Should I get an iMac for Christmas or wait?

[macmastersam]

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I've been thinking about getting a iMac for Christmas to replace my crappy dell laptop.

The problem is, should I get an iMac for Christmas or wait till the next iMac?

 

[Spike88]

From now until Dec 20, a lot of improvements / changes can happen in the iMac platform or Lion OS world....

As a suggestion, continue to save the needed dollars "as if" you are planning to buy a Christmas season iMac. Just before buying, re-asses your situation. re: Buy as planned or continue to save a few more dollars - to buy a better iMac option / upgrade soon after Christmas. For example, buy wanted iMac with SSD or perhaps buy the locally attached FW800 external Hard Disk - to use with included Time Machine (backup softare).

Good luck - which ever you decide...

 

[David085]

Wait if it isn't too far in the corner for the next iMac Refresh you might be disappointed if there is a big improvement on the next iMac.

 

[macmastersam]

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Well this all depends on when the next iMac will come out and what better quality it will have

I'm hoping for a 1GB graphics card with ivy bridge processors on the lowest end 21.5 in. iMac.

 

[aellul]

i'm in your same postion. i want the 27'' imac badly but i think i am going to wait a bit. i don't really need it right now. i have a gutt feeling that they are going to update the processors soon, same as they did with the mbp.

that said at some point you would have to draw a line as otherwise you will never buy it as they are constantly updating their products.

fingers crossed they release an update soon )

 

[spcdust]

Really doubt we'll see an iMac update this side of Christmas as there has been nothing on the grapevine and Ivy Bridge, although on schedule, will not be available in quantities until the first quarter of 2012.

My guess is we'll see an iMac refresh between mid March 2012 and late May 2012. We'll obviously see the scheduled Ivy Bridge chips in the iMacs, which is a nice performance boost, good chance of USB 3 (though not a definite) and the usual bumps in GPU as Apple, of late, seem to be taking GPU's a little more seriously in the iMac range. With regards to any radical re-design, screen sizes etc. it's all too early to speculate.

Obviously, usual caveat, these are just my opinions and I don't know anything more than the next person.

 

[macmastersam]

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So it's just another sandy bridge upgrade on the next iMacs from your point of view?
Isn't ivy bridge gonna be released in Q2 of 2012?

 

[spcdust]

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So it's just another sandy bridge upgrade on the next iMacs from your point of view?
Isn't ivy bridge gonna be released in Q2 of 2012?

Apologies, Getting my Sandy's and Ivy's mixed up. What I meant to say is next iMac refresh will have the new Ivy Bridge processors. I'll correct my post.

 

[Vantage Point]

Sometimes a good sale/price can help make a buying decision a bit easier. The only reliable sale is Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) where several authorized dealers often have discounts - nothing spectacular but nevertheless....

Last year I picked up my 2010 15" MBP on Amazon on Black Friday for about $125 off list with free shipping and no tax (in most states). Since the MBP's were just updated I may pick up the new model on Black Friday if they have the same type of sale and sell my 2010 because I would like a quad core CPU for my heavy Photoshop work.

The current iMacs are really fast and can use up to 32 GB RAM and future Ivy Bridge CPU's seem like a more useful feature for laptops due to less heat and lower power. If you wait for the next iMac it might be close to six months - maybe more if you do not want to be the first one to buy in case there are any problems like the 2009 introduction of the redesigned iMacs where many had a yellow tint. I would expect Bluetooth 4 to be included in the next refresh just like it was with the latest iPhone - the rest of us are on Bluetooth 2.

 

[macmastersam]

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Sometimes a good sale/price can help make a buying decision a bit easier. The only reliable sale is Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) where several authorized dealers often have discounts - nothing spectacular but nevertheless....

Last year I picked up my 2010 15" MBP on Amazon on Black Friday for about $125 off list with free shipping and no tax (in most states). Since the MBP's were just updated I may pick up the new model on Black Friday if they have the same type of sale and sell my 2010 because I would like a quad core CPU for my heavy Photoshop work.

