Newbie, Is this iMac 27 worth it?

[mach10]

Hi everyone, I'm a complete mac newb, although fairly technically minded. I have 3 questions for anyone nice enough to help me out

I've been offered a:

Mid 2010 i5 2.8Ghz, HD 5750 GPU, 12 GB RAM, 1TB, 27 imac with 6 months apple care warranty for £1100

1. Is this a good deal?

2. Will it be quick? I understand things like this are relative... I'm coming from a 4Ghz i7 (OC), 6GB 2Ghz, 128GB SSD, Geforce 460GTX Windows 7 PC

I'm interested in this as my first imac because of the ability to still use the PC with it via mini-displayport connection... and also PS3 via HDMI>Kanex>DP which leads me to my last question...

3. If I use a displayport from PC GPU to displayport on imac will I get full resolution? or just the 720p that is limited via HDMI>displayport.

Sorry for all the questions.

Many thanks

Adam

 

[comatory]

Not a bad deal though I think you could get the seller to offer it for 1000gbp.

Remember the machine will feel slower than your current PC because it doesn't have SSD drive, also the CPU is previous gen of Core CPU so it's not up to date. Also the GPU is underpowered.

The only upside that I can think of is that you can use this model of iMac as external screen (I think).

If you buy it, install at least SSD in it so you can have similar experience as on your PC.

 

[mach10]

Hi Thanks for your reply.

I hear what your saying there; my main pull is that wonderful screen (which is circa £900 on its own, or at least £550 from a competitor) and the ability to tidy my desktop up with one screen and tidy all the other kit (PC/PS3 etc) into a ventilated cupboard.

The GPU on the mac is going to get old quite quickly even if I had the latest 6 series card... my main reason for wanting to be able to hook up to that screen so that I can drop in the latest gen card in the PC... or Xbox 720/PS4 etc.

I would also like to use the OSX to get to grips with the OS and the Mac programs as a development thing.

The Apple always retains some decent resale value too.

 

[comatory]

OK go for it, sounds like you'll benefit from having it.

Just remember that for the same money you can get entry level iMac.

If it's screen you're going after and not so much for the computer, I'd say buy it. Still, I'd try to talk to seller to lower the price to match it with entry level iMac, for those 100gbp get the SSD.

 

[mach10]

Tempted, but not fully.. yet.

Would you know the following:

3. If I use a displayport from PC GPU to displayport on imac will I get full resolution? or just 720

 

[eddjedi]

From my experience you won't get 'full resolution' (eg 2560 x 1400) through the mini display port. Using the Belkin adapter, the best I could get my PC laptop to display was 1080p (1920 x 1080) which looked terrible.

 

[mach10]

Thanks for the response, just seen the following video on YT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AalGp7IGzjs

Seems the poster managed full res with the belkin lead... he's using a ATi HD 6950... out of interest which PC GPU are you using?

 

[comatory]

Maybe youd be better off with 27 in ultrasharp display from Dell (used the same panel as iMac/TB display),it will be cheaper than iMac and youll be able to connect anything without hassle.

Later you can get used Mac mini since performance isnt important to you.

 

[JootecFromMars]

I would say with 2 year old tech and with it looking like new iMacs coming out by the end of next month, £1100 seems a tad expensive to me. You could buy a current refurb from Apple for probably about £100 more. If Apple maintain their price points, a 2012 Ivy Bridge 27" at £1400 would blitz the 2 year old version.

 

[mach10]

Maybe youd be better off with 27 in ultrasharp display from Dell (used the same panel as iMac/TB display),it will be cheaper than iMac and youll be able to connect anything without hassle.

Later you can get used Mac mini since performance isnt important to you.

I am leaning towards that school of thought re: the display, thanks for the suggestion.

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I would say with 2 year old tech and with it looking like new iMacs coming out by the end of next month, £1100 seems a tad expensive to me. You could buy a current refurb from Apple for probably about £100 more. If Apple maintain their price points, a 2012 Ivy Bridge 27" at £1400 would blitz the 2 year old version.

Very true; think these responses have made my mind up... I'll wait for a while, keep checking the refurbished Apple offerings and see what turns up with the Ivy Bridge Macs...

Is there any talk of the Ivy Bridge CPU models having better connectivity for other devices? Or is this most likely a CPU/GPU/RAM upgrade thing only.