[HitchHiker]

Sorry, this could be a mammoth post.

Essentially, I want an iMac but don't want to splash out on what could be just a white elephant.

My current PC isn't too shabby, AMD 4200+ X2 but could do with an upgrade to play the latest and greatest games but there again, I do have a 360 for games.
Currently, I'm a sucker for MMORPG's, Wow and LotR:O for example although I no longer play WoW but wouldn't mind giving Tabula Rasa a go. I'm also a big FPS fan and will be buying the Orange box soon but playing with the joypad on the 360 seems wrong but on the other side of the coin I like chasing the achievments on the 360 :/ (colour me confused).

If I go down the iMac route then my mrs says the PC has to go (lack of room). This means that I'll need to install bootcamp and XP so that I am still able to use my current games but then I'll be short of HD space. Can you install XP to an external drive? If not, can I run any XP games from an external drive? Bugger, I'm going to need a new version of XP too as I only have the orginal Home Edition upgrade box, pre any service packs. I have 30gb of mp3's and more photo's than that to move too.

I like the look of the new iMacs and currently have a G4 PowerMac running the latest version of Tiger and it would be great except for that it's too slow. It'll have to go too, along with the PC.

So do I have a big clearout and buy an iMac or just upgrade the PC, buying the iMac would be a big outlay for me and I'd have to buy another one in a couple of years as it can't be upgraded but I'm drawn by the gadget freak in me.

:?

[shifuimam]

If you're big into hardware upgrades, an iMac is not the way to go, since you can't actually upgrade most of it. You're into gaming, so it'd make more sense to get better hardware for your existing PC - better video card and whatnot.

You can't install XP to an external drive very easily. It's doable, but it's difficult. XP generates a hardware ID from various bits of your computer in order to complete your product activation, so putting it on an external drive makes that whole process a little difficult.

You can probably run your games from an external drive, but it sounds like overall you'd be better off upgrading your existing machine rather than buying an iMac. If you want a new Mac that badly, get a Mini (takes up no room) and a cheap Belkin KVM from Fry's or Newegg so you have a Mac to play with but can keep your PC for your gaming and other things.

Just my $0.07.

[peeb]

Yep. Agreed.

[HitchHiker]

Spoil sports

No keen on the mini because it lack the camera and graphical oomph for photo processing etc.

There again, a 13" MacBook might be an idea because then I won't need to get rid of the PC . . .

[peeb]

The Macbook is going to be a gaming disappointment though... The graphics card is weak, like the mini. How short on space are you though?
If only Apple make a mid-range tower, that would be a perfect machine for you....

[HitchHiker]

The thinking behind a MacBook is that as it's small and portable, I'd be able to keep my PC

Would the MacBook's graphics card be up to the photo processing task though?

[peeb]

Yes, plenty powerful enough for that - the graphics card is really only used for 3d work.

[Snow-i]

i had a 12 inch pb g4, a c2d gaming pc, and a 20 in ACD that i did a 'clearout' of to make room for a 20 in iMac.

This things does EVERYTHING that those computers could do but now instead of having a giant mess of computer wires and different systems I have one system that can run any software I need it to, and it will run them fast (on the mac and vista side of things).

i have the alu 2.4ghz 20 in imac.

you could do the same, and just get the biggest HD available in it.

[Seaking]

Hmm I just bought a 20" iMac 2.4 GHz the other day to replace a dying P4 2.4 system for my photo and video editing.. Though not overly familiar with the mac systems at all (not at all I should say), the time was right to try something different. My main system is a Core2Du0 7200 with ATI 1950Pro, 4 gigs of mem and tons of HDD space, obvious great for gaming and doing video editing and photo work but I'm one of those people that prefer to let one machine do it's processing and while waiting, working on the other.. a creature of habit, I like it that way.

I'm not sure yet how great the iMac is going to be for the work I intend for it but we'll see. I should point out that it really doesn't take up a lot of space on the desk. I have the three systems sitting there on my desk and all I need to do is turn the iMac askew to see the video editor's monitor.

If you're a PC gamer, you might find it hard to switch to console gaming, there's just something different about it not fun for some PC gamers. The iMac I doubt will be stellar in gaming if such games are available for it.

