Help. iMAC or HP Computer?(long)

[mdutch]

lol. okay i know this is a Mac forum and most likely everyone will say get a MAC over anything else, but let me tell you my situation.

My father works a lot...he uses his computer a great deal. he's getting his second masters in May and he's the pastor of a church. So besides e-mail he uses a lot of Microsoft Word. his computer is a really old HP and slow so i'd figured it would be nice to get him a brand new computer for Christmas. He's had his computer since he was the pastor of his old church and just since we've left there it's been almost 5 years. So it's older than that. I think it would be a nice surprise, everytime we're in sam's club I see him dreaming over in the computer section and saying "this is nice" oh look at this "this is nice". lol. Now my father is in his mid to late 50's and he's never used an apple computer before. He's never really looked into apple for a computer for himself...maybe because of the unknown, he thinks they're too expensive, or what i dunno. The only time he's looked into apple was to customize a mac pro (just for fun) which came out equalling the price of a car. his dream computer. lol. I know you can install windows on a MAC. so that's good (for him).

I don't know an extreme amount about computers so could you help me decide on which one to get him?

This is the one he saw in Sam's Club that he liked: HP Intel® Viiv™ Desktop 2.4GHz, 500GB HD, 22" LCD CLICK HERE It's $1,399.58 after tax it would be like $1,511

the overview:
# Intel® Viiv Processor Technology with an Intel® Core Quad Processor Q6600
# Genuine Windows® Vista Home Premium
# Maximize PC performance with 3072MB of memory
# HP W2207 22" widescreen LCD flat panel monitor
# 500GB hard drive stores 240 hours of recorded TV
# SuperMulti DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology
# Graphics Card + with support for Microsoft® DirectX® 10
# Go wireless with 802.11 b/g
# Wireless HP keyboard and mouse
# NTSC TV tuner and over-the-air ATSC high-definition television tuner with remote control and infrared receiver
# Built-in drive bays for an optional HP Personal Media Drive or HP Pocket Media Drive
# Front-panel 15-in-1 memory card reader

you can click on the link to look at the specifications.

Or The iMAC. The 20-inch 2.4GHz w/ upgrade to a 500GB hard drive. That would be $1,503.00 for me w/ military discount.

I was thinking about taking him to an apple store for the purpose of me looking at the macbooks (hes buying me one in January, because thats as soon as he can afford it). so that would give him a chance to actually look at the apple computers and I can see his reactions to them. He's an older man, old habits die hard, he may just prefer the high-end PC. who knows.

what do you think?

 

[I'm a Mac]

Get him the iMac. If he likes computers at all he'll love it. I don't think you would need to install windows, though. Just buy MS Word for mac. (The 2004 ed. , don't wait for 08 unless he uses 07.), set up Mac Mail for him, and just show him how stuff on a Mac works, it's not too much different from Windows. Worst case scenerio you'll buy him parallels or vmware and install windows, but I wouldn't recommend bootcamp because you'd have to restart the computer every time he needs to switch OSs.

 

[GSMiller]

Yea I'm gonna have to go with the iMac as well, not so much that I'm biased but you said a Pro was his "dream computer" and the iMac is in the same family (being an Apple). My main problem with HPs is their hard drives suck--majorly. I've owned two and both hard drives had failed and my sisters failed as well. I don't know what it is.

Just as a side note, I have a friend who got an MacBook last week and she's loving it. She had never used a Mac in her life and is one of the least technically inclined people I know and she's not having any problems. Plus it's awesome that I can troubleshoot any problems using screen share on iChat, that way I don't have to drive across town.

 

[big.birdd]

yep, old habits die hard. Dont try to start him on a new OS if your not sure about it. By all means take him down to the apple store and see what he thinks, but go with the safe bet and take the pc road.

 

[I'm a Mac]

Taking him to the store would be a good idea. Surprising him would not. If you have a mac maybe you could let him play with it but talking him to a lesson at the store would be ideal. But if he really doesn't like it get him he PC.

 

[kylep6190]

yeah I think it would be a really good idea to take him to an apple store and see what he likes better. i know you want to surprise him but when hes gonna be keeping it for 5+ years you should be positive it is something he will like. contrary to what people on here might say, not everyone likes macs.

