should i buy 15inch iMac?

[primalman]

get a refurb 17" iMac, or the top end eMac with SuperDrive before getting a 15" iMac. If you can get an EDU discount, the eMac becomes a very sweet deal.

eMac 1GHz/SuperDrive - EDU $999/retail $1,099
eMac 1GHZ/Combo - EDU $749/retail $799
iMac 15" 1GHZ/Combo only - EDU $1,199/retail $1,299/refurb $1,099
iMac 17" 1.25GHZ/SuperDrive only - EDU $1,699/retail $1,799/refurb $1,499

How about a refurb PowerMac G4?
Power Mac G4 1.25GHz/256MB/80GB/Combo/GigE/56K - Refurb $1,099.00

The iMac is not the only option.

 

[Ambrose Chapel]

you can't add a Superdrive to the 15", so if you/your dad really want to burn DVDs, the 15" is out. I agree with those who have recommended the 17", if you can afford it. definitely check if you can get the hardware discount; i think you should be able to even if you're only in H.S. it's a beautiful machine, and will be able to do everything you've mentioned. also, as others have said, increasing the RAM will make it smoother to run multiple apps at once, so try and get 512MB if you can.

 

[Opteron]

Originally posted by Krizoitz
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.

The reason it continually gets bashed is because it is priced to compeate against Exteremly Power Full PC's. the top of the line iMac cost ~$4000AUD, I payed $1000 less and I have a 64 bit processor, Radeon 9800Pro 256, 2GB of Dual Channel DDR400+ all the trimmings.

 

[johnnyjibbs]

The iMac is expensive when you compare the power to a similarly priced PC, but who could argue with which one is the most stylish or most well built?

I like the iMac and think it is a flagship symbol for Apple (also, notice how it always appears in Apple ads and promotions - you see one and you instantly think Apple, e.g. the iMac was carefully chosen for that Pepsi/iTunes ad).

However, I think that they have got the market wrong with it, hence its generally poor sales. The previous iMac was a no thrills, colourful, fun machine that was cheap but was nothing special (other than being a breath of fresh air from the boring beige PCs and Windows). The new iMac is like a millionnaire's fashion statement of style over practicality. Obviously it is practical and it suits most people's needs perfectly well (it's perfectly suited for EVERYTHING you want to do with it) but most consumers cannot afford to get it because it is expensive - it's not as much bang for the buck, compared to the whoppa PCs you can get for that price (that are upgradeable, more powerful, etc).

 

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Opteron
The reason it continually gets bashed is because it is priced to compeate against Exteremly Power Full PC's. the top of the line iMac cost ~$4000AUD, I payed $1000 less and I have a 64 bit processor, Radeon 9800Pro 256, 2GB of Dual Channel DDR400+ all the trimmings.

Wrong. It's competition is other all-in-one (AIO) machines.

You can say that any laptop is "priced to compete" with desktops and talk about how the desktops blow away the laptop in power/performance/etc but that doesn't mean it's a valid comparison.

 

[QCassidy352]

I would *not* buy a 15" imac right now. The emac is a much, much better deal. My family has a 1 Ghz combo emac and they are really happy with it. Add a little RAM and it will have absolutely no trouble doing word, music, and internet at the same time. That won't even begin to tax it.

People bash imacs and emacs as not powerful enough - but for who? For the average user, they are better than ok. The imac, however, has essentially the same specs as the emac but costs much more. You're paying $$$ for appearance. Plus, that nice 15" LCD screen can't hit nearly as high resolution as the 17" CRT on the emac.

edit: oh, btw, opteron - what screen do you use with your PC? Is it a 20" LCD? Because that's what comes with the top of the line imac... so you have to consider the considerable cost of that as well when building a competitor.

 

[Opteron]

Originally posted by QCassidy352
oh, btw, opteron - what screen do you use with your PC? Is it a 20" LCD? Because that's what comes with the top of the line imac... so you have to consider the considerable cost of that as well when building a competitor.

21" Flat screen CRT,

And johnnyjibbs are you sayng that the the build quailty of apple macs is higher than that of a similarly priced PC. I would argue that for $4000AUD any computer would be farly well built.

 

[dashiel]

Originally posted by Opteron
My pont was this, The iMac is not worth the effort, and neither is the emac.

personally i'd rather pay the premium on my machine up front than end up paying somewhere down the line wasting hours and hours trying to hunt down worms/viruses and rogue DLLs.

 

[Opteron]

Originally posted by dashiel
personally i'd rather pay the premium on my machine up front than end up paying somewhere down the line wasting hours and hours trying to hunt down worms/viruses and rogue DLLs.

The reason People get worms/viruses etc... is because they either don't update their opperating system and virus check regulary or they open e-mail's from people they don't know.

I have been operating windows since 95, and kepp my current opperatng system up to date. and reformat once or twice a year. And have never had any problems.

 

[Krizoitz]

Originally posted by Opteron
The reason People get worms/viruses etc... is because they either don't update their opperating system and virus check regulary or they open e-mail's from people they don't know.

I have been operating windows since 95, and kepp my current opperatng system up to date. and reformat once or twice a year. And have never had any problems.

