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louis-d · Aug 18, 2006, 08:58 AM

im starting colege next week, and i want a computer / my room is small
and i have around a 1500$ budget did 2700$ this summer and dont want to use it all

i like gaming and chating, i realy like to surf on internet / listen music / see videos on a comp

does that comp (suit me ) ... it will be my frist mac/and first comp ( we have a familie pc comp )

peaple are talking about a new imac coming out soon ( when is that ) because i can wait..
im asuming the price would be around the same, if not the --imac 17-inch : 1,83GHz Intel Core Duo -- price should drop!
because i dont REALY need it now

is it easy to chance peices on a IMAC ...
is that the best choise of spending my cash on
so much question wiout answers

PLS take 2 min of your time to answer in detail !!! im shure other peaple are in my same situation

Sry for my english ( trying hard) !! thx FOr all answers !!!!!!!!!!!!

mduell · Aug 18, 2006, 11:59 AM

Yea, and iMac sounds right for you. The MacBook is also a good choice for college, but it won't run all the latest games at high framerates.

I expect an imminent upgrade to the iMac using Intel's new chips. Could be Monday or in 6 weeks.

jamil5454 · Aug 18, 2006, 12:22 PM

If you don't need the portability, the iMac is an awesome value. It will play all of the latest games reasonably well. However, if you want a laptop, the MacBook is a great machine. Depending on where you're going to college and what you're majoring in, I would recommend getting a MacBook and leaving the gaming up to the consoles so that computer games aren't a distraction. Gaming isn't really at the top of the priority list.

louis-d · Aug 18, 2006, 12:30 PM

i guess im going to wait a bit to see if the new imac is going to show soon i cant wait more then the 16 september tho, because the free ipod is a great save of money
(will sell ipod for 200)

so.. i guess i will wait, and no i dont realy need a laptop, but i enjoy the way you can move your imac easaly ( to a friend for a weekend for exemple )

can you add memory on a imac ( the memory i alrdy have ) ... oh i guess its wont work .. its a 512mb, thats work in a pc .. so i guess it wont fit

anyway, keep posting guys!
and i dont realy like console, i dont know wy .. lol

aaardal · Aug 18, 2006, 04:26 PM

You'll have to buy new memory. 512 stick of memory will run you about $30-40 usd.

iMac sounds good for you, might look at Mac Mini too if you don't run graphic intense games. If you have $1500 for a budget, you can probably get a lightly used 20" iMac for about ~$1300 and then upgrade the memory and still be under your $1500 budget.

Good luck with your purchase!

Chinasaur · Aug 18, 2006, 06:43 PM

Good luck with school. Study hard and do your homework.

jamil5454 · Aug 22, 2006, 10:24 AM

I just picked up a 20" iMac yesterday, and boy does this baby fly. The screen is *massive* coming from a 19" LCD, so the 17" should be good for general use. I know there will most likely be an iMac update in a few weeks, but eh... I don't need 64bit processors or more than 2GB of RAM or a better video card/more VRAM. I don't really know what else they could add, and the price drop on older models resulting from the update wouldn't matter too much... I needed to get this machine for a job.

I also got the iPod Nano, but the problem with selling the Nano is that you have to cut out the UPC barcode from the iMac and Nano boxes to send in for the rebate. Copies will not be accepted. So that might lower the value a little since there'll be no way to prove your Nano is brand new.

eddiecatflap · Aug 23, 2006, 03:44 AM

i doubt the update will be anything earth shattering

from what i've heard , expect c. 10-20% faster

hardly noticeable

kamina · Aug 23, 2006, 04:36 AM

The differance can be bigger once there is a native 64bit operatingsystem that takes advantage of the processors being 64bit. The current performance tests have all been done under a 32bit operatingsystem.

eddiecatflap · Aug 23, 2006, 08:44 AM

the only advantage to 64 bit is an increase in addressable memory

it won't make your mac go twice as fast

kamina · Aug 23, 2006, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by eddiecatflap

the only advantage to 64 bit is an increase in addressable memory

it won't make your mac go twice as fast

That is the most obvious advantage, but not the only one. The processor can also work with bigger numbers (especially floating point numbers) which can make a big differance in encrypting, 3D, or math apps. There might also be benefits in other areas when everything is made 64bit from the beginning.

One good example is lightwave which shows HUGE improvements, but some other apps are showing 10-25% increase too.

PlanetX64 - LightWave 3D 8.5 x64

jamil5454 · Aug 23, 2006, 10:59 AM

IIRC the iMac's CPUs are socketed and therefore have a good chance at being upgradeable, much like the G4 towers. In operations that use almost 100% math (such as 3D rendering, encrypting, etc) I would think you could theoretically see a major jump in performance, since 64-bit registers can hold double the bits a 32-bit can (think long long data type). However, the OP stated he wanted to use his computer for general tasks, where in many cases the CPU isn't the bottleneck and definitely 2GB of RAM should be enough.

I jumped on the 64-bit bandwagon a few years ago with an Athlon 64 2800+ processor. Soon afterwards, 64-bit Linux came out, and I installed it, and nothing special. I actually went back to generic x86 Linux because of the lack of (consumer) software for 64-bit operating systems. Today, I still don't see the benefit of 64-bit if you're not a 3D professional, in the scientific scene, or don't need more than 4GB of memory. It may be marginally faster for everyday tasks, but that's not a selling point to me when today's 32-bit processors make mincemeat out of listening to music, viewing photos, watching movies, browsing the web, etc. I should mention that I use my iMac for general everyday tasks and web/application development, with the occasional dabbling in the iLife apps.

And to those that say, "well, think about the future!"... how far into the future? I'm going to use my iMac as my primary machine, what... 3 years (AppleCare), 4 years max? Think back 3 years ago, when 64-bit processors were coming onto the scene, DirectX 9.0c video cards were making a big splash, etc. Things haven't really changed so drastically that people who bought a 32-bit machine back then are wishing they would have gone 64-bit.

That said, buy what you need/want when you need/want it. Don't waste your time and energy regretting or worrying over your decision. Today's iMac will serve you just as well as tomorrow's iMac. If you think you can make up for the price/features difference (on the current/upcoming) iMac before the next one is released, then by all means get the iMac today. If you don't (it'd have to be something semi-important to justify not waiting a couple weeks) just wait.