iMac Buying suggestion

Pasha · Post by **Pasha** » Mon May 26, 2008 9:30 am

Although I'm using a MacBook with Live,
my Desktop PC is dying so I would take the chance to
move to a new Penryn iMac so that I can later move Live stuff
on that machine. I'm thinking about more HDD space @ 7200 RPM, more powerful CPU and a dedicated Graphic Card (I'm not a 3D fanboy or gamer, but complex Live sets get sluggish graphic refresh on my Macbook since version 7)
I'm left with two options:

1. Base 20" iMac, 2.4 Ghz + 1GB Ram + ATI 2400 XT + 250 GB HDD (1GB upgrade costs about 50 Euros) @ 999 + 50 = 1149 Euros
2. Mid 20" iMac, 2.66 Ghz + 2GB Ram + ATI 2600 HD + 320 GB HDD @ 1299 Euros

The difference is 150 Euros, so is the cash worth option 2 or not?
I would say that 2.66 versus 2.4 won't be a big difference and with 150 Euros I can easy buy more than 70GB HDD and with a FW/800 interface.
I don't have experience with Apple Graphics so I do not know if I can even be interested into a ATI 2400 XT or a 2600 HD.

What's your call?

- Best
- Pasha

Pasha · Post by **Pasha** » Mon May 26, 2008 11:15 am

B
U
M
P

polyslax · Post by **polyslax** » Mon May 26, 2008 12:24 pm

A few randome thoughts without giving you a definitive answer:

1. 2 gb ram is practically a must.
2. Don't buy your ram from Apple, buy it much cheaper at Crucial or some other vendor and install yourself - not difficult to do.
3. More hard drive space, yes. Not sure what drive replacement is like on the iMac - you may want to have this factory installed or supplement with an external fw/usb drive.
4. I'd probably go with the stock video card, but I'm not a gamer.
5. I'd also stick with the 2.4, but mainly because of heat concerns. I think the 2.66 is just an overclock, and there isn't a lot of space inside the box.

I have the 24 inch 2.4 Intel iMac, 2 gb ram, 500 gb internal hdd, stock graphics. It ran Live quite well, but I moved it down to the kids when my old G5 iMac blew its motherboard. I replaced the Intel iMac with an 8 core Mac Pro.

Pasha · Post by **Pasha** » Mon May 26, 2008 2:31 pm

polyslax wrote:A few randome thoughts without giving you a definitive answer:

1. 2 gb ram is practically a must.
2. Don't buy your ram from Apple, buy it much cheaper at Crucial or some other vendor and install yourself - not difficult to do.
3. More hard drive space, yes. Not sure what drive replacement is like on the iMac - you may want to have this factory installed or supplement with an external fw/usb drive.
4. I'd probably go with the stock video card, but I'm not a gamer.
5. I'd also stick with the 2.4, but mainly because of heat concerns. I think the 2.66 is just an overclock, and there isn't a lot of space inside the box.

I have the 24 inch 2.4 Intel iMac, 2 gb ram, 500 gb internal hdd, stock graphics. It ran Live quite well, but I moved it down to the kids when my old G5 iMac blew its motherboard. I replaced the Intel iMac with an 8 core Mac Pro.

Thanks 4 reply. You mean the latest (2008) iMac or the previous gen?

polyslax · Post by **polyslax** » Mon May 26, 2008 2:54 pm

Pasha wrote:
polyslax wrote:A few randome thoughts without giving you a definitive answer:

1. 2 gb ram is practically a must.
2. Don't buy your ram from Apple, buy it much cheaper at Crucial or some other vendor and install yourself - not difficult to do.
3. More hard drive space, yes. Not sure what drive replacement is like on the iMac - you may want to have this factory installed or supplement with an external fw/usb drive.
4. I'd probably go with the stock video card, but I'm not a gamer.
5. I'd also stick with the 2.4, but mainly because of heat concerns. I think the 2.66 is just an overclock, and there isn't a lot of space inside the box.

I have the 24 inch 2.4 Intel iMac, 2 gb ram, 500 gb internal hdd, stock graphics. It ran Live quite well, but I moved it down to the kids when my old G5 iMac blew its motherboard. I replaced the Intel iMac with an 8 core Mac Pro.
Thanks 4 reply. You mean the latest (2008) iMac or the previous gen?

