Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

I want an iMac, but do I really need one?

S

sportdan31

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 15, 2005
55
22
Here's the quick run down. We have an iMac G5 PowerPc that is five plus years old. It still runs fairly well with regards to web browsing, mail, photos, etc. It's no longer compatible with the iTouch or my iPad 2 which at this time is frustrating. With the advent of Cloud, will this remain an issue?

Neither my wife or I do any intensive editing or photoshop. My son and daughter use the computer for some flash games that run rather slow, and they're slowly getting in to more school age curriculum (second and fourth grade). Or at least I hope they are! Videos still run ok, but not great.

I use the iPad for 95 percent of what I do. I'm not exactly sure what I would use the new iMac for, other than some word processing, excel, email, photos, and iTunes.

I'm trying to convince myself we need a new computer. I'm tired of looking at the washed out 17" matte screen. Programs need to be "force quit" more often than in the past. All that said, this dang iMac is built like a horse!

It seem like most of you guys have a specific use for the reason for upgrading. I'm searching for mine......but it feels like time.

Anyone in the same boat or have an opinion either way?
 
LOL. its so tempting to buy isn't it.

5+ years is good enough time to upgrade your computer. I am sure most of people who buy new iMacs have lesser need that you do. Some people just buy for the sake of having an updated version.

It finally comes down to if you can spend 1200+ or not. If you can it is worth it, if not then you have to use your old machine.

If you are having issues like you need to force quit all the time then there might be some other things you can try. I would expect your computer to be slow for most of the programs, but it should not crash or hang often. You can try backing up your data and clean installing your operating system. Your disk might be fragmented or you might not have much disk space left. Can you upgrade your RAM ? You can try upgrading your hard drive too. Probably a 64 GB SSD might do wonders for you.
 
My advice

im still waiting to buy an imac, but if you buy the cheapest version 999 it will be a worthy upgrade, seen as you dont do any intense photoshopping or gaming, and the lowest imac is more than capable of running flash and other applications and even a little gaming. The performance will be huge, since every imac comes with a quad core i5 processor. What you have to remember is that the imac is even able to run bigger applications, but it just wont perform as fast as the bigger and better imacs can, it can still run them, and run them decently. You should be able to get a student discount on the imac aswell. You will get osx lion for free now (becuase every mac bought from the 6th of june gets lion free, u have to ring them up) so that saves you a 20 pounds upgrade, and the student discount varies at what level of education your kids are at. Test an imac in an apple store to see if you like it, it will save space as its an all in one machine. Need anything else just ask.
 
I think you should really upgrade it. I was patiently awaiting for nehalem technology to hit the iMac when I had my G5 iMac, and when they finally introduced the nehalem quad cores in the iMac in late '09, it was finally time for me to upgrade.

Now with sandybridge processors in the iMacs and discrete graphics across the lineup, it's a really good time to upgrade.
 
How about one of the refurbished C2D iMac's? That would be quite a step up in performance from your current Mac.

The 21.5-inch 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo pop up at Apples refurbished store once in awhile for $889 -or- the 27-inch 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo for $1,049. Personally I think the 27" is a great deal for most average users: plenty powerful enough for email, internet, light photo/video work (iPhoto or similar), and your basic Microsoft office programs. You get a great big screen and a computer thrown in :)
 
Technology evolves a lot in 5 years, so even if you buy the base iMac 21" you will notice an ENORMOUS increase in speed and reliability. If you can afford it, I would definitely go to an Apple store and check the new iMac's out.

Since the tasks you will mainly run on the computer aren't that system-demanding, you will definitely be able to use the new iMac for many, many years. Your kids will also be thankful! ;)
 
Objector said:
Technology evolves a lot in 5 years, so even if you buy the base iMac 21" you will notice an ENORMOUS increase in speed and reliability. If you can afford it, I would definitely go to an Apple store and check the new iMac's out.

Since the tasks you will mainly run on the computer aren't that system-demanding, you will definitely be able to use the new iMac for many, many years. Your kids will also be thankful! ;)
Click to expand...

This describes my situation perfectly. Except I had a 5 plus yr old Windows PC. Night & Day difference. The base 21.5" quad i5 w/ AMD6750 is more than enough for my families needs. We will actually have to grow into this machine. It's fast and so easy to use. I can't wait to upgrade to Lion.
 
A first-generation 17" G5 iMac was our first Mac, and it died a few months ago (bad power supply capacitors -- a known issue with these systems). It wasn't missed but for sentimental value since it was so much slower than everything else.

I'd suggest a refurbished 21.5" low-end iMac, like others have. Better than the G5 in every respect.
 
With iOS devices soon to be going "PC Free" . . . it would seem that your 5% of the remaing computing could be easily accomplished by an Core 2 Duo (late 2006 or newer) iMac, Mac Mini or macbook.
 
Reading your comment about being tired of looking at a washed out 17" matte screen makes me think that it's time for you to upgrade. I have similar needs to your's, nothing major, but photography is a hobby, and I'm learning to use Lightroom 3. My old PC was still usable, and I really didn't need a new iMac, but I bought the base model 27" iMac Core i5 last Friday, and I'm really pleased: this iMac is delightful to use. If you can afford it and don't have something else competing strongly for those dollars, I think that you'll love either a 21.5" or 27" iMac just for the beautiful screen alone. Who knows, maybe with a more capable machine, you may find that your computing interests will expand?

