Interested in iMac - Worried about performance

quazy · Jun 16, 2006

Hello, World!

I'm a "Switcher-to-Be" and I'm interested in the new iMac with the 1.83 Core Duo CPU. At least that's what my money allows me to buy

I wanted to know if it's going to be "faster" than my current PC (which I admit is old, yet still serves me in the ways I want it to, even when running PhotoShop).

My current PC is:

"Important" features:
__________________
Pentium4, Socket-478, 2.0GHz (Yes, the first generation, dating back to 2001-2002. No HyperThreading, etc).
1.3GB DDR RAM, @333MHz.
nVidia GeForce2 MX/MX400, AGP 4x, 64MB RAM.

"For-Your-Information" features:
____________________________
Primary HDD 40GB UATA133 (For Windows and Installations)
Secondary HDD 120GB UATA100 (Storage)
DVD-Rom
DVD-R 16x Dual Layer

What do you think? Are these Core Duos better than a P4, even an old one?
For example, if I also install Windows on the iMac, will it feel and/or actually BE faster than my current system?

Thanks for your time, guys and I'm looking forward to an answer! Take care!

surfwax95 · Jun 16, 2006

Well my Powerbook G4 (1.67Ghz) is "faster" than my work PC (dual 3.0Ghz Pentium4HT).

A lot of "speed" has little to do with the hardware and more to do with the operating system. Given your specs I would say a newer iMac would be much faster than your current setup on daily tasks, but on a pure render contest (benchmarks) your PC may outrun the iMac.

It all depends on what you want.

quazy · Jun 16, 2006

Hm... I never expected to hear/read that my sooo old PC could outrun a "PC" --shall I call the new Macs-- on a benchmark..

I mean, my CPU is ages old and sports no technologies other that MMX/MMX2/SSE1.

The RAM is considered way slow too..

As for the Graphics card.. Well, I don't think I should even get started with that!

Hmm.... Your post troubles me more now...

D3v1L80Y · Jun 16, 2006

quazy said:
I wanted to know if it's going to be "faster" than my current PC (which I admit is old, yet still serves me in the ways I want it to, even when running PhotoShop).

It would seem, (and by your own admission I might add) that your current setup is working fine for you and does what you need it to do. I would suggest taking the cash you have and updating the vid card and maybe adding some more RAM if possible.
The iMac is going to be about the same in performance with Photoshop rendering... and it really won't be all that different with daily tasks, when compared to your current setup.

quazy · Jun 16, 2006

Yes, agree to what you say about keeping my current PC, BUT:

1) Even if I got an nVidia 6600 card, it would only work at AGP 4x, thus not utilizing its full potential. Hence 200 Euros (about the same in dollars) wasted.

2) More RAM, huh? Could work.

Well, it takes ages to load since it loads several thingies that I need, and it takes about 4-5 minutes before I can normally operate my PC. It gets to load Norton Antivirus, yahoo's widget engine, zonealarm pro and several utilities that take time to load and the system crawls! Yet, when I just work with photoshop or Dreamweaver it's OK..

I need a change though.. I've had this PC since 2002. I just want to kill it! And what better way to do that? Switch!

coltssaturday · Jun 16, 2006

Hey just get the iMac with standard RAM, and then upgrade the ram yourself. Buy it from crucial for half the price and then install it yourself. And if you want get the APP (recommended). Windows XP will run really good with 2 GB of ram. I have heard from a lot of people. Thats not a really pricey system and it well worth the money.

technologist · Jun 16, 2006

Core Duo absolutely crushes the P4/Netburst core in almost every way. If you were running Windows on the iMac, the Windows version of Photoshop would run much faster.

At the moment, though, the Mac OS version of Photoshop is not optimized for the Intel architecture. Until it is, you would see little or no improvement (and possibly even some slowdown) in running Photoshop on an Intel iMac. Once the Universal version becomes available, though, the Mac version should match the speed of the Windows version (and be much faster than your current PC.)

If you want to run Photoshop on the Mac OS, wait for the Universal version, (or buy a G5, but they're fairly pricey.)

quazy · Jun 17, 2006

A friend of mine got a MacBook Pro (17", 2.16GHz, 1GB RAM) a few days ago. You know, the most expensive MacBook setup out there till now. I have "played" with it a bit and I can say it does feel faster than my PC in normal usage, and especially when it runs Windows.

But its processor will be 330MHz faster than my iMac and I'm not sure how much that would affect its performance. In the end I might end up with a system equal or juuust a little bit faster than my current PC.. Oh well... It IS time for a change of platforms for me, so I guess I'll buy it in the end...

****, Apple produces such sexy things... We sell Apple products at the store I work for and I cannot get them out of my mind even if I wanted to! I just have to wait a few more days for the transition to our new store to complete, and we'll also be showing off the new iMacs and MacMinis and MacBook Pros with the Intel CPUs there too.. So I guess I'll test them first hand, since the boss just decided to assign the "Apple Corner" of the new store to me...

coach_z · Jun 17, 2006

the mac should be faster than your pc

goobimama · Jun 17, 2006

My 2.0Ghz 512 MB Core Duo is definitely faster than my P4 3.0 HT with a gig of ram. It even outdid it in a photoshop benchmark! Go for it, you won't regret it.

zacster · Jun 17, 2006

I just got mine today, and have no doubt, this thing is fast. Is it fast running against a particular benchmark? I don't know.

quazy · Jun 17, 2006

OK, I might get a bit off-topic here since I'm going to mention other models too. But stay with me, please..

The thing is that the more I try to settle my mind on a particular Mac, the more confused I get and more angry!

It all started with a MacMini. I was crazy about it! Now I don't want anything to do with it, since its' graphics card shares memory with the system.
So I crossed a big X on it.

