I really want to get an iMac but on the Buying Guide it says not to buy now as a new one is due to come out. I don't mind waiting, but can't imagine what a new version would have given that it already has a C2D chip. Any thoughts on what I should do?
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iMac now?
- Thread starter NYCMacUser
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WAIT 'til Summer refresh - Leopard Santa Rosa iLife '07
You will be so glad you waited for the next refresh which will also include a whole new software base. Just hang in there. By the end of June the whole lineup will have been refreshed to include more new stuff than you can imagine.
You will be so glad you waited for the next refresh which will also include a whole new software base. Just hang in there. By the end of June the whole lineup will have been refreshed to include more new stuff than you can imagine.
Dude! I'm in the exact same place. I want a new computer so bad and I've been researching Macs for over 2 months. My current computer is a 7 year old Dell that has video card problems and it drives me nutz to even look at. I've been close to ordering a 20" iMac several times and can't bring myself to do it. I feel like ordering one now would be the stupidest decision in the world being that I could get one with Leopard just a few months away, but its hard to go home and use that Dell.
To the OP: I would buy now if you want it now, and if you don't mind waiting for a few to several months, just wait. If you do basic stuff, the current gen is more than enough. But if you do pro work, you would benefit a little bit from the update.
Now in your case, I would definately recomend buying it now. The next update will not put this generation to shame. The main update is a point oh seven processor upgrade, and that is for the upgraded model! You have waited long enough, I would buy this generation, it will blow the Dell out of the water, back in, and back out again!
Now in your case, I would definately recomend buying it now. The next update will not put this generation to shame. The main update is a point oh seven processor upgrade, and that is for the upgraded model! You have waited long enough, I would buy this generation, it will blow the Dell out of the water, back in, and back out again!
I am in the same boat as well. Must be an Ocean Liner....
I have wanted to switch for about 4 or so years and finally have the finances to do so. But, Right when I decided on which mac "the iMac 24''" the buyers guide said Don't buy updates soon....
Well its been 2 months and I'm about to go crazy. I have even been thinking of just picking the mbp 17' just because it doesn't say its updating. lol
I really don't mind buying leopard as I like to collect Cool software and their boxes.
Another thing that kinda makes me think I should buy now is this talk of Leopard maybe having a new interface. One thing that pulled me to wanting a mac was that super cool Aqua interface. I don't want to not be able to use it at least for a bit.
So I too am trying to decide whether to buy now or wait as well.
I know when its all over though, My first mac will be amazing.
I have wanted to switch for about 4 or so years and finally have the finances to do so. But, Right when I decided on which mac "the iMac 24''" the buyers guide said Don't buy updates soon....
Well its been 2 months and I'm about to go crazy. I have even been thinking of just picking the mbp 17' just because it doesn't say its updating. lol
I really don't mind buying leopard as I like to collect Cool software and their boxes.
Another thing that kinda makes me think I should buy now is this talk of Leopard maybe having a new interface. One thing that pulled me to wanting a mac was that super cool Aqua interface. I don't want to not be able to use it at least for a bit.
So I too am trying to decide whether to buy now or wait as well.
I know when its all over though, My first mac will be amazing.
I wouldn't worry about the buyers guide and just buy any Mac that you want. The tachnology that will be put into the iMacs and the MacBook Pros is the same, so if Apple decided to put it in there when it is released, they will be updated at the same time. I wouldn't buy a Mac that this website "says" isn't going to be updated, just buy the one that you need the most. It sounds like you need an iMac, so I would recomend just buying one today. The sooner you buy, the longer it will stay top of the line.
The next update isn't that great anyway. Look at it this way, the next iMac update won't be nearly as good (compared to the current model) as the one after it, Penryn; (compared to the Santa Rosa model) so unless you want to wait for Penryn, the best computer to buy is the current model.
I'd definitely say wait. People suggesting that there aren't going to be huge updates and redesigns are kidding themselves.
Thanks for the help.
I do believe I should take the plunge then and buy now. I wonder if it will come with 10.4.9 or if I will need to do that update. I guess there is only one way to find out.
It's not as though this will be my only Mac ever. lol I plan to have many more in the future.
Thanks again.
I do believe I should take the plunge then and buy now. I wonder if it will come with 10.4.9 or if I will need to do that update. I guess there is only one way to find out.
It's not as though this will be my only Mac ever. lol I plan to have many more in the future.
Thanks again.
Thanks for the help.
I do believe I should take the plunge then and buy now. I wonder if it will come with 10.4.9 or if I will need to do that update. I guess there is only one way to find out.
It's not as though this will be my only Mac ever. lol I plan to have many more in the future.
Thanks again.
Macs from now on (until Leopard) will come with Mac OS 10.4.9 installed.
Cool. Good to know its already on there.
