Upgrading from a late 2006 white iMac...

[Hauss316]

I currently have a late 2006 white iMac with lion installed. I use it for normal things (internet, email, music, etc) as well as photo editing and video editing. As with any piece of technology, time has passed and my computer is showing its age. I also happen to manage other peoples iMac via ichat with screen sharing and often have to wait for my computer to catch up so that I can see that I have done on their end.

Long story short is I'm looking to upgrade to the new 2011 iMac and was wondering what kind of difference would i experience? Is it night and day or just a little bit faster. Pretty much if its going to be worth the upgrade. Since i don't do anything hardcore (HD video editing, etc) I'm just looking at an i5 2.5 Ghz 21.5" model.

Any input from someone that was in a similar situation would be appreciated.

 

[Paulywauly]

I had one of those models too. Even if you have maxed the RAM to 3GB on your 06 you'll notice quite a big difference in most areas, the extra RAM and graphics performance in particular make a huge difference with Lion.

 

[Hauss316]

I had one of those models too. Even if you have maxed the RAM to 3GB on your 06 you'll notice quite a big difference in most areas, the extra RAM and graphics performance in particular make a huge difference with Lion.

I maxed it out about 2 years ago....I can't even watch 1080P youtube videos on it

 

[Corrosive vinyl]

First question is, why are u watching 1080p videos on a computer that you say can't handle it?

I would look at the processors and video cards on both models and see what the difference is between your iMac and the new one you are interested in. How much of a boost will you be getting? If you feel that it is significant enough to warrant buying it, go for it.

As for the RAM, I noticed a lot more usage of ram using SL then I did in panther. I bet this is the case with lion. How much ram is being used immediately after start up?

 

[Hauss316]

First question is, why are u watching 1080p videos on a computer that you say can't handle it?

I was giving an example of what I'm experiencing and one of the reasons why I'm looking to upgrade because my iMac is unable to watch videos made from my iPhone 4S on youtube.