Looking at buying an iMac Core 2 Duo T5600

My first post here. Am looking to get a small-ish machine that will live in the kitchen and be used mostly by my wife. I get emails from time to time from this company that sells refurbs and the price "seems" right, but I don't want to buy a dinosaur that won't keep up with its own shadow. Price is $200 + shipping.

I like the looks and specs on this machine, but, being mostly a Windows guy, don't know much about it. Maybe someone can clue me in on whether it is worth messing with. Assuming all the hardware works OK, what can I expect as far as performance (looking for mostly a surfing box with some e-mailing and file moving) and life expectancy. Specs are below:

Apple iMac Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83GHz 1GB 160GB DVD±RW 17" AirPort OS X w/Webcam

Mac OS X 10.4.9 pre-installed
Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83 GHz dual-core processor
667 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 cache
1 GB DDR2 RAM (supports up to 2 GB)
160 GB Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-loading DVD±RW drive
Intel GMA 950 graphics w/64 MB DDR2 /128 MB of DDR SDRAM
Integrated audio
Built-in stereo speakers
Built-in microphone
Built-in 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet
Built-in 54 Mbps 802.11g AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking
Built-in iSight camera
17-inch widescreen TFT active matrix display
Aluminum stand with an adjustable hinge

Thanks in advance for any help. Please don't beat on me too much for having a Windows background ;D

Edit to add: looks like it will take up to 2GB ram, which I can probably install if it needs it.

That's not a bad system, since it is an Intel based iMac, you can install OS X Snow Leopard on there. Upgrade the RAM to the maximum it can support and you should be fine..

$200 is not a bad price either..what about any warranty?

Raz0rEdge said:

That's not a bad system, since it is an Intel based iMac, you can install OS X Snow Leopard on there. Upgrade the RAM to the maximum it can support and you should be fine..

$200 is not a bad price either..what about any warranty?

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Thanks for the reply RE. I have dealt with that company before and they are good about standing behind what they sell. It comes with a 90 day warranty, which is plenty good for me.

Yeah, I noticed it has an Intel chip, which made me a bit nervous as I inherited an iBook G4 with an Intel chip and it won't do much and seems to be stuck in its own time warp as far as upgrades. I was worrying about this having the same affliction.

So you're saying the software that is on there is not what I want? Snow Leopard is better?

DDR2 is cheap enough, so there's no reason not to stick it in there. Anybody have any experience tearing into one of these animals? Might it be like a laptop that has individual covers over the vitals or does the whole thing have to come apart to upgrade the RAM?

blues said:

Yeah, I noticed it has an Intel chip, which made me a bit nervous as I inherited an iBook G4 with an Intel chip and it won't do much and seems to be stuck in its own time warp as far as upgrades.

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No it doesn't. iBook G4's don't have an Intel cpu in them. If it's as slow as you say...then it is an iBook G4...but it has a PPC G4 cpu...not an Intel cpu. If it actually does have an Intel cpu...then it's not an iBook G4.

The iMac with an Intel Core 2 Duo cpu will be much better.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

No it doesn't. iBook G4's don't have an Intel cpu in them. If it's as slow as you say...then it is an iBook G4...but it has a PPC G4 cpu...not an Intel cpu. If it actually does have an Intel cpu...then it's not an iBook G4.

The iMac with an Intel Core 2 Duo cpu will be much better.

- Nick

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Hey Nick,

Thank you for straightening me out. You're right, it is a 1.2 Ghz PowerPC. Not wanting to go off-topic here, but was just trying to make sure that I'm not buying into that same technology.

If y'all think this box will make a good all-around kitchen machine, I'll pull the trigger on it. Seems TigerDirect had some of these same refurbs but they're sold out. The reviews on them are good, however.

blues said:

Not wanting to go off-topic here, but was just trying to make sure that I'm not buying into that same technology.

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Totally understandable...I totally agree with your concerns & logic!

blues said:

If y'all think this box will make a good all-around kitchen machine, I'll pull the trigger on it. Seems TigerDirect had some of these same refurbs but they're sold out. The reviews on them are good, however.

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$200 is a pretty good price for one of these. It would be nice if could be upgraded to greater than 2gig of ram & if it had better graphics hardware...but for $200 you can't go wrong!

- Nick

p.s. First things I would do when you get it are:

- upgrade the ram to 2gig
- upgrade the OS to 10.6 (Snow Leopard)...$19.99 fom the Apple online store (website).