I'm sure that you'll find the new iMacs to be a joy to use.
 
sportdan31 said:
Here's the quick run down. We have an iMac G5 PowerPc that is five plus years old. It still runs fairly well with regards to web browsing, mail, photos, etc. It's no longer compatible with the iTouch or my iPad 2 which at this time is frustrating. With the advent of Cloud, will this remain an issue?

Neither my wife or I do any intensive editing or photoshop. My son and daughter use the computer for some flash games that run rather slow, and they're slowly getting in to more school age curriculum (second and fourth grade). Or at least I hope they are! Videos still run ok, but not great.

I use the iPad for 95 percent of what I do. I'm not exactly sure what I would use the new iMac for, other than some word processing, excel, email, photos, and iTunes.

I'm trying to convince myself we need a new computer. I'm tired of looking at the washed out 17" matte screen. Programs need to be "force quit" more often than in the past. All that said, this dang iMac is built like a horse!

It seem like most of you guys have a specific use for the reason for upgrading. I'm searching for mine......but it feels like time.

Anyone in the same boat or have an opinion either way?
Click to expand...

Go ahead and purchase an iMac. Even the low ends are fairly neat. Honestly, your children are going to need to begin using the computer for school work really soon, so I personally think it will be a worthy upgrade. 5 Years in my opinion is the time where your computer is beginning to become out of date (especially if your a Mac User).
 
Thank you everyone for your suggestions and opinions. All very well stated and definitely has me thinking. I'm not necessarily in a hurry to make a quick decision, so I may very well wait until tax free weekend here in St. Louis even though I'm aware I can order online and avoid tax. This way I can set a target date and save up some more money.

Thanks again!
 
DJJAZZYJET said:
im still waiting to buy an imac, but if you buy the cheapest version 999 it will be a worthy upgrade, seen as you dont do any intense photoshopping or gaming, and the lowest imac is more than capable of running flash and other applications and even a little gaming.
Click to expand...


Where are you seeing the cheapest version for $999?
 
What's your time worth? Are you using apps that will soon be Intel only?

As per Geekbench, a Power Mac G5 scores 1000. My 27" iMac scores 11820. So about 11-12x faster for processing. All of this within using, maybe double the power, compared what your iMac uses?

Any iMac within the last two years will run circles around your G5. Plus you'll get to use Snow Leopard and/or Lion and beyond.

If it's serving your needs, albeit somewhat slowly now, then stick with it. Not all apps are going Intel only yet. Maybe once that happens, it'll force your hand.

I suppose you don't need to upgrade your iMac. Mind you, you don't need health insurance either.
 
OP, A base 2011 21.5" or a base 2010 21.5" model will suffice for your minimal demand. You can save some cabbage if you buy last year's model. IMHO :)
 
I'm in a very similar boat.

Have an Early 2006 Intel iMac. It's been flawless the past 5 years, never a problem with it all and running Leopard. I use my Mac a lot. Even though I have an iPad 1 and iPhone, I still spend a lot of time using it. All web based really, looking at a lot of video as well and video's I've download with the Realplayer which is excellent imho. I'll use the Mac to watch DVD's when I'm working out as well my rower and treadmill. But no gaming or heavy duty editing.

During the NFL season, I'll be on the NFL.com site constantly watching the videos, highlights etc. And my system is slowing down there. The hard drive is on it's last legs, it's wheezing when there's high quality video to watch. I could easily replace the HD but after watching the Keynote, i think Lion is going to be a really superb OS and the Intel Core Duo iMac won't be able to upgrade to Lion anyway.

During the NFL season I can also subscribe to NFL's GamePass where every single game I can watch live on the system so a nice new iMac will be the business there.

I'm going to get Apple TV as well so me and missus can watch movies and of course I can stream content from the Mac to the TV as well. Only disappointment there is I don't think iPad 1 can airplay it's content to a HDTV via ATV.

I was going to wait and get a Mac Mini and a big monitor, and I could transport the Mini around the house where needed, but I'd be worried about the quality of display, the iMacs have beautiful displays.
 
5 Years for any computer isn't a bad run. The G5s still hold there value quite well, you could sell it and put money towards your new one.

If your needs are basic note that any current Mac will blow the socks off your old G5, so you probobly don't need to buy a top spec model. Even if you buy a base model iMac or wait for a Sandy Bridge Mac Mini it'd still be a huge performance improvement
 
dont do it

Hi my advise/opinion and current experience with apple and the new imac 27" is dont buy one and if you have one don't turn it on because it will get contaminated if you use it, make sure you have apple care because you will need that to cover the 8 or 9 new screens you will probably need over the 3 year course, or sell it as quick as possible and cut your loses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVok1MBNJqE&feature=related

It seems that dust inside the LCD and on the backlights is a widespread problem. From the thousands of posts on Apple Support and the numerous forums YouTube videos, this is a design defect!

There seems to be no solution as apple where unwilling to help and blamed the grey smudge marks on environmental issues and my fault because i use my mac in my house, When i asked if i paid for a new screen would it be fixed or will it happen again, Apples response was we can't guarantee it won't. The only solution i am now left with, is to follow this link below and pry open the LCD and directly clean the insides and backlights. https://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...1#post11976152

I will be opening my LCD and wiping away the dust that has leaked inside the sealed LCD display
I will video document my repair and see apple in the small claims court

Will keep you posted
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back