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Questions About the iMac

Tumeg101

Tumeg101

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 30, 2007
523
0
Orange County, California
I am starting to think about purchasing the low end iMac, to be my first mac. (After leopard is released of course)
But to help me with my decision, I would like for you guys to answer some of my questions I have about the new iMac.

1) How good is the video card in the low end iMac? What kinds of games could I play on it? (Don't need an entire list, just the most powerful game it can run smoothly.)

2) Is the glass screen way too glossy? I was using it at the apple store, and I didn't notice the reflection at all, but after reading around people either say that the glossy is great for photo editing\managing, and then I hear it is horrible for that.

3) Are there any known flaws with it? (Hardware\software\bugs ect.)

4) I heard that the iMac comes with 1 stick of ram, that is 1gb, and it has an open slot for another stick of ram. Is this true? Will I only need to buy a 1gb stick and put it in so I can have 2gb? Or is there 2 x 512mb sticks.

5) Is the iMac good for photo editing? (Photoshop + Aperture) Because this is the biggest thing that I will be using it for (not all the time, but as a hobby)

6) And to all the current owners of it... how do you like it? Is it amazing? Is it what you expected? What are your Pros and Cons for it?


Thank You in advanced! :apple:
 
1. It's a slightly underclocked Mobility HD 2600XT. It'll play most games reasonably at 1024 x 768 at Medium/High settings.

2. I've noticed it's very reflective in bright light. Sadly, I haven't used it in a office/home office environment. My experience comes from the Apple stores and it the reflection is annoying.

3. The biggest issue appears to be the video drivers. There have been many threads on this here.

4. It's 1 GB from one of two slots filled.

5. You might find the color accuracy questionable on the onboard LCD. It's fast enough to handle it though.
 
If I'm not mistaken, the freezing issues are only happening on the 24" iMacs, not the 20 inchers. I could be wrong, though.

That said, I've got the 2.0 Ghz iMac and it's flawless in my opinion. Perfect in every way - although I don't game.
 
MacBook Vs. iMac

Well... I am here again with this question again...
Low End iMac, or Mid Range MacBook.
Please note these are the only ones I can afford, so don't recommend something else if it is more expensive.

My problem is between the low iMac and mid MB. This will be my first mac, and I will be purchasing it as soon as leopard is released, but from a friend so I save $140 (I save $140 but will have to pay $10'ish to get the upgrade to leopard (long story, if you want it just ask))
Anyway... I will be using the mac for the usual stuff (music, chatting, internet, school, ect.) + amateur photo editing (photoshop and aperture in the future).
The only thing that would make me spend the extra $100 for the MacBook, is for the portability. Only thing is, I am not sure if I will be bringing it to enough places to be worth another $100. If I buy the iMac, I will be buying an extra 1gb of ram right away, if I get the MacBook I will be waiting until Christmas to upgrade to 2gb of ram. Even though I don't NEED the portability, it would be nice, but the 20" iMac is also very nice. I just have a few questions about the low end iMac:
1) Is the glass screen way too glossy? I was using it at the apple store, and I didn't notice the reflection at all, but after reading around people either say that the glossy is great for photo editing\managing, and then I hear it is horrible for that.
2) Are there any known flaws with it? (Hardware\software\bugs ect.)
3) I heard that the iMac comes with 1 stick of ram, that is 1gb, and it has an open slot for another stick of ram. Is this true? Will I only need to buy a 1gb stick and put it in so I can have 2gb? Or is there 2 x 512mb sticks.
4) Is the iMac good for photo editing? (Photoshop + Aperture) Because this is the biggest thing that I will be using it for (not all the time, but as a hobby)
5) And to all the current owners of it... how do you like it? Is it amazing? Is it what you expected? What are your Pros and Cons for it?
6) Does the iMac have a built in airport extreme thing? (so I can get wireless internet)


So can you guys post, saying which of these you prefer and which one you purchased (if you got one, and if you were in this situation) post a mini review of whichever one you have. Along with a recommendation for me.
 
Tumeg101 said:
2) Are there any known flaws with it? (Hardware\software\bugs ect.)
Click to expand...

Isn't there that graphics glitch

Tumeg101 said:
4) Is the iMac good for photo editing? (Photoshop + Aperture) Because this is the biggest thing that I will be using it for (not all the time, but as a hobby)
Click to expand...

Well it'll be much much better than the macbook

Tumeg101 said:
6) Does the iMac have a built in airport extreme thing? (so I can get wireless internet).
Click to expand...

Yes
 
get the macbook. portability is a feature you can't figure out how you lived without.
 
1) Many have complained, only you can be the judge, to me its a non-issue once the computer is on.

2) The iMacs are known to freeze under heavy GPU load. I have experienced this first hand on both my iMacs. It doesn't happen very often but I am hoping 10.4.11 fixes the problem. Apple is aware of the issue. The other problem is that the 20" screens exhibit a (to my eyes) slight colour gradient from top to bottom. This may affect you if you are anal about colour reproduction.

3) Yes. 1 stick of 1gb is standard all 1gb iMacs.

4) I will defer to photo experts on this one.

5) One beautiful piece of kit. I have never owned a more stylish computer in 25 years. Its fast, runs OSX and Windows and its compact. One the downside, the headphone jack is tough to get to and there aren't enough USB ports.

6)Yes. 802.11n = 300mbps with the right router.

If you decide on the MacBook, another beautiful machine IMHO, wait a month or so as a new one is just around the corner and the old one is very long in the tooth, technology wise.
 
Eidorian said:
1. It's a slightly underclocked Mobility HD 2600XT. It'll play most games reasonably at 1024 x 768 at Medium/High settings.
Click to expand...
Is that not the higher-end models? Sorry if I'm wrong but I thought that was the card in the 2.4Ghz 20".

4. It's 1 GB from one of two slots filled.
Click to expand...
So you can just slot in another 2GB stick? Awesome.
EDIT: Of course, it says in the "Tech Specs":
1GB (one SO-DIMM) of PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 memory
Click to expand...
I always thought it was two sticks of 256MB etc. before.
 
Vidd said:
Is that not the higher-end models? Sorry if I'm wrong but I thought that was the card in the 2.4Ghz 20".


So you can just slot in another 2GB stick? Awesome.
Click to expand...
That is on the higher end iMac models.

The base 2.0 GHz 20" iMac uses the much more crippled HD 2400XT.

You can just drop in a 2 GB SODIMM for 3 GB of RAM. (2 GB + 1 GB)
 
Glossy screens are fine for photo editing for amateurs. Professionals require a matte screen for color accuracy in prints (glossy screens increase contrast and saturation a little bit, I believe).

I'd say go with the MacBook because I enjoy portability especially if you have a wireless network in your house. With the iMac that I have now, I feel chained to my desk.

As for Photoshop, it depends on which version you plan on running. CS3 is Universal so it will run much better than CS2 and CS on the computers you are looking at.

If you are a student, you can get Photoshop CS3 for an incredible discount over at academicsuperstore.com. All you need is some sort of verification (Xeroxed ID or report card, should do)
 
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