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Thinking of buying a 20" iMac... what do you guys think?

T

tipem

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 20, 2007
42
0
Columbus, OH
Hey guys,

I'm thinking of buying a 20' iMac right now. I see that they've just come down in price by about $100 or so. On the Buyer's Guide page, it says to wait for iMacs, as there will be upgrades soon. However, are there really going to be any big updates worth waiting for? :rolleyes: Leopard has been delayed until January of '08, I hear. I imagine the fanciest thing Apple could do is make them a tad bit faster, like they did with the MacBooks, which isn't really all that big of an update in it of itself, seeing as Macs are already fast to begin with.

Should I wait to buy an iMac, or should I buy one? I'm dead tired of Windows.

Thanks,
Tipem :apple:
 
Haha, fixed. I know, typo!!! D'oh! :p Re-read the edited post now, it makes a heck of a lot more sense. ;) To be honest, I actually don't want to wait. I really want to buy one now. The reason why I'm asking here is because I'm wondering if there might be any upgrades worth waiting for. Other than that, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
 
tipem said:
To be honest, I actually don't want to wait. I really want to buy one now... Other than that, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

Most upgrades are worth waiting for, but you will be waiting forever.

Re-read the part of the quote I posted.
 
I was in a similar position to yourself but decided to bite the bullet and ordered a 24" iMac with 2GB RAM, 7600GT and the 2.33 processor upgrade at the end of March.

I've now had it for well over a month and I can say it's truly an excellent system. I don't know what you're planning to use it for but I can say from my own perspective I can't conceive of an upgrade that would have been worth waiting another 3 + months for (I'm not expecting a significant update before 30/06/07).

At the end of the day you just need to ask yourself are you going to be upset if you buy it and the following month they've bumped the processor speed or something. How long are you prepared to wait and do the current specifications meet your requirements ?
 
By my way of thinking, the 20" iMac is the sweet-spot for the Mac lineup. It's the one with the most value for the money, IMO.

As for getting it now or waiting - that will always come down to need. If you need it right now, go get it. You won't be disappointed. If you don't need it right now, then wait until after WWDC and see what shakes out of that. I'd expect WWDC to be kind of a doozy this time around...especially with so many machines in the lineup getting long in the tooth.
 
I am currently in the same position as you. I want to buy a 20" iMac, but Apple is WAY overdue to update the iMac line. I am normally an extremely impatient person, but I am waiting for the 11th of June, WWDC Keynote, to see whether I should update. I know I will kill myself if I buy one now, then next month Jobs announces a new iMac.
 
I'd say wait until after WWDC, i.e. June 11th. If there's going to be an update to anything in the near future, that's when its going to happen. Its only a three week wait now too.

I'd say that the next iMac update will either go to the Santa Rosa platform or it'll just be a price drop. Either way, you can't lose.
 
If possible Id wait, a reesign, with LED backlight is expected. Though if you need you can buy a great maching today.

:)
 
As they say...

If you need it NOW, buy it NOW
If you can WAIT, WAIT

Personally... unless you need a machine for work or can't handle waiting.. WAIT. I bet by the end of the summer (at the latest) an upgrade will come to the iMac. That being said, the iMacs out now are sweet rigs. You won't go wrong with one of those either. They seem like work horses that will last for years.
 
Spanky Deluxe said:
I'd say wait until after WWDC, i.e. June 11th. If there's going to be an update to anything in the near future, that's when its going to happen. Its only a three week wait now too.
Click to expand...
I don't know why people say that. How many Mac updates have really been announced at "big events" lately? They can update the line any day they want. There is no reason at all why it couldn't happen a week or two or three after WWDC.

My vote is unless you MUST have it now, wait. It IS way overdue for an update, and that update will come sooner rather than later. Hopefully it will be a pretty sweet update.

Oh, and the rumor of Leopard being delayed till January is FALSE. At least for now ...

Also, if you're sick of Windows, you could always try Linux to tide you over.
 
Well, I'm going to be picking up a new 24' iMac within the next couple of weeks.

1) If there is an update soon, and it's only a speed bump, then that's no sweat. If you're going to wait around for speed bump updates before buying, you'll be waiting forever – there's always another speed bump update on the horizon (especially now we're running on intel).

2) If there's a big update soon e.g. form factor change, then as the new iMac I'll be buying will be my only system, which I'll be relying on to work, then I wouldn't want to buy a Rev. A model and would deliberately choose to get the current model, which is well proven by now.

Just my thinking on the matter…
 
Thanks guys! I'll wait for the WWDC to come around and see if Apple has anything fancy up their sleeves.

Thanks,
Tipem :apple:
 
tipem said:
I'm thinking of buying a 20' iMac right now. I see that they've just come down in price by about $100 or so.
Click to expand...

Really? I didn't notice any price change. Where did you see this? I have also been waiting for a new announcement for upgrades to the 20" imac. I will wait until WWDC, but it is getting harder to wait. In anticipation I have bought the Airport Extreme and Lacie 500 GB hard drive for wireless backup purposes. I also picked up the HybridTv to make the imac a digital hub in my living room.

On an unrelated note, with this post I have just graduated to "member" status!:)
 
I'm in a similarish position as you but i am waiting no matter what until august time to buy because i get my exam results then and i get money for grades so yea. Also im waiting again because the longer you wait the more and better the iMac will become no matter what!

Depends if you do desperately need it right now though.
 
Wait for the upgraded version.

Yes, the 20" is the sweet spot as far as price.

Spend the extra on the 24". The screen is gorgeous and people really are more productive with larger screens. You'll probably keep this computer for a while.

Don't forget to up the RAM.

You can always get a larger external.

:)
 
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