iMac G5 Q's

[Z6128]

hey! this is my first post here even though i've been coming here for a while. i've wanted an apple computer since the clamshell ibooks and i'll finally be switching about August, and I had a few questions abou the iMac G5.

1.should i buy from the apple store (not online) or compusa. does it matter? i ask this b/c the nearest compusa is about 20 min away from where i live while the nearest apple store is about an hour away.

2.how long does the iMac take to turn on (when it's off, not when it's sleeping) and how long does it take to shut down completely. i was wondering about this b/c my computer i have now (it should be in my sig) takes about 5-10 min to start up and shut down.

3.if i bought 2gb of RAM from crucial.com is it hard to install. i read somewhere that all you have to do is remove 3 screws and open up the computer, is it really that easy?

4.is tiger a hard os to learn. all of my previous computers have run windows, so i don't know what to expect.

5.will the iMac be able to handle any pro apps. i most likely won't be doing anything involving video, but maybe music.

sorry if these questions have been asked before, i've tried looking for them. i'm very excited about the thought of getting my first mac o yeah, and is there any apps that i should definately get when i buy my iMac.

 

[CanadaRAM]

1) Depends whether you want service or not.
2) Waaay less time than a Windows machine.
3) Yes it's easy, 3 screws. The only tricky bit is engaging the tabs at the top of the back panel when you are putting it back together. Helps to have another person to guide it/squeeze it a bit (wait, that didn't come out sounding right...).
Buy it from Apple with the minimum RAM. Check out http://www.datamem.com as well before you committ to Crucial.
4) There will be an adjustment. Recommend buying a USB optical scrollmouse with at least 2 buttons to ease the transition. After 2 - 3 weeks it will be 2nd nature.
5) Yes. It will handle 99.9% of all Mac programs. It screams.

 

[runninmac]

Hello there glad to see that you decided to join macrumors. I personaly dont have a mac (FYI a apple store is opening up on saterday near me so mabey then, i just need some cash) but this is my opinion/thoughts:

1. I think you should by from compusa only for this reason: if you need to get something fixed it will be easyer to go to the seller that you got it from. If that doesn't phase you then I would diffently go for the Apple Store because of the great service and the people really do know there stuff.

2. From what ive herd not that long i *think* less than 30 seconds (dont take me word)

3. The ram in the iMac is very easy to install. There are websites around that will show you how to do it if you are afraid but it is very easy.

4. Not sure since I havn't made the switch yet but people say after 2 weeks you dont know how you managed with out it.

5. not sure

and there are a ton of threads out there with some killer and free apps.

Hope this helps!

 

[dotdotdot]

1. Buy it from the Apple store - CompUSA doesn't treat Macs as computers, they treat them as that crap they store in the back corner of the store, with ladders and dim lighting. Seriously, CompUSA treats the "Apple Store" part of their store like crap.

2. Start up and shut down is about 20 seconds to a minute. Going into and out of sleep is anywhere from 2 to 10 seconds.

3. The iMac's RAM looks easy to install.

4. It took me about an hour at the Apple store to learn Panther and a little longer to learn Tiger, about an hour in a half (i.e., about 4 or 5 trips)

5. It should handle your music apps, just they will be different applications that your Windows counterparts.

By the way, I don't use a Mac, I use Windows XP Pro.

 

[maxigalaxy]

1- Apple Store, just because it's so cool to even get into one !!! And that will make you feel even more anxious of buying your little baby !

2-About half a minute. In 5/10 minutes, the Mac will have just finished to edit your last movie !!!

3-I don't know, but since it is a Mac..it is very easy

4-You will be using OSX like you had been always using it. I mean, if you try to figure out how to do something, think about the most logical way, and that will do it.This is Tiger.

5-My 12" PowerBook 867 is able to do music with GarageBand.The iMac will fly..that's why I'm getting one myself!

Hope that helps...

 

[FFTT]

CompUSA will often try to sell you the older Rev A for the same price as the NEW Rev B's. Especially if they sense that you're a Mac noob.

Go to the Apple Store! and take your student/faculty I.D. with you if you have one.

The newer Rev B iMac G5's offer an upgrade to the better 128MB VRAM graphics cards and the faster 2.0GHz processor.

This is very important because the graphics cards are permanently soldered into place in the iMacs.

 

[Z6128]

Thanks

thanks for the help everyone. i'm even more excited now about getting a computer that will actually work there's been so many times i've wanted to throw my computer out the window. i'm sure there's a lot of windows users that have wanted to do that too. thanks again everyone

 

[Calihafan]

1)...
2) About ten seconds for me, but I've only had it for a week or so. I have a gig of RAM on a bottom-of-the-line 17-inch.
3) I didn't install my own RAM.
4) Tiger is very easy, I've been on Windows all my life until I switched. Its already becoming second nature. At first, I thought I was going to need a two button mouse but the OS really only REQUIRES on button and CTRL-Click works just fine. I'm already doing CTRL-Click reflexively on my PC.
5) Dunno... do you mean logic?

But for Tiger's ease of use... its an absolutely wonderful platform. Don't worry about that. Its just great.

Calih