Is this iMac a good purchase?

[lputman]

I'm seriously considering buying a new computer as my home pc is down right now. I've been considering switching to an iMac. Can anyone tell me is this worth it?

Apple 20" iMac

[Bay Bridge Sue]

Semi-related -

I was going to get one of those MacBook Airs for a travel laptop (primarily for my photo work), the only thing stopping me was the high learning curve, as I've used pc-based stuff for deca... er... years, all my software is PC based, and, well, you know.

If it wasn't for that it would have been a done deal. IMO. Severely tempted!!

[KmH]

Not withstanding that you could get a similar PC for about $700-$800:

My only reservation would be that it only has 2GB of RAM. For photoshop you really want twice that as a minimum. The good news is its DDR3 RAM.

If you or someone in your family is 1/2 way technically adept you could add RAM after you receive the system. It's usually less expensive to purchase the additional RAM seperately and install it your self. Check what they charge to upgrade the RAM as the DDR3 is more expensive per GB than the more common DDR2. It just might be worth your while to have Apple install it.

This is THE place to get additional memory you would be installing yourself.

[lputman]

Actually Keith, that is exactly what I would do, the 4 GB kit is about $70 from crucial.com. There's also the option of buying an open box 24" with 4GB and 640 GB HD drive for a little more than the cost of getting the extra memory and the 20" iMac.

[Bill Gordon]

Take it from me the imac is a great machine. Extremely well made, arrives with a great operating system that is full of goodies and just the right software to get you started, dictionary, email program, ical which is a calendar plus, itunes, we all know what that is about and image capture which has more than the name. It is then up to you to install additional software and there is a very good office suite that you can download free called Open Office for Mac! It is every bit as good as the popular PC program and it is for free. There are many reasonable image processing platforms that you can download for a small fee. I would never go back to the PC that is riddled with bugs and susceptible to viruses!! Go for it, you will not be sorry!!

[jbrooksga]

So we know you will be using it for photography. I have last year's version of the 24" Imac and love it. The additional screen size is worth buying it over the 20". Actually the specs on the current 24" Imac are outstanding performance wise. Even the new ones are worth the $1500 price tag IMO. If you can find one on the Apple refurb store, even better. Mine is also a refurb from Apple.

Those concerned about 2GB of RAM must have never used a Mac. The Mac OS does not eat RAM as much as the Windows platform does. You can operate Photoshop quite well with that amount of RAM. Just have to watch how many other apps you run concurrently. My Macbook Pro only has 2GB right now. It can run Photoshop and Lightroom together with no problems. For those that use both, Lightroom typically consumes much more RAM than Photoshop. I've seen it go up to 600MB on a regular basis.

One other thing...IWork '09 is $79 and opens all of your existing MS Office documents. Keynote absolutely blows Powerpoint out of the water.

All of this coming from a person who was in the IT field for many years as a Windows evangelist

[Tokeloshe]

That 20" iMac is solid for running at least a dozen apps concurrently. Including Photoshop. The machine is great of course, right up there with the best of 'm to be sure, but the secret is in the operating system: OSX. And to run that you're not limited to Apple computers anymore. You can now install and run OSX on 'ordinary' PCs: http://dailyapps.net/2007/12/hack-attack-install-leopard-on-your-pc-in-just-one-step/.
You can even install OSX on netbooks. Though these lack the power, graphics, and memory that you want for photography/editing.

On a real (i)Mac, though, you can run every operating system you want with VirtualBox (FREE!): OSX, Vista, XP, Ubuntu, etc. etc. And at the same time, side-by-side on-screen, if you like. Try that on a PC!
So you can use all your 'old' software on your new iMac too. Nothing gets obsolete. You really get 2, or even 3 computers for the price of one!

[felix.reichardt]

Originally Posted by Tokeloshe

On a real (i)Mac, though, you can run every operating system you want with VirtualBox (FREE!): OSX, Vista, XP, Ubuntu, etc. etc. And at the same time, side-by-side on-screen, if you like.

Try that on a PC!

Very easy with VMWare and that Apple blocks its OS to run on standard PC hardware is not MS fault ... You can also use free Virtual PC.

[Tokeloshe]

Originally Posted by felix.reichardt

[...] that Apple blocks its OS to run on standard PC hardware is not MS fault

Nor did I say or even intimate that! Besides: it's moot as you can run OSX on standard PC hardware now!

[tekdiver500ft]

I would definitely spend the $$ to get the 24", as it isn't much more and the performance is worlds better. However, you really can't go wrong with any Mac.

[felix.reichardt]

Originally Posted by Tokeloshe

Nor did I say or even intimate that! Besides: it's moot as you can run OSX on standard PC hardware now!

You said: Try that on PC

Yes but it is a hack and there are some hacks but they have a some limitiations. Rather get a real Mac IMHO.

[CalgaryPix]

Lori, are you a PC PowerUser? (ie do you edit your registry, know all the cool terminal tricks, like to swap motherboards every few years, etc?)

If not, then you'll probably get along with Mac's pretty well - there's lots of info on the apple.com site about making the switch. If you can get the hard drive out of your old PC and put it in an external case you should be able to get a lot of your old files and info right off it and into the Mac using the supplied software (although I've never done that from a PC so I can't guarantee how well that'll work.)

A few years ago I helped my son build a pretty high end PC for gaming. Its now pretty useless (3 years later) because all the games and even the OS don't like that "old" hardware. Meanwhile I'm plugging away on a four year old iMac and a six year old iBook using Photoshop and Lightroom. Yes I'm lusting for a new MacBookPro but the fact is I can still do all that work, inlcuding opening up some might big multi-layer files in photoshop and only have 2GB of ram on the iMac. The new iMac will be so much better.

The resale value of used macs is still quite high. Why? Because they're still usable even as they get older. That's something that people don't figure on when pricing their computers. Nor is the amount of cost of getting a computer serviced. I was told by a PC tech that the store he worked at didn't make any money selling computers - but in fixing them.

I would never say Macs are "perfect" and "infallible." But they are closer to it.

But, if you like doing all the PowerUser stuff, then stick with PC's. PowerUsers rarely seem to get how Macs work.

[Bill Gordon]

Hi Lori
I have been reading all the postings regarding your question and as a very old man who started with a PC in 1994, switched to Mac 5 years ago and have never looked back. There are a multitude of programs that will serve you well without having to add PC operating systems or using PC related software. You just cannot go wrong with a 24" iMac with 4 gig of memory and you can download for free "Open Office for Mac" which is just as good if not better than Microsoft Office, it will accept your files and I can assure you that you will be more than happy with this product.

[Tokeloshe]

Originally Posted by felix.reichardt

You said: Try that on PC

Yes, and that means that it doesn't work on PC. That's a statement. And it's mine. It does NOT mean "MS is at fault". That's an opinion. And it is yours. Repeat: I never said or even intimated that. You did.

[lputman]

Thank you all for your input. At this time, since I purchased the new camera and lens, that I am going to work on 'fixing' my pc and then I will upgrade to the iMac a little later.

[lauraandski]

I LOVE my Imac. We switched from Vista last year, and won't go back.
We liked it so much, we also got 2 laptops (mac book and mac book pro)

We installed vmware fusion and windows xp, so we still have all of our windows applications.

We also tried Parallels (instead of vmware), it messed up one of the laptops, so I wouldn't recommend it.

[jbrooksga]

No issues with Parallels for me. We use it for presenting projects developed in a home space planning application.