Imac

[fishhuntwork]

I need a new desktop computer, don't want a laptop. I was wondering if anyone has a new apple Imac? I looked at them yesterday at a big box store, was impressed. Only other desktop that I would consider would be a dell.

Thanks for the help

[Swimbait2009]

You will be VERY happy with any of the Apple products. Gone are many of the compatibility concerns with the PC networks, which has been a major concern with business users in the past. I've had an Apple laptop for several years, and continue to be very happy with it. I had plenty of PCs (both desktops and laptops) in the past, and have never had the lasting satisfaction with a product like I have had with my MacBook. The extra money for Apple's products is well worth it if you ask me. The folks at Microsoft have no idea what hardware is going to be thrown into a computer's case by the manufacturer, so there is no way to make sure that all components are going to "talk" to each other correctly. Apple does all of this in house and designs their motherboards and operating systems to work with specific hardware. This is why you'll hear most people say that Apple products "just work". I'd also suggest making an appointment at an Apple Store to sit down with an Apple tech. They are very helpful and will make sure that you get exactly what you're looking for.

[Nick Kuhn]

Windows 7 is so good that Apple had to discontinue the "I'm a Mac" commercials because they couldn't find anything to rip on. With it having been out this long and having practically no negative reviews I would say Windows 7 just works as well.

As far as the hardware goes most large brand PC's as every bit as cookie cutter as an Apple product. Just about any motherboard these days has the same Realtek/Marvell chips for networking/audio. Video is the only thing that really varies and AMD/nVidia both do great jobs with their drivers. To say Apple's method is superior is ludicrous. It pretty much comes down to what you want at what price these days.

[upnorth]

Yeah I have a free upgrade to Windows 7 for my laptop and should dig out the info and upgrade. We are also talking about going to 7 at work and would like to get the feel for it before we roll it out.

But like anything else there are pluses and minuses to both. I know in the graphics world MAC is still the computer of choice, but that may be evening out too. ME and Vista did tarnish Windows image pretty good. And for too many years Apple wouldn't play well with other devices on the network and almost went the way of Novell Netware. Trying to stay proprietary on a network basis is not a good plan, limits you too much.

[Skeeter21i]

Can't go wrong buying a Mac. I've been running Macs since '93 and haven't considered anything else. I use my iMacs and MacBook Pro for both work and personal use and they do everything I need for both applications. Its not worth getting into the Mac vs. PC debate, thats been done too many times in too many forums. If you like the iMac go for it, you will be happy with it. Nothing wrong with checking out a local Apple store before purchasing either.

[Deitz Dittrich]

glad someone asked this question. I too am in the market for a new computer and am heavily thinking mac.. one question. Can anyone tell me the perfomance difference between

3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 2.66GHz Intel Core i5(quad-core)... there is really only about $300 difference with the quad-core being more expensive..but I always thought more GHz was better?

[spearchucker]

3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 2.66GHz Intel Core i5(quad-core)... there is really only about $300 difference with the quad-core being more expensive..but I always thought more GHz was better?

Man I wish I could sell you a computer! How expensive is an IMac? $300 is a lot for a processor upgrade, but it all depends what you are going to do with it. As for more speed being better here, you aren't really comparing apples to apples here. The Core2Duo is a previous generation dual core chip and the i5 is the new generation quad core. I don't excactly know how the i5 scales with the Core2Duo, but there probably wouldn't be a lot of noticeable speed difference in the real world use.

[upnorth]

A quad core will be able to process more commands simultaneously than a dual core. If you are doing a lot of stuff that requires major processing it will help, but if you are going to be working on word documents, web browsing and some minor photo stuff, probably not really worth it.

Think on these terms dual core at 3.06GHZ, roughly 6GHZ of processing capabilities split across 2 cores. Quad core at 2.66GHZ roughly 10GHZ split across 4 cores. Dual can process 2 command at the same time a quad can process 4 commands at the same time.

All depends on how much you are going to hit the processors.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Thanks for the replies guys... and yes spearchucker, I am a sucker all the way.. I can admit it.

I really will just be for web stuff.. maybe some sound stuff if I wish to get back into doing podcasts and such. Doesnt sound like I will be needing the more expensive quad core?

[Nick Kuhn]

3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 2.66GHz Intel Core i5(quad-core)... there is really only about $300 difference with the quad-core being more expensive..but I always thought more GHz was better?

Intel used to do that until the laws of physics caught up with them. A current 3GHz i7 is roughly 4 times faster than the old Pentium 4's. There's various reasons for that, but most of it is due to better pre-fetches and pre-processing and more parallel processing. The new i5's and i7's are a little more deceptive: they are capable of turning off cores and increasing the clock speed of the remaining active cores.

