Is Now the Time To Buy

[milesc3]

Hello All, I'm new to this forum and to the current generation of MACs (I had one of the first MACs years ago). I am a computer professional who was forced to use Windows by my employer. Recently some of the requirements by my employer have been relaxed and I have gotten the urge to own another MAC. I have used this and other MAC related forums to do research for the past couple of months and was just about ready to pull the trigger until I started reading about the problems with the yellow screen and other quality related problems.

I realize that the vast majority of people come to forums to either help, solve a problem, or complain. I'm wondering just how serious these problems really are and should I postpone pulling the trigger on a fully loaded IMAC until some resolution has been reached?

 

[robgendreau]

Screen issues with iMacs go back further than just the most recent iMacs. You would have to wait out the current generation, or at least keep searching forums to see if any recent problems had cropped up. But I doubt Apple is making any changes in sourcing the screens.

If that's too much of a risk, considering you can always return it, I'd say fergeddaboutit and get something that has an external display that's less of a problem to replace.

 

[Bear]

Buy it, if you don't like the screen return it. There's a chance of a bad screen (or some other part) no matter how good quality control is.

 

[fastlanephil]

If you purchase it directly from Apple you have a few days to ask for a refund or exchange with no strings attached.

I had a screen issue with my iMac G5 years ago and got the run around from AppleCare so I took it to a certified Apple Tech who checked it out, spotted the issue, called Apple and the screen was replaced on Apple's dime in a few days.

 

[DerekS]

Personally I'd hold off to see what January and February bring.

I'm holding out hope for a retina desktop of some kind from Apple.

Also, "Mac" is not an acronym, so it's "Mac" not "MAC."

 

[milesc3]

Sorry for giving the impression that I don't understand the QC issues, but I'm a bit gun shy. I have always built my own computers (15 years) and only used the "best parts". My last experience with the so called "best parts" suppliers required me to return 3 motherboards, a CPU and a GPU before I could put together a working device.

Even with the occasional horror story you read about Apple Care they still are the best product service available by a long shot. I just want to buy a quality product and have it work somewhat close to what is advertised. I am a System Administrator for a large Oracle based healthcare clinical database with around 4,000 users so I really need reliability.

 

[Bear]

Personally I'd hold off to see what January and February bring.

I'm holding out hope for a retina desktop of some kind from Apple.

Also, "Mac" is not an acronym, so it's "Mac" not "MAC."

Most of us doubt we'd see an iMac update before September or October. Waiting for what might when there are no substantive rumors is a waste of time when one could be using a new system. If this was July or August I'd probably suggest waiting for new iMacs, but I'd only do that after checking the current status of processor upgrades from Intel.

 

[robgendreau]

Since you're a builder, can I suggest a hackintosh?

First, you already probably have your favorite vendors that you're experienced with for all the stuff, like processors (well, just Intel), graphics cards, PSU, mobo, etc. I find the best reliability in something I can take apart and fix, but I realize that's just a personal pref. Yeah, it takes a bit longer to set up but I prefer that.

And in your case if things don't work or you want something else you can repurpose the stuff to the PC side...and you may already have some stuff that works.

With iMacs the problem is that even a HDD failure, which isn't exactly uncommon, means using externals from then on. Not as much of a problem as with USB 2, but still annoying. Or you could pay even more and get an extended warranty. Me, I'd like to just swap in another drive. Done and done.

Oh, and you'll save a crap load of $$.

 

[cyberbro]

Just buy when your ready.

To the original Poster:

The current generation of Mac's are Great, I have an iMac and at Retina Macbook pro. I got both in December 2013 and neither has has any issue's at all.

I like you was away from the Mac for 10 years or so and forgot how good they really are, until I came back to the brand recently.

You can now run Window right on the hardware and it works very well, not like the beginning days on Windows emulator's.

It's like riding a horse, just get back on. As far as waiting or not, I always say (not just about computer but anything) buy when your ready to buy, if you are always waiting for this day of reckoning when everything is perfect in timing you will never buy anything. Its like a car, they will always have something that could be better and the new model always comes out when you just picked up the last one.

 

[Twimfy]

Just buy one. 99% of users are happy with their machines. Think about it, people only come to forums and say something when they have a problem. Rarely if they're satisfied with a device. If they did the servers here would collapse.

It pays to be sensible though so it's good that you're doing your research but if there was a high failure/dissatisfaction rate (over 10%) there'd be a product wide recall and it'd likely be all over the news what with Apple's reputation.

Make yourself comfortable with the warranty and return options and then buy one. If need be, go to an Apple store or authorised retailer and speak to someone and see a machine in person. Don't base your buying decision on the problem posts and over perfectionists that can occasionally lurk here, they're in the vast minority.

 

[tomwvr]

I love my Late 2012 IMac. It is the best machine Ive ever had.

No screen issues here - no problems at all - just very very happy with this

Now let me say this
The first computer I ever used was a Commodore PET (1979) tape drive
Then I used Apple 2's in High School - we had a computer lab with 15 of these machines.
Then I purchased a MAC SE in College when they first came out - kept it until 1993 when I built a PC
Ive been building PC's ever since - until this new iMac Came out. I don't think I will ever build a PC again.

OSX is incredible - and anyone who says you cannot game on an IMac is 100% wrong- they are good gaming machines.

I say buy the 27 inch iMac I5 with the Fusion Drive or SSD drive and the best video card. You will not be happy - and if you want to run windows you can install it as either a virtual machine with Parallels or partition the drive and have a seperate windows bootable area.



Tom

 

[ElectronGuru]

I would think of this in terms of priorities. 1st is locking in your ability to switch platforms on your desk. Even if they change their minds, youll be grandfathered in. 2nd is getting a reliable machine, no crashes or lost data. 3rd are cosmetic issues like scratches or color variations.

If your work depends on color accuracy, get a retina MB and a reference monitor. If not, it comes down to personal taste and perfectionism. If you want it to look that good, its worth sending the time (and risk of the time) of a return or two.

If it were me, Id buy at an apple store, have them set it up for you after purchase, and spend some quality time with it before walking out the door. Youll know exactly what youre getting.

 

[mrsavage1]

No its not time to buy. The current imac can't drive 4k at 60hz, no tb2. Wait till the haswell refresh imacs.

 

[SaSaSushi]

I'm extremely satisfied with my Late-2013 iMac. I bought it in November. You're not likely to see any updates until next Autumn.

Go for it.

 

[ventuss]

Every iMac I got or saw in stores have warmer colors at the bottom 1/3 of the screen, which may not be all that noticeable, maybe you won't even notice, maybe yours won't have it, though I bet every mac has it.

No my personal opinion. There is no new iMac models for the next 8-10 months. I would buy it now, as soon as possible. You'll have 14 days to like it or not, just don't go waiting another year expecting the so dreamed retina display, because chances are we're not getting it for another year or two.. not in 27" size (my opinion).