Should I wait to get an iMac?

Well, I'm a soon to be Mac convert, and my sister is getting a MacBook Pro tomorrow with the college discount. She couldn't get it tonight because she didn't have her acceptance letter with her when we went to the Apple store. I want to get a Mac, but my dad doesn't want me to get a MacBook because at the boarding school I'm going to in September, they don't allow personal laptops, so it would be pointless for me. I will be coming home on weekends, which is when I'll be using my system. Also, my dad doesn't want to spend $2000 on a computer, so I can't really get a Mac Pro. So, the only other options are the Mac Mini (not powerful enough for me), or the iMac. I was just wondering if the iMac's upgrades, when they eventually come out (we all know there will be an iMac upgrade, even if it's a year from now), would be really significant. I want to get a Mac for the security. Over the last 4 years, I've probably had to wipe clean my HDD about 4 times with my Dell desktop, which is unacceptable. I like games, so I do plan on playing some games on the computer whether it's through Windows or through OS X. I don't think the current iMacs are powerful enough for sophisticated games. What do you guys think? I can't really afford the 24" iMac, but I probably can pay part of my computer if I get the 20". Are the graphics currently good enough for games? I personally think, when the next upgrades come out, that the graphics will be at least 256MB using the 8000 series NVIDIA cards. I'm just worried that if I get it now, then I'll be REALLY sorry when the next upgrades come out, just I can't wait to get an iMac! Point is, do you think the upgrades to the iMac will be significant (by significant, I mean will the hardware upgrades being significant. I don't really care about designs of systems.).

Personally, if you're a heavy gamer, I'd recommend sticking with a Gamer's machine, which would be a high end PC... Alienware comes to mind.

But if you're insistant to get a Mac, the 24" seems to have a good card, but the lower card in the 20" looks good as well. Depends on your personal preference/experience. The games will run, maybe not at full graphics potential, but they'll run quite happily.

The Macrumors Buyer's Guide says "Don't Buy" an iMac now, but that's about all the advice I can give you on that. I personally don't care for new releases etc. because I buy computers as I need them.

I'm not a heavy gamer at all. I have all next gen consoles (look at my username), though i do plan on playing some games. As I said in my post, I can't afford a 24" iMac. It's just too expensive. The most I can probably afford to buy is a 20" iMac and then repay my dad. I'm getting $575 from a friend, and I"m getting birthday money in early August. The most my dad will spend on a PC is $1000, and I need 2GB of RAM, and at least a 256MB card. I don't think 2.33Ghz is good enough. Hopefully, there will be a new iMac by September. In total, I hope to get about $750 in cash to spend on a desktop. When the new iMacs come out, I'll be ready. I'm still not sure though, and I'm worried the upgrade won't come out until Leopard. Oh well.

Personally, I'm going to wait until August/September. Hopefully the next iMac will have beefier graphics chips in them.

If you really want an iMac (which I wouldn't reccomend to you) you'll have to wait

take the 7300GT for example, it just won't do for modern day games
You also have a 3GB cap on your RAM at the moment

If you buy a PC you can update and upgrade the components vital to a gamer with a mac you are sometimes stuck if you like games

I wouldn't be surprised if they shove out a 256MB Geforce 8XXX, or even a 512MB GeForce on the next update. Electronic Arts is now supporting Mac, and I can run Windows if necessary. The main reason why I'm looking at Macs is because my dad (I'm 15 turning 16 in August) only really trusts 2 companies; Dell and Apple. Dell sucks the big one, and Apple so far isn't built for games. Hopefully in the near future, Mac will be much better with games. I realize that Macs will never be as good for games as PCs are, but you can always hope. Dell's desktops are either really expensive, or really cheap. Apple has desktops in the budget range (Mac Minis), in the medium range (iMac), and in the higher end range (24" iMac and Mac Pro). If I'm lucky, Apple will keep the price point for their computers, and just upgrade them significantly. All i really need is a 256MB (though preferably 512MB) GeForce 8XXX card, and I'm good. The processors are all fine, I can get 2GB of RAM even now, and i don't really care about the screens because they're fine. The only thing I'm hoping for is that they take out the USB 1.1s, and replace them all with 2.0s, and equip a Blu-ray drive (unless it's extrodinarily expensive). Accessories all work fine, and the security's great on OS X. Macs are just attractive to me. I used to hate Macs because in my old schools, they had those really sucky Macs. They had no power, they were old, and I believe my old school still has them. I hated the way the old Macs looked, but the new ones are reaaaaaaaaally attractive. I'm gonna be trying out my sister's MacBook Pro for the next 2 months, and if I don't really like it, I don't have to get it. I've used Macs before, and they aren't that bad. The only thing I don't like is the fact you can't use any executables, but with Boot Camp and Parallels, that should all change

To be honest, whilst the iMac isn't that upgradeable, it's still got a Core2Duo in it and a graphics chip that's not to be sniffed at. The next upgrade should improve the graphics, so it will run PC games through Windows fantastically well.
And since Macs hold their value, if it can't cut the mustard in 2 or 3 years, stick it on ebay and you'll still get a good figure which you can put towards your next iMac.

I use an iMac at work and a PC at home. I stuck Vista on my PC, and after 6 months of use, its driving me up the wall. So I'm going to get the next iMac, and just put my PC games on a Windows partition.

take the 7300GT for example, it just won't do for modern day games

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I have a 512Mb GeForce 6800 in my PC and it is actually very capable!

