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Almost bought the 2011 2.7GHz i5 27"

It would have been $1500 after tax.
But instead - I bought this one on eBay for $1400 + shipping -

2010 i7 2.93GHz, 27", 1TB HDD, ATI Radeon HD 5750 1024 MB,with 12GB Ram
MINT CONDITION - with AppleCare until the end of 2013

Benchmarks show this to be a significantly more powerful machine than the 2011 i5.
http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/2011/05/imac-benchmarks-mid-2011/
It has double the graphics memory.
RAM already upgraded (partially)
And most important - APPLECARE through 2013. (I would have balked without it - but with it - it's a no brainer!)

By buying this, I also avoid Thunderbolt for hopefully at least the next few years while prices come down and support for it becomes commonplace - as opposed to the current rare and elite status.

Yes, it won't be wrapped in shiny plastic, but it's a higher end machine that I could not have otherwise afforded. :D
 
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What is return policy on refurbished? Any restock fee? Thinking of ordering the 27" but wanted to know before spending $2500, tax in CA suck.
 
FINALLY!!!!! :):):) After a month of waiting my 21.5" i7 2TB Imac has been shipped... Should be here by 3pm tomorrow.
 
What is return policy on refurbished? Any restock fee? Thinking of ordering the 27" but wanted to know before spending $2500, tax in CA suck.

If it's because the item is defective - easy return - free return shipping! Also if you give them a credit card - they will immediately ship another one (assuming it's in stock).

In the past I have returned for "other" reason and they also paid the return shipping. I don't think you can keep something for 2-3 months then return it however. If you're going to return for any other reason than defective - best do it within a week or two at most.

No restocking fee.
 
If it's because the item is defective - easy return - free return shipping! Also if you give them a credit card - they will immediately ship another one (assuming it's in stock).

In the past I have returned for "other" reason and they also paid the return shipping. I don't think you can keep something for 2-3 months then return it however. If you're going to return for any other reason than defective - best do it within a week or two at most.

No restocking fee.

Thanks, my concern is that the glossy screen would not play nice with my house windows...just wanted to have the "out" to return since I've always had matte screens.
 
Have to say even though I'm still migrating my old data I'm very glad I went down to the 21.5" i7. Plenty fast (and I haven't even put in the extra 8GB yet:) and the screen size is perfect. I really don't get the 27" thing... I think this might be a thing for you young people...:)

FINALLY!!!!! :):):) After a month of waiting my 21.5" i7 2TB Imac has been shipped... Should be here by 3pm tomorrow.
 
Thanks, my concern is that the glossy screen would not play nice with my house windows...just wanted to have the "out" to return since I've always had matte screens.

FWIW, I'm a professional photographer so the screen and environment is very important to me. I resisted the glossy screen iMacs and have protested them ever since they arrived on the market. Now, I finally caved in a bought one as the Mac Mini (even the 2011 model) just wasn't fast enough for me any more.

Until you just mentioned the screen was a concern - I completely forgot the screen was even glossy... and I'm looking right at it! I think if you have a window directly behind your back it might show something - hard to say - but the screen is just plain WOW!!!! The 2560x1440 resolution - clear and bright 27" IPS makes my matte Dell 2408 monitor look sick. The glossy surface is a non-isssue for me after all.
 
FWIW, I'm a professional photographer so the screen and environment is very important to me. I resisted the glossy screen iMacs and have protested them ever since they arrived on the market. Now, I finally caved in a bought one as the Mac Mini (even the 2011 model) just wasn't fast enough for me any more.

Until you just mentioned the screen was a concern - I completely forgot the screen was even glossy... and I'm looking right at it! I think if you have a window directly behind your back it might show something - hard to say - but the screen is just plain WOW!!!! The 2560x1440 resolution - clear and bright 27" IPS makes my matte Dell 2408 monitor look sick. The glossy surface is a non-isssue for me after all.

Thanks this is good feedback, I'm going to go ahead and order mine. I was going to try to wait for new one but who knows when that is actually going to happen.
 
My HP Desktop's motherboard failed on me about 8 months ago and since then i've been toying with the idea of switching to OS X. Finally today I took the plunge and bought a 27" iMac new. So far I regret not switching earlier however i'm trying to adjust to the large screen size. When I was comparing the 21.5" and the 27" at the store side-by-side the 21.5" seemed a bit small but now that it's sitting at my desk and i'm in front of it I think it might have been better to go with the 21.5" since i'm sitting so close to the front of it. I did not get the trackpad but with this being such a large screen I think I might purchase the trackpad because I tend to run out of mouse pad space when going from one side of the screen to the other.
 
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Had the 27" and took it back. Too big. Got the 21.5" and am totally happy it with it.

My HP Desktop's motherboard failed on me about 8 months ago and since then i've been toying with the idea of switching to OS X. Finally today I took the plunge and bought a 27" iMac new. So far I regret not switching earlier however i'm trying to adjust to the large screen size. When I was comparing the 21.5" and the 27" at the store side-by-side the 21.5" seemed a bit small but now that it's sitting at my desk and i'm in front of it I think it might have been better to go with the 21.5" since i'm sitting so close to the front of it. I did not get the trackpad but with this being such a large screen I think I might purchase the trackpad because I tend to run out of mouse pad space when going from one side of the screen to the other.
 
