iMac 20" wolud be a good computer?

[Root1987]

I finnaly decided to give a try to Apple. At the moment I have 1200€, that's enought for:

1) Mac mini
2) iMac 20"
3) Macbook Pro 13" (2,26Ghz)

Mini is simply slow.

iMac - I have a feeling that Apple put only "sh***" stuff in there (excuse me on expression). Yes it have the same CPU and GPU as 24" iMac, but the HDD only 320GB (anyone know if it is at least single platter?? Or is some prahistorical model). Second thing - RAM - just 2 gigs and 2x1GB (bast*** they could at least gave in 1x2GB). And finnal thing the LCD, it's plain and simple TN matrix No Apple don't want to install in PVA or IPS (user should suffer black screen corners because he doesn't have money to buy 24" iMac). I'm getting that feeling that this is model for poor people (but it cost 1200€ ).

Finnaly MBP, yes it's cute and I already have 20" LCD for home stuff, but taking him to school and holidays, train,.... It would become all scratchy and someone could stell it from me - it's not that safe than iMac which is safly located in my room.

So I could get i7 and Windows but I don't like Windows and the question is which one to buy? Also iMac is cute, so small and yet powerfull, but the LCD screen gives me headache. I saw this screen only one time, it's cool most of the time, but when you look at him from the bottom is all black.

Which one would you choose?

 

[cluthz]

I think Apple have something up the sleeve for the iMac soon, so if you want a iMac, i'd wait a bit.

The new Macbook Pro 13-inch is an amazing small machine, with decent power , great battery and looks!

I would buy the MBP, get an external keyboard and mouse and you'll have both a laptop on the road and when home it would work as a desktop!

If you are worried about getting it stolen, just take it with you when you actually are gonna use it

Here's my desktop, just as an reference

 

[Not Available]

I'd dare to stay that although you haven't tested any of them, you have the courage to go around saying that each of them sucks.

First of all, tell us what you are using your computer for. Except for games and advanced graphical operations, I'm confident a 2.26Ghz Mac Mini with 4GB of RAM won't be slow at all. It's the same configuration as my MBP, except for the RAM (mine has 2GB), and I've had no problem running CoD4 and Guitar Hero Aerosmith in decent conditions.

Also, you don't know how awesome OS X is, so, again, if you're not up to things which require A LOT of power, the 20" iMac will be great for you. For the display, I'd say go somewhere, test it, and then come back with a better-formed opinion.

As for the MBP part, it's full of sh*** non-sense. People have been using notebooks for... quite a while, and, unless you leave it unattended (which is completely a stupid thing to do), it won't get stolen by anybody. Same goes for scratching. If you don't get your Mac in order to test your walls' resistance, there won't be any bothering scratches.

 

[Root1987]

Do you think that MBP would overheat in compare to iMac? I don't have time to wait for new iMac (I think Apple will cancel 20" model). This is one of my
concerns that MBP will overheat, eventually there will be a lot of dust in vent holes and it will become noisy and just more and more overheating. If I buy MBP I would use it 85% at home and 15% on the road (ofc I would buy bag like second skin or something and carry him in my backpack - sorry I work really hard and sold my PC to buy a Mac so you can imagine my concerns connected with new computer ).

Finnal question if I buy MBP 13" I have some money to upgrade HDD or RAM. I don't know what would be better. I know it's good to have 4GB of RAM but if you don't need it all the time.... on the other hand HDD is the slowest part, if I buy 320GB WD blue it would probably be indeed some performance boost (from using Windows I know that if your HDD is full or almost full all computer works really slowly and 160GB HDD in MBP is very small amount of space). What would be better?

PS: I don't want to offend anybody or any of the Apple computers, but you must understand that I'm working with Win computers 20 years and configurations in Apple Macs (at the moment) are pathetic in compare with PC-s. So you are here to convince me if I'm wrong (At the moment I look this machines only from HW angle).

 

[ChrisN]

I bought a last gen 2.8 ghz 24" iMac for 1199 or 1299 I forget, great machine and works flawlessly. So if you can find that get it.

ChrisN

 

[cluthz]

Do you think that MBP would overheat in compare to iMac?

I have 100 days played in World of warcraft on my MBP, its 26 months old and I always tun with two screens. Never crashed due to heat!

Finnal question if I buy MBP 13" I have some money to upgrade HDD or RAM. I don't know what would be better. I know it's good to have 4GB of RAM but if you don't need it all the time.... on the other hand HDD is the slowest part, if I buy 320GB WD blue it would probably be indeed some performance boost (from using Windows I know that if your HDD is full or almost full all computer works really slowly and 160GB HDD in MBP is very small amount of space). What would be better?

2G ram is enuff for most tasks, so get a WD blue! But get the 500GB, since they almost costs the same

 

[Root1987]

I was in Apple store few days ago and I saw 20" iMac, screen is OK (nothing special in compare to my current NEC MultiSync 20WGX2 Pro with AS-IPS matrix), only when you look at the LCD from the bottom (for example you watch film and you lie on a bed) I don't see 90% of the screen.

