Need help deciding on first iMac/MB

[J&JPolangin]

Being stationed overseas in Japan is difficult to have computers shipped from the Apple refurb store or I'd consider getting a 2.0 UMB (with the exception of the worrysome denting case issue).

I can get the following from the local on-base NEX:
1. 20" iMac 2.4 Ghz last years model NIB for $979 close out last one
2. 13" white book current model 2.0 w/ 9400M graphics for $949 last one
3. 20" iMac 2.66 Ghz current model NIB for $1,189 but if I spend that much money I figure that I'd go for the 24" iMac with the better display pannel, double the RAM and double the HDD...

This is my first Mac of any kind as I refuse to use Vista systems - they are a PITA and my wife wants a Mac anyway...I have several other PC's all running WinXP and they work but aren't the fastest things any more as the desk top is already 9 yrs old now and I have a Toshiba 1905-s303, Sony PCG-TR33A and an eeePC 1000H.

I'm looking for the best value out of the above choices and I won't spend more than $1489 for the 24" iMac but I don't feel I really want/need to spend that much $$ for the "slight" increase in specs.

Any advise would be welcome.

V/r,
Jeff

 

[chrono1081]

Id go for the iMac. More bankg for the buck and its sooo nice. Get the 24 incher you will love it.

 

[iknowyourider]

I'm looking for the best value out of the above choices

Any advise would be welcome.

I think the 20" 2.4 is a better deal. If I bought the MB, I'd still have to buy a KB, Mouse & Display.

 

[cdcastillo]

Get the number 1: the iMac at less than a 1000 bucks, you can upgrade the RAM later for cheap (less than 50 USD for 4 GB), and since it is a desktop, you could buy a 1TB external harddrive for about 115 Bucks if needed.

 

[DakotaGuy]

I just bought the iMac you are thinking about getting. It's a great computer for the price. I paid $999 for the 20" 2.4Ghz iMac, but my Apple dealer also threw in an extra 1 GB of RAM for free. I was upgrading from an early 2006 20" Core Duo and I definitely notice the performance improvement.

I agree with the other people that think you should go for the 2.4 Ghz iMac for that price.

 

[J&JPolangin]

Id go for the iMac. More bankg for the buck and its sooo nice. Get the 24 incher you will love it.

...the more I think about the 24" iMac, I don't think I want to spend that much on my first Mac computer - RAM and HDD's are cheap to upgrade and the 9400M graphics don't lead me to believe spending the extra $$ on the larger display panel would worth the $$.

I think the 20" 2.4 is a better deal. If I bought the MB, I'd still have to buy a KB, Mouse & Display.

...I have a 19" Sharp LCD I could use along with a wired keyboard and wireless keyboard/mouse set - in blue tooth or standard USB.

Get the number 1: the iMac at less than a 1000 bucks, you can upgrade the RAM later for cheap (less than 50 USD for 4 GB), and since it is a desktop, you could buy a 1TB external harddrive for about 115 Bucks if needed.

...I have a 1 TB external HDD that I was going to network to an AEBS a couple weeks ago but apple announced the new dual band AEBS's so I returned the old model for a full credit in anticipation of the new model arriving at the base store.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...another question I have is the ATI 2400 GPU with 128 mb of DDR3 memory, how would that compare to the NVidia 9400 GPU with shared memory (up to 256 mb - but shared)?

Will the discrete GPU be better, same or worse than the newer GPU?

 

[DakotaGuy]

...another question I have is the ATI 2400 GPU with 128 mb of DDR3 memory, how would that compare to the NVidia 9400 GPU with shared memory (up to 256 mb - but shared)?

Will the discrete GPU be better, same or worse than the newer GPU?

I would think that the shared NVidia 9400 might be slightly better because it does have a little more memory then the ATI Radeon 2400 XT and it is a newer design. It comes down to how you use your computer. I am not a gamer so I was not that concerned with the graphics capability.

So far I find that the GPU in my iMac performs about the same as the x1600 that I had in my white Core Duo, but seems to do better with HD material.