Will a 2006 iMac fit my needs?

[Volkstaia]

I just need a computer to keep here at the office/where I do school (officeschool wooo) and it's not going to be my main machine. Basic word processing, Flash (to program games with and YouTube), and Final Cut Pro 7. Just Ethernet, it's not going to be that much use, just looking for something better then this Dell Inspiron that is my Mom's.

 

[iSee]

I just need a computer to keep here at the office/where I do school (officeschool wooo) and it's not going to be my main machine. Basic word processing, Flash (to program games with and YouTube), and Final Cut Pro 7. Just Ethernet, it's not going to be that much use, just looking for something better then this Dell Inspiron that is my Mom's.

It's not going to run the latest Mac OS... I'm not sure if you're looking at a PPC-based iMac or Intel-based one -- the switch over was around then. And I'm not sure what version of Flash you are planning to use.

Whether it's PPC-based or Intel-based, make sure you know it will run the software you want. A PPC-based one will only run PPC-based software. An intel one will run both (though if you're only going to run PPC-based software, the PPC-based one will be a little bit better). Look up the latest OS that the machine can run and make sure you don't want to run any software that is too new for it.

Regarding Flash development, I used maxed out Intel-based 2006 MBP for some flash development from ~2007-2009, which is probably pretty comperable to the first intel-based iMacs. It was fine for some projects and excruciatingly slow to publish for others, forcing me to break up the project into multiple flas/swfs and dynamically load them -- not the end of the world, especially considering I'd usually have to break them into two parts anyway to have a nice loading screen -- but do you want to spend your time on that stuff or building your game? I can't remember the exact version of Flash I used but it was fairly current at the time, probably CS3.

(I wasn't quite sure what was the trigger for making it so slow. Something to do with the graphics and sound, but it wasn't simply a matter of how much grapgics and sound -- sometimes I had a lot of graphics and sound and it would publish quickly. Sometimes a medium amount and it would publish slowly. I have some ideas but never definitively ran it down because I upgraded to a fast i7-based 2009 iMac and never had to worry about it again.)

So from my perspective, no, that's not sufficient. These games weren't big -- just me and an artist providing some nice, but not extensive, graphics.

I think it would handle word processing fine, with, e.g., a version of Word from around that time.

I don't know about Final Cut Pro 7.

 

[Volkstaia]

It's not going to run the latest Mac OS... I'm not sure if you're looking at a PPC-based iMac or Intel-based one -- the switch over was around then. And I'm not sure what version of Flash you are planning to use.

Whether it's PPC-based or Intel-based, make sure you know it will run the software you want. A PPC-based one will only run PPC-based software. An intel one will run both (though if you're only going to run PPC-based software, the PPC-based one will be a little bit better). Look up the latest OS that the machine can run and make sure you don't want to run any software that is too new for it.

Regarding Flash development, I used maxed out Intel-based 2006 MBP for some flash development from ~2007-2009, which is probably pretty comperable to the first intel-based iMacs. It was fine for some projects and excruciatingly slow to publish for others, forcing me to break up the project into multiple flas/swfs and dynamically load them -- not the end of the world, especially considering I'd usually have to break them into two parts anyway to have a nice loading screen -- but do you want to spend your time on that stuff or building your game? I can't remember the exact version of Flash I used but it was fairly current at the time, probably CS3.

(I wasn't quite sure what was the trigger for making it so slow. Something to do with the graphics and sound, but it wasn't simply a matter of how much grapgics and sound -- sometimes I had a lot of graphics and sound and it would publish quickly. Sometimes a medium amount and it would publish slowly. I have some ideas but never definitively ran it down because I upgraded to a fast i7-based 2009 iMac and never had to worry about it again.)

So from my perspective, no, that's not sufficient. These games weren't big -- just me and an artist providing some nice, but not extensive, graphics.

I think it would handle word processing fine, with, e.g., a version of Word from around that time.

I don't know about Final Cut Pro 7.

I'm familiar with the Intel switch, dude. I was looking at the 2006 iMac, which was basically the iMac G5 with an intel chip.

 

[marsmissions]

I'm familiar with the Intel switch, dude. I was looking at the 2006 iMac, which was basically the iMac G5 with an intel chip.

No need to be flippant because he mentioned the possible PPC chip—most people have no idea about that kind of stuff...especially the ones who ask questions like the one you asked.

 

[MacOG728893]

I'm familiar with the Intel switch, dude. I was looking at the 2006 iMac, which was basically the iMac G5 with an intel chip.

Your reply to such a helpful comment is pretty rude. Why ask if you're going to act like you already know it all?

 

[mrmarts]

Here are some system requirements for software you might run, it is good to Google in the future. I am not familiar to the 2006 iMac, so I hope this helps in your decision.

Latest Office for Mac Home and Student 2011

A Mac computer that has an Intel processor
Mac OS X version 10.5.8 (or a later version)
1 gigabyte (GB) or more of memory (RAM)
2.5 GB of available hard disk space
HFS+ hard disk format (also known as Mac OS Extended or HFS Plus)
1280 x 800 or higher resolution monitor
DVD drive or connection to a local area network (if you are installing over a network)
Safari 5 or a later web browser is recommended


Final Cut 7 minimum system requirements

Mac computer with an Intel processor
1GB of RAM (2GB of RAM recommended when working with compressed HD and uncompressed SD sources; 4GB of RAM recommended when working with uncompressed HD sources)
ATI or NVIDIA graphics processor. Integrated Intel graphics processors are not supported except the Intel HD Graphics 3000.
128MB of VRAM
Display with 1280-by-800 resolution or higher
Mac OS X v10.5.6 or later
QuickTime 7.6 or later
DVD drive for installation
For burning Blu-ray discs: a Blu-ray recorder

Flash

Intel Core™ Duo 1.83GHz or faster processor
Mac OS X v10.6, v10.7, v10.8, or v10.9
Safari 5.0 or later, Mozilla Firefox 17, Google Chrome, or Opera 11
512MB of RAM; 128MB of graphics memory

 

[echomango]

I have a 2006 intel imac that I continue to use as a secondary computer. The reason I upgraded was due to its inability to keep up with programs like Adobe After Effects or Adobe Premiere. I think you will find that Final Cut will lag and strain that system. Internet browsing and email or word processing will be fine. FC Pro? I wouldn't suggest it.