If I buy the new 24" 2.8 iMac, will it last me through high school?

[trule]

If it helps, I'm planning on my 2.8 iMac to last 4-5 years. And I have every confidence that it will. My old G4 PowerMac lasted 6 years (though for the last year or two it was too slow).

Why not buy/get the slower and cheaper 2.4 model with the 20" screen, put the remainder of your money in a high interest bank account or a gold coin...then in 2 or 3 years you will have enough money to buy/get the cheaper variant of the next model iMac, once you sell the existing one on eBay. It will still be worth something then.

The 2.4 will be more than enough and in 2 years time you get another new iMac The 24" is nice, but hey, you're only 13...the 20" is probably enough. The 24 is pretty BIG.

 

[I'm a Mac]

I was planning on getting a new computer sometime between now and 9 months but since I was having issues with leopard (I upgraded, I know, shame on me) I wanted to buy one around now. The reason my computer is kinda outdated is because apple switched over to intel. If I buy a top-of-the line iMac, will this happen to me again or will it last me the 4-5 years. And by last I mean run the latest software.

 

[CanadaRAM]

I disagree. As they say, the average life of a computer is 6 months in an office environment before it's out of date.

At home? It's worse.

My iMac wasn't even manufactured before it's 2600PRO was hopelessly out of date.

I missed the sarcastic smiley on this post...

That depends entirely on how you define "out of date" and "hopelessly out of date". It's only valid if you ignore that the machines perform perfectly well, and focus only on whether the machine is the 'latest technology' and insist on having bragging rights on the latest thing.

I don't know any office that replaces computers on a 6 month schedule and I have no idea who "they" are that say something so ridiculous.

 

[I'm a Mac]

As I said before, out of date, not hopelessly out of date, in my book, means not being able to run the latest software or the software you need. Like on my current iMac, I can't run the new iMovie, edit HD footage, do backdrops, and have a little difficulty with leopard. (I upgraded) But I am going to get the new 2.8 soon and I was wondering if that will last longer considering its top-of-the-line.

 

[chameleon81]

so at the age of 13 you bought a 1,000 dollar computer? by yourself?


but to answer your question, yes, most likely. probably more so than most any other computer.

stop counting peoples money. get a job

 

[trule]

As I said before, out of date, not hopelessly out of date, in my book, means not being able to run the latest software or the software you need. Like on my current iMac, I can't run the new iMovie, edit HD footage, do backdrops, and have a little difficulty with leopard. (I upgraded) But I am going to get the new 2.8 soon and I was wondering if that will last longer considering its top-of-the-line.

If it lasted longer then Apple would not make money selling the next top-of-the-line model to people who just really really need the fastest most expensive model...to run iChat with a funny background.

The 2.8 is for suckers

 

[26139]

What?

I disagree. As they say, the average life of a computer is 6 months in an office environment before it's out of date.

At home? It's worse.

My iMac wasn't even manufactured before it's 2600PRO was hopelessly out of date.

Do you mean useful life or actual life? I have a 6 year old 400mhz G4 that is still chugging along just fine. It can't run any games, but it can do everything else.

Six months? Really?

 

[Dustman]

Yup. I'm typing on a 900/G3, having just updated to 10.4.11. Running like a charm. I guess its the disposable society we live in that makes people think that these machines will be 'obsolete' in a matter of years (look up the def, by the way.)....I would LOVE to have that 1.8 G5!! I've been running PS.CS1/2, and much of the creative suit for some time now.......

G3 is dead! Long Live G3!

Cheers! I love my iMac G3.. I use it as my primary computer, and its plenty fast for what i use it for; Safari, MSN Messenger & iTunes. USB 2.0 would be nice though.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

Only a little more than 2 years ago, I got my first mac in April 2005, a 1.8 GHz iMac G5 with 1GB of memory. Now, it's pretty much obsolete (for what I'm using it for). I can't run everything I want to run. I have trouble with leopard, my computer is a bit slow, quits, can't run the latest apple software (e.g. iMovie, iChat backdrops), etc. I know the reason is probably because apple switched to intel, so powerpc computers are left in the dust, but if I buy the new 24" 2.8 iMac now, will it last me 4-5 years?

