Hello and what would you do.

Hey sell me an iMac.

Hello. My name is Phil. I am from the UK. I am new here and I have joined because I need some advice from people who know what they are talking about.

What would you do?

My laptop got damaged in an accident and the insurance has come through. Unfortunately it is by way of a coupon that I can spend at Currys or PC World which doesn't fill me with confidence but needs must.

For the value of the coupon I can buy a stupendously high spec Core i7 Windows 7 based desktop with a bit to spare, a high end i7 Windows 7 laptop or an iMac.

My wife wants an iMac for the reliability but I have told her that the reliability has nothing to do with the hardware because it is all pretty much the same nowadays. No, it is down to the software and if I buy one of the Windows computers I would be installing Ubuntu giving me a dual boot system with the option to use Ubuntu Linux or Windows 7 and seeing as (I believe) Ubuntu is at least as stable and fast as Mac's OS X (waiting for incoming fire) surely it is a no brainer? Yet my wife still wants a Mac.

So what do you lot think? iMac with its medium spec hardware but superb operating system or a really high spec dual boot Windows 7/Ubuntu Linux rig?

I am erring toward the Win7/Ubuntu option but my wife is being very persuasive so I need the low down. I need to ask the experts.

Please. Sell me an iMac.

I thank you.

Phil

Unless you are talking old iMac the specs on the new ones are right up there with the best and OSX is not the resource hog Windows has gotten to be so it still runs faster or thats been my observation. Last but not least making the wife happy is like No.1
priority if you have been married for any length of time because when they are not happy everyone is miserable if you are not well its just you.

Phil,
This must be the most asked question on the forums

My suggestion is to buy the machine that will suit your needs, being it Win7 or OS X or something else.
The thing Apple has going for it is the total solution, the combination of hardware and software .... resulting in an amazing efficient solution.

It is difficult to say do this or do that, what works very well for me might not work for you ... it all depends on your needs/expectations.

Let some other members chime in and they can also explain a few things.

Cheers ... McBie

We're not here to sell anyone an iMac...or any Mac model computer. If you have strong reasons to purchase a Mac...then buy a Mac.

If you have strong reasons to purchase a Windows based computer...then buy a Windows based computer.

But the worst thing to do is spend all your money on a computer that you don't know much about or have much experience with...and then 2 weeks later be disgusted with yourself that you purchased the wrong platform.

Comparing what you can buy for a fixed amount of money based on the cost of the hardware (Windows vs. Mac)...is not the way to proceed with this purchase. The "user experience" (Windows computer vs. Macintosh computer) is not the same...and it's pretty darn difficult to put a price tag on that!

- Nick

Thread moved from Community Suggestions and Feedback to a more appropriate forum.

not to sell the imac, but you can dual boot on an imac also. Or Payware: Parallels, VMware, or codeweavers also give you the option of not having to dual boot and run it while staying in mac and/or run them as native programs (ie icons on desktop). Not sure about Virtualbox but it's freeware and you can put unbuntu on that but I think you have to run it to be able to access progs within, but you would still be on the mac desktop... So your options aren't as slim or cut and dry as you think... Given that mac tends to keep it's value, even if you didn't have the option to dual boot, it is a better option IMHO. Windows machines are cheaper to replace but they tend to reflect that too. Buy a mac and sell it you could still buy a windows machine after you sell it (and the virus prog, firewall etc you need with any win machine

I am relatively new to mac myself. I came over because the windows based equipment kept crashing, needing cleaning out, getting viruses, terribly slow, bloated with apps that you cannot remove, and on and on. Also, the hardware on my last two toshibas was just not good at all. After I got the MBP, I think i realized why people recommend the MAC/Apple stuff. Very simply, it works...every time for me, and in a quick and efficient manner. I hope I never have to return to a windows based system.

G'day and welcome to the forums.

Want a peaceful life Tazzers?

Do what your wife wants. She is a clever woman my boy.

Seriously. Your wife wants an iMac.

End of discussion.

(ps. you'll love it)

Been married 34 years . . . Have to agree with the advice above ^^.

Got to keep the wife happy.

BrianLachoreVPI said:

Thread moved from Community Suggestions and Feedback to a more appropriate forum.

