New iMac vs. new PC

[fleg123]

If you follow the technology, you will know when is a good time to buy. A wise buyer can easily get 5 years out of his core system with a few updates down the road.

QFT. My 2006 MBP has lasted me for 5 years now. True, I've had to be selective about my games lately, and they're only really playable on lowest settings, but even SC2 works. /shrug. It's not ideal, but if I wanted a dedicated gaming box I would build a PC.

I'm about to upgrade to an iMac and I expect to get 4-5 years out of it, as well as at least another year out of this MBP (holding out for ivy bridge).

You could build a PC and increase the upgradability, but with Thunderbolt externals coming this summer to take care of increased storage, how much more does a typical user really upgrade? I've built my own PCs in the past and they still only last me about as long as my MBP has.

 

[Psilocybin]

Sorry, but your wrong. Never had malware so your "guarantee" is a bit off.

I would love proof of this but it's not possible


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[thejadedmonkey]

I just ordered a new Dell.. basically because for $1000 (less than a 13" MBP) I get a 13" Business class machine, esata port, 2 years of next-day-on-site warranty, and a dedicated video card. This is in addition to the 2011 Core i5, metal exterior, backlit keyboard, 4gb of RAM, 7 hour video card, etc...

The only major difference is the CD drive isn't slot-loading, and it's got USB 3.0 instead of TB.

 

[frizzr13]

Windows better than Mac os x? As soon as I read that there is no need to read the rest of your post


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If you didn't even read the next sentence where he said Windows is better for power users then you are very closed minded. The fact that you cannot accept that OSX isn't perfect discredits your post and possibly future posts on what you "reccomend"

So I am at a point where I looking into replacing my 2008 MBP with a new computer. I have decided to go with a desktop since I use my iPad a lot, and recently my MBP has just stayed connected to my 21" monitor.

I love my MBP and OSX; no doubt about it. However, when looking at the new iMacs, I am torn when it comes to their price vs. a PC. For example, for $20 less than the 21.5" 2.8Ghz Core i7 iMac, I can get the Dell Studio XPS 9100 and gain 8gb of RAM (total of 12gb), 1TB of hard drive space (total of 2TB), and get a better video card.

So do I sacrifice the operating system and go with the more powerful PC? I understand the decision is ultimately personal, but any incites would be great!

Thanks!

In response to OP for the base $1200 iMac that is the best hardware/$. If you prefer OSX to windows and most of the programs you use are OSX based then spend the extra money to get a more powerful Mac. If you enjoy gaming and prefer a wider range of programs then go with a windows based computer as the graphics support is WAY better with DirectX and Nvidia or ATI drivers. If you have your heart set on an iMac then just run boot camp and you will get the same performance as you would a Windows computer with those specs.

Good luck as well!

 

[frizzr13]

It's not hard to get malware. Viruses are one thing malware is another I am extremely experienced with PCS and I end up with malware. Of course I dont use pcs anymore but I guarantee you you will have malware of some sort


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Maybe if you didn't click on every popup and go view zoo porn then you wouldn't get malware. It's really not that hard to avoid if your not a complete retard.

 

[Psilocybin]

Maybe if you didn't click on every popup and go view zoo porn then you wouldn't get malware. It's really not that hard to avoid if your not a complete retard.

Ok buddy run a program called hijack this and post your results And you are calling someone a complete retard who I guarantee you has far superior knowledge than yourself.

Ah nevermind I'm going to go enjoy my new iMac. You can continue the argument by yourself. I'm out

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[frizzr13]

Ok buddy run a program called hijack this and post your results And you are calling someone a complete retard who I guarantee you has far superior knowledge than yourself.

Ah nevermind I'm going to go enjoy my new iMac. You can continue the argument by yourself. I'm out

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>far superior knowledge
>got malware
>nope.avi

 

[Ace134blue]

Maybe if you didn't click on every popup and go view zoo porn then you wouldn't get malware. It's really not that hard to avoid if your not a complete retard.

Exactly.. Psilo.. whatever.. is saying everybody has malware on a PC... You honestly do have to click a bunch of porno links to get malware and most people have sense on whats not a good site to be on. I honestly doubt he knows as much as he thinks he does.

Edit: and for the hell of it, i ran hijackthis too ... and what do you know.. it found nothing wrong.