Yes. It'll last you 4 years.

 

[liveexpo]

Cheers! I love my iMac G3.. I use it as my primary computer, and its plenty fast for what i use it for; Safari, MSN Messenger & iTunes. USB 2.0 would be nice though.

I'm on a G3 iBook - interesting to see how the two compare.

And USB 2.0! Hell yeah, that's my biggest gripe! Especially when trying to transfer 3 x 4GB CF cards!

 

[Triquetra]

No, This is what you do if you want it to last!

This is what I learned from being an Apple consumer (bout 10 years experience,) There will always be something new, probably every 8 or so months, 4-5 years later? Your talking about 10 upgrades!

This is what I suggest, pick up the low end 1,199 model, it's almost half the price. In 2-3 years, when you're a junior/senior buy the next low end iMac. I promise you the low end iMac in three years will be worlds better than any high-end today. Probably better than the current Mac Pro!

Just my 3 cents.

 

[zach]

so at the age of 13 you bought a 1,000 dollar computer? by yourself?

at the age of 13 i bought a 1,500 dollar computer by myself, and then when i turned 15 i bought myself a 3,000 dollar computer by myself.

i'm still on that same computer, i'm 18 now. it's a 1.67GHz G4 Powerbook, 15", 1 GB ram. inferior to your computer in almost every way.

i don't understand why you need to upgrade. if you're getting kernel panics there's something WRONG with your computer that needs to be fixed. i'd love to be able to run iChat backdrops etc, but my computer's too slow. oh well. how does that impact what you need your computer for?

if you have the money and that's what you wanna spend it on, i say go for it. but you really don't' seem to "need" it, and you know in 2 years there'll be another little feature you can't run. i REALLY don't think a upgrade is necessary just for that...

 

[GimmeSlack12]

i don't understand why you need to upgrade. if you're getting kernel panics there's something WRONG with your computer that needs to be fixed. i'd love to be able to run iChat backdrops etc, but my computer's too slow. oh well. how does that impact what you need your computer for?

You sound like this kids Dad. Just answer his question and move to the next thread.

 

[Cybergypsy]

Crap i upgrade every 6 months..........

 

[roland.g]

In February 2000 I bought a G4 450 'Sawtooth' w/ 768MB RAM and AGP 8X Graphics. It was top of the line at the time, though the first Dual showed up less than 6 months later with Dual 500s.

In October 2005 I was still running Photoshop on it with 10.3 Panther and a lot of other applications and editing 200MB files with over 250 layers!!

In October 2006 I finally decided to replace my 6 1/2 year old PowerMac but didn't know what to get so I bought a Mac Mini 1.66 refurb to tide me over. It will be sold in the next couple months.

In August 2007 I bought a new Aluminum iMac 24" 2.8GHz. I plan to have that last 3-5 years easily, and run what I need it too well. I bought the 2.8 but saved money at the same time. I selected the 2.4 rather than the 2.8 b/c it comes with 1GB rather than 2GB (2x1GB sticks) standard. I then selected to upgrade the CPU and HDD to 2.8 and 750. This saved me $150 plus tax vs. ordering the stock 2.8 with 2GB and a 750. I then ordered 4GB RAM from OWC for $139 shipped. So it actually cost me less to get a 4GB machine than the stock 2.8 would have been from Apple. I also got the 2.8 that I wanted.

I would say in your case however to fix the issues you have and get a Penryn iMac next spring when they come out.

 

[Kashchei]

Negrodamus says that this machine could last through all of high school, but that you'll want to replace it long before you earn your degree

 

[roland.g]

Negrodamus says that this machine could last through all of high school, but that you'll want to replace it long before you earn your degree

Agreed it doesn't matter how well you time your acquisition or how robust it is at the time, no way you will be happy not having more current technology for that long. Remember, touch is most likely coming in the next 2 years.

 

[I'm a Mac]

I ordered the 2.8 imac. I figured a faster processor would last longer. I got a great price by ordering from a college apple store and got it shipped so no tax. It should last me until college

 

[brepublican]

stop counting peoples money. get a job

Maybe that his job. Counting other people's money.