The PSWii60 said:

The only thing I'm hoping for is that they take out the USB 1.1s, and replace them all with 2.0s, and equip a Blu-ray drive (unless it's extrodinarily expensive).

Click to expand...

What USB 1.1 are you talking about? Macs have had USB for a few years now. Blu-ray drives are still a few hundred bucks, so I don't see them as standard equip quite yet.

i have the 20" iMac C2D and it is great. Im into gaming too. I play world of warcarft on mine it it runs it great. Never get's glitchy, and it loads beautifully. IMO i dont think that when the new iMac's eventually come out that it is going to be a huge diffrence, but thats just me.

The PSWii60 said:

Well, I'm a soon to be Mac convert, and my sister is getting a MacBook Pro tomorrow with the college discount. She couldn't get it tonight because she didn't have her acceptance letter with her when we went to the Apple store. I want to get a Mac, but my dad doesn't want me to get a MacBook because at the boarding school I'm going to in September, they don't allow personal laptops, so it would be pointless for me. I will be coming home on weekends, which is when I'll be using my system. Also, my dad doesn't want to spend $2000 on a computer, so I can't really get a Mac Pro. So, the only other options are the Mac Mini (not powerful enough for me), or the iMac. I was just wondering if the iMac's upgrades, when they eventually come out (we all know there will be an iMac upgrade, even if it's a year from now), would be really significant. I want to get a Mac for the security. Over the last 4 years, I've probably had to wipe clean my HDD about 4 times with my Dell desktop, which is unacceptable. I like games, so I do plan on playing some games on the computer whether it's through Windows or through OS X. I don't think the current iMacs are powerful enough for sophisticated games. What do you guys think? I can't really afford the 24" iMac, but I probably can pay part of my computer if I get the 20". Are the graphics currently good enough for games? I personally think, when the next upgrades come out, that the graphics will be at least 256MB using the 8000 series NVIDIA cards. I'm just worried that if I get it now, then I'll be REALLY sorry when the next upgrades come out, just I can't wait to get an iMac! Point is, do you think the upgrades to the iMac will be significant (by significant, I mean will the hardware upgrades being significant. I don't really care about designs of systems.).

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Please, take my advice. I WAS IN YOUR EXACT POSITION a couple weeks ago. The thought of buying something and then having it be "the next best thing" in a few months kind of tore me up. But, I'll give you a solid reason why the upgrade won't be that significant: The insides. Sure, Ives may shave a couple inches off the design, but what else can he really do? Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, up to 3 gigs of RAM, up to a 500gig HD? What can he do? For all we know, all he's gonna do is release a brushed metal or black model. So? Think of it this way, if you didn't know there was going to be an upgrade you'd still think your iMac is just about the sleekest coolest thing in town, right? Do you get the point I'm making? Your computer won't be obsilete any sooner than the upgraded ones coming out. Just enjoy your computer. How do I know all this? I decided to wait until October to get my 20" iMac, but then I kind of rediscovered the situation and I am now staring at a shipment tracker which shows that my brand new 20" iMac is on a freighter headed straight for me in the big apple. GET YOUR iMac NOW!

Miffle said:

If you really want an iMac (which I wouldn't reccomend to you) you'll have to wait

take the 7300GT for example, it just won't do for modern day games
You also have a 3GB cap on your RAM at the moment

If you buy a PC you can update and upgrade the components vital to a gamer with a mac you are sometimes stuck if you like games

Click to expand...

And sir, how exactly can you "not reccomend" the iMac if you're still using an iMac G3 with 512 RAM? Seriously...

I have experience of the components, if you don't own something you must know something to pass a judgment.. I don't want to bring my mac into this because it is not a gaming machine, thankyou..

The 6800GT is a nice card, so are my 7800GTs but all of them (7300GT included) are directx9

The advantage of the 8 series is directx10 which to an extent makes your computer future proof. If you run Vista you can take advantage of this and also get a greater sense of realism in your games

In the future games with require more RAM and directx10 support will really help you - waiting a few months could give you gaming on default settings for another year

It will also secure a higher compatability with future games when the new releases go directx10 - you could be playing the new releases on your iMac without paying for a new one

at the moment if you want these features straight away you can buy a MBP or a gaming PC

In the end of the day the choice in yours, the iMac uis nice just not that practicle for gaming

Miffle said:

I have experience of the components, if you don't own something you must know something to pass a judgment.. I don't want to bring my mac into this because it is not a gaming machine, thankyou..

The 6800GT is a nice card, so are my 7800GTs but all of them (7300GT included) are directx9

The advantage of the 8 series is directx10 which to an extent makes your computer future proof. If you run Vista you can take advantage of this and also get a greater sense of realism in your games

In the future games with require more RAM and directx10 support will really help you - waiting a few months could give you gaming on default settings for another year

It will also secure a higher compatability with future games when the new releases go directx10 - you could be playing the new releases on your iMac without paying for a new one

at the moment if you want these features straight away you can buy a MBP or a gaming PC

In the end of the day the choice in yours, the iMac uis nice just not that practicle for gaming

Click to expand...

Pardon me I thought you were saying that the iMac is not a good computer period. Now I realize that you were talking gaming-wise.

Oh thats alright, we all make mistakes!

The problem with the internet is you can't read someones voice or facial expression
:3