I suppose another reason its a good time to buy is because these machines have been out for a while and are not rev. A models. I have read they can be a bit riskier to buy.
The specs I have picked out are:
iMac 24''
- 2.33 c2d
- 750 gb hdd
- 2 gb ram
- wireless keyboard and mouse
This should be able to handle leopard perfectly when it comes out surely.
I was originally going to get the mbp 17'', but learning how to cope with a track pad, smaller screen size, and smaller hdd just didn't seem to be a good idea for my first mac. Maybe I will pick up one of these next year or so.
Thanks again.
I suppose another reason its a good time to buy is because these machines have been out for a while and are not rev. A models. I have read they can be a bit riskier to buy.
The specs I have picked out are:
iMac 24''
- 2.33 c2d
- 750 gb hdd
- 2 gb ram
- wireless keyboard and mouse
This should be able to handle leopard perfectly when it comes out surely.
I was originally going to get the mbp 17'', but learning how to cope with a track pad, smaller screen size, and smaller hdd just didn't seem to be a good idea for my first mac. Maybe I will pick up one of these next year or so.
Thanks again.
We have been loping along with our old G3 for a long time now. I had decided that an upgrade is due to us this year, but I am waiting for Leopard more so than a hardware bump. I am assuming that the release of Leopard will coincide with some flashy new baubles as well. Maybe not a major release, but I'm sure some sort of new toys will be accompanying Leopard. I had started out thinking about the 24" iMac, but we have scaled back to a 20" with hdd and ram upgrade. Unless they make the price of the 24" more enticing with some rearranging of the lineup. I think it will serve our purposes very well for several years to come.
Ah, must be painful waiting. But Leopard will be worth it, guaranteed.
Wait, that's my advice.
Uh, kinda of a stupid thing to say. There havn't been any iMac rumors at all...
It would only be a stupid thing to say if it weren't correct. We'll have to wait and see.
I've been humming along with my trusty old G3 iMac & have been waiting for 10.5 &/or new iMacs. Well, my finances finally came together & I could not see waiting till June as I want waht a new iMac can offer NOW.
So I just picked up a 20" C2D iMac from the Refurb store about a couple of hours ago. Now I get to play the waiting game until it arrives & then see if I won the lottery of more ram or bigger HD or ???
I am happy right now & will be when 10.5 comes out & I will cheerfully pay for the upgrade then.
So I just picked up a 20" C2D iMac from the Refurb store about a couple of hours ago. Now I get to play the waiting game until it arrives & then see if I won the lottery of more ram or bigger HD or ???
I am happy right now & will be when 10.5 comes out & I will cheerfully pay for the upgrade then.
June? June?? I don't want to wait until June. Maybe Leopard will be out by then but I doubt an updated iMac will be. Think of it this way. Santa Rosa is supposedly tracking for a May release. If that schedule is true then Apple needs to order some of the chips and once they get them they'll undoubtedly perform tests on them before putting them in any Mac to be sold. I highly doubt these new boxes could be ready to sell in June. Wouldn't you think Apple would spend at least a month testing the new chips? July seems much more likely for any hardware updates and that's conditional on the new chips even making it to market in May and we don't know how solid that schedule is.
Here's the real problem we all face: we are guys. Dave Barry nailed it in Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys. Guys love stuff. His example was his computer. The gist of it: His first computer was powerful enough to design a car. His next one could handle a rocket and his current one could design and control a whole space program. He also finds that it seems to be sufficient for the writing of his weekly column. Guys are just in love with gadgets and the idea of gadgets. He's been peeking into my life, I can tell you that. I can't be the only one who periodically goes to the Apple store on line and fantasy shops on the build your own pages. (Try the Maserati USA site. Or BMW, for that matter. Same drool gets on your screen.)
My history is that no matter what computer I buy, the next week I'm scoping out (increasingly lustfully) the newest stuff. Unlike a lot of you, I'm not into video editing. I do my pictures with Photoshop 7 and my PB G4 867 MHz gets them done fine and Roxio Toast Titanium does a great job ripping/editing my sound files. But still. . .Damn! A new quad core duo with 12 cylinders, paddle shifters, 1080p and 3 hdmi connectors—whoa! wrong gadgets. . .but you get my drift.
My wife, who is a smart and savy person, tries to be sympathetic. But in the end she just thinks guys are nuts in this area. I read our posts and go, yeah, yeah, me too! That's what I want! If I get my iMac in May-June, I'll spend the next couple of years drooling over the penryn Mac that I didn't wait for. It is written. It is my/our fate. And here's the kicker: I'm 62. Not only does it never end—computers, cameras, sound systems, cars, TV's—but it has to fight harder for its territory: job/career, women/partners, children. Whew. Being a guy is a lot of work. I'm not imagining things, am I? At least Dave Barry agrees. (And considering checking out the book. It's a hoot.)
