Would any of you switch to HP Z1 over new iMac refresh?

[Wrathwitch]

I love my iMac i7, 27" quad core (2008) but she is starting to see her age.

That being said, DAMN this machine from HP looks SWEET!!! A all in one powerhouse that you (yes you) can EASILY upgrade as various components become outdated......


http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/workstations/z1_features.html

The only issue I have with this is...... windows....... /wrists.

So, would any of you consider this as an alternative to your iMac as a replacement?

 

[forty2j]

The only issue I have with this is...... windows....... /wrists.

I am SO done with administrating Windows.. I made my parents buy an iMac so I could stop fixing their Windows install every visit!

Otherwise.. I tried to find some benchmarks on that Nvidia Q4000M, but didn't come up with anything. Curious how well it does on serious 3D games.

 

[MacDawg]

When I am given a choice and spending my money I opt for OSX
I never willingly use Windows, only grudgingly when absolutely necessary
Just my preference

 

[Wrathwitch]

I am SO done with administrating Windows.. I made my parents buy an iMac so I could stop fixing their Windows install every visit!

Otherwise.. I tried to find some benchmarks on that Nvidia Q4000M, but didn't come up with anything. Curious how well it does on serious 3D games.

OMG that is so funny!! I did the same with my parents!!!

Although I think it looks like an amazing machine, I REALLY hate doctoring to Windoes myself! I think of this 2008 iMac and realize that in the 4 years I have been heavily using it, not ONCE have I had any problems, nor have I had to do a system wipe and restore etc.....

 

[MonkeySee....]

Having an iMac has really made me appreciate the design and materials they use.

Not only would I not go back to windows, i'd not go back to cheap plastic.

 

[Wrathwitch]

Having an iMac has really made me appreciate the design and materials they use.

Not only would I not go back to windows, i'd not go back to cheap plastic.

It's not a matter of cheap plastic, as there is an Aluminum backing, what benefit this has over windows is complete ease of upgrading any part in the unit ie: graphics card, different HD components etc, without using tools. If you check out the videos on the link, it really is a very nice offering.

What makes my heart ache right now is I am playing the Diablo III Beta and while my machine can take it, I am starting to see her age and would love the ability to be able to upgrade my iMac to make it longer lasting

 

[Lucianrider]

Hopefully this will make Apple take a serious look at their present designs and go back to the simplicity and incredible internal design of the old 20" white imac which only had three captive screws to pop off the back. The inside was beautifully laid out, here is what it looked like...

That HP could well give the iMac a run for its money!

 

[radiohed]

I would never go back to windows. OSX is so much more enjoyable to use. From a design standpoint, all of those plastic boxes look so ugly compared to the sleek Apple designs. Even the Mac Mini is a such a simple and attractive design. I took a look at the HP Z1 and imo it's ugly.

 

[Razorhog]

Absolutely not. OS X is the main reason, and I've come to like the elegance of Apple's design. However, Apple is exceedingly frustrating when it comes to the lack of user access inside of iMacs.

 

[philipma1957]

If I wanted an all in one I would buy the HP

 

[Wrathwitch]

So, I should perhaps rephrase the question a bit, and ask if the machine ran a UNIX or LINUX or UBUNTU, would you then make the switch?

I personally love the aesthetics of the iMac and the OS is the ONLY reason I would not switch.

Makes me sad that Apple can't or won't put as much juice in the iMacs as they can hold with the most current chipsets or GPUs.

 

[OLDCODGER]

Only if i could get it to run 10.6.8.

Perhaps Ubuntu at a pinch.

 

[fhall1]

I doubt that I'd ever switch, but I'd replace my wife's PC with it if they were about $500 cheaper.

 

[talmy]

I never upgrade a system during its life anyway, and the HP doesn't appear to be any less expensive than an iMac.

I use an HP workstation at work (Z400), and it is a nice system. But frankly I'd rather see Apple come out with the mini-tower Mac Pro for a new home system than have my HP workstation replaced with the HP Z1.

 

[kitsunestudios]

No.

Its a great concept, and I like that it's user-upgradable. Competition is a healthy thing. More power to them.

My software investment is in Apple though, so I have no interest in switching anytime soon. Apple would have to severely screw the pooch on the next iMac for me to consider ditching the platform, in which case, I'd be more likely to go to a Linux variant of this for 3d and animation work.

