05-11-2005, 10:50 AM

First off, I love all things computer-related, and am a computer science major in college. Lately I've been becoming intrigued with Mac OS X and the way it seems to be designed. I've been wanting to try it out and see what it can do. Then a friend at work buys this iMac G5. Wow that thing is svelte.

This has caused some what of a Mac frenzy at the job, as another friend is now ordering an iMac. With the 512MB or RAM, 128MB VRAM, and 2.0 GHz G5 available in iMac, to me it seems that mac is on a even level with a decent x86 pc. So, I've been reasoning, maybe now's the time for this comp/sci major to give mac a chance.

So, for a few questions...

I can get an education discount from Apple so that the 17" is $1399 and 20" is $1699. It seems that the 20" is favored but I am having a hard time justifying $300 for 3". Of course it also has the 250GB HD. Is the 20" model that much better? I am leaning towards the 20" but don't know if I really need it.

Also, this machine will be used in my bed room for web surfing, school work, programming (much to my surprise I find out that I can use C++ on it!),etc. I would like to keep it on all the time but I want it to be silent when I'm not using it. It seems the 20" model is a bit more quiet? I also need to get on the net utilizing my linksys wireless router. It is my understanding that the airport built into the iMac should support wifi standards and have no problem using it.

Then there is RAM. More is always better. However I think that 512MB is enough to start. I can add more myself later and it will not void my Applecare warranty, correct?

Lastly, how long will say a 20" iMac last. That is, how long can I expect it to do its job and what I need it to do. It seems that macs stay current and usable long after a pc would start to become obsolete. If I can expect an iMac to be my main computer for at least 3 years before upgrading to a new model, that would be ideal. Usually a PC begins to show its age for me in around 2-3 years, and I start looking to upgrade.

I know some of this stuff may have been discussed before, but I want to make sure an iMac will meet all of my needs. For $1800 I could build myself a very decent new PC, but I would rather give the mac world a spin if possible.

Sorry about being a bit long-winded. I just want to be an informed buyer before I decide to plunk down 1800 bucks.

Nathan

05-11-2005, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by claudius753

So, for a few questions...

I can get an education discount from Apple so that the 17" is $1399 and 20" is $1699. It seems that the 20" is favored but I am having a hard time justifying $300 for 3". Of course it also has the 250GB HD. Is the 20" model that much better? I am leaning towards the 20" but don't know if I really need it.

Also, this machine will be used in my bed room for web surfing, school work, programming (much to my surprise I find out that I can use C++ on it!),etc. I would like to keep it on all the time but I want it to be silent when I'm not using it. It seems the 20" model is a bit more quiet? I also need to get on the net utilizing my linksys wireless router. It is my understanding that the airport built into the iMac should support wifi standards and have no problem using it.

Then there is RAM. More is always better. However I think that 512MB is enough to start. I can add more myself later and it will not void my Applecare warranty, correct?

Lastly, how long will say a 20" iMac last. That is, how long can I expect it to do its job and what I need it to do. It seems that macs stay current and usable long after a pc would start to become obsolete. If I can expect an iMac to be my main computer for at least 3 years before upgrading to a new model, that would be ideal. Usually a PC begins to show its age for me in around 2-3 years, and I start looking to upgrade.

I've been using my new Mac after switching for about three months now. So naturally this makes me an expert! :p

After having seen the iMac 20" at the apple store next to the 17" I would say that it's a big YES as far as being worth the extra $$$s for those three inches. It's more than the size, although that's pretty nice, but it's also the clarity. The 20" seemed crisper and clearer than the 17. I know that when I upgrade it'll be the 20".

I have found that with my G4 Mini upgrading to 512Meg made it quite sufficient for what I do, which is web surfing, email, music management, photoshop, digital picture touchups, and some other odds and ends. I used the 256Meg it came with for a month before upgrading just to see what it was like. There were the occasional beach ball cursors when trying to do too many things but it was usable. 512Meg made it perfectly usable, and 1Gig will make it outstanding. You should be fine with 512Meg until you get around to upgrading not because you'll need to, but because like anything else with computers your usage will grow and you will want to.

Macs seem to last a long time. In my research on the 'net I see people still using G4's in the three digit Megahertz range to do Real Work and even some who still clinging to their G3's (of course they are also still stuck in the OS 9 world as well, but that's a different topic.) I know that for the product my employer makes when we test for macs we test all the way back to G3's with OS 9, though that's getting a bit long in the tooth so now we're mostly testing with an iMac G4 1Ghz (the dome with the LCD monitor on a pedestal type Mac.) Also it would appear that Macs get faster with each release of the OS on the same hardware which is quite the oddity in the computer world. The only reason I will be upgrading from my Mac Mini to an iMac is that I want my wife to switch so my plan is that I'll buy that sexy iMac 20" and give her the Mini. That way she will be introduced to the Mac world the same as I was. Besides I make all the money in the house so I get the sexy new computer, :mac: and if for some bizzare reason she doesn't like it I'll just take the Mac Mini back and have two of them. Maybe one at the office and one at home.

So I think the iMac would be quite a nice computer.

05-11-2005, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by claudius753

First off, I love all things computer-related, and am a computer science major in college. Lately I've been becoming intrigued with Mac OS X and the way it seems to be designed. I've been wanting to try it out and see what it can do. Then a friend at work buys this iMac G5. Wow that thing is svelte.

