Which is the best option?

my wife's bday & our anni are coming up (literally 1 day apart lol ) she is using a MBP M897LL/A i believe.

she's hinting on a iMac, so i wanted to know which version is best. i'm stuck between these 3 models:

iMac MD093LL/A
pros:

• latest OS
• better video card
• better processor

cons:

• slow HDD
• smaller screen

iMac MC511LL/A-R
pros:

• price
• faster HDD
• consumer upgrade-able?

cons:

• older system

iMac MB953LL/A
pros:

• price
• faster HDD
• consumer upgrade-able?

cons:

• older system

i mainly chose these for budget reasons. wifey has stated that a 21.5" would be "ok" which tells me she'd like a 27", the only drawback i think for the 1st model is that the HDD is slow, it's more expensive, & what you see is what you get, no upgrade outside of customization in the apple store.. The latter two seem to be user upgrade able? i know the ram is accessible, but looks like it uses a full size vid card. if so doesn't that mean i can upgrade it? Lastly what would all the upgrade options be? if i can do all the upgrading myself then they seem like better buys. I.E. taking out the HDD and installing a SSD & upgrading the ram + vid card & maybe the proc if possible.

What should i do?
Hope to find an answer soon.

Personally, I would have to think long and hard before I'd spend over $1k on any 3 or 4 yr old computer.
And then need to open up an iMac to upgrade it on top of that...

Could be wrong, but don't believe the video cards are upgradeable on any of them.

Where has the wife been using that MBP for the last 5-6 yrs?
Has she thought it through and really willing to be tied to a desk again?

I'm inclined to agree with Bob here. Those prices are a little on the high side for the older ones in particular, though that is a general "problem" with Macs. I had to cross-reference the model identifiers, and the second one you have listed is a mid-2010 iMac. I have the 21.5 inch version of that, and I can say that it is still a great machine. I added an SSD last year and upped my RAM to 16 GB (8 GB would in all honesty been fine) and I have no complaints (and this coming from someone who used to do annual component upgrades or full PC rebuilds every year). It is also the last model iMac that can take any aftermarket HDD if you need to upgrade it (though you have to stick with the same HDD manufacturer unless you replace one cable in particular). However, that is not user-upgradable unless you are willing to partially disassemble the whole computer. The RAM, however, is very easily replaced/upgraded. It should also run OS 10.9 when it is released. I'm running 10.8 now with flawless performance.

All in all, if you are budget constrained enough that a new one is out of the question, and you really want to get her a 27" model, then the 2nd choice is probably your best option. It only has a 90-day warranty, so you may want to consider the extended warranty. Bear in mind that the extended warranty is NOT from Apple (as far as I can tell), so read the details and maybe do a little research to be sure this isn't one of those that are known for bad service.

Check out Apple refurbs and don't spend the money on an older machine. Refurbs come with the current operating system, a full twelve month warranty and you may also take out the three year AppleCare warranty.

Note the 21" model comes with a 2.5" 5200 rpm hdd and memory cannot be increased. The 27" model runs a 3.5" 7200 rpm drive and memory is user upgradable.

only reason i wanted it from newegg, is cause i have a preferred account. i forgot to mention that wifey's a graphic & web designer & does some light gaming (league of legends) .

also, do you HAVE to buy it @apple.com to get the care plan?

Nope, you don't have to buy from Apple to get AppleCare, but I'm not sure how AppleCare works on older new machines. I don't know if they'd be eligible for AppleCare.

An older machine would not be eligible for the extended Applecare unless it is still within the original 12 months Applecare that came with.