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i3 3.06ghz imac still a good buy?

H

heliocentric

Guest
Original poster
Nov 26, 2008
385
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Looking at some 2nd hand ones, as i cant afford a brand new one.

Do they run Lion well?

Hows the glossy screen, is it very distracting?

Are they quiet?

Thanks
 
Have 27 iMac 3.06 duo

The machine works awesome. Runs lion just fine. You should not have any problems at all. I'd throw 8gb of ram in it - if you can - cause its cheap - see other world computing...Even run fusion in unity. It's awesome. Hope that helps.

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Glossy does not bother me. Quiet - varies by hd - but even loudest one is very quiet - have 3.

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If you can buy from apple refurb store - think that's the way to go. Significant savings. Quality is not an issue. I do not notice any variance from buying the current model direct in the retail store for what I am doing.

I would not hesitate on this. http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC509LL/A
 
heliocentric said:
1) Looking at some 2nd hand ones, as i cant afford a brand new one.

2) Do they run Lion well?

3) Hows the glossy screen, is it very distracting?

4) Are they quiet?

Thanks
Click to expand...

1a) Your plan is a good one.
Unlike laptops which tend to get dropped or jarred, desktop Macs are not subject to those pitfalls. The model you mention is quite good.

2a) Yes they do.
Yet I would suggest you continue to run 10.6 Snow Leopard until Apple's had more time to debug Lion. I've used Lion and still prefer Snow Leopard at this time.

3a) The glossy screen is fine on this model.
It's the super high-glare full reflectivity of the MBP's glass that's dreadful.

4) i3's are especially quiet.
It's a favorite of mine.

Cheers... :)
 
Well for starters what are your uses for the imac?

but to answer your questions.

1.) Are you looking at the apple store for a refurbished model? If you are, you might want to just look at the refurbished quad-core base models as they would be more powerful and be more future proof.

2.) There should be no problem running lion on it considering many people with core 2 duos seem to be running it fine.

3.) the glossy screen shouldnt be a problem unless for some reason you have a light shining in that direction, but for the most part it should be ok.

4.) Yes relatively quite.

Good luck with your purchase!
 
heliocentric said:
Looking at some 2nd hand ones, as i cant afford a brand new one.

Do they run Lion well?

Hows the glossy screen, is it very distracting?

Are they quiet?

Thanks
Click to expand...


Lion should be fine. If you experience slow performance, it's more likely to be ram rather than cpu (Lion is incredibly ram hungry).

Glossy screens bug me, but as vitzr said these aren't as bad as the laptops. If you're doing anything really precise (3d modeling, graphics, color grading, general photoshop, etc) it can be distracting, but subdued lighting helps, and I'd use subdued lighting for any of those things anyway. It's just if you've got a lot of reflection there, it makes subtle details near impossible to see.

They are very quiet. The two things I want to suggest are that you don't pay more than it's worth, and that you do check the condition of the display. Imac displays do not always look very good after a year or two (depending on use obviously).
 
What is a reasonable price for a 2nd hand one?

Remember I am in the UK and things cost more here it seems than the US.
 
Sounds fair, I picked mine up for 675 USD a few months ago, I purchased Applecare for it myself for 120the USD, totaling 795 bucks. I got a fantastic deal on mine at the time, yours seems fine as well, especially given your location.
 
AngryRedTicTac said:
Sounds fair, I picked mine up for 675 USD a few months ago, I purchased Applecare for it myself for 120the USD, totaling 795 bucks. I got a fantastic deal on mine at the time, yours seems fine as well, especially given your location.
Click to expand...

Where did you get yours?
 
Private party on Craigslist, saw the ad moments after it posted, got the first email to him and picked it up an hour later. He had determined it wasn't enough for him, and he had already purchased a bigger, faster 2011 iMac. Right place, right time. Normally see them listed in the 900USD range, without Applecare.
 
AngryRedTicTac said:
Sounds fair, I picked mine up for 675 USD a few months ago, I purchased Applecare for it myself for 120the USD, totaling 795 bucks. I got a fantastic deal on mine at the time, yours seems fine as well, especially given your location.
Click to expand...


Things in the UK always seem more exspensive than america :(

But i Think mine is a good deal, although I have yet to go through with it.

Hows the glossy screen on the mac, thats the main thing im worried about. That and deal pixels.

Thanks
 
The screen is glossy enough to notice, but not bad enough to bother me. I have it hooked up to a matte 27" that I use as my second display, and have the two arranged on my workstation to keep the brightest light on the 27. The iMac screen is bright enough that most of the time it can overwhelm even the worst reflections I saw when moving it from place to place in my home, while still giving a pleasant viewing experience.

As for dead pixels, it'll likely be fine, the 21.5" iMac displays are very nice, and none of the people that I know that own them have had a single issue there.
 
heliocentric said:
Hows the glossy screen on the mac, thats the main thing im worried about. That and deal pixels.
Click to expand...

It's the reason I've not got an iMac to be honest. I can't rearrange my room for an iMac to be reflection free. Maybe in time you may get used to it, but after a week mine went back.

Dead Pixels you really can't do much about to be honest. At least with a Mac Mini or Mac Pro you can change the screen!
 
Anyone who needs Applecare for the iMac should head off to BestBuy while it is still trading. Last one I visited had several copies of Applecare for £54.
 
If I put an optibay in the i3 3.06 iMac, can it run a DIY fusion drive with mountain lion?

Cheers!
 
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