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Was I haste in purchasing an iMac?

N

nporteschaikin

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 23, 2009
21
0
I just got my 27" iMac. It is awesome. I though will regret the purchase if there is a refresh and/or redesign soon.

I know it's impossible to speculate Apple, but what are the chances of this in the next few months? And how hard would it be to sell this iMac should something come around? Will it retain value?
 
Apple computers always retain value pretty well, especially with the specs that yours has. There's always an imminent refresh looming just a few months away, so playing the waiting game is all but pointless. Or if you buy every new revision, you'll end up just spending unnecessary amounts of money. I don't think we'll see anything until summer at least, so you should just enjoy your computer :)
 
It's impossible to play the waiting game with technology. I was doing that for the last 2 years deciding on either a iMac or macbook pro, until I finally decided to get a 27" i7 imac this past November. Best computer I've ever owned. Even when apple does refresh the imac, it's not like the current ones are going to be obsolete. They will still be very good computers, especially the quad core ones.
 
jlyanks85 said:
It's impossible to play the waiting game with technology. I was doing that for the last 2 years deciding on either a iMac or macbook pro, until I finally decided to get a 27" i7 imac this past November. Best computer I've ever owned. Even when apple does refresh the imac, it's not like the current ones are going to be obsolete. They will still be very good computers, especially the quad core ones.
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I agree. I think you will be very happy with an iMac even if a refresh happens soon. If you are tired of waiting, get one.
 
You have the 2.93 i7 and you're sweating tomorrow's machine?

Your computer is a beast. I just got mine Saturday. And I'm pretty floored with the i7. I could give two hoots about the 2011 model.

Stop readin the rumor mill and start working your new workhorse.
 
skiltrip said:
You have the 2.93 i7 and you're sweating tomorrow's machine?

Your computer is a beast. I just got mine Saturday. And I'm pretty floored with the i7. I could give two hoots about the 2011 model.

Stop readin the rumor mill and start working your new workhorse.
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I agree here, i mean i bought 27" i7 / 4gb / 1tb - about a month ago...and i guess your always worried about what the next Apple product will be or how better it will be than the one you already own.

But how much different could it be? I will eventually upgrade my machine to 16gb and with i7 quad core and 16gb that will be lasting a long time

i wouldnt worry about it dude.
 
What the other posters say is true. My 2009 c2d 2.66 ghz 24" iMac still kicks ass every day. It hasn't gotten slower as the day I got it. Just get one and forget about refresh cycles!
 
Absolutely true. Raw computing power has not increased exponentially like it once did. Speed bumps have been modest at best. Your i7 is about as fast as an entry level Mac Pro which I have. If you use iStat, you will see that the majority of the time, the CPU barely breaks a sweat unless you are encoding video, for example. You can add an SSD by yourself if you are willing to open up your case to really give your iMac a boost when prices come down. Better yet, get more RAM and it'll scream.

skiltrip said:
You have the 2.93 i7 and you're sweating tomorrow's machine?

Your computer is a beast. I just got mine Saturday. And I'm pretty floored with the i7. I could give two hoots about the 2011 model.

Stop readin the rumor mill and start working your new workhorse.
Click to expand...
 
dsc888 said:
Absolutely true. Raw computing power has not increased exponentially like it once did. Speed bumps have been modest at best. Your i7 is about as fast as an entry level Mac Pro which I have. If you use iStat, you will see that the majority of the time, the CPU barely breaks a sweat unless you are encoding video, for example.
Click to expand...

Yes. The latest 27" i7 iMacs are only about 10% faster and have no capacity advantage over the one I bought when they came out in November 2009. On the other hand, it has about 10,000x the processing power, 16,000x the RAM, and 50,000x the disk capacity of my first IBM clone PC about 27 years ago.
 
jlyanks85 said:
It's impossible to play the waiting game with technology. I was doing that for the last 2 years deciding on either a iMac or macbook pro, until I finally decided to get a 27" i7 imac this past November. Best computer I've ever owned. Even when apple does refresh the imac, it's not like the current ones are going to be obsolete. They will still be very good computers, especially the quad core ones.
Click to expand...

I am in the same position you were....can I ask why you went iMac?
 
gdeputy said:
I'm assuming this is a joke because it's ridiculous lol.
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Not at all. This isn't about the computer being obsolete or processing speed, its about value for the money. Buying a computer late in the model's shelf life is throwing $500 in the toilet.
 
lowonthe456 said:
I am in the same position you were....can I ask why you went iMac?
Click to expand...

For one I was in love with the 27" screen and also get the most powerful imac (not including ssd) is cheaper than a 17" macbook pro maxed out. I'm eventually going to get a laptop too, since I want it for portability for traveling and school, but it'll probably either be a 13" macbook pro or air since I already have the huge screen in the iMac.
 
Updates will probably come in March or April. But if you got it now and you're happy with it, there's really no need to question yourself is there?

Personally, I'm waiting for the update to get one. I would love one now but I have the patience to wait.
 
I wonder if TS knows that any piece of technology is outdated even before it hits the shelves. The next 2 generations of iPhones and iMacs were on Apple's design boards already when the current ones were released. So if you're going to have buyers' remorse, TS, you need to find a better reason than this ;-)
 
I got mine last month. I will feel retarded if the new one is out with better specs, but right now I am damn happy with this machine. :D
 
If I was interested in a top of the line 27", then I'd buy one today, probably from the refurb store. You know that model will be good for quite some time. But I want the 21", so I'm waiting for the refresh to see what changes are made, especially if the graphics cards get better. Good luck!
 
Orginarily I would go with the three month rule. The flip side of the hold off argument is that Intel have brought out a new chipset in Sandybridge and, after Sandybridge's rocky start in the world of PCs with the product recall, being an early adopter isn't without potential headaches. Of course, things may be fine by the time the next iMac comes out. Do you want to have fun now, or later?! :)
 
what about the 21.5?

I understand and agree with your arguments about the 27 inch, but what what about the 21.5?

I'm not interested in the 27 due to screen size, but very interested in its specifications. Don't you think the 21 model will receive a significant upgrade?

i'm in a real dilemma for a few weeks now whether to buy it or not, just because i'm afraid of "getting stuck" with the i3 when the new 21 models might get an i5 and i7 upgrade.
plus the fact that there are really no predictions on the new iMacs (as opposed to the macbook) is really frustrating.
 
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