Had the 27" and took it back. Too big. Got the 21.5" and am totally happy it with it.

Did they charge any restocking fee or did they give you any hard time for exchanging? I am considering taking it back but don't want to loose money in the process.
 
Nope. It was within the 14 days (and I think the return policy has become more liberal during the holiday). I actually bought it online, returned it to my local Apple store and was done in 15 minutes.

Did they charge any restocking fee or did they give you any hard time for exchanging? I am considering taking it back but don't want to loose money in the process.
 
Do you guys think its worth it to buy a 27" refurbished? Would save $280 from the education price. Thoughts?
 
I just purchased a 27" i7 refurb and received it a few days ago. I love it. There is no way of telling it's a refurb other than the plain box it arrives in. It's cosmetically mint and carries the same warranty as new.

It's definitely worth saving the $$$$$ over a new one. :)

I haven't used a Mac since high school (20yrs ago). I just switched from PC, after the game of build/tweak/upgrade/spend more $$$$ got boring. This iMac just works, and it's bloody fast compared to Win 7.

I am sooo glad I finally coughed up the $$$$ for this iMac.
 
I just purchased a 27" i7 refurb and received it a few days ago. I love it. There is no way of telling it's a refurb other than the plain box it arrives in. It's cosmetically mint and carries the same warranty as new.

It's definitely worth saving the $$$$$ over a new one. :)

I haven't used a Mac since high school (20yrs ago). I just switched from PC, after the game of build/tweak/upgrade/spend more $$$$ got boring. This iMac just works, and it's bloody fast compared to Win 7.

I am sooo glad I finally coughed up the $$$$ for this iMac.

Same as what he said. :D
I got an SSD with mine and it is incredible.
 
I was going to wait until the 2012 iMacs were unveiled but the date is uncertain and I decided whatever upgrades there will be, they probably won't be critical for my needs. And so, a 2011 21.5-inch iMac is on its way to my house. 2.8 Ghz i7 chip, 8 gigs of RAM and a 1 TB hard drive.

I only wish, and it's not a deal-killer, is that I had the option for a more-robust graphics card. It comes with the Radeon 6770M with 512mb. A full gig would have been nice and maybe even a slightly faster GPU. But there was no option to upgrade.

My old iMac is six years old... one of the very first Intel Core Duo machines, 1gig of RAM, 160gig hard drive and a 17-inch monitor. It has served me well, been drop-dead reliable and has only been slowing down in the past year. In fact, if I didn't use programs like Aperture, I could probably squeeze another year or two out of it.

I think the new machine will give me another five or six years as well. Here's hoping anyway! :)
 
Just received my 3.4 GHz i7 256GB SSD refurb. It's setting up over night and I can't wait to get coding on my nice dual display setup (already had an ACD). I have to admit that after reading some other posts I would find myself with 2GB graphics and a second HDD, but I did end up with 2x4GB ram so at least that's something in the refurb lottery. Guess should update my signature :D
 
Just received my 3.4 GHz i7 256GB SSD refurb. It's setting up over night and I can't wait to get coding on my nice dual display setup (already had an ACD). I have to admit that after reading some other posts I would find myself with 2GB graphics and a second HDD, but I did end up with 2x4GB ram so at least that's something in the refurb lottery. Guess should update my signature :D

Nice! The more I play with mine the more I love it. Bioshock running like butter at 2560x1440 with everything maxed is sweet too. :D
 
My 27" 3.4 with SSD is on its way! Cant wait to get it. Thanks all for the advice. I do want to order more RAM from OWC, going to get 2 4GB modules but I hear some refurbished iMacs come with more RAM that what was purchased, is that just a fluke or do many people get more than what they paid for?
 
My 27" 3.4 with SSD is on its way! Cant wait to get it. Thanks all for the advice. I do want to order more RAM from OWC, going to get 2 4GB modules but I hear some refurbished iMacs come with more RAM that what was purchased, is that just a fluke or do many people get more than what they paid for?

My refurb that was listed as 4GB came with 8 GB.
 
Refurb 3.4 i7 27" came three days ago.....bye bye PC good riddance, wow what was I waiting for? Only complaint is the small font, which I fixed by notching down one res level.

Will need to search for help w migration assistance, my iMac and PC can't seem to play well together.
 
Ordered a 27" i5 2.7GHz refurb on Friday, shipped yesterday. It really was time to replace my MacBook air that struggled with 720p YouTube even. Shipped yesterday by 'Syncreon Parcel Delivery'. My 4S was also shipped with them last year but came by UKMail. Am I right in thinking this iMac will come by UPS?

Hoping to get some free extras (I.e. RAM) but ordered 8gb 1333MHz ddr3 off amazon anyway for a massive saving compared to upgrading with apple.

Estimated delivery tomorrow or Tuesday :p
 
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