While I understand that you can't make anything completely virus proof, I think it is reasonabl to expect that you shouldn't have to worry about them as much as you do on Windows.

Considering the wide spread use of Windows and the amount of money they spend on it, it is not unreasonable to expect them to do a better job than they have been doing. Unix/Linux has shown that it can be more secure and still be powerful and fully featured.

I think it is simply a sign that microsoft simply doesn't care because they know they can get away with it because of their near monopoly. The number of excuses I hear people make for Windows flaws is staggering (not that Mac users can be blind about the Mac OS, its practically all I hear from my windows users friends.

 

[x86isslow]

Originally posted by Opteron
The reason People get worms/viruses etc... is because they either don't update their opperating system and virus check regulary or they open e-mail's from people they don't know.

I have been operating windows since 95, and kepp my current opperatng system up to date. and reformat once or twice a year. And have never had any problems.

and so, the reason for getting my parents a macintosh is once i leave for college in the fall, they, my computer-illiterate parents, can survive without worrying about viruses, and other nonsense.
and when i come home on vacation, i dont have to spend all my time fixing the computer.

 

[Opteron]

Originally posted by x86isslow
and so, the reason for getting my parents a macintosh is once i leave for college in the fall, they, my computer-illiterate parents, can survive without worrying about viruses, and other nonsense.
and when i come home on vacation, i dont have to spend all my time fixing the computer.

Since your the thread starter and have to take heed to your point rather than just playin gthe other side of the coin.

I'm a gamer (couldn't see that one comming) and hence look for the most bang for my buck (what few I have.) Your parents on th other hand do not game, don't encode Div-X video, and more than likley don't edit large amounts of video as I do.

The iMac would then seem a "semi" reasonable purchace, as long as they understand that they are buying a computer that can't be upgraded (RAM doesn't count) and that one day they will have to bin the whole system, since they cannot keep the fantastic screen they payed for.

I can't speak for your parents, and for how they wish to spend their money. All I'm trying to get accross is that "IN MY OPINION" the iMac is over priced, outdated, un-upgradeable, and in general a SUB PAR MACHINE.

 

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Opteron
...
I can't speak for your parents, and for how they wish to spend their money. All I'm trying to get accross is that "IN MY OPINION" the iMac is over priced, outdated, un-upgradeable, and in general a SUB PAR MACHINE.

Compared to? Funny how you ignored my post above...

 

[Bilba]

I posted a new thread about the imac. It has a link to an article published 2 days ago about the iMac.

Here is the link:
iMac article

My point of view: The iMac is a sleek looking machine, that will give MANY people great working experience. 2 major problems are cost and future of the machine. The 2 problem are corrolated becuase the machine is not upgradable, and you are paying alot for the screen, which you will not be able to use once the machine itself had run its course.

Anyway, all these threads about the power (or lack of) power of the iMac makes me rethink about my purchase of 1.25 pbook. I sold my 500 tibook believing that the new machine will be a workhorse, and now I keep reading about people who believe that the 1.25 G4 is subpar...

Anyway, I will still wait until mid March for an update before making my purchase. So I will advise the same for people interested in buying the iMac.
At least as long as you don't need it today.

 

[paulypants]

Originally posted by Opteron

I'm a gamer

AHA! I knew it!

 

[Mav451]

ugh...ok ignoring the digression, I think the iMac will definitely be fine for your purposes.

Now, I know its not in your budget, but personally going with the 17", you not only get the larger monitor, but also the super drive. That means being able to watch DVDs vs. not being able to watch them at all on the 15" b/c it does not have the SuperDrive. This will easily stretch the lasting power of this machine (b/c it has DVD reading and recording abilities) a substantial amount.

If you do indeed go with the 17" iMac (1799)...that will not only push you over the proposed 1300 dollar amount, but also leaves no room for ram purchases...

If he can spend a few hundred, more, I would strongly recommend it. After all, you are basically getting an entirely new system.

 

[Opteron]

Originally posted by Mav451
Now, I know its not in your budget, but personally going with the 17", you not only get the larger monitor, but also the super drive. That means being able to watch DVDs vs. not being able to watch them at all on the 15" b/c it does not have the SuperDrive. This will easily stretch the lasting power of this machine (b/c it has DVD reading and recording abilities) a substantial amount.

While appearing to switch sides,

The 15" comes with a COMBO drive, thus you can watch DVD's, however cannot burn them, rather burn only CD's.

By the way what speed do the iMac's burn CD's @, I know they Super drive has a 4x DVD-R capability.

 

[Chappers]

Amusing. Someone comes asking a question (this time a switcher (sort of)). Then a little flamer comes along and critizes the iMac/eMac and we all spend our time arguing about it instead of just answering the question. Yes I want to defend the iMac too (cus I've got one) but wouldn't it be better to ignore these losers.

I like the iMac cus I can position the screen very easily. I get a stiff neck and changing my position and hence the iMac screen easily is important for me.
It plays Halo and AvP2 quite well, and does all the usual stuff.

PS. its 17 inch 800 / 256