Also Apple seller didn't convince me. He didn't know nothing (except all those programs on i_ _ _ _ _ ...). He didn't know nothing about Netbeans (if I can run code written in Netbeans on my new Mac on Win based machine from scratch), he didn't know what is this Cocoa and Carbon (Eclipse), who is the vendor of RAM modules,....

And then I should trust this people and Macs?

 

[194567]

If you already have a nice external monitor I would go with the macbook, if you're writing code you will definitely appreciate and make use of that second display.

Anyway, those questions you asked to the apple guy where very specific, I bet most of the forum members here don't know the answers to them.

Check the refurb store! they always have great deals.

 

[miniConvert]

Do you think that MBP would overheat in compare to iMac? I don't have time to wait for new iMac (I think Apple will cancel 20" model). This is one of my
concerns that MBP will overheat, eventually there will be a lot of dust in vent holes and it will become noisy and just more and more overheating.

Overheat? No. The aluminium laptops do get hot (being made of metal, which conducts heat well, you'll notice the surfaces can become hotter than a plastic laptop) but that's not a problem and certainly not overheating. To generalise, MBPs are extremely well built computers, you have nothing to worry about.

 

[Not Available]

I was in Apple store few days ago and I saw 20" iMac, screen is OK (nothing special in compare to my current NEC MultiSync 20WGX2 Pro with AS-IPS matrix), only when you look at the LCD from the bottom (for example you watch film and you lie on a bed) I don't see 90% of the screen.

Also Apple seller didn't convince me. He didn't know nothing (except all those programs on i_ _ _ _ _ ...). He didn't know nothing about Netbeans (if I can run code written in Netbeans on my new Mac on Win based machine from scratch), he didn't know what is this Cocoa and Carbon (Eclipse), who is the vendor of RAM modules,....

And then I should trust this people and Macs?

If it's not an official Apple store, and the bi*ch in there wasn't a Genius, you can't blame Apple at all. These are called Premium Resellers, which, indeed, are very stupid. I'm certain you live in Europe. In Romania, the situation is the same: the retarded f**ked up creatures working at resellers should be fired right away. They know nothing, have a bored face, and when you ask them something, they're like "Go **** yourself, can't you see I'm browsing the web right now?".

I think the best for you is getting that i7 with a Linux. How old are you, because you're making some weird connections. If someone who has nothing to do with Apple, Inc. doesn't satisfy you and you decree that the product is not worth it, there isn't much to say. Maybe Macs aren't really for you...

 

[cluthz]

netbeans is java, you can run netbeans on pretty much anything

 

[o2xygen]

So you are here to convince me

We are not here to do anything for you, I could care less if you went Mac or not.

 

[Winni]

I have 100 days played in World of warcraft on my MBP, its 26 months old and I always tun with two screens. Never crashed due to heat!



2G ram is enuff for most tasks, so get a WD blue! But get the 500GB, since they almost costs the same

WoW does not have any hardware requirements worth mentioning. Spend 100 days playing STALKER or Crysis with high settings on that machine and then let us know how stable it ran. STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl is already an "old" game by today's standards, but it lets the cooling fans of the 8800GT of my Mac Pro scream like crazy. (And that also is an "old" card - like everything else that Apple sells for graphics.)

And no, unless surfing the web and writing emails is everything that you do, 2GB RAM is by far NOT enough for most tasks, it does not even come close. In my experience, 2GB RAM is the minimum to make Leopard run at acceptable speed. Launch Aperture, Photoshop or some virtualization software and see how slow your system will be. RAM is cheap these days, and one shouldn't go for less than 4 GB. The more, the better.

The same goes for the hard disk. Once you start archiving your movie collection, you will be needing Terabyte disks.

 

[Winni]

I was in Apple store few days ago and I saw 20" iMac, screen is OK (nothing special in compare to my current NEC MultiSync 20WGX2 Pro with AS-IPS matrix), only when you look at the LCD from the bottom (for example you watch film and you lie on a bed) I don't see 90% of the screen.

Also Apple seller didn't convince me. He didn't know nothing (except all those programs on i_ _ _ _ _ ...). He didn't know nothing about Netbeans (if I can run code written in Netbeans on my new Mac on Win based machine from scratch), he didn't know what is this Cocoa and Carbon (Eclipse), who is the vendor of RAM modules,....

And then I should trust this people and Macs?

SWT now has a Cocoa backend, and Eclipse 3.5 now runs on Apple's 64-Bit Java with a Cocoa-based GUI.

Netbeans runs on Apple's Java as well.

Besides that, you will have a hard time finding a sales person in ANY computer shop that knows anything about software development. Just do me a favor: Open a shop yourself and then let me come to you and ask holes in your stomach about Xbase++. Then let's see how well you fare in my book.

 

[sbb155]

You can get a more powerful windows machine for the money. No doubt. The reason to get a mac is for os x. If you are happy with windows, dont bother. If you are unhappy with windows, go to an apple store and see if you like osx. If you like it, get it. Understand that you will be buying a less powerful machine for the $$ you will spend. Macs come at a cost premium. The profit margin for apple is much higher than PC makers - i.e., you are paying for apple shareholders to make a profit.

