[Flagheimer]

My main computer since 2004 has been a 12-inch PowerBook G4. Just this year the original HD died and I installed an 80GB HD a few months back and that has been the ONLY upgrade I've done to this machine, no new memory, still running on the built-in 256MB and I'm not complaining. I basically use it for school and internet. I like making and editing short films, especially for school and I've done all my projects in iMovie. Even though it has stalled and been slow during the movie-making process, it still does the job. I haven't even purchased a replacement battery for this machine even though the original one dies within minutes if it's not plugged into an outlet. I haven't even upgraded to Tiger, still running on Panther (I think -- honestly, I don't even know which version OS I have because my PB has done well for so long, I never even thought of upgrading it.)

I'm in the market to purchase an iMac, I've never owned an iMac and I've always wanted one. Since the new ones just came out, I've decided I'll go with this current iMac to purchase, but since I don't need one immediately I'll wait for Leopard to be released.

That said, I'm not sure which iMac I should get when the time comes. I was thinking I would go with the 24" 2.4GHz "base model" but then customize it to 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme and 2GB of Memory, but stay with the 320GB HD. I mean, even with an 80GB HD in my PowerBook, I still think it's a lot for me.

I have a ton of pics, music, movie clips and movie projects on my PB, so that's what i'll most likely use the iMac for as well, plus college stuff, like papers and whatnot. Also, Office will be put on it as well. Maybe down the road, Final Cut express and Adobe products too...

I wonder if the customized machine above is fine for what I'm doing. With my education discount, the subtotal comes out to $2,059, I wonder if I should spend the extra $90 and upgrade to the 500GB HD. 320GB is a lot to me, plus I have a 250GB external... so I'm not sure.

Any thoughts? Also, I'm not big on gaming if that matters.

Edit: Or maybe, I shouldn't worry about the HD but just purchase AppleCare instead...

[Veltliner]

You mentioned office. But which photo and video editing applications are you running?

The processor upgrade is not a good idea. If at all possible, that's for specialists, and then I'd wonder if it made sense. Tasks like this aren't suited for the iMac. And: what for? ANY Mac you buy, even the cheapest MacBook or a refurbished iMac, will run rings around your G4 Powerbook.

You need to find out what is most important for you.

I get the impression you like a big screen. Then I'd recommend getting a good deal of RAM. A bigger HD is definitely a good idea - you said you had a fairly big collection of music and videos already.

Do you like to exchange parts on your computer? Ugrading it? Then a tower is your only choice. You don't need the newest MacPro. You also can get a refurb MacPro, or even a G5 Tower will have plenty of horsepower.

[adamfishercox]

By processore upgrade, I think he meant have it built to order.

[Flagheimer]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

By processore upgrade, I think he meant have it built to order.

You're right.

I guess the real question is, if I purchase that kind of iMac, will it run Final Cut Express and Adobe CS3 fine? I'm not going to be doing real hard work on it... I'm not a graphic designer or anything similar, just a hobby.

[Veltliner]

Then save the money for the upgrade, and get more RAM.

Recommended: RAM at Crucial.com.

[MacosNerd]

Since you cannot upgrade the cpu after the purchase I'd get the fastest processor you can afford. Additionally I'd get the base ram amount and upgrade that later or from a different company such as Crucial or OWC, both companies sell quality ram for less then what apple charges.

[cherry su]

If this iMac is like the previous generation, then you can upgrade the CPU if you are a daredevil. Some guy tore it apart already and it's not an easy job.

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by cherry su 

If this iMac is like the previous generation, then you can upgrade the CPU if you are a daredevil. Some guy tore it apart already and it's not an easy job.

I don't believe it is, i.e., soldered onto the logic board.

[Flagheimer]

Originally Posted by MacosNerd 

Since you cannot upgrade the cpu after the purchase I'd get the fastest processor you can afford. Additionally I'd get the base ram amount and upgrade that later or from a different company such as Crucial or OWC, both companies sell quality ram for less then what apple charges.

Thanks for everyone's reply.

In regards to your reply, MacosNerd, I've never owned an iMac so this will probably be an easy question: if I do purchase the base RAM amount, which is 1GB, when I do decided to upgrade to 4GB will I be able to take out the original 1GB so I can put two 2GB of RAM?

[Xyphoid Process]

Originally Posted by Flagheimer 

Thanks for everyone's reply.
In regards to your reply, MacosNerd, I've never owned an iMac so this will probably be an easy question: if I do purchase the base RAM amount, which is 1GB, when I do decided to upgrade to 4GB will I be able to take out the original 1GB so I can put two 2GB of RAM?

Buy it with the 1GB base (it comes on a single stick, which is a nice change). Add a single 2GB stick to the empty slot and you will have 3GB. Unless you are doing some crazy memory-intensive stuff, it's doubtful that you would notice the impact of throwing out the base 1GB stick and going with 2x2GB.

[Flagheimer]

Originally Posted by Xyphoid Process 

Buy it with the 1GB base (it comes on a single stick, which is a nice change). Add a single 2GB stick to the empty slot and you will have 3GB. Unless you are doing some crazy memory-intensive stuff, it's doubtful that you would notice the impact of throwing out the base 1GB stick and going with 2x2GB.

That makes sense... honestly, I've been doing everything on my PowerBook with just the built-in 256MB of RAM... so maybe 4GB of RAM will be excessive...

[adamfishercox]

Quite excessive.