs in comparison with other brands.

Ultimately, there are no real other 27" monitors that are IPS that support the resolution the ACD is capable of that are much cheaper than 979. If there are i'm open to them, but i'm also willing to spend a small premium for the looks of the ACD, it's night and day ahead of any IPS display I've seen as far as aesthetics are concerned, and all the 27" IPS's I've seen are VERY similarly priced to the ACD.

Also, another problem is, I want it to be compatible with my MBA, which means I'll need minidisplay port.

 

[FuNGi]

Sounds like you've got a good dedicated gaming machine - stick with it and skip over the iMac idea. I too have the same 13" Air in your sig and a 24" ACD that I l-o-v-e. I think you will to and from what I read of your note, I think you've already settled on it.

 

[gdeputy]

Well,

I've pretty much decided that I like the idea of keeping my gaming rig and picking up an ACD. I think It's going to give me a best of both world's vibe going on, and I'll still have the beautiful ACD running.

 

[viizi]

Well,

I've pretty much decided that I like the idea of keeping my gaming rig and picking up an ACD. I think It's going to give me a best of both world's vibe going on, and I'll still have the beautiful ACD running.

I am slightly int he same boat. I will never go back to PC because I love OS X too much. I have a Mac Pro 08 and I am deciding should i update to the next imac27" or get the 27" ACD. I am leaning toward the next iMac though

 

[gdeputy]

I am slightly int he same boat. I will never go back to PC because I love OS X too much. I have a Mac Pro 08 and I am deciding should i update to the next imac27" or get the 27" ACD. I am leaning toward the next iMac though

I love OSX also, but I don't think windows is a bad OS by any stretch of the imagination. They both have their merits and to pick one sole side is IMO the real loser in this battle, because they both are wonderful for certain tasks.

I am just wondering if the ACD would allow the mic and camera to function if hooked up to a 6870 radeon.