The current iMacs are really fast and can use up to 32 GB RAM and future Ivy Bridge CPU's seem like a more useful feature for laptops due to less heat and lower power. If you wait for the next iMac it might be close to six months - maybe more if you do not want to be the first one to buy in case there are any problems like the 2009 introduction of the redesigned iMacs where many had a yellow tint. I would expect Bluetooth 4 to be included in the next refresh just like it was with the latest iPhone - the rest of us are on Bluetooth 2.

So how much can you save on black Friday sales on average? And also in the UK As well since I live there.

 

[spcdust]

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So how much can you save on black Friday sales on average? And also in the UK As well since I live there.

Black Friday is generally a US only thing, however, I vaguely recall that Apple may have applied some discounts last year in the UK but nothing that spectacular. Another way to save a few bob is if you know anyone in education (student or teacher). Those in higher education (University) get the greatest discount.

 

[Vantage Point]

So how much can you save on black Friday sales on average? And also in the UK As well since I live there

Not much because Apple controls prices so huge discounts just don't happen. Last year Apple had a $100 discount on MBP on Black Friday which didn't even cover the sales tax for most of us. Amazon price was about $125 (BF weekend price) and $150 (BF price) both of which are better than the Apple store or apple online store and each had free shipping but in the US buying from Amazon also saved me another $120 in taxes. Not a huge bump but as far as discounts go it was the best I could find.

Also, aside from BF sale Apple prices do not drop through the life cycle unlike just about all other electronics which see price drops over time. So the best value is always at the beginning of a refresh and never at the end of a cycle. The refresh just happened so this is the best time to buy - especially if you wait 4 weeks. The flip side of apple/Mac prices is that unlike PC's, Macs really hold their value over time.

This site will post the best Black Friday deals for that sale as they always do for several vendors in the US and also internationally. So stay tuned since discount rumors begin to fly a few days before that date. I did my research last year but hesitated on BF and the price went up $25 on the weekend so I quickly purchased and then on Monday they went up again.

Bottom line is a 10% discount is a considered a good deal. In the US MicroCenter.com has had 20% everyday discount on the base 13" MBP for pickup only so this only helps those that live near one. My first MBP was the 2010 13" purchased for $999 at MicroCenter (list was $1,199) and I sold that for $1025 on eBay six months later to get my 15"

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Black Friday is generally a US only thing, however, I vaguely recall that Apple may have applied some discounts last year in the UK but nothing that spectacular. Another way to save a few bob is if you know anyone in education (student or teacher). Those in higher education (University) get the greatest discount.

I think I recall Australia having good BF deals last year as well

 

[Vantage Point]

I found this link from last year for Apple BF sale in the UK
http://www.itproportal.com/2010/11/23/apple-uk-hold-black-friday-event-26th-november/

 

[macmastersam]

So how much can you save on black Friday sales on average? And also in the UK As well since I live there

Not much because Apple controls prices so huge discounts just don't happen. Last year Apple had a $100 discount on MBP on Black Friday which didn't even cover the sales tax for most of us. Amazon price was about $125 (BF weekend price) and $150 (BF price) both of which are better than the Apple store or apple online store and each had free shipping but in the US buying from Amazon also saved me another $120 in taxes. Not a huge bump but as far as discounts go it was the best I could find.

Also, aside from BF sale Apple prices do not drop through the life cycle unlike just about all other electronics which see price drops over time. So the best value is always at the beginning of a refresh and never at the end of a cycle. The refresh just happened so this is the best time to buy - especially if you wait 4 weeks. The flip side of apple/Mac prices is that unlike PC's, Macs really hold their value over time.

This site will post the best Black Friday deals for that sale as they always do for several vendors in the US and also internationally. So stay tuned since discount rumors begin to fly a few days before that date. I did my research last year but hesitated on BF and the price went up $25 on the weekend so I quickly purchased and then on Monday they went up again.

