[BigChiefSmokem]

Hello all, i'm new to the forums, and wanted to post to get some advice with my situation...

Here's a little backstory. So i've always been a PC enthusiast for as long as i can remember, and have been into PC Gaming, case modding, building and upgrading my PC's, Tweaking windows to run faster, etc etc, and i've always known that if you want to game on a computer, you're gonna need a pc to do that. Well, it seems that in recent years that PC gaming has lost its fun for me, as well as upgrading, tweaking, etc etc, i'm just not into it anymore... I'd rather just surf the internet, listen to my mp3's, mess around with my digital photos and email and chat, burn some cd's and dvd's, track my finances, etc.. For my gaming needs, i now have an xbox 360, which i have been enjoying thoroughly in all its HD glory on my 43" plasma and my surround sound system.. I'd rather just sit down for a few minutes or a couple of hours on my nice comfy couch and game and have fun by myself or with my friends there in the room. Its all i have time for now, really. Plus the price of upgrading my computer to play the latest and greatest at its graphics peak is just too much for me and i'm just out of the hobby. Id rather invest that money into something else now. I'm currently running a rig that can do all i ask of it, and it does it fast, although it is about 3 years old... I'm feeling the upgrade itch, but i know that what i have is perfectly suitable for my needs (i'm electronics geek and love new toys and after playing with my mom's mac i really wanted one)

Anyway, so my mom's computer (that i built for her 3 years ago) recently took a crap on her, so I thought that, for what she uses it for, surfin the internet and pictures, that a new iMac would be perfect for her. And this was my first experience with the iMac. we got her the 20" iMac intel core duo. And after we bought it and i set it up for her (super super easy!!) and showed her how to do a few things on it, she picked it up really easily and was mighty impressed over just how damned easy it was to use. No multiple different software for doing this and that and driver install and stuff not working together or at all... No messy cable clutter (we got the wireless keyboard and mouse)... It just worked and it worked in style. she loves it.

After she was done playin with it, i sat down with it for a while and thought it was great. I played with photobooth and had a lot of fun with the different effects. I loved how iPhoto worked. I really had a blast with garageband and even made my own song after a couple of hours of tinkering and watching the apple.com tutorials. I'd really love to delve more into garageband. I really started to experience the joys of having a mac. I dunno if i was just infatuated because it was something different than windows, which i'd been using for god knows now long, or if OS X was just that cool... I thought about how recently i tried to make a Photo slide show on my computer for a friend, that could be played at a memorial for his boss who passed away, and how i spent like 3 hours trying to find the right software and to make the disk, found, it put it all to music and and all that and in the end, it didnt work. the dvd burned but wouldnt play on a dvd player... Call it user error, but i was thinking about how much easier that would be on a mac...

So i've decided i'm going to purchase one.... So i started researching and i have a few reservations...

First of all I already have a nice monitor. A dell 2001fp 20" lcd. I thought about getting the mac mini, but have reservations about its power, its smaller hard drive and the fact that it has a crappy integrated graphics chip... I really want something more than it has to offer.

Then I thought about an iMac and i found out i can run a dual monitor with it. Though i think it would look funny with the black dell and the iMac sitting next to one another. Maybe i'll get over it once the dual monitor sweetness shows... i dunno. You guys with dual monitors, what is the benefit? Plus the iMac is a bit much than i wanted to spend. 2k for the 20" with upgraded vid memory, i mean i dont mind dropping the money on it, but jeez...

the high end Power macs are too much for me and i was trying to get around of having a big bulky case.

I wish there was something in between, like a mac mini with iMac specs that i could run a dual monitor on, i'd love to buy another dell lcd and do that...

My biggest reservations are about the whole fact that I could buy now and a week from now apple will be out to their latest and greatest processors and design, etc, and ill not be able to upgrade to it and i'll feel like i missed the boat somehow... I guess if i look at it right, its the same way with PC's too, buy now, 6 months to a year from now what you have is inferior.

I dunno.. any advice? I dont think i would be buying a mac until around late september-october ish.. Think something new in would come out by then that would fit my needs?

Thanks for reading the novel and for the advice.

[BigChiefSmokem]

28 views, 2 days and no replies...

[eddiecatflap]

you have a point regarding a missing piece in the apple jigsaw , a mid point between the imac and the mac pro would be welcome

[chefpastry]

While I love the Mac Mini, I found it's compromises too compromising as well. That being said, I think the iMacs suits many people.

I don't know what it would be like to use your Dell monitor with an iMac... I've tried using dual monitors before and ended up just getting a single larger one... But that's just me...

As for VRAM, if you do your gaming on your Xbox 360, I think that you can make do with the standard 128MB version of the iMac.

I understand your reservations about purchasing at this very moment with all the talk of Apple putting either the Merom or Conroe in to the iMacs "real soon now". If I were in your shoes, I would wait because I think the upgrade is imminent.

[JKT]

Yup, there is currently a big hole in the Mac line up, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to be filled. Apple haven't tried to do it since the overpriced Cube and that is many, many years ago now!

Why not get the 17" iMac if you already have the 20" monitor? Cheaper but practically the same specs as the 20" give or take a few things.

Also, look at this website for an idea of how far a product is into its lifecycle. Given that the iMac was released at the beginning of this year, I would probably wait a while to see if any updates are going to come out, or if there are any strong indicators of a change in the product line-up (such as current versions being end-of-lifed, or deals appearing at the Apple store for them). Of course, you can play this particular waiting game for ever...

[BigChiefSmokem]

Well, like i said, It'll be until late september, october-ish until i take the plunge. So i'll check back in on things, or keep lookin at how things are going until then to see what apple comes out with... seems, based on speculation that well be seeing some new processors in the imacs sometime soon. So i'll wait and where things go. Maybe by then i can get over my reservations.

Oh, i just posted this from my moms iMac. I just discovered the widgets on the dashboard. Very. Very. Cool. Can you add widgets, like 3rd party widgets?

[Timetheus]

Originally Posted by BigChiefSmokem

Well, like i said, It'll be until late september, october-ish until i take the plunge. So i'll check back in on things, or keep lookin at how things are going until then to see what apple comes out with... seems, based on speculation that well be seeing some new processors in the imacs sometime soon. So i'll wait and where things go. Maybe by then i can get over my reservations.

Oh, i just posted this from my moms iMac. I just discovered the widgets on the dashboard. Very. Very. Cool. Can you add widgets, like 3rd party widgets?

Yes, here: Apple - Downloads - Dashboard There are a couple thousand, I believe. You can also search Google for specific ones you can't find on Apple (I think that's how I found my Tetris one, for example). They usually download as ZIP files, just double click to unzip, and then again (This time on the unzipped Widget icon) to install, Dashbaord comes up and asks you if you want to keep it, and your done.