 

[QCassidy352]

yep, old habits die hard. Dont try to start him on a new OS if your not sure about it. By all means take him down to the apple store and see what he thinks, but go with the safe bet and take the pc road.

I agree. Let him give you his impressions of Apple computers before you buy him one. It would suck to plan out this really nice (and generous) gift only to have him be frustrated by it. So see what he thinks of Macs when he gets a chance to use them hands-on, and go from there.

 

[cohibadad]

This should answer your question

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PADkpyVWAwQ

 

[mdutch]

thanks for the input everyone.

We visited the apple store. I now know he likes the iMac and i'm pretty sure i'm safe with getting him one for christmas. only thing I don't like about that is that it's almost twice as much as the HP and the HP has better specs. oh, well. There's a first time for everything, lets try something new.

shipping might be a problem though. do you think i can order through the nearest apple store so it can be delivered there and I can pick it up? I can't have it shipped to the house (surprise christmas present).

I need help in deciding which one to get though. He definitely wants a 24". So I already know that part. I have two different options though.

#1) 24" 2.8 intel extreme 1GB Memory 750GB Hard Drive. I would have to order this online...shipping may be a problem if I can't pick it up somewhere.

#2) 24" 2.8 intel extreme 2GB Memory 500GB Hard Drive. The Highest Base Model. Since this is a base model configuration I can just walk into my nearest apple store and buy one. The nearest store is about 2 hours away (or a little less).

the difference is basically the memory and hard drive are switched. The one with the less memory has a bigger hard drive and the one with more memory has a smaller hard drive. so which one is more important initially? I'm under the impression it's harder to upgrade the hard drive (if at all), so you should just get the hard drive you want now and can always upgrade your memory later as that's kinda easy. But a 500GB hard drive may be more than enough anyway. He'll have a lot of word processing documents (sermons, church bulletins, book writing, etc) but that's just about the jist of it. He's not into big games or storing photos and music, etc. the old HP he's using now is only a 40GB hard drive. when you look at it that way it seems like 500 is wayyy more than enough. Does the size of the hard drive have much to do with how well/fast the computer runs?

i'm thinking a 500GB hard drive is more than enough for him and by just going to the apple store to pick-up the highest base model i'll save any potential shipping worries.

whatcha think?

I'll be buying this during the first week of december. seeing as how payday is the 1st.

 

[imac/cheese]

thanks for the input everyone.

We visited the apple store. I now know he likes the iMac and i'm pretty sure i'm safe with getting him one for christmas. only thing I don't like about that is that it's almost twice as much as the HP and the HP has better specs. oh, well. There's a first time for everything, lets try something new.

shipping might be a problem though. do you think i can order through the nearest apple store so it can be delivered there and I can pick it up? I can't have it shipped to the house (surprise christmas present).

I need help in deciding which one to get though. He definitely wants a 24". So I already know that part. I have two different options though.

#1) 24" 2.8 intel extreme 1GB Memory 750GB Hard Drive. I would have to order this online...shipping may be a problem if I can't pick it up somewhere.

#2) 24" 2.8 intel extreme 2GB Memory 500GB Hard Drive. The Highest Base Model. Since this is a base model configuration I can just walk into my nearest apple store and buy one. The nearest store is about 2 hours away (or a little less).

the difference is basically the memory and hard drive are switched. The one with the less memory has a bigger hard drive and the one with more memory has a smaller hard drive. so which one is more important initially? I'm under the impression it's harder to upgrade the hard drive (if at all), so you should just get the hard drive you want now and can always upgrade your memory later as that's kinda easy. But a 500GB hard drive may be more than enough anyway. He'll have a lot of word processing documents (sermons, church bulletins, book writing, etc) but that's just about the jist of it. He's not into big games or storing photos and music, etc. the old HP he's using now is only a 40GB hard drive. when you look at it that way it seems like 500 is wayyy more than enough. Does the size of the hard drive have much to do with how well/fast the computer runs?

i'm thinking a 500GB hard drive is more than enough for him and by just going to the apple store to pick-up the highest base model i'll save any potential shipping worries.

whatcha think?

I'll be buying this during the first week of december. seeing as how payday is the 1st.

Unless he is storing a lot of music and video, 500 GB will be more than enough. Don't forget that the RAM is expensive when you buy it through apple and since it is so easy to install, you would save money by using a company like crucial.