Click to expand...

Sorry folks, I lost the thread when it got moved. Just found it again.

Thanks for your input everybody, all the advice I get is appreciated.

Here is my worry. I can only afford an entry level iMac and whilst the specs aren' bad, for the same money I could get a Windows 7 based computer with 'out of this world' specs. Well........... Almost.

But I am wondering if I am getting too hung up on specs and OS X really does have a huge positive effect on the hardware? I am a photographer, both 35mm film (I scan the film in, it all goes digital eventually)and digital and I am used to a Dell Studio 17 dual core i5 windows 7 laptop with 8gb of ram 2x500gb hard drives and a 1gb radeon mobility graphics card. Performance wise how would you think an entry level iMac would compare to this? I have a perfectly useable copy of Photoshop CS3 and cannot afford to replace it but if say, GIMP works well on OS X it wouldn't be an issue as long as I can find a good bit of raw file software. In Linux I'd use Rawtherapy. Is there a free or at least affordable alternative for an iMac?

I like to listen to my music and loved it on my Studio 17 because it had a beautiful sound system (for a laptop), I am in the UK and I don't get the chance to watch a lot of scheduled TV, I watch programs via the BBC iPlayer a lot, with out Flashplayer, how does online video fair on an iMac?

I am not too worried about the hard drive space, I rely a lot on external storage but I have so many questions to ask I don't really know where to begin.

What do you think?

Cheers

Phil

Tazzers said:

Sorry folks, I lost the thread when it got moved. Just found it again.

Thanks for your input everybody, all the advice I get is appreciated.

Here is my worry. I can only afford an entry level iMac and whilst the specs aren' bad, for the same money I could get a Windows 7 based computer with 'out of this world' specs. Well........... Almost.

But I am wondering if I am getting too hung up on specs and OS X really does have a huge positive effect on the hardware? I am a photographer, both 35mm film (I scan the film in, it all goes digital eventually)and digital and I am used to a Dell Studio 17 dual core i5 windows 7 laptop with 8gb of ram 2x500gb hard drives and a 1gb radeon mobility graphics card. Performance wise how would you think an entry level iMac would compare to this? I have a perfectly useable copy of Photoshop CS3 and cannot afford to replace it but if say, GIMP works well on OS X it wouldn't be an issue as long as I can find a good bit of raw file software. In Linux I'd use Rawtherapy. Is there a free or at least affordable alternative for an iMac?

I like to listen to my music and loved it on my Studio 17 because it had a beautiful sound system (for a laptop), I am in the UK and I don't get the chance to watch a lot of scheduled TV, I watch programs via the BBC iPlayer a lot, with out Flashplayer, how does online video fair on an iMac?

I am not too worried about the hard drive space, I rely a lot on external storage but I have so many questions to ask I don't really know where to begin.

What do you think?

Cheers

Phil

Click to expand...

I would suggest you browse through our Digital Photography forum. As far as the entry level iMac being up to the task, don't think there is any issue there. Would suggest you bump up the RAM (do this yourself and save bucks).
And, no reason to abandon CS3. Two choices, dual boot Windows and run your Photoshop on the Windows side (at least one of our members does this). Or, you can cross grade (not sure what the fee from Adobe is for this).

You also may want to consider a laptop, if you still have the need for the portability.

Lastly, when it comes to budget, you may not be aware of the Apple Refurb Store. Units are offered at a significant discount and are usually like new and come with a same as new warranty.
Hereare some current examples from the US Apple Store

iMac 21.5-inch 2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 $1019 USD
21.5-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
500GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics with 512MB memory
Refurbished iMac 21.5-inch 2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 - Apple Store (U.S.)

iMac 21.5-inch 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 $1249 USD
Originally released May 2011
21.5-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics with 512MB memory
Refurbished iMac 21.5-inch 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 - Apple Store (U.S.)

or even this
iMac 27-inch 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 $1419 USD
27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics with 512MB memory
Refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 - Apple Store (U.S.)

And last, a nice deal on a laptop
MacBook Pro 2.0GHz quad-core Intel i7 $1359 USD
15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1440-by-900 resolution
4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
500GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.0GHz quad-core Intel i7 - Apple Store (U.S.)