My 24/2.4 iMac is circa Sep 2007.

Pasha · Post by **Pasha** » Mon May 26, 2008 5:45 pm

polyslax wrote:
Pasha wrote:
polyslax wrote:A few randome thoughts without giving you a definitive answer:

1. 2 gb ram is practically a must.
2. Don't buy your ram from Apple, buy it much cheaper at Crucial or some other vendor and install yourself - not difficult to do.
3. More hard drive space, yes. Not sure what drive replacement is like on the iMac - you may want to have this factory installed or supplement with an external fw/usb drive.
4. I'd probably go with the stock video card, but I'm not a gamer.
5. I'd also stick with the 2.4, but mainly because of heat concerns. I think the 2.66 is just an overclock, and there isn't a lot of space inside the box.

I have the 24 inch 2.4 Intel iMac, 2 gb ram, 500 gb internal hdd, stock graphics. It ran Live quite well, but I moved it down to the kids when my old G5 iMac blew its motherboard. I replaced the Intel iMac with an 8 core Mac Pro.
Thanks 4 reply. You mean the latest (2008) iMac or the previous gen?
My 24/2.4 iMac is circa Sep 2007.

Thanks!
I think the twos are comparable.

- Best
- Pasha

Pasha · Post by **Pasha** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:19 pm

Anyone else?

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:28 pm

I would rather get the entry-level 24" than a more expanded 20". Working on a 24" is really nice, and makes for a really good media center too, if need be.

doc holiday · Post by **doc holiday** » Wed May 28, 2008 4:03 pm

check the refurbs, i just got a Penryn mbp refurbed.

Pasha · Post by **Pasha** » Thu May 29, 2008 9:17 am

Machinate wrote:I would rather get the entry-level 24" than a more expanded 20". Working on a 24" is really nice, and makes for a really good media center too, if need be.

Thanks Machinate.
I guess it's nice, but is not too much a big screen to watch from 50 cm?
Wow it would seem to watch a movie in theater sit in the first row!
Sure you can see a number of tracks on a 24"!
Wait for your comments,

- Best
- Pasha

Kobalt · Post by **Kobalt** » Thu May 29, 2008 9:40 am

I replaced a powermacG5+cinema display 20" by an Imac24" (white) almost two years ago : what a gain in confort!!!:p
Machinate is right. Choosing a desktop, I would trade some hd space and horsepower for a bigger screen if I have to. you won't regret it, whether it is for looking at more expanded tracks (with automation lanes), with the clip view opened, the left-side explorer, plug-ins guis, sends&returns all over the screens etc... or watching films :p

Pasha · Post by **Pasha** » Thu May 29, 2008 2:17 pm

Kobalt wrote:I replaced a powermacG5+cinema display 20" by an Imac24" (white) almost two years ago : what a gain in confort!!!:p
Machinate is right. Choosing a desktop, I would trade some hd space and horsepower for a bigger screen if I have to. you won't regret it, whether it is for looking at more expanded tracks (with automation lanes), with the clip view opened, the left-side explorer, plug-ins guis, sends&returns all over the screens etc... or watching films :p

Thanks Kobalt, I'll give it a try.

oblique strategies · Post by **oblique strategies** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:05 pm

Check out what the WWDC has in store (June 9), it's a big Apple to-do. Could be something that impacts your decision.

Pasha · Post by **Pasha** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:37 pm

oblique strategies wrote:Check out what the WWDC has in store (June 9), it's a big Apple to-do. Could be something that impacts your decision.

oops I missed that. Do you know of some new stuff?

oblique strategies · Post by **oblique strategies** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:52 pm

Pasha wrote:
oblique strategies wrote:Check out what the WWDC has in store (June 9), it's a big Apple to-do. Could be something that impacts your decision.
oops I missed that. Do you know of some new stuff?

I've been waiting for just the right alchemical mixture to come along to get me to buy a new MacBook Pro, & haven't really paid attention to any rumors regarding any of the other Apple computers.

A good place to frequent is:
http://www.macrumors.com/

They also have a handy Buyers Guide that is a good reference.

WWDC is so close that you might as well wait -could mean better features, or a slight drop in price somewhere.