For the usage your wife requires she will be fine with the base iMac.. I would even suggest the previous generation as it is now cheaper. Now if she were to get into gaming, that would be a different story...
Luckily the previous generation 20" iMac (the one prior to yesterday that is) is still available in several stores in my area, so perhaps this is the way to go for her.
She isn't into gaming, so that's not an issue.
I've been comparing specs:
a) the previous 20" iMac (2.4 GHz) compared to the new model (2.66 GHz) should (on paper at least) make the new one 10.8% faster. Would this be noticeable for most people?
b) the previous (2.4 GHz) 20" iMac used 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM while the new (2.66 GHz) model uses 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM memory. Does this make any difference in performance or otherwise?
c) the previous (2.4 GHz) model comes with 1 GB memory (which is expandable to 4 GB) while the new model (2.66 GHz) comes with 2 GB (expandable to 8 GB).
I suppose expanding memory beyond 1 GB for anyone would make the computer more responsive (less temporary file writing) for just about anyone, but would my wife have any need to expand memory beyond 4 MB?
If she was to buy the old (2.4 GHz) 20" iMac: what kind of memory configurations does it take, and are these memory expansion boards expensive?
d) graphics: for the old (2.4 GHz) model:
ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128 MB GDDR3 memory while the new (2.66 GHz) model comes with
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256 MB DDR3 SDRAM (memory shared with the computer's main memory). Those specs are Greek to me, except I find it strange that the new iMac shares its graphics memory with its main memory -isn't that a drawback?
Again: how will the new vs. old graphic card affect my wife's computer enjoyment?
e) Finally, I know that Snow Leopard is expected (hopefully) soon and that it should give our Macs so much better performance, but does this apply to any (Intel based) Mac, or would mostly the newly introduced iMacs benefit from it?
I seem to recall something about taking advantage of new graphic cards, which is why I'm wondering if the new 20" iMac would be a better investment in the long run (it won't become outdated as soon) or if it wouldn't make much difference for my wife, even if she should get Snow Leopard (Apple gives it away to people who have bought a new Mac within 1 month release of the new OS, don't they?).
Oh, like someone else pointed out earlier, the new iMac doesn't come with a remote, for some strange reason (they probably cost $ 0.50 to make or something, in China). It also seems that it no longer comes with an extended keyboard (i.e. with a numeric keypad) by default, but it looks like it can be had with no extra cost if you order online. I guess they want to cut production cost, making it harder for people to get the extended keyboard if they don't really, really want it and you won't get it if you buy an iMac in the store (if they don't take custom orders there that is, but meaning people will have to wait).