Hope this helps,
Razormac

MacBook Pro 2.0GHz quad-core Intel i7

LOL many people seem to get the 'Tim Taylor' mindset when it comes to computer shopping. I haven't tried cs3 - 5.5 yet but you should seriously consider bootcamping cs3 (just make sure that you deactivate or never run more than 1 copy at a time - I think you are allowed to install on 3 diff computers BUT only 1 instance at a time) until you can upgrade or if possible find the mac version on sale or something... If you do a google search, you will find a lot of how to switch your adobe win to mac, use on virtual machines etc. Seems that adobe will allow you to switch but you need to jump through hoops and they are more often not supportive.. here are just a few articles to read: 1st is how it runs on VM/Parallels 2nd is benchmarks using them (but they are also old posts so keep that in mind also)

Amazon.com: Customer Discussions: Parallels vs VMware to run Adobe CS3

Photoshop CS3 - Mac vs Windows

In the years since I got my mini (about 2005) macs and software have improved a lot. I really don't keep up with the win world much so it's hard to say if they are more reliable. I know that the games I ran on my win that wouldn't run or were bad or choppy would run on my mac using parallels 3.0 perfectly and all software I used in win ran better and smoother.

RazorMac gave good advice as you may be able to find a Mac alternative in the Digital Photography forum or something..

Goodluck

Fellers this is superb information, really, I mean it. Thanks.

Also I have just found out how cheap it is and easy it is to upgrade the RAM, will be the very first thing I do (that sort of implies that I might have made my mind up doesn't it?) which brings me to my next question.

If, later on, I wanted to upgrade the CPU or the storage, is that just as easy?

Again, cheers blokes. You have been most brilliant.

Phil F

Tazzers said:

Fellers this is superb information, really, I mean it. Thanks.

Also I have just found out how cheap it is and easy it is to upgrade the RAM, will be the very first thing I do (that sort of implies that I might have made my mind up doesn't it?) which brings me to my next question.

If, later on, I wanted to upgrade the CPU or the storage, is that just as easy?

Again, cheers blokes. You have been most brilliant.

Phil F

Click to expand...

Only the Mac Pro is readily (or reasonably) upgradeable regarding the CPU. As far as upgrading storage, I don't think the newer iMacs are as easy as most of the other Macs.
I know for a fact that some on this forum have done HDD upgrades on the iMac, so I will leave it to them for further comment, other than to add if this is a concern take a look at

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-iMac-Intel-21-5-Inch-EMC-2428-Hard-Drive-Replacement/5954/1

which has installation and repair instructions on most Mac models and components.

for storage, the easiest thing to do is to get external hd (s) which you would need anyways for Time Machine.

as for cpu you could try looking here Accelerate Your Mac! CPU Upgrade Reviews and Related Articles but you probably could sit on that for a while as you would probably be happy with the ram upgrade... and then, you never know you might get cs5+ or a good alternative. If it's just for photography there are some good mac alternatives or just adobe elements (?)

another option would be to find someone who has cs2 or cs3 on an old win machine and borrow it for a month (21 days to change a habit ). You'll pull out your hair maybe your wife's too. But you will love the speed and storage of your imac regardless lol

Okay I have made my decision, you have all been great and I can tell you that you may have to put up with me a bit more in the future, I am just brimming with stupid questions.

Yes I am going to buy the iMac, hopefully will pick it up tomorrow.

See you on the Mac Side..........................

Phil F

Tazzers said:

Okay I have made my decision, you have all been great and I can tell you that you may have to put up with me a bit more in the future, I am just brimming with stupid questions.

Yes I am going to buy the iMac, hopefully will pick it up tomorrow.

See you on the Mac Side..........................

Phil F

Click to expand...

Congratulations

Just to correct Razormac, to the best of my knowledge Mac Pro CPUs haven't been upgradeable since the G4 era.

There might be an exception for the original Core Duos/Core Solo but Mac Pros never came with them. As far as I can ascertain, Macs generally do not have the option of upgrading the CPU at all for at least the last few years. Perhaps some expert hacker could do it but I'm talking as a practical matter.