[GraphiteBoi]

Here's my dillema, I'm going back to school in 2 weeks. Should I buy a new 700 MHZ iMac now, or wait until January until the new ones come out?

[FormerLurker]

Originally posted by GraphiteBoi:
<STRONG>Here's my dillema, I'm going back to school in 2 weeks. Should I buy a new 700 MHZ iMac now, or wait until January until the new ones come out?</STRONG>

That depends.. do you currently have a Mac that will get you through the first semester? Or at least till October/November, which is the latest I expect to see a revision?

[dtriska]

Do you need a new computer now? Can you use what you have for the next 6 months?

If you're in no rush to replace your existing computer, there are two reasons to wait:

1) In six months, the iMac will have more features for the same or a lower price (examples: LCD display, G4 processor, SuperDrive. There are a lot of possibilities, some more likely than others, obviously.)

2) In six months, you will have saved more money to spend on an iMac. Therefore, you can buy an iMac with more features (see above).

I'm beginning to lean towards a November update of the iMac line consisting of LCD displays, and a 133 MHz bus. Everything else will stay pretty much the same, except for the optical drives, which I haven't figured out, yet. There also will probably be a low-price CRT iMac for education.

So, it's up to you, GraphiteBoi. If you can, I suggest you wait.

[seanyepez]

I agree with Lurker.

If you have a Mac to get you through the first semester, you should hold off, because it's for sure there's going to be a new iMac at January's Macworld San Fransisco. The old iMac prices will drop drastically, and you might be able to score a deal on the old machines.

The 700-megahertz model is fairly new. It will be top of the line for about four or five months.

The new iMac won't be able to do much that the current iMacs can't. It will be sleeker, faster, and better, as with all revisions. If you don't mind not having the best machine out there, I'd recommend you go with an iMac today. Perhaps a 500- or 600-megahertz model is priced more reasonably. I take a lot of crap for this, but personally, I like the old Flower Power and Blue Dalmation models.

I have to agree. Besides a new design and an LCD screen, the new iMac will most likely be identical in terms of hardware. Sure, they might put in a 133Mhz bus, but for anything but heavy 3D apps, it really doesn't matter one bit. Word, is Word, is Word and a 133Mhz bus makes not one bit of difference when your writting your class papers.

IMO, the only reason to hold out for a new iMac is for a better 3D card ... you know, for serious college work, like ... HALO.

[GraphiteBoi]

thanks for the advice guys...the computer i would take to school until I got a new one would be a 350MHZ Gateway!!!! I'd rather get shot than use that so I think I'll go with the 700MHZ iMac now...

[vmarks]

Originally posted by GraphiteBoi:
<STRONG>thanks for the advice guys...the computer i would take to school until I got a new one would be a 350MHZ Gateway!!!! I'd rather get shot than use that so I think I'll go with the 700MHZ iMac now...</STRONG>

Congratulations!

you can't go wrong with a 700mhz iMac... (now if only it were mine...)

[EmAn]

Are the 700MHz iMacs shipping yet? When did Jobs say they'd be shipping? I know the 500 and 600 models were shipping right away, but not the 700.

[GraphiteBoi]

if you order your 700 mhz imac today, you will get it in 15 days

[lee vieira]

Why get a 700MHz iMac? The 500 MHz model is nearly as good, and includes a CD burner, all for $999, i.e. $500 less.

I'd either get the 500, or wait for an LCD iMac (which'll probably take a lot longer to show up than people think). But that's moi.

If you have heavy 3D-modelling or gaming needs, then the 700 could be worth it, though truth to tell, if that were what you were using it for, you'd probably be better off with the low-end tower, which is only a bit more expensive than the 700 iMac, while being a helluva lot more upgradeable(GeForce 3 anyone?).

--lee