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should i buy 15inch iMac?

X

x86isslow

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 10, 2003
889
11
USA
in 99, my dad bought an acer (600mhz p3).

ever since then, we've had nothing but trouble with it, and i've tried to convince my dad to leave windows.

fast-forward to today- said computer has been infected with some variant of SoBig :(

so finally, he's decided to take the plunge, but he can only afford to spend about 1500.

we're looking at buying a 15in iMac (1300) and Office (150 for student) so that puts us at about budget.. with our computer infecting with a virus we cant seem to get rid off, would the iMac be a good buy now?

any thoughts(buy now or wait) and recommendations(how much ram) welcome.

thanks,
V.

edit: my dad would like to edit home movies (burn dvds?)
the computer we have now cannot play music, run word and allow us to surf the web at the same time. any future computer would need to resolve that situation.
our monitor is on its last legs, and will not be usable with a new tower.

as for edu pricing, the apple website says the following:

Who is Eligible To Purchase
The following education individuals are eligible to purchase through the Apple Store for Education individuals:

* Employee of public or private K-12 institutions in the United States
* School Board members who are currently serving as elected or appointed members
* PTA or PTO executives currently serving as elected or appointed officers
* Qualified homeschools
* Employee of a public or private, profit or non-profit preschool

thanks again, keep suggestions coming,
V
 
well, since you're getting office student edition, I'd assume you can get the student discount on hardware.

For 1599, you can get a 1.6 G5 or even a Dual G4 Powermac from somewhere like smalldog.com.

or Wait until the Refurb section of the Apple store restocks the 1.6 G5s which I think were going for $1399.
 
Originally posted by bpd115
well, since you're getting office student edition, I'd assume you can get the student discount on hardware.
Click to expand...

well, i am in high school, so i can't get a edu discount on hardware... i heard, however, that software can be had w/ student discount at academic superstore
 
Hi, I paid $1299 brand new for my 17" iMac 1ghz, with superdrive AND panther from microcenter...if you have one local to you its deff worth the trip...thier web site doesnt have the same deal as the store but you go there www.microcenter.com and do a store locator and call them , good luck...Dino
 
I would say the 15'' iMac would be great for your dad. I just convinced my dad to do the same. He doesn't do anything more than websurfing, email, and he now buys music from the iTMS. The iMac was a great fit for him, esp the adjustable LCD. He really likes that. Anyways, if you are ordering from Apple I would recemend upgrading the memory to 512MB by using the BTO. It will keep your memory expansion slot open for fute upgrades, and extend your new computers like. Good Luck either way you go....
 
not sure but worth a try

I am not 100% sure, but it seems that you may be eligible for a hardware discount. Go to Apple's online store, and click the education button. Then under the shop for yourself column, click k-12. then search for your school.

If you can't find your school, then call "The Apple Store for Education Individuals at 1-800-MY-APPLE"

Good Luck
 
get eMac

First of all DONT buy office, goto OpenOffice.org its free and its open source! U should get the eMac it has a bigger screen and u can get it with a 160gb HD 1gb of ram and airport extreme for $1,398. but u have to sacrifice ur video card performance for all of that with a crapy ati 7500.If u plan on gaming and such get the low end G5 with out a dvd-r and a modem then get a least 512mb or ram. If thats too much lower the ram and buy more latter.
 
Originally posted by bpd115
well, since you're getting office student edition, I'd assume you can get the student discount on hardware.

For 1599, you can get a 1.6 G5 or even a Dual G4 Powermac from somewhere like smalldog.com.

or Wait until the Refurb section of the Apple store restocks the 1.6 G5s which I think were going for $1399.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. The iMac is a SUB PAR Machine, and so is the eMac.

virividox
He already has a screen so your point about needing an external monitor is void.

Personally I would buy a custom built AMD based system (a 2500+ or 2800+ or somewhere inbetween), R9800, 1GB DDR333, SATA HDD... The list goes on. But hey that's just me, It's your moneny and don't forget it.
 