Next, the iMac 1.83GHz. I'm still crazy about it, but I found some more money, so..
Welcome, iMac 2.0GHz, nice to meet you!!! This baby will set me back by 1900Euros (more or less the same in $$). Extremely good specs!!! I want this one, dear God!

But then again, with 1800Euros I can get a MacBook Pro 1.83GHz
And with 1960Euros a MacBook Pro 2.0GHz.

So:
1800E -> MacBook Pro 1.83GHz
1900E -> iMac 2.0GHz
1960E -> MacBook Pro 2.0GHz

The catch here is that the iMac surpasses the two MacBook Pros in many aspects. Monitor size, HDD (both in capacity and RPMs), even the available ports! 5x USB versus 2 and 2x FireWire400 versus 1.

Any suggestions???

coltssaturday · Jun 17, 2006

quazy said:
OK, I might get a bit off-topic here since I'm going to mention other models too. But stay with me, please..

The thing is that the more I try to settle my mind on a particular Mac, the more confused I get and more angry!

It all started with a MacMini. I was crazy about it! Now I don't want anything to do with it, since its' graphics card shares memory with the system.
So I crossed a big X on it.

Next, the iMac 1.83GHz. I'm still crazy about it, but I found some more money, so..
Welcome, iMac 2.0GHz, nice to meet you!!! This baby will set me back by 1900Euros (more or less the same in $$). Extremely good specs!!! I want this one, dear God!

But then again, with 1800Euros I can get a MacBook Pro 1.83GHz
And with 1960Euros a MacBook Pro 2.0GHz.

So:
1800E -> MacBook Pro 1.83GHz
1900E -> iMac 2.0GHz
1960E -> MacBook Pro 2.0GHz

The catch here is that the iMac surpasses the two MacBook Pros in many aspects. Monitor size, HDD (both in capacity and RPMs), even the available ports! 5x USB versus 2 and 2x FireWire400 versus 1.

Any suggestions???

Well it also depends if you are looking for portability or not.

If you're not then you should go with the iMac 20 inch.

quazy · Jun 17, 2006

The truth is I don't travel too much due to work. And I'll send my current PC to my brother, so when I'll be visiting my family I'll be able to use that PC over there. I don't plan to carry my MacBook (or any laptop) everywhere I go (for example on summer holidays, or somewhere for the weekend and stuff like that).

On the other side, a MacBook Pro looks so sexy too! LOL!!! I can't tell which one looks better!

Oh, well..... :/

coltssaturday · Jun 17, 2006

quazy said:
The truth is I don't travel too much due to work. And I'll send my current PC to my brother, so when I'll be visiting my family I'll be able to use that PC over there. I don't plan to carry my MacBook (or any laptop) everywhere I go (for example on summer holidays, or somewhere for the weekend and stuff like that).

On the other side, a MacBook Pro looks so sexy too! LOL!!! I can't tell which one looks better!

Oh, well..... :/

Yeah if portability is not an issue, get the 20 inch iMac.

quazy · Jun 18, 2006

OK then.. I think I'm set with the 20" iMac for the time being and I hope this will be my final decision.

Just 2 more questions:

Does it have a security cable slot like the Mini and --of course-- the notebooks?

Is the 128MB graphics card enough for the OS's effects? I don't play games etc so I don't care about performance in those areas. I just want all the effects in MacOS (shadows etc) enabled and really smooth-running.

What say you?

yogi · Jun 18, 2006

The iMac in it's basic configuration will run OSX quite fine, you might only want to upgrade the System RAM to at least 1GB to be running super-smooth.

iMac doesn't have a security slot, but it's a desktop, and you don't have to reall worry about anyone carrying it away. It's quite heavy.

But effects and all will run nicely. The iMac is made to run iLife and OSX nicely, even with the 512MB Ram.

quazy · Jun 18, 2006

Now that you mentioned the extra RAM..

I had read another thread where a guy wanted to add more RAM but he couldn't choose between 1.5GB RAM in total (the default 512MB + 1GB) OR 2x512MB in Dual Channel...

I guess I'll go for 1.5GB RAM now, then remove the 512MB module and add another one of 1GB to have it in Dual Channel set-up. But that action is months from now... I'll just add the 1GB now. So.. Everything OK, right?

coltssaturday · Jun 18, 2006

quazy said:
OK then.. I think I'm set with the 20" iMac for the time being and I hope this will be my final decision.

Just 2 more questions:

Does it have a security cable slot like the Mini and --of course-- the notebooks?

Is the 128MB graphics card enough for the OS's effects? I don't play games etc so I don't care about performance in those areas. I just want all the effects in MacOS (shadows etc) enabled and really smooth-running.

What say you?

Just get the standard RAM from Apple. Then buy RAM for half the price from Crucial and install it yourself.

And your question about the vRAM, your system will run smooth with 128 MB of vRAM. But if you want to game you would want to go for 256 MB then.

claudius753 · Jun 18, 2006

If by security slot you mean a slot to put a cable to keep your iMac from being stolen, then yes it does have one. It should be right under the area where the power cord plugs into the back of the mac.

As for RAM, you may want to upgrade to one 1GB stick from apple, and then buy the second stick from Crucial later. If you keep it stock, and you go to upgrade to 2GB later you will end up with the original 512MB stick from apple left over. Of course you could just keep the stock 512 and when you upgrade to 2GB sell the 512.

Interested in iMac - Worried about performance

quazy

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surfwax95

quazy

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D3v1L80Y

quazy

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coltssaturday

technologist

quazy

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coach_z

goobimama

zacster

quazy

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coltssaturday

quazy

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coltssaturday

quazy

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yogi

quazy

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coltssaturday

claudius753

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