My history is that no matter what computer I buy, the next week I'm scoping out (increasingly lustfully) the newest stuff. Unlike a lot of you, I'm not into video editing. I do my pictures with Photoshop 7 and my PB G4 867 MHz gets them done fine and Roxio Toast Titanium does a great job ripping/editing my sound files. But still. . .Damn! A new quad core duo with 12 cylinders, paddle shifters, 1080p and 3 hdmi connectors—whoa! wrong gadgets. . .but you get my drift.
My wife, who is a smart and savy person, tries to be sympathetic. But in the end she just thinks guys are nuts in this area. I read our posts and go, yeah, yeah, me too! That's what I want! If I get my iMac in May-June, I'll spend the next couple of years drooling over the penryn Mac that I didn't wait for. It is written. It is my/our fate. And here's the kicker: I'm 62. Not only does it never end—computers, cameras, sound systems, cars, TV's—but it has to fight harder for its territory: job/career, women/partners, children. Whew. Being a guy is a lot of work. I'm not imagining things, am I? At least Dave Barry agrees. (And considering checking out the book. It's a hoot.)
A lot of people, myself included, would and have said wait. I myself am waiting for Leopard etc to get an iMac or if my small miracle they come out with a mid-tower soon (not likely, no indication it's coming), one of those.
However, I also know a few people who will tell you that the last revision of hardware is always a safer bet than a new revision. i.e. that last of the G4 lineup over a rev. A G5 PowerMac. It's not brand new, so there shouldn't be any issues, bugs. The Intel iMacs are just that. We don't know when they might change or what changes, but the C2D iMacs are very good machines that are pretty much peaking in terms of performance and reliability for this design.
Likewise can often be said about OS releases. Those waiting for Leopard may find themselves dealing with bugs, etc that several months and 10.5.1 and 10.5.2 updates solve. A lot of people wait till those are out to upgrade their existing machines in order to sidestep the headaches.
So if you want an iMac, don't need to know that a newer model might come out in 2-4 months, don't want the latest OS on it, etc, you may very well be happy buying it and getting that use out of it. If Leopard is all that great, buy it down the line after it's been out a few months. $129 isn't too bad. And Tiger and iLife '06 are a great software package.
However, I also know a few people who will tell you that the last revision of hardware is always a safer bet than a new revision. i.e. that last of the G4 lineup over a rev. A G5 PowerMac. It's not brand new, so there shouldn't be any issues, bugs. The Intel iMacs are just that. We don't know when they might change or what changes, but the C2D iMacs are very good machines that are pretty much peaking in terms of performance and reliability for this design.
Likewise can often be said about OS releases. Those waiting for Leopard may find themselves dealing with bugs, etc that several months and 10.5.1 and 10.5.2 updates solve. A lot of people wait till those are out to upgrade their existing machines in order to sidestep the headaches.
So if you want an iMac, don't need to know that a newer model might come out in 2-4 months, don't want the latest OS on it, etc, you may very well be happy buying it and getting that use out of it. If Leopard is all that great, buy it down the line after it's been out a few months. $129 isn't too bad. And Tiger and iLife '06 are a great software package.
an Architects Dream
Here designing buildings with a 4 year old G4 power pc 1.0 ghz, 1.7 gb ram....
I dream of a new 24" Imac. Supposedly 7 times faster on processing my memory taxing rendering modes on 3d cad software known as "Vectorworks". Monitor is an 8 year old NEC 19.5" viewable. I think it came with bell bottom pants and a bean bag chair. But I also visit the Apple stores as a kind of monthly pilgrimage. I bring handiwipes for the drool while standing at the 30" monitor. (44 year olds shouldn't say words like, "cool' and 'awesome' too loud in a retail establishment. It's embarrassing.)
And so I dream of my 30" Imac. The affordable, powerful mac for artists, graphic designers, architects and our brethren. Will it exist? Can it? Might it?
IS their a sage who knows this holy grail really exists? I would wait a year and follow maps to the cave for my next clue. Help.
Here designing buildings with a 4 year old G4 power pc 1.0 ghz, 1.7 gb ram....
I dream of a new 24" Imac. Supposedly 7 times faster on processing my memory taxing rendering modes on 3d cad software known as "Vectorworks". Monitor is an 8 year old NEC 19.5" viewable. I think it came with bell bottom pants and a bean bag chair. But I also visit the Apple stores as a kind of monthly pilgrimage. I bring handiwipes for the drool while standing at the 30" monitor. (44 year olds shouldn't say words like, "cool' and 'awesome' too loud in a retail establishment. It's embarrassing.)
And so I dream of my 30" Imac. The affordable, powerful mac for artists, graphic designers, architects and our brethren. Will it exist? Can it? Might it?
IS their a sage who knows this holy grail really exists? I would wait a year and follow maps to the cave for my next clue. Help.