This has caused some what of a Mac frenzy at the job, as another friend is now ordering an iMac. With the 512MB or RAM, 128MB VRAM, and 2.0 GHz G5 available in iMac, to me it seems that mac is on a even level with a decent x86 pc. So, I've been reasoning, maybe now's the time for this comp/sci major to give mac a chance.

So, for a few questions...

I can get an education discount from Apple so that the 17" is $1399 and 20" is $1699. It seems that the 20" is favored but I am having a hard time justifying $300 for 3". Of course it also has the 250GB HD. Is the 20" model that much better? I am leaning towards the 20" but don't know if I really need it.

Also, this machine will be used in my bed room for web surfing, school work, programming (much to my surprise I find out that I can use C++ on it!),etc. I would like to keep it on all the time but I want it to be silent when I'm not using it. It seems the 20" model is a bit more quiet? I also need to get on the net utilizing my linksys wireless router. It is my understanding that the airport built into the iMac should support wifi standards and have no problem using it.

Then there is RAM. More is always better. However I think that 512MB is enough to start. I can add more myself later and it will not void my Applecare warranty, correct?

Lastly, how long will say a 20" iMac last. That is, how long can I expect it to do its job and what I need it to do. It seems that macs stay current and usable long after a pc would start to become obsolete. If I can expect an iMac to be my main computer for at least 3 years before upgrading to a new model, that would be ideal. Usually a PC begins to show its age for me in around 2-3 years, and I start looking to upgrade.

I know some of this stuff may have been discussed before, but I want to make sure an iMac will meet all of my needs. For $1800 I could build myself a very decent new PC, but I would rather give the mac world a spin if possible.

Sorry about being a bit long-winded. I just want to be an informed buyer before I decide to plunk down 1800 bucks.

Nathan

Congrats. I just ordered a 17" with the 2.0 gHz and 512mb. Apple recently upgrated the iMacs and the new features are sweet. My thoughts, as they pertain to your queries are:

1) My dad has a newer imac G5 17" and it's dead-quiet when its on, but not in use. Under a heavy load the fans spin up but quickly go down as soon as the system cools off.

2) From the Apple website: "The iMac with the 17-inch widescreen flat-panel LCD screen, with a resolution of 1440 by 900, delivers the same screen area as a 19-inch CRT" So you may noit need the 20" model after all.

3) The 250 gb hard drive for the 20" is nice, especially if you want to have a enormous multimedia library, but a 160 gb is plenty for me.

4) The best part. When you boot up an iMac for the first time, and you have the Airport card installed, it goes looking for a network immediately. If your existing wirelss network is unsecured (no WEP encryption) the iMac sets itself up. Otherwise, you just have to provide the WEP key. No big deal at all. And it is WiFi certified meaning its not proprietary. The Airport card will work with almost any wireless router.

5) I am currently running a PC that I built myself and I do tend to upgrade about every 3 years. But Mac is as much about the software as it is the hardware. Apple seems to tailor their OS to the hardware. And remember, it's UNIX-based..a completely different OS language. Less viruses, less spyware, and according to most here, more stable than Windows.

05-11-2005, 11:21 AM

i use a linksys wireless router with my mac. i would also say go with the 20". i have 512MB ram on my iBook and i am running 10.3.9 and it work wonderfully using iTunes, Safari, Mail, Yahoo IM, and Subethaedit all at the same time.

05-11-2005, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by badmojo

1) My dad has a newer imac G5 17" and it's dead-quiet when its on, but not in use. Under a heavy load the fans spin up but quickly go down as soon as the system cools off.

Yes, but the 20" widescreen has a bigger resolution than a 20" CRT or LCD (not widescreen) so it will be even better with the 20"

05-11-2005, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by claudius753

Lastly, how long will say a 20" iMac last. That is, how long can I expect it to do its job and what I need it to do. It seems that macs stay current and usable long after a pc would start to become obsolete. If I can expect an iMac to be my main computer for at least 3 years before upgrading to a new model, that would be ideal. Usually a PC begins to show its age for me in around 2-3 years, and I start looking to upgrade.

I have a G3 I got in '97, which my grandsons use for the internet, with no problems. I have the '01 G3 iBook and G4 PowerBook, which are running fine now. All of them are still doing the jobs that they were purchased to do.

So your system will do the job as long as you want it to.

05-11-2005, 12:08 PM

So it seems that the 20" would be best. It also seems that people with the 20" say its quiet, I guess because of more room for airflow as compared to the 17". Man will those guys at work be jealous!

20" iMac G5 with 1GB RAM and AppleCare for $1930+tax. I think the AppleCare is a must have, but waiting on that RAM would save me $112, so my total would be $1818+tax. Then if needed I could add RAM later. Seems like the way to go.

I should have never come to this site! I was going to wait for a while to get my mac but I am just about ready to order it today...so....tempting...

05-11-2005, 12:14 PM

you will be so happy with your iMac.

05-11-2005, 12:16 PM

get the ram from else where as it doesnt invalidate the warrenty

05-11-2005, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by shaun89

Yes, but the 20" widescreen has a bigger resolution than a 20" CRT or LCD (not widescreen) so it will be even better with the 20"

Oh, no doubt about it. If one can afford the extra $300, I say go for it.

05-11-2005, 12:32 PM

the 20 inch resolution is quite nice, good luck with your order keep posted!