Originally posted by Opteron
Couldn't agree more. The iMac is a SUB PAR Machine, and so is the eMac.

virividox
He already has a screen so your point about needing an external monitor is void.

Personally I would buy a custom built AMD based system (a 2500+ or 2800+ or somewhere inbetween), R9800, 1GB DDR333, SATA HDD... The list goes on. But hey that's just me, It's your moneny and don't forget it.
Click to expand...

Hey AMD fanboy.

Reason he wants to switch his dad over to Mac is OS, not bloody hardware. He implied that he wants better expirience (not overall speed) so means less viruses, less crashes, generaly less fiddling around. AMD box that you suggest won't run OSX !
I sugest that you read post and think about it, before you post such stupid childish comments.
 
My pont was this, The iMac is not worth the effort, and neither is the emac.
Click to expand...

I understand what your trying to say but I don't agree in this case

unless the father is going to be doing heavy graphics, video, or music editing than the eMac or iMac will be more than enough for his needs, definately a huge step up from an acer p3

also would be def worth putting in as much ram as you can, at least 512

by the way you can order a mac at student discount from the online apple store--no id required for verification
 
Originally posted by Opteron
Couldn't agree more. The iMac is a SUB PAR Machine, and so is the eMac.
Click to expand...

Says who? I use an 15" iMac 800 and my GF uses a eMac 700. We both have no trouble doing what any normal user does. I can run Photoshop CS, iMovie, iDVD, Safari, iChat AV and all with out any trouble. Granted, there has been some RAM additions, but for normal use, these machines are BEYOND par.

Superdrive
 
Originally posted by Opteron
Couldn't agree more. The iMac is a SUB PAR Machine, and so is the eMac.

Personally I would buy a custom built AMD based system (a 2500+ or 2800+ or somewhere inbetween), R9800, 1GB DDR333, SATA HDD... The list goes on. But hey that's just me, It's your moneny and don't forget it.
Click to expand...

Um, he obviously wants a Mac, dude. Get off the macrumors site if you don't like macs...
 
Originally posted by Opteron
Couldn't agree more. The iMac is a SUB PAR Machine, and so is the eMac.

virividox
He already has a screen so your point about needing an external monitor is void.

Personally I would buy a custom built AMD based system (a 2500+ or 2800+ or somewhere inbetween), R9800, 1GB DDR333, SATA HDD... The list goes on. But hey that's just me, It's your moneny and don't forget it.
Click to expand...

thing is, i am a senior in high school, so whatever computer my dad decides to buy, i have to live with (and if its a winpc, troubleshoot) for at least the next 6 months.

while we do have a external monitor right now, it has reached the end of its life... it is a sony trinitron 19", (was nice at one point) but now, the screen has become visibly darker even with brightness settings maxxed out. so we're in the market for aio, since we need to chuck this. (i should have added this in at the beginning)

as for pro apps, no need. the most my dad wants to do is edit home movies
he's avid enough about it that he tried it on our acer!

will a base model imac/ or superdrive emac be able to play music while someone surfs the web, with word open? our computer cant seem to do this.

thanks,
V
 
Absolutely you can use word and play music and surf the web. Hell you can probably burn a cd or use iMovie as well.
The iMac sounds perfect for what you are looking for. Beautiful machine, performance is great for what you are looking for. Hope you enjoy it!

A
 
OS X plus lots of RAM will enable you to run many programs at once. I have 768MB on my 1GHz PowerBook (same speed as 15" iMac or eMac) and I can run 10 programs at once with no problem whatsoever (more if I wanted to).

The iMac and the eMac are fine. Granted, they aren't going to be the most powerful desktop computer but they are easily fast enough for the vast majority of consumer uses (scrap that, ALL uses). Your dad is unlikely to be rendering complex computer animation so he does not need a G5. And the iMac/eMac are perfectly good at video editing, if you decide to have a play around with that.

