Just ordered my first ever Mac :)

[Henryz]

Yesterday I ordered the Imac i7 which will be my first Mac I've owned. I got a student discount so it cost me a little less than the i5 would normally cost.

After shelling out so much money I'm concious that it won't be as good as I initially thought, does anyone have experience with an i7 or even i5?

Do you think Apple will do any major updates such as overhaul of asthetics any time in the near future? It's the going out of date factor which bothers me. I have an iphone 3g, but i dont mind the 3gs, because it looks the same. Bit sad, I know haha.

 

[stridemat]

I very much doubt they will do anything drastically different to how the imac look now in the near future. The i7 should serve you well for many years to come. It's a beast of a machine. Before I leave Uni I might even purchase one myself, call it an investment in my future.

 

[spinnerlys]

Looking around the iMac sub forum will give you many, many threads about user's experiences with the i5/7 iMacs, and the iMac was just updated in October with a new/updated design, so it will stay that way for the next years or three.

And the "going out of date" factor shouldn't concern you with computers, as they are outdated the minute you buy them.

 

[BlueRevolution]

And the "going out of date" factor shouldn't concern you with computers, as they are outdated the minute you buy them.

However, my iMac will celebrate its second birthday this summer and my iBook its 9th, and both are perfectly adequate for my purposes. Don't concern yourself with replacements or upgrades until your current (new) computer ceases to effectively perform the tasks that you demand of it. That may be next year or in 10 years, depending on what you need.

 

[newdeal]

...

the 27" imac not only will be rediculously fast but the display on it is absolutely amazing. I went into the store and when I saw it I was like wow that is by far the nicest display I have ever seen

 

[BlueRevolution]

I'm sorry, 24" still feels massive to me.

I wonder how large our displays will be in 5 years. Heck, in 2004 the iMacs were 15" and 17".

 

[Henryz]

Hey guys, thanks for the replys. I don't think It will go out of date performance wise for maybe 3 years but I am very geeky in the sense I like to have the newest looking model. I could swallow the recent design change however, as they look almost the same

Looking through the forums is scary as there have been many problems with the 27" iMac, unfortunately there is nothing I can do as this is the only computer I want. Just have to trust that apple will look after me if it all goes peteTong!

 

[Makosuke]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Yes, it's possible that you'll get a system with early-adopter glitches, but Apple is usually very good about working through those. The only problematic systems I have experience with are early G5 iMacs, which due to the capacitor snafu had flaky power supplies, but Apple went so far as to repair those for free even after the 3 year warranty and their extension due to problems had expired.

That said, I'd personally be sure to buy AppleCare for it--it's not too much of an investment to protect a $2000 computer, particularly when you consider how expensive (and difficult) it can be to repair a computer with that many integrated components.

I wonder how large our displays will be in 5 years. Heck, in 2004 the iMacs were 15" and 17".

Well, in 2004 the biggest monitor you could buy was 30". In 2009, the biggest monitor you can buy (from any company) is... 30". Sure, you can get a TV as big as you want, but as far as high-resolution monitors, that's still the upper limit for any sort of a product for normal humans (I'm ignoring massive special-purpose systems). Same goes for why most laptops still top out at 17", or 19" for the huge desktop-replacement gaming rigs.

And I don't think that's due to technical constraints or accident--that's about the biggest you can get without having to either move your neck around a lot or sit farther away, and once you sit farther away there's no point in the higher resolution, as you can't see it anyway without leaning way closer. The few people who do need extra area for some special purpose can just run multiple monitors.

Things could change someday if interfaces change, but really I don't expect to see much larger than 30" for a while yet--it's just that the LOW end is creeping up toward that physical constraint.

Oh, and the screen on the i7 iMac is indeed beautiful. Big, but more usable than I was expecting, and the color rendition is gorgeous.

 

[Henryz]

I did buy the Apple care, it is just 43 pound on the i7 when you are a student. To me that's a steal, something is bound to go wrong (as it has with other computers I have owned).

I am really looking forward to getting off my laptop and setting myself a work station up. I've been using a friends 24" and it just lets you immerce yourself and I seem to be able to concenrate a lot more, just excellent stuff.

I don't think I would want a bigger screen size than 27", I have a 37" LCD but it is horrible to work on, partly because of the size and it just doesn't hold the same quality as a high res monitor.

 

[Thunderbird]

Yesterday I ordered the Imac i7 which will be my first Mac I've owned. I got a student discount so it cost me a little less than the i5 would normally cost.

After shelling out so much money I'm concious that it won't be as good as I initially thought, does anyone have experience with an i7 or even i5?

Do you think Apple will do any major updates such as overhaul of asthetics any time in the near future? It's the going out of date factor which bothers me. I have an iphone 3g, but i dont mind the 3gs, because it looks the same. Bit sad, I know haha.

Congratulations on joining the Apple cult You will now be required to shave your head and recite, "Redmond, start your photocopiers." over and over again in front of a large portrait of Steve Jobs.

But seriously, the 27" iMac seems like a good way to start your Mac adventures. You don't have to worry so much about Macs getting out of date, at least not anymore. For the past couple of years iMacs have had the latest processors, memory and HDD capacity at the time of their release dates. These specs should last well into the future. Some complain about the video cards, but honestly, there are new latest and greatest video cards coming out every couple of months and it would be difficult for Apple to have the highest end video card possible at any given refresh that would satisfy everyone's desires. If you are a real power user and absolutely need the latest, highest proc speed or HDD capacity, you can always sell your current iMac and upgrade to the newest one, as iMacs hold their resale value very well.

Design changes tend to happen every couple of years. Speed bumps and any firmware updates come out every 6-8 months. Consult the buyers guide for product history.

Just enjoy your machine and get things done with it.

 

[BlueRevolution]

Well, in 2004 the biggest monitor you could buy was 30". In 2009, the biggest monitor you can buy (from any company) is... 30". Sure, you can get a TV as big as you want, but as far as high-resolution monitors, that's still the upper limit for any sort of a product for normal humans (I'm ignoring massive special-purpose systems). Same goes for why most laptops still top out at 17", or 19" for the huge desktop-replacement gaming rigs.

There are practical reasons for that. Even dual-link DVI maxes out at 3840x2400, where most 30" displays are 2560x1600. Not a whole lot of wiggle room left if you keep the pixel pitch the same, and recent trends have been towards higher-resolution displays as well.

As for laptops, well, I don't expect we'll ever see laptops beyond 20" in the present-day form factor. Laptops are designed to be mobile, and in my opinion, anything over 15"... isn't.