Should I buy an iMac or wait it out?

[Squarerootofsixtynine]

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I haven't had a computer for 3 months (thank God for the iPad and my iPod touch!) and I'm now planning on buying an iMac. Should I buy one now or should I wait for a new one to be announced? How long would I approximately have to wait? And will they drastically update it? Thanks.

 

[Henry Ford]

If I were in your position I would buy now. The next refresh isn't likely to be major. It is likely to be late with today's Intel news. And, you have no computer. No one can tell you what you should do, but if it were me I know what I would do.

 

[AndersBeider]

Buy it!

I stands in the same position, and i'm going to buy today with the 2.93ghz i7 because the next upgrade of the imac is been pushed back for 3-4 months. And the upgrade wouldn't be any major upgrade, not in design or hardware.
So just buy it now, i own a Macbook Pro (Mid 2009) and it think of upgrade it with an SSD. But i buy the iMac now anyway

/ Anders Engberg Beider ~ Denmark

 

[mouse123]

Just buy it man.. I just bought e 27'' i7 iMac too! Waiting for it to be delivered on the 8 Feb. Actually if u have the warranty, when the iMac were to break down, u can call Apple to change a new 1 for u. An when they do, u would be ableto have the updated iMac . That is assuming your imac breaks down after the latest imacs are being introduced..

 

[theoruby]

Just buy it man.. I just bought e 27'' i7 iMac too! Waiting for it to be delivered on the 8 Feb. Actually if u have the warranty, when the iMac were to break down, u can call Apple to change a new 1 for u. An when they do, u would be ableto have the updated iMac . That is assuming your imac breaks down after the latest imacs are being introduced..

Are you sure they will upgrade it, i thought they just repair your model or in the rare case that they cant they will give you a refurb of the same model?

I'm deciding wether i should buy the current iMac this week or wait for update.... leaning towards buying one now just because im inpatient!

 

[dh2005]

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I haven't had a computer for 3 months (thank God for the iPad and my iPod touch!) and I'm now planning on buying an iMac. Should I buy one now or should I wait for a new one to be announced? How long would I approximately have to wait? And will they drastically update it? Thanks.

It's a crapshoot, mate. In the normal course of things, I'd say wait. On average, the iMac gets tarted-up every 226 days, and today is day 189 of the cycle - you've waited three months, you can wait another 37 days...

... but this cycle's different. The new iMacs are, we assume, going to be based upon the new Intel Sandy Bridge chips, which were expected to arrive at around the end of January - but, as another poster has already mentioned, Intel discovered a problem with the intended iMac chips, and their implementation is going to be delayed.

Delayed by how long? Who knows? The Macrumors report suggested you could be looking at April. Can you wait another nine or ten weeks...?


You're the one who has to make the decision, mate. I wish you all the best.

 

[Zelnaga]

Im waiting. The talk here of 'no' major design or no new features is just pure speculation here. For all we know there could be changes.

 

[mouse123]

Are you sure they will upgrade it, i thought they just repair your model or in the rare case that they cant they will give you a refurb of the same model?

I'm deciding wether i should buy the current iMac this week or wait for update.... leaning towards buying one now just because im inpatient!

I not sure also.. But I think can try to make some noise here and there. I was actually in your position last week. But I think that even with the i7, my needs are already more than satisfied. And e reason I bought in was most becox of the 27'' screen and e sleek design. It is really irresistable in my opinion. I was afraid that the new imacs will become smaller. I know that some will say when the new ones are out, if I am not happy with the new models, I can buy the old ones at a cheaper price. But I think I just couldnt wait that long. So it is all up to you. Whether you have to patience to wait it out or not. I didnt

 

[the vj]

If you were able to survive with an iPad that mean you do not need any processing power at all so you can use any iMac... common sense.

 

[Squarerootofsixtynine]

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Yeah, but the thing is I want a new computer to sync my iPod and stuff and I wanna be up to date with the latest tech so I dunno whether to wait or not.

Thanks for your suggestions though! Keep 'em coming.

 

[T-bag]

Only you can decide . You have to weigh the costs of not having a computer for 2-3 months against getting the newest tech then. Simple, but not easy . Your needs in a computer should be reflected in the choice. Dependence on CPU, GPU, SSD, lightpeak/usb 3.0, formfactor etc. should lead you in the wait direction.

 

[dh2005]

Thanks for your suggestions though! Keep 'em coming.

I think you've probably heard it all, mate.

 

[Squarerootofsixtynine]

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I'm not really a heavy user, if that's what you mean. I just want what the latest tech can offer me. I'm paranoid that the iMac will have a HUGE upgrade preparing it for the release of OS X Lion.

 

[dh2005]

I doubt it, mate. Apple don't really do "HUGE" upgrades.

The Sandy Bridge CPUs, sure, will be a bit quicker. But I'd be staggered if they improved the GPU beyond the Radeon Mobility 5-series, given that they were only introduced into the iMac range last Summer. The RAM, I'm sure, will stay at 4GB. The display won't improve. I doubt they'll change the styling... in short; what are you waiting for?

If the answer is, "I'm waiting for the Sandy Bridge CPUs", then fine. Wait for them. It's probably gonna be another two or three months, but if you're sure that's how you feel, wait for them. Alternatively, don't.


As I've said before, you know all you need to know to make this decision. All that remains is for you to make it. Which not I, nor anybody else, is going to do for you.

 

[T-bag]

And regarding your osx lion worries - I highly doubt apple will make it choppy on the current iMacs. Lion will run on the mac laptops too. The next mbp's wont be able to match todays iMacs. When snow leopard arrived my 1 year old macbook got faster. So that's a poor argument.

Having the latest and best seams important to you, so why not simply wait? There is no magic argument we can give and make you buy an expensive iMac with confidence today. As pointed out - it's ultimately you decision.

Setup a list with PROs and CONs, and weigh them against each other. Good luck!