Considering Changing to Mac. Eek! (1 Viewer)

[Aaron Reynolds]

Holy moly, Kev, I think we have the same machine. I feel the same way about it.

My wife's 2.0 GHz MacBook (middle of the line of the last generation) destroys it, though.

 

[Darren Lewis]

At the UK Apple online store, the iMac 2.0GHz (20") with 2Gb RAM is about £300 more expensive than the Mac Mini with the same CPU and RAM spec. For that, I'd get the 20" screen, a bigger hdd (250Gb or 320Gb instead of 120Gb), a better graphics chip, the built-in camera, and the keyboard and mouse.

On value for money, the iMac does seem to be the better option than the Mac Mini, even though it is more expensive.

I really can't stretch to a Mac Pro, although I would love to as the spec is really good and I'm sure it would be a fantastic machine to own.

I'm going to see if my local PC World has the new iMac in yet so I can take a look at the screen to see if the reflections would be an issue.

 

[Darren Lewis]

Oh my God! I've gone and done it!

Just placed the order for a new 20" iMac. Decided to go with the best specs I could afford. I've upped the RAM and went for a massive HDD. Also decided to get iWorks installed as it seems to be good value for an Office replacement.

2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
750GB Serial ATA Drive
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
iWork '08 preinstalled
Apple Mighty Mouse
Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X (English)
AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac - Auto-enroll
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
20-inch glossy widescreen LCD
AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

I've got this mixed feeling of being excited and nervous. I'm sure this machine will last me for a good few years. I hope I like the new iMac.

It won't be arriving until the end of next week at the earliest though :frowning:

Thanks for all the excellent advice in this thread and forum. I'll post to let you know how I get on, and I'm sure I'll have loads of questions.

 

[DaveF]

That is a fantastic machine! It will work well for you for years to come, without a doubt. And if need be, you can use Bootcamp to create a killer Windows system. (I'll be finally playing Half Life 2 on my MacBook Pro via Bootcamp.)

 

[Oren]

Indeed, that's the same machine I want, and I also want to replay HL2 on it. I'd do it at 800x600 (projector), so resolution would be modest. I heard that the ATI 2xxx series dropped hardware AA support at the last moment, so turning off FSAA radically improves framerates.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Nice machine

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I'm trying to turn my friend about to buy a new computer
towards the 20" iMac.

MacMall has the 2GB w/350 Hard Drive for $1649 (and a $75 rebate
to boot).

Just hope I can talk him into it.

 

[Craig S]

Good choice, Darren - you have a lot to look forward to. Unboxing and powering up your first Mac is a fun, exciting experience. Enjoy!

 

[DaveF]

If your friend works any large corp, be sure to check on an Apple discount. I get a ~8% discount on hardware through our discount.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

Awesome machine Darren.

CJ

 

[Yee-Ming]

I wish I could justify buying a new iMac like Darren's -- but I can't because the existing G4 I have (the half-volleyball, coolest home computer EVER!) still works so well! So I'd have no worries about an iMac today not lasting a reasonable time.

 

[Eric M Jones]

Darren, Congrats on the purchase. I'm going on 4 years now with my iMac G5 (the original rev. of the LCD iMacs) even though I also own an Intel Mini and a Powerbook the iMac is still my go to machine. I'm sure you've read many of the switcher threads here and realize you'll have a bit of an adjustment period . Just remember to be patient and ask questions we're all here to help.

-EJ

 

[BrianShort]

I don't feel the extreme urge to upgrade just yet... and I don't really want to spend the money, but I'm 90% sure that my next PC will be a Mac. I'm thinking a combination of the iMac and the MacBook would work well.

I hear the MacBook Pro's currently have a better video card than the iMac and the Mac Pro, is this true?

 

[Darren Lewis]

The MacBook Pros come with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with either 128Mb or 256Mb of GDDR3 memory.

The new iMacs come with either the ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB of GDDR3 memory (2.0GHz model), or the ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB of GDDR3 memory (all the other models).

The Mac Pros have much more options available as they can be "user upgraded" by opening the case and adding your own card. They ship with the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 256MB of GDDR2 SDRAM (single-link DVI / dual-link DVI) or ATI Radeon X1900 XT with 512MB GDDR3 SDRAM (two dual-link DVI) or NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 with 512MB GDDR3 SDRAM (Stereo 3D, two dual-link DVI) or Up to four NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 256MB looking at the Apple store site.

I'm not a graphics expert so don't know which is the best though. I guess it depends on what you're going to be using it for.


The MacBooks and Mac Mini have the Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory, and aren't supposed to be able to handle graphics intensive apps like Aperture according to some reviews.

I'm also thinking that a MacBook would be a good laptop replacement for my 12.1" Philips Pentium-M 1.73GHz notebook at some point in the future, and a good companion for my iMac desktop. I really like the small size of my current notebook and it's very light for carry around with me on trains etc.


My iMacs's order status has just changed to "Prepared for Shipment" so hopefully it won't be too much longer - all this waiting is killing me!

 

[Darren Lewis]

Still waiting for it to arrive :frowning:

Spoke to Apple, today who said it had just arrived in Amsterdam (from China)! Should be here by the end of this week.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

While out in Denver over a week ago my iPhone
was stolen so I took Parker with me to the Apple
store to get a replacement. While there we both
looked at the new iMac and it is a thing of absolute
beauty.

Best part of that Apple store visit was that Parker
is that Parker is now talking about buying his first
Mac and I couldn't be happier for him.

I love my Mac!