Bottom line is a 10% discount is a considered a good deal. In the US MicroCenter.com has had 20% everyday discount on the base 13" MBP for pickup only so this only helps those that live near one. My first MBP was the 2010 13" purchased for $999 at MicroCenter (list was $1,199) and I sold that for $1025 on eBay six months later to get my 15"

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I think I recall Australia having good BF deals last year as well

Will they post a date for th BF sales in the UK?

 

[Vantage Point]

Will they post a date for th BF sales in the UK?

If you are registered with Apple they may send you an email announcing the sale assuming the have one which is likely.

Aside from that this site will have rumors of most sales by Tuesday or Wednesday of that week and certainly by Thursday or Friday - only four weeks away. The information on this site on the front page will include all places with sales and comparisons but don't expect anything bigger than 10% and most likely 7-8%, not much but it is something. In the US places like Best Buy, MacMall...

Here is a post from last year on this site
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/11/25/black-friday-2010-major-discounts-on-apple-and-mac-products/

 

[lamboman]

You are very unlikely to see an update for the iMac until around the same time it was updated this year; May or so, maybe even later. I would buy depending on whether you need it or not, or how desperately you want it.

If you're using it for basic tasks, browsing, a bit of media editing, you won't notice any difference.

 

[macmastersam]

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You are very unlikely to see an update for the iMac until around the same time it was updated this year; May or so, maybe even later. I would buy depending on whether you need it or not, or how desperately you want it.

If you're using it for basic tasks, browsing, a bit of media editing, you won't notice any difference.

I would use the iMac for stuff like Internet and email, some word processing and a bit of casual gaming (minecraft-level gaming) but other than that not anything else really

Anyway, thanks for the advice so far guys.

 

[MacOG728893]

I have a 27" iMac right now. 2.66Ghz i5 [Quad Core] 4GB RAM Ect..
I just got paid for several videos I just did and have a good amount of cash I could spend.

I would love the i7 3.4Ghz and my machine is dying for more RAM. Opening Ps and Ae and Pr makes my system crawl and often crashes.

I am wanting to upgrade to, but thinking about hold out for the refresh. Decisions Decisions..

 

[tears2040]

I have a 27" iMac right now. 2.66Ghz i5 [Quad Core] 4GB RAM Ect..
I just got paid for several videos I just did and have a good amount of cash I could spend.

I would love the i7 3.4Ghz and my machine is dying for more RAM. Opening Ps and Ae and Pr makes my system crawl and often crashes.

I am wanting to upgrade to, but thinking about hold out for the refresh. Decisions Decisions..

The cpu is NOT your problem. Upgrade your ram to at least 8gb and install an SSD into your iMac and you will **** your pants.......

 

[szolr]

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Well this all depends on when the next iMac will come out and what better quality it will have

I'm hoping for a 1GB graphics card with ivy bridge processors on the lowest end 21.5 in. iMac.

I really doubt Ivy Bridge will feature in the next base end iMac. Sandy bridge processors were out for a hell of a long time before they made it out across the Apple lineup-and they aren't even spread to the Mac Pro yet.

1 GB GDDR5 RAM is a great shout though. And an SSD-HDD hybrid would be an awesome addition too. I also do wonder when 6 or 8GB will become the new standard RAM specs on Macs. Hopefully soon on the desktop Macs.

 

[macmastersam]

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Well this all depends on when the next iMac will come out and what better quality it will have

I'm hoping for a 1GB graphics card with ivy bridge processors on the lowest end 21.5 in. iMac.

I really doubt Ivy Bridge will feature in the next base end iMac. Sandy bridge processors were out for a hell of a long time before they made it out across the Apple lineup-and they aren't even spread to the Mac Pro yet.

1 GB GDDR5 RAM is a great shout though. And an SSD-HDD hybrid would be an awesome addition too. I also do wonder when 6 or 8GB will become the new standard RAM specs on Macs. Hopefully soon on the desktop Macs.

What is better on the GDDR5 ram than the iMac standard RAM? and how much can be stored on the minimum spec 21.5 iMac ? Cost of the GDDR5 RAM would be good as well. Per 1GB.

Thank you in advance.