 

[Horus]

Build a Hackintosh...

 

[cluthz]

WoW does not have any hardware requirements worth mentioning. Spend 100 days playing STALKER or Crysis with high settings on that machine and then let us know how stable it ran
...........

WoW with two screens is as much as a MBP can do anyways, fans go full blast all the time

Playing Crysis at high settings and 5 FPS wouldn't make things go any hotter anyways. Anyways he would never buy a MBP for doing more heavy gaming than WoW, I hope!

No, the MBP won't break down because of overheating.

 

[Root1987]

Besides that, you will have a hard time finding a sales person in ANY computer shop that knows anything about software development. Just do me a favor: Open a shop yourself and then let me come to you and ask holes in your stomach about Xbase++. Then let's see how well you fare in my book.

I worked in a PC shop (as a student) for 6 months and know everything anyone asked me exept for 3 or 4 times when I found answer on the net in 1 minute. But Apple sellers don't even want to look on the net, they simply don't know. And when you ask him why to go on a Mac, he simply say "once you have a Mac, you never go back", OK that's probably true, but if I never have an Apple computer before I like to hear some stronger explanations.

BTW I live in Slovenia if you folks know where this is? (Not Slovakia but Slovenia).

I will use my computer for programming in Java, C and ARM. Other stuff is not important and any computer would be strong enought. In general programming is not difficult for a CPU/RAM (exept during compiling) but few times I ended up with my Windows crashed up or freezed because there was to many threads to control in a program. I don't like Windows because of all those crashes, viruses, fragmentation, ugly GUI,... And I don't play games.

If someone who has nothing to do with Apple, Inc. doesn't satisfy you and you decree that the product is not worth it, there isn't much to say. Maybe Macs aren't really for you...

I just want a prove that Macs are good computers and even if their HW is not so good than in PC-s, my future Mac will work without problems (sure there are exeptions) for the next 3 years.

Overheat? No. The aluminium laptops do get hot (being made of metal, which conducts heat well, you'll notice the surfaces can become hotter than a plastic laptop) but that's not a problem and certainly not overheating. To generalise, MBPs are extremely well built computers, you have nothing to worry about.

So this is not true for MBP: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page2.html

 

[cluthz]

...

So this is not true for MBP: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page2.html

Did we read the same article?
Because that article compares the effect of heatdissipation differences between aluminum and steel, not plastic.
"The difference between aluminum and steel in this cooling function is insignificant."

It's also says "The only heat producing devices that are normally mounted in direct contact with a case are the drives, particularly the hard drives".

In a notebook, everything touches the case, and aluminum is a great for heat dissipation!

 

[Not Available]

I worked in a PC shop (as a student) for 6 months and know everything anyone asked me except for 3 or 4 times when I found answer on the net in 1 minute. But Apple sellers don't even want to look on the net, they simply don't know. And when you ask him why to go on a Mac, he simply say "once you have a Mac, you never go back", OK that's probably true, but if I never have an Apple computer before I like to hear some stronger explanations.

BTW I live in Slovenia if you folks know where this is? (Not Slovakia but Slovenia).

I will use my computer for programming in Java, C and ARM. Other stuff is not important and any computer would be strong enough. In general programming is not difficult for a CPU/RAM (except during compiling) but few times I ended up with my Windows crashed up or froze because there was to many threads to control in a program. I don't like Windows because of all those crashes, viruses, fragmentation, ugly GUI,... And I don't play games.

Good for you, but apparently you are unable to find anything about Macs, so if I enter the store and ask you "Why would I get a Windows machine instead of a POSIX one?", what would your answer be? Because I'm sure 6 months ago you did not even know about OS X, so how do you help me, the customer, decide over a Windows machine if you have no experience with the other ones? Should I question all the Windows machines based on the experience I had with you?

For programming, OS X is great, because it's built on an UNIX foundation, so the GNU compilers collection is available, NetBeans is there as well, and so on.

I just want a proof that Macs are good computers and even if their HW is not so good than in PC-s, my future Mac will work without problems (sure there are exceptions) for the next 3 years.

Well... their hardware is awesome. Don't you read? OS X is optimized for the machines it sells on, and its drivers are rock solid. So the combination between hardware and software is far better on OS X than it is on a Windows-based machine.

The best way is to spend two weeks in the reseller's store just working on the Macs there. Do what you would normally do, ask them if you can install programs for test-driving (which would later get deleted), and so on. After the two weeks, you can make the decision: Mac or Windows. Or why not, Linux.

P.S.: Please take the time to at least spell check your posts.

 

[Theclamshell]

you seem like someone who once you got a mac you would complain about how you could have gotten a much more powerful pc for the same price and if god forbid the mac broke then you would post about how you are demanding a replacement from apple so i say get an i7 pc

and if you worked in a pc shop for 6 months and could answer most of the questions then get windows cuz it seems that you are more familiar with it