One thing though, updates could be on the way soon as they haven't been updated for a while (although they could be anytime from next week to April or May).
 
Personally I wouldnt buy a 15'' imac because the 17'' one is so much nicer... But if you can't afford a 17'' that might just not be an option.
 
Re: should i buy 15inch iMac?

Originally posted by x86isslow
so finally, he's decided to take the plunge, but he can only afford to spend about 1500.

we're looking at buying a 15in iMac (1300) and Office (150 for student) so that puts us at about budget.. with our computer infecting with a virus we cant seem to get rid off, would the iMac be a good buy now?
Click to expand...

I would buy a refurbished iMac with a 17" screen for the money...sometimes you have to wait a month or so for them to show up on the deals page on apple.com apple store site. Yeah, educatioin site can have som egreat deals on new...dont know if refurbs are cheaper on ed, but I don't think so.

However, what is he going to be doing with the computer? This is the most important thing to consider when buying a computer.
 
Originally posted by bpd115
well, since you're getting office student edition, I'd assume you can get the student discount on hardware.

For 1599, you can get a 1.6 G5 or even a Dual G4 Powermac from somewhere like smalldog.com.

or Wait until the Refurb section of the Apple store restocks the 1.6 G5s which I think were going for $1399.
Click to expand...

He would need a monitor too...and he might want software like Quicken (which only comes with ibooks, iMacs, and eMacs (I think emacs?)

There is other software that is free with emacs including apple works which is a simple word that is fine for regular word processing if that is all he is doing...it can translate basic word PC documents to read them as well, but it is only free on the computers I listed above. Also, fax software, quicken as i listed above, as well as some games (does he like Tony Hawk 4?- it's free too), etc. are free on the computers above. Again, what is he going to do with it?
 
Originally posted by Opteron
Couldn't agree more. The iMac is a SUB PAR Machine, and so is the eMac.

Click to expand...

Get the facts right! Unless you are playing hardcore games, lots and lots of video editing, or photoshop/illustrator, you are wasting money on your computer.....it is for his dad! He mostdoesn't likely need a tower...he was using an ACER....anything is a step up...way up.
 
Originally posted by x86isslow
as for pro apps, no need. the most my dad wants to do is edit home movies
he's avid enough about it that he tried it on our acer!

will a base model imac/ or superdrive emac be able to play music while someone surfs the web, with word open? our computer cant seem to do this.

thanks,
V
Click to expand...

My refurb iMac 17" with only 256 right now( getting 512 toomorrow):D does all these things fine! I have burned many DVD's to my superdrive...both picture and movies and have had no complaints...sure I would love to save a few minutes working with my movies, but I don't do it enought to warrent another grand+ to do so, especially since I use the free software that comes on iMacs and eMacs...apple works, quicken, etc.
 
Re: get eMac

Originally posted by unixkid
First of all DONT buy office, goto OpenOffice.org its free and its open source! U should get the eMac it has a bigger screen and u can get it with a 160gb HD 1gb of ram and airport extreme for $1,398. but u have to sacrifice ur video card performance for all of that with a crapy ati 7500.If u plan on gaming and such get the low end G5 with out a dvd-r and a modem then get a least 512mb or ram. If thats too much lower the ram and buy more latter.
Click to expand...

First of all OpenOffice isn't nearlly as easy to use for the average person as Office X. While open source software has its place, its not for the average consumer.

Second, I would think that since he wants to do video editing than the better graphics card is probably worth it.
 
Originally posted by Opteron
Couldn't agree more. The iMac is a SUB PAR Machine, and so is the eMac.
Click to expand...

This is such a tired argument. The iMac is a fantastic machine and so is the eMac, for its intended market.

I get sick of all the power users who constantly bash the iMac/eMac for not being a top of the line machine. Its not supposed to be, its supposed to be for people who don't need all the bells and whistles.

It sounds like an iMac is the perfect machine for your dad, although I would look into people suggestions about finding a refurbed or previous gen 17" one. The increased screen size would really help with video editing.
 
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