Buying a brand new but dated iMac, good or bad idea?

I currently own a MacBook that I have had for over 2 years and while it is a good computer, it is getting old and I would like a desktop in my apartment. I'm a college student and don't really want to spend over $1000 on the new iMacs. I want to buy a new iMac Core 2 Duo (Apple iMac Core 2 Duo T7200 2.0GHz 1GB 160GB DVD±RW Radeon X1600 17" AirPort OS X w/Webcam & Bluetooth Apple MA590LL/A iMac
or a new iMac G5 (Apple M9250LL/A Apple iMac G5 M9250LL/A All-in-one Desktop PC - 20-inch Display - PowerPC 970 1.8 GHz Processor - 256 MB RAM - 160 GB Hard Drive - DVD-R/CD-RW - GeForce FX 5200 Ultra - MacOS X 10.3 - 20-inch TFT LCD Display

Would it be a bad idea to buy either of these considering they are older models, even though they are new? Will they be significantly slower for the price than the new iMacs (if so, couldn't I just get a better processor?)

Doesn't make sense to me.

Number one, they're not new. Don't know where you're getting that idea.
Second, you want another computer because your 2 year old one is getting old and you want to purchase machines that are 4 years old for the first link and the second one was discontinued 5 1/2 years ago.

Doesn't mean the purchase is a bad idea in the case of the C2D machine. But your reasoning is inaccurate.
That C2D is probably about the equivalent of your much newer MB, but probably still a better video card in the iMac.
My kid (who's over 30) is still using that model running Tiger and CS3 and seems to be quite content with it.

I wouldn't personally buy one that old without: a) creating a backup from day 1 and b) being prepared to replace the hard drive at any time (this means understanding what it takes to replace a drive in an iMac before you buy it).

Make_It_Rayne said:

Would it be a bad idea to buy either of these considering they are older models, even though they are new? Will they be significantly slower for the price than the new iMacs (if so, couldn't I just get a better processor?)

Click to expand...

Both of the items you showed are for refurbished iMacs. They aren't new, but have been restored to a state where it's pretty much exactly as it was when it was sold from Apple. You might get scratches on them.
As for the price compared to a new with...I'm not even sure myself, because it's a completely different gen iMac. I would rather buy a current gen iMac, even if it had to be slightly used. You can find used ones that still have warranties on them for a little bit more money. The ram is tiny, the hard drive is small. Those will probably become bothersome fast. The processors are bad though. I've used leopard on the 2.0's, and it ran fine.

If you are going to purchase one of these second hand machines, and the 2GHz is coming up to two years old and the G5 to five years, go for the Intel 2GHz model and pay a little extra to have it beefed up to at least 2GB memory and then purchase Snow Leopard OS X.6 if you do not have it. It is a faster and leaner OS than either Leopard or Tiger.

The original install discs that came with the MacBook will not install on either iMac.

I hope you noticed this:

Disclosure:
LCD displays may have cosmetic imperfections that appear as small bright or dark spots. This is common to all LCD displays used in products by all vendors and is not specific to any vendor or brand. Below are the acceptable amounts of "dot defects" for LCD displays that we sell:
15-Inch to 17-Inch:
Total Defects: 8
Bright or Dark Dots (random): 4
Bright or Dark Dots (2 adjacent): 2
Bright or Dark Dots (3 adjacent): 0
Minimum distance between defects: 15 mm (bright to bright dots)
Minimum distance between defects: 5 mm (dark to dark dots)

Click to expand...

brairden said:

I hope you noticed this:

Click to expand...

Disclosure:
LCD displays may have cosmetic imperfections that appear as small bright or dark spots. This is common to all LCD displays used in products by all vendors and is not specific to any vendor or brand. Below are the acceptable amounts of "dot defects" for LCD displays that we sell:
15-Inch to 17-Inch:
Total Defects: 8
Bright or Dark Dots (random): 4
Bright or Dark Dots (2 adjacent): 2
Bright or Dark Dots (3 adjacent): 0
Minimum distance between defects: 15 mm (bright to bright dots)
Minimum distance between defects: 5 mm (dark to dark dots)

Click to expand...

Looks like someone is trying to cover there derrière lol

IMO if you want a near $1000 Mac and can spare another $19 then i would recommend this Refurbed Mac straight from the  store .... Refurbished iMac 21.5-inch 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 processor .. . . With the i3 processor its a near the latest Mac ... Just saying and this way you future proof yourself ...

Specs of it


Processor 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 processor
Cache 4MB fully shared L3 cache
Memory 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM; supports up to 16GB
Hard drive 500GB Serial ATA1; 7200 rpm
Optical drive Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer burning (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Display 21.5-inch (viewable) LED-backlit glossy 16:9 widescreen TFT active-matrix display; 1920 by 1080 pixels; millions of colors; IPS technology
Video Built-in iSight camera; Mini DisplayPort output with support for DVI, dual-link DVI, and VGA video (requires adapters, sold separately)
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory
FireWire One FireWire 800 port; 7 watts
USB Four USB 2.0 ports
SD Card SDXC card slot
Audio Built-in stereo speakers with two internal 17-watt high-efficiency amplifiers, built-in microphone, optical digital audio output/headphone out, optical digital audio input/audio line in
Ethernet Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit)
Wireless Built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking2 ; built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
Included accessories Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse
Other Built-in IR receiver
Size and weight Height: 17.75 inches (45.1 cm)
Width: 20.8 inches (52.8 cm)
Depth: 7.42 inches (18.85 cm)
Weight: 20.5 pounds (9.3 kg) 3


See it as a belated Christmas present to yourself

Cheers

Wow if you think your MB is old...you are in for a big surprise if you plan on buying either of those two iMacs.

Investing money in dated technology isn't exactly smart or sound reasoning. Especially since you are looking to upgrade from your current MB which you say is old...>_>"

As you can see we aren't scared of telling people how to spend their money.
I would follow TattooedMac's advice and invest in technology that is maybe a little more current. ^-^"