BTW: The Quadro 4000 is not a serious gaming card: the money is spent on CUDA cores and texture memory, not high frame-rates. This is the card for making games, not playing games.

 

[theSeb]

If I could swap out drives in an iMac, I would buy one. Why won't apple let me? The MBP is more upgradable.

 

[Wrathwitch]

No.

Its a great concept, and I like that it's user-upgradable. Competition is a healthy thing. More power to them.

My software investment is in Apple though, so I have no interest in switching anytime soon. Apple would have to severely screw the pooch on the next iMac for me to consider ditching the platform, in which case, I'd be more likely to go to a Linux variant of this for 3d and animation work.

BTW: The Quadro 4000 is not a serious gaming card: the money is spent on CUDA cores and texture memory, not high frame-rates. This is the card for making games, not playing games.

Re: the Quatro. That is good to know. Is the Quatro not better than what the iMacs are currently sporting at this time though or any other of the Mac computer lines? Just curious.

Either way if I WAS to switch. I think I would partition it's hard drive and use UBUNTU as regular surf/work, and use only the Windows part for gaming.

 

[theSeb]

Re: the Quatro. That is good to know. Is the Quatro not better than what the iMacs are currently sporting at this time though or any other of the Mac computer lines? Just curious.

Either way if I WAS to switch. I think I would partition it's hard drive and use UBUNTU as regular surf/work, and use only the Windows part for gaming.

The Quadro is a better workstation card. Yes. For workstation stuff. Not for playing angry birds.

 

[Wrathwitch]

The Quadro is a better workstation card. Yes. For workstation stuff. Not for playing angry birds.

I don't play Angry Birds, but I catch your drift. I just did a bit of research and you are correct. Not best suited to gaming, which is unfortunate.... my dreams are crushed.....

 

[Bear]

In a word? NO!!

Ignoring the Windows issue. How long will HP make parts for it or will it get abandoned in a couple of years by them? It will probably require custom parts at HP's inflated prices. And even worse, it could've been designed by a Compaq engineer.

 

[NextGenApple]

To be fair in the video on the page it looks nice, the only thing is windows OS, Many would buy that if it was the same but had Apple logo. Powerful too.

 

[theSeb]

I don't play Angry Birds, but I catch your drift. I just did a bit of research and you are correct. Not best suited to gaming, which is unfortunate.... my dreams are crushed.....

Sorry. The "playing angry birds" statement was just my way of saying that it's not suitable for playing games.

 

[tshrimp]

OP. That looks like a very nice system HP has put out. If I were you I would take it for a test drive at the store and see what you think about it. You are in a Mac forum, so probably won't get much love when looking at a Windows based PC. As for me I have both Mac and Windows as many here do, and love Win7 and OSX as both are stable and very user friendly. I am not sure if that HP had an IPS display, but also keep that in mind on the hardware side.

 

[Drag'nGT]

The HP costs more. Why would I ditch a 27" quad i5 for $1700 and get a dual core i3 27" for $1900?

I love that the Z1 opens easily but based on my experience with all of my Macs and the ones my family members ask me to upgrade and work on... I'm not concerned with getting in and out of them.

Yes, the 27" iMac is more of an undertaking than any ssd or ram upgrade on a laptop I've ever done but looking at things realistically... I'll probably never need back in the computer after upgrading to ssd. Same goes for the ram.

The GPU thing will always elude me since I see no point in playing games on here. PC gaming will never equal to the volume or simplicity of console gaming. That's just fact. However, if a bigger, better GPU will help my Aperture rendering or iMovie/Final Cut work go through faster then 'Yes', I'm all for that. But as of late I haven't seen anything that proved the GPU was utilized enough to significantly contribute to that work. I'm probably wrong about that though so hopefully someone will set me straight.

 

[forty2j]

PC gaming will never equal to the volume or simplicity of console gaming.

For some people, this is actually part of the appeal. Games like WoW, Starcraft, Diablo, Dragon Age, etc. just don't (or didn't, in Dragon Age's case) translate well to consoles. Plus the whole modding community.. I know a few dedicated console gamers who wanted Skyrim for PC so they could install mods.