 

[CRAZYBUBBA]

Get him the iMac. If he likes computers at all he'll love it. I don't think you would need to install windows, though. Just buy MS Word for mac. (The 2004 ed. , don't wait for 08 unless he uses 07.), set up Mac Mail for him, and just show him how stuff on a Mac works, it's not too much different from Windows. Worst case scenerio you'll buy him parallels or vmware and install windows, but I wouldn't recommend bootcamp because you'd have to restart the computer every time he needs to switch OSs.

Buy the 2008 edition. The 2004 will be slower on your imac since it will use rosetta to run the application. 2008 was made for intel macs.

also buy the base model, maybe upgrade the ram if you want. There doesn't seem to be a need for the high end model.

 

[Umbongo]

You don't need to get the 2.8GHz processor at all, nor do you need a 500GB drive unless he is going to get in to storing digital media. You are just throwing your money away going on what you said he uses it for. Get him the base 24" with 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1GB memory, 320GB hard drive. Upgrading the memory is something you could do and I'm sure people will tell you 2GB is the minimum, but he won't probably notice a difference.

 

[mdutch]

nobody said anything about NEED. he doesn't even need a new computer. It's about fun...having the best you can. It's a toy. Of course he doesn't need it. His dream computer is a Mac Pro that costs as much as a car. Of course he doesn't need that, but it'd be nice to have. he was going to replace his computer with a quad core processor 3GB Memory 500GB Hard drive HP (next year). He didn't want any less than that. He wants the quad core or an Apple. And of course he doesn't need a quad core processor, but he wants one. Jeez, ya'll are no fun all i asked was would it be better to get 1GB memory with a bigger hard drive to upgrade the memory later...or just get the smaller 500GB hard drive with 2GB memory.

I think i'm just going to go with the already configured model from the store. the highest end model. 2.8 intel extreme 2GB Memory 500Gb hard drive.

 

[MacinDoc]

If you're going to get the 2.8, then order the middle model and upgrade the processor. Otherwise, you're paying Apple's outrageous prices for the extra RAM. Also, I would go for the biggest HD you can afford, because it is hard to upgrade in the iMac. He won't likely need the extra capacity now, but you know how files tend to accumulate and software tends to bloat over time.

 

[Umbongo]

nobody said anything about NEED. he doesn't even need a new computer. It's about fun...having the best you can. It's a toy. Of course he doesn't need it. His dream computer is a Mac Pro that costs as much as a car. Of course he doesn't need that, but it'd be nice to have. he was going to replace his computer with a quad core processor 3GB Memory 500GB Hard drive HP (next year). He didn't want any less than that. He wants the quad core or an Apple. And of course he doesn't need a quad core processor, but he wants one. Jeez, ya'll are no fun all i asked was would it be better to get 1GB memory with a bigger hard drive to upgrade the memory later...or just get the smaller 500GB hard drive with 2GB memory.

I think i'm just going to go with the already configured model from the store. the highest end model. 2.8 intel extreme 2GB Memory 500Gb hard drive.

You came here for buying advice so I offered it, I have no problem with people buying a computer beyond their needs, but really what "fun" is he going to get out of stuff he will never use that is going to cost $500. I'm sure you can find a better way to spend $500 on computing software or hardware.

 

[Sun Baked]

Keep an eye on the refurb section also...

And buy the 2.4GHz machine, the money IS better spent elsewhere ... and the extra .4GHz of CPU speed won't do diddly for what he uses it for.

Heck it is just an ego stroking purchase in reality.

The 20" iMac 2.4 is fine for his computing needs, and the screen on the 24" is better so it might be worth it for the screen alone.

Spend the money saved from not buying the 2.8 upgrade on .Mac, iWork 08, Apple Care, and maybe a digital camera or printer.

 

[I'm a Mac]

Get the base model 2.8 ghz with the 500 gb hard drive and 2GB memory. It's preconfigured-no hassles with shipping, and theres NO WAY he'll need 750GB unless he has tons of movies. I'm sure he'll enjoy extra ram rather than empty hard drive space.

Unless... you could save money buy ordering the BASE 2.4 ghz 24" model- I'm sure it will be more than enough to suit his needs- maybe buy memory from crucial or owc, buy some extra software like sun baked mentioned- iwork, .mac, apple care, or digital camera or printer. MAKE SURE YOU BUY APPLE CARE.