which imac for my daughter?

[shygirl]

My 7-year-old daughter's old computer is beginning to die, and she's wanting to switch to a Mac, so I'm looking at getting an iMac for her. (I was originally thinking about a Mini, but the keyboard and monitor are ancient and could probably stand to be replaced too.) Getting a new one seems like overkill - all she'll be doing on it for now is playing web games, using the equivalent of MS Paint, maybe typing up some school papers and/or playing educational CD-ROMs. Nothing very processor-intensive, I don't think. I expect that she'll want to do heavier stuff on it when she gets older, but by the time that happens we might want to upgrade again anyway.

I'm not sure what kind of iMac to get for her. The G4s are quite cheap these days, and would probably be sufficient for what she wants to do, but they're only slightly newer than the one she has now and I'm afraid they wouldn't last much longer. The G5s don't seem much cheaper than used Rev. A Intels and those seem like more bang for the buck - they are faster, would run Leopard and newer kid games and maybe Windows if we ever needed to, and would probably last longer in all senses of the term.

Should I be looking to the future, or going with the cheap one now? Any advice or insight would be much appreciated! Thanks!

ETA: Or would an eMac work better? Too many choices....!

 

[NewbieNerd]

I'd definitely suggest a refurb Apple 17" white iMac. With the Intel Core Duo processor, it will be a fine machine for years to come, and I think the price is pretty attractive, though I don't know it off the top of my head. You get a year of AppleCare + the ability to extend to 3 years if you want as well, which you won't find getting something older and not directly from Apple. If you want the 20" that's even better, but the 17" is great for kids.

Good luck with the decision! She'll love it!

 

[dukebound85]

the mini would be good too. you can pick up a cheap display and keyboard and will be around the same as the imac

regardless i would get at least a coreduo (intel) mac as it is a substantial upgrade over the ppc

 

[Techguy172]

the mini would be good too. you can pick up a cheap display and keyboard and will be around the same as the imac

regardless i would get at least a coreduo (intel) mac as it is a substantial upgrade over the ppc

Yeah but the iMac's all in one design is easier and I always thought it would be better for young kids as the OP's. 17" sounds like a good one to get.

 

[barijazz]

imac definitely, intel only for compatibility reasons. A 17" imac should be fine. I'm not sure how small your daughter is but if the screen is to big then she will have to turn her head to see the whole screen. Thats why I had to get rid of the 50" tv.

 

[aross99]

Any of the Intel White iMac's would be great. These are very nice machines. Anything older just isn't worth the small cost savings.

My daughters have iMac G5's and they are nice too, but they are a significant generation behind, and some versions are prone to some serious hardware issues.

You can probably find a great deal on the 17" Intel iMac. FInd one with the fastest CPU you can get, and put at least 1G of RAM and you will have a machine that she can use for a long time...

 

[elmo151]

get the most modern you can. Obsolesce will be further away.

A 17" screen would be BIG for a 7 year old. But will grow into it.

Good luck

 

[je1ani]

imac definitely, intel only for compatibility reasons. A 17" imac should be fine. I'm not sure how small your daughter is but if the screen is to big then she will have to turn her head to see the whole screen. Thats why I had to get rid of the 50" tv.

wtf? turning your head on the 50"? and how close were you watching it?

 

[emptyCup]

Intel for longevity, iMac for its simpler, all-in-one design. Plus, it also has the built-in iSight. Nothing makes a 7 year old giggle like Photo Booth.

 

[barijazz]

wtf? turning your head on the 50"? and how close were you watching it?

It was a small apartment very close quarters.