 

[Psilocybin]

Meh maybe Microsoft has upped it's security since the last time I used it

But I am proud to admit I was wrong haha

All well in glad things have looked up


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[timtom33]

Over and out...

If I'm honest i am contemplating returning my iMac. My 14 days are up this Friday so I have a few days before I pick up the phone. I do like OSX and the way everything is just very easy. Plus the machine looks awesome.

My number 1 main fear though that i cant get past at the moment is that the thing costs £2,000, and if it fails i am powerless to fix it. I have Apple care, but i still have to take the whole machine to be repaired by a technician. Then when the 3 years is up, what then if something goes wrong? With all my previous PC's i could remove the failed part and fix it myself. I had that confidence and peace of mind. Plus things can be upgraded.

The problem is a PC will be less desirable looking, hold onto less of its resale value (if any), i am now use to a 27" high res screen and not sure how much the equivalent PC display would cost, a PC will be noisy and power hungry, and i do get really annoyed with Windows sometimes, BUT what ever goes wrong with it, i know i could fix it.

It's not so much about price, because if i build a PC it would be close to £1,800 - £2,000 i think as i would go all out on the spec. It more about my main fear detailed above.

Still deciding what to do :-( ... Any comments to help me would be appreciated.

Done, set up a return. Second iMac with screens issues now going back for refund. I can't be arsed ********** about trying to get something acceptable from what is meant to be a premium product. My relationship with Apple is over for now. In the last couple of months i have attempted the following:

- iPad 2 - refund due to screen bleed / yellow.
- iMac X2 - first exchange and now refund on the second due to red tint.

That's £3,000 worth of stuff that has failed to deliver on expectations.

With the money I'm now Off to build a much faster PC with SSD, Blu-ray drive, and none of the lock down Apple now has on hardware and i will be happy knowing i can fix/upgrade anything i want at any time i want with out invalidating warranties etc. Just need to find a nice 27" screen and i recon i will be happy.

I am sad about my experience, it was a good computer, Apple is still a cool company, i loved OSX and the hardware did look nice, but for the money (£2,000+) i can never justify putting up with the issues i have experienced. Their use of cheap parts is starting to show and i wonder how their future will be being a company with a reputation built of superior build quality etc. Was never comfortable with the fact i had also bought a computer and Apple basically told me that i don't own the hardware and i can never easily upgrade or swap out parts, thus locked into their yearly refresh cycle.

Here are two pictures to show you what you what i am talking about, see the bright spot in the middle of the screen, it also looks like a red vertical band in the middle (increase the saturation on those images and you can really see the band). I often browse the web with two pages open side by side, both the iMacs i have had, those two pages never match in colour, i know LCD's are never perfect, but this sort of thing is pretty key wouldn't you say!...





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[skasol]

Done, set up a return. Second iMac with screens issues now going back for refund. I can't be arsed ********** about trying to get something acceptable from what is meant to be a premium product. My relationship with Apple is over for now. In the last couple of months i have attempted the following:

- iPad 2 - refund due to screen bleed / yellow.
- iMac X2 - first exchange and now refund on the second due to red tint.

That's £3,000 worth of stuff that has failed to deliver on expectations.

With the money I'm now Off to build a much faster PC with SSD, Blu-ray drive, and none of the lock down Apple now has on hardware and i will be happy knowing i can fix/upgrade anything i want at any time i want with out invalidating warranties etc. Just need to find a nice 27" screen and i recon i will be happy.

I am sad about my experience, it was a good computer, Apple is still a cool company, i loved OSX and the hardware did look nice, but for the money (£2,000+) i can never justify putting up with the issues i have experienced. Their use of cheap parts is starting to show and i wonder how their future will be being a company with a reputation built of superior build quality etc. Was never comfortable with the fact i had also bought a computer and Apple basically told me that i don't own the hardware and i can never easily upgrade or swap out parts, thus locked into their yearly refresh cycle.

Here are two pictures to show you what you what i am talking about, see the bright spot in the middle of the screen, it also looks like a red vertical band in the middle (increase the saturation on those images and you can really see the band). I often browse the web with two pages open side by side, both the iMacs i have had, those two pages never match in colour, i know LCD's are never perfect, but this sort of thing is pretty key wouldn't you say!...

