New to apple

[MrLarnz82]

Hi guys, take it easy on me...
I've been with Windows for years and years and have finally decided to jump across into the apple world.
Ive bought myself a 2nd hand imac 24'' which is running 10.11.1, it's got 2.4ghz Intel core duo, 4gb and 2600 ati radeon HD.
I have a few questions before iI decide to sell my windows laptop.
This machine is a 2008 model so my first questions is, is it a bad idea buying a product this old?
I'll only be using it for things like music, watching films, playing Facebook games, the general sort of things. My current windows laptop is a lenovo Z580 with i7. Will i notice a performance drop in using this Mac over the laptop?
And last question is.....
My son plays games like war commander via Facebook and is pretty geeked out on it and also uses things like cheat engine 6.3. Will these sort of programmes work on a imac?

 

[scottish]

This machine is a 2008 model so my first questions is, is it a bad idea buying a product this old?

Depends how much you paid for it.

 

[MrLarnz82]

Depends how much you paid for it.

I got it pretty cheap, payed £200 for it, it's had a clean wipe and is ready to begin.

 

[cbrand493]

Hi guys, take it easy on me...
I've been with Windows for years and years and have finally decided to jump across into the apple world.
Ive bought myself a 2nd hand imac 24'' which is running 10.11.1, it's got 2.4ghz Intel core duo, 4gb and 2600 ati radeon HD.
I have a few questions before iI decide to sell my windows laptop.
This machine is a 2008 model so my first questions is, is it a bad idea buying a product this old?
I'll only be using it for things like music, watching films, playing Facebook games, the general sort of things. My current windows laptop is a lenovo Z580 with i7. Will i notice a performance drop in using this Mac over the laptop?
And last question is.....
My son plays games like war commander via Facebook and is pretty geeked out on it and also uses things like cheat engine 6.3. Will these sort of programmes work on a imac?

i7 laptop to C2Duo iMac? I hope you like slow.

 

[MrLarnz82]

i7 laptop to C2Duo iMac? I hope you like slow.

Is thete that much of a difference?
I don't use it for much, just a few Facebook games, some music and streaming/downloading videos

 

[cbrand493]

Is thete that much of a difference?
I don't use it for much, just a few Facebook games, some music and streaming/downloading videos

You're going from a 3.6GHz 3rd Gen i7 to a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo. That's almost a 5 year gap.

 

[MrLarnz82]

You're going from a 3.6GHz 3rd Gen i7 to a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo. That's almost a 5 year gap.

But would i notice this difference, considering i don't ever push the computer to its limits.
Like I said, i play a few Facebook games, store some pics and videos and just use it for basic everyday stuff. I was tempted to buy the new 27inch imac with i5 or i7, but the reality is, i doubt I'll ever benefit from it.

 

[cbrand493]

But would i notice this difference, considering i don't ever push the computer to its limits.
Like I said, i play a few Facebook games, store some pics and videos and just use it for basic everyday stuff. I was tempted to buy the new 27inch imac with i5 or i7, but the reality is, i doubt I'll ever benefit from it.

Almost definitely. Not to mention the hard drive and ram will be dead slow. Buying >5 year old computers is always a bad mistake, computers are advancing at too fast of rate. Even a top specced computer from 2008 with the best processor, best ram, best hard drive, best graphics available at the time would only be considered below average today.

 

[MrLarnz82]

Almost definitely. Not to mention the hard drive and ram will be dead slow. Buying >5 year old computers is always a bad mistake, computers are advancing at too fast of rate. Even a top specced computer from 2008 with the best processor, best ram, best hard drive, best graphics available at the time would only be considered below average today.

Below average for the basic things I'll be doing on it?
Is it really that bad of a computer?
I only payed £200 for it but you got me thinking maybe I've made a mistake now. I've seen the same computer going for between £300 and £350 on fleabay.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Hi guys, take it easy on me...
I've been with Windows for years and years and have finally decided to jump across into the apple world.
Ive bought myself a 2nd hand imac 24'' which is running 10.11.1, it's got 2.4ghz Intel core duo, 4gb and 2600 ati radeon HD.
I have a few questions before iI decide to sell my windows laptop.
This machine is a 2008 model so my first questions is, is it a bad idea buying a product this old?
I'll only be using it for things like music, watching films, playing Facebook games, the general sort of things. My current windows laptop is a lenovo Z580 with i7. Will i notice a performance drop in using this Mac over the laptop?
And last question is.....
My son plays games like war commander via Facebook and is pretty geeked out on it and also uses things like cheat engine 6.3. Will these sort of programmes work on a imac?

Comparing specs it shouldn't make too much difference between the 2 but I'd test out anything you want to run before selling the laptop.

 

[cbrand493]

Below average for the basic things I'll be doing on it?
Is it really that bad of a computer?
I only payed £200 for it but you got me thinking maybe I've made a mistake now. I've seen the same computer going for between £300 and £350 on fleabay.

The only thing good I can honestly say about this one is that it was cheap.

 

[fa8362]

I wouldn't buy a 7 year old computer, although it might be acceptable for a really light user. If you're lucky you might get a few more years out of it.

You'll definitely see a performance drop relative to your i7 laptop because the iMac is using 7 year old technology. It should be fine for music and films.

On the other hand, if it works for you, that's all that matters. None of the talk about whether it's outdated or slow,etc. matters. Use it until it dies, or it no longer works for you.

 

[cynics]

I skimmed the post. Just keep in mind any slow downs you experience are from the old hardware, so don't blame Macs for being slow. It would be no different then running an old Windows laptop.

I checked out their webpage and I don't see anything for Cheat Engine for OS X. If that is true then you would need to run Windows on the Mac, so it is possible in a sense but maybe not the most elegant solution for you. It would seem silly to me because if you need to run Windows, then its like downgrading laptops.