Also with the i5 you have an onboard memory controller so the CPU can access memory much faster. In the Core 2 duo's the CPU has to tell the northbridge to go fetch the data from memory. With that step eliminated performance really jumped.

[Deitz Dittrich]

woah dude.. you really just made my head hurt.. so, its faster?

[upnorth]

Just being able to process more commands at one time gives it the ability to be faster. Just you may not see it unless you are taxing the CPU. Most applications that most people use will be more affected by adding more RAM than a faster process.

[DTro]

You need to speak Deitz's language.

Quad core = Bass Cat

Dual Core = Triton

[Dave Benkufsky]

I have an Imac and Dell laptop at home and use a HP at work.

I love my Mac and is my favorite machine to use for the following reasons

1. It runs well and never crashes. I have had my Imac for 4 years and it has not crashed, locked up or had a problem ever. All the Mac hardware works together so I don’t have to find drivers and updates every time I add a new piece of software for the machine.

2. I love the ILife studio of programs. I do I have yet to find a comparable software that works as well and integrates with other programs as well for the money.

3. There is not of large virus running wild to corrupt the machine. So I don’t have to have a big cumbersome antivirus running in the background that hogs performance out of the machine.

4. I think it is easier to use then a windows machine. I work behind a computer everyday so when I get home I want something easy to use and I don’t have think why did this not work.

5. Mac Genius at the Apple store. This may not seem like big deal but I had an issue on using the software when I first got my computer. So instead of calling someone, I went to the Apple store, sat down with a genius and we worked out the problem. Oh yah it was free

[spearchucker]

The software needs to be written to take advantage of the multiple cores as well to really benefit from the multiple cores. Most newer software will at least take advantage of dual core, but with many software packages there isn't that much advantage to going to a quad core. That said, I have a Core2Quad and love it. Low power and multi-tasks well with Windows 7.

[upnorth]

You need to speak Deitz's language.

Quad core = Bass Cat

Dual Core = Triton

LMAO!!!

[Deitz Dittrich]

You need to speak Deitz's language.

Quad core = Bass Cat

Dual Core = Triton

Yes, I knew someone would be able to dumb this down for me.. Both will work, but the Cat will get there quicker..

[Nick Kuhn]

Yes Dietz the i5 is faster, and by a fair margin. The only thing the Core 2 Duo has going for it is price, although that is the price through Apple. A quick check of newegg shows a price difference of only $10 between the 2 CPU's. You can also get a 3.33GHz Clarkdale Core i5 for the same price (you sacrifice quite a bit of cache but gain clock speed. Also it's a 32nm processor so it is much less power thirsty).

[spearchucker]

There is not much difference in price between the 2 CPUs but the i5 and i7 motherboards are higher priced, so that is where some of the price difference comes in. The Apple factor is the rest of the price difference.

I used to used Macs a lot in the early 90's, but haven't had a chance to use the new ones yet. I just wish they were cheaper.

[Swimbait2009]

5. Mac Genius at the Apple store. This may not seem like big deal but I had an issue on using the software when I first got my computer. So instead of calling someone, I went to the Apple store, sat down with a genius and we worked out the problem. Oh yah it was free

Really can't stress how nice it is to have the Apple Store staff at your disposal. My laptop's charger went bad, so I called the national help line (which is in the US BTW) and they gave me two options: Option 1 was that they could send me a new one, but it was a Saturday, so it would be Monday or Tuesday before I got it; Option 2 was they could make me an appointment at the Apple Store and a Genius could help me. I chose option 2, and 45 minutes later I had a new charger in my hands...free of charge...or full of charge, but no cost.

For me, the customer service is WELL worth the extra money. For others it may not be. I've also never owned a computer that I still loved after 2 or 3 years until I bought my Mac laptop. So, again, the extra money is well worth it for me!

[BRULEDRIFTER]

Mac all the way! I have an old iBook G4 I bought in 2006 that still runs great and I still rarely ever have so much as a pop-up window, let alone ever having to worry about anti-virus this, crash protector that, yada, yada, yada....

My work PC is a constant nightmare, and it was a brand new, mint, custom built machine when I started.

Sure you pay more up front for a Mac, (and in the grand scheme it's not THAT much more). And in the long run you'll easily spend the difference on all the extra drivers, softwares to run this and that, anti-virus protection upgrades every year and especially tech fees.

Don't even bother pondering it any longer. Go buy a Mac and you WILL NOT EVER regret it!

[fishhuntwork]

I broke down and bought an Imac last night. I only had to install 2 programs for $120 and no anti spy ware or virus protection. I love it already. Also bought a 3 yr warrenty with it just in case.