[url=http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/8665/imag0603y.jpg]Image[/URL]

[url=http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/3130/imag0576.jpg]Image[/URL]

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I completely understand how you feel, my old mbp had issues within 3 months of being new, trackpad stop working, the screen was bleeding, bad video card. Apple finally replaced my unit but like you I don't think a Premium product should have that many issues. I am too contemplating buying an Imac just to make a full switch but still wondering either an Imac or Mac pro or just build a sick ass PC.

 

[gpzjock]

I switched from iMac refreshing to Mac Pro using in 2008, I didn't like glossy screens and felt the price of a 2008 octo MP was well within my budget.
I can't tell you how happy I am with it still.
With the original CPUs (2.8 ghz) 16 GB RAM, 1.4 TB of HDD storage, a 120 GB SSD for the OS and a flashed 5870 sapphire card it returns 11000 point Geekbench scores and runs everything I want it to with no problems at all, often simultaneously.
I visited a friend recently and checked over his 2008 gaming rig PC, it had the desktop version of 1 of my CPUs (quad core 2.8 ghz) 8 GB RAM and a standard HDD, the GFX card was upgraded from dual GTX 280 to a single GTX470 after 1 of the 280s burned out. See the difference in Geekbench below:

http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/417560 2008 PC

http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/370497 Mac Pro 2008

Upgrades ftw. The main restriction on the PC is the cheap motherboard and RAM, as well as it's inability to support double quad core CPUs ofc

 

[timtom33]

Great story... but 2008 was hardly the year for cutting edge computing...

And yes all computers can fail.. at least he had the option to replace the card himself, and maybe buy a better one, instead of sending the whole machine off to a repair center...

 

[bearcatrp]

Don't blame you for returning it. Seems after 2008, quality at apple has suffered. My 2006 iMac is still running flawlessly. Had a 2006 and a 2008 Mac pro which were awesome too. Sold them. Started building my own. Wish I could afford anther pro but just to expensive. My mini runs rock solid but doesn't have the horse power for editing that I want. Hoping the next Mac pro refresh brings the prices down. To afraid to try a newer iMac due to reading many horror stories.

 

[gpzjock]

Great story... but 2008 was hardly the year for cutting edge computing...

And yes all computers can fail.. at least he had the option to replace the card himself, and maybe buy a better one, instead of sending the whole machine off to a repair center...

My point is any PC/Mac tower can be upgraded but the limits of the existing hardware mean eventually you need to replace from the ground up unless you have a good starting point that is capable of standing the test of time.

and your point is?........

Folks buying an iMac know the upgrade path is sell it and get a new one. If you don't want that, don't buy it. Ultimately I think returning it is the right decision for you as you know you can do better yourself.

Cutting edge = fails more often. I'll take tried and tested architecture every time thanks.

 

[timtom33]

I agree with what you are saying, tried, tested and reliable is good. However the fact if the matter is everything might be great with it, but the screen for me lets it down based upon my first hand experience, hence why its no longer an option. So for me the screen is 'tried, tested (twice) and failed'.

This for me is a fundamental thing, because i bought it for the large screen and it was one of the bigger selling points that made me buy it. Because for the money it costs, i would expect better, if not the best possible hardware. The software is the best possible, i really like OSX and the whole experience, but hardware-wise...

We wouldn't even be having this conversation if everything was fine, i would too busy enjoying my new iMac.

 

[gpzjock]

Dare I say that 27" LED screens are a little too cutting edge right now?
When they first appeared they had bleed problems and they never went away. I think Apple were a bit reckless making them a standard feature to a mass market device when these issues were still to be resolved.

 

[jrasero23]

Stay with OSX

Apple has never played the specs game and neither should you. Too many people buy a computer one wants not needs. Apple won't give you the best specs for the money usually but they always give top notch user experiences. OSX is hands down better than W7 which I have had on multiple laptops. I used to be a big PC but released I was tired of viruses (I know Mac still can get) and having to always cleanup my computer. Also if you plan to resell your computer you will get a lot more back with Apple. I bought a refurbished Mac Mini 2010 for $599 and upgraded the ram to 4Gigs and bought a mouse and keyboard. That come out to $780. After 9 months I just sold it for $600. I have never seen a PC resell for anything close to that margin.