iMac advice

[lewdvig]

I grabbed a 17" iMac yesterday for $2130 CDN. Thats $1600 USD.

1ghz, 256mb DDR, 80gb HD, superdrive, etc. It was a floor model.

I have a PC for gaming, but I am wondering if a PB would have been a better choice. I will be doing video, photo and music.

No level 3 cache seems to make these slower than the PM and PBs.

So, what do you experts think? I have two weeks to decide whether to keep it.

It sure is purdy. I might even keep it in my kitchen - its not something I want to hide.

 

[Doctor Q]

My 2 cents: PowerBooks and Power Macs are designed for performance, compared with iBooks, iMacs, and eMacs. PowerBooks and iBooks are designed for compactness/portability. You pay for performance and you pay for portability. If this is a "home computer" for which you don't need portability, why pay for it? If by "video" you mean video watching, any Mac will do. If you mean video editing, you'll appreciate getting the best performance you can afford. Sounds like a Power Mac suits you.

 

[lewdvig]

Yeah, my gut feeling tells me that too.

I just sold a dual 800 PM - maybe should have kept it, eh?

 

[sigamy]

Well only you can decide if the iMac is fast enough for your needs, but...I also picked up a 17" 1ghz iMac and I am pleasantly surprised with the performance. My previous machine was a 700mhz iBook and the jump up to the G4 is very noticable in iMovie and in ripping from CD in iTunes. I used to get around 5x on the iBook now I'm getting around 8x ripping speeds.

Now coming from a PM you are probably not going to be as happy with performance...

My iMac only has 256mb RAM and I haven't even felt the need for more. I've created 3 full length DVDs with no issues at all. It is a great machine. I'm not a gamer, but I've played Jedi Knight II demo a few times and it looks great to me, a Warcraft III demo looks and sounds amazing.

One piece of bad news for you....I got the same machine for $1299 as an Apple refurb. It does show some signs of wear but nothing too bad.

Good luck either way. My 1ghz iMac will defintely get me through the next 3 years. Then I'll either get another portable or a 2nd gen G5 (I hate the current design).

 

[lewdvig]

Yeah, the price was too high. Its going back.

If you count my sisters iBook that I helped her sell, this next Mac will be my fourth in one month!