Just tell the missus you really need both or you'll throw a girlie tantrum and she'll aquiest to your needs.. well it worked for me.. should work for you ; )

[HitchHiker]

Well I bought MacBook 2.2Ghz with 2Gb RAM and after 3 weeks use I've found that there are a few things getting on my nerves. Nothing wrong with the OS, just the hardware. The screen is too small for prolonged use, as a main system it's not good. The lack of graphical oomph is apparent and raises it's head more often than I'd thought it would as well as the slower smaller hard drive. For example, when playing a DVD in Front Row the progress bar fades in and then out . . . well it would on something with a bit more power. On the Macbook it stutters in and out and the DVD stutters with it although the DVD audio carries on fine. I had to buy an external drive to house my photos and music because the hard drive couldn't hold it all and still work . . .

So, I've taken it back to Apple and swapped it for a 2.4Ghz 20" iMac and breathed a huge sigh of relief, power to move again, unrestricted. It doesn't take as much room as I thought it would but I've decided to give my PC to my daughter as hers was old and starting to develop problems. Also, I'm a heathen and have a small Xp partition set up with bootcamp and have FarCry running at full resolution and all details up. It looks lovely

I'm sooooo pleased I swapped the MacBook.

Blogged a little bit about my Mac transformation here.

[I WAS the One]

Don't buy an iMac. Believe me. I've been using Macs since 1992, never used a Windowz Box in my life. Desktops and towers never give me problems and last more than 5 years (they are very expandable and upgradable) I fall in love with the iMac design and when I was ready to buy one something inside of me was screaming "NO" but I decide to buy it anyway. Today (my third month with it) Its in an Apple Store waiting to be repair. and I never had this problem before. NEVER. I always open my desktops and fixed everything myself, repairs, upgrades, anything! now something's wrong with it and I couldn't be able to do nothing. Thanx God for my other three Macs at home. Be Real. Spend your money correctly. Buy something that last 5 years. buy a Mac Pro.

[MichiganRich]

I love my 24" Aluminum Imac. For every guy like him ^ , there's someone like me with no issues. I'm not impressed with the HD2600 at times, but it does what I need.

[Helmling]

Originally Posted by HitchHiker 

Sorry, this could be a mammoth post.

Essentially, I want an iMac but don't want to splash out on what could be just a white elephant.

My current PC isn't too shabby, AMD 4200+ X2 but could do with an upgrade to play the latest and greatest games but there again, I do have a 360 for games.
Currently, I'm a sucker for MMORPG's, Wow and LotR:O for example although I no longer play WoW but wouldn't mind giving Tabula Rasa a go. I'm also a big FPS fan and will be buying the Orange box soon but playing with the joypad on the 360 seems wrong but on the other side of the coin I like chasing the achievments on the 360 :/ (colour me confused).

If I go down the iMac route then my mrs says the PC has to go (lack of room). This means that I'll need to install bootcamp and XP so that I am still able to use my current games but then I'll be short of HD space. Can you install XP to an external drive? If not, can I run any XP games from an external drive? Bugger, I'm going to need a new version of XP too as I only have the orginal Home Edition upgrade box, pre any service packs. I have 30gb of mp3's and more photo's than that to move too.

I like the look of the new iMacs and currently have a G4 PowerMac running the latest version of Tiger and it would be great except for that it's too slow. It'll have to go too, along with the PC.

So do I have a big clearout and buy an iMac or just upgrade the PC, buying the iMac would be a big outlay for me and I'd have to buy another one in a couple of years as it can't be upgraded but I'm drawn by the gadget freak in me.

:?

My answer is always yes.

The iMac is a great machine.

[cheesepasties]

I bought a refurb 24″ imac a few days ago, using it now, but it has serious problems. I cant run leopard at all. It has a kind of strange thing where some applications make black dots appear all over the screen. the computer then crashes, and tells me I need to restart it. when it does eventually succeed in starting up, the message appears, telling me that “mac OSX unexpectedly closed” and asks me to send a report or see more details, yet whatever I do after that, I never see any new details of the incident, or any report. anybody know why this is happening, or whether it is fixable? please help, i want a functioning mac, not a dysfunctional cinema block taking up half of my room!!!

[bbales]

I thought long and hard about the iMac -- I had had my G4 for nearly 7 years, upgrading along the way -- but the cost difference between an iMac and a tower finally had me buying the iMac -- the 24-inch aluminum one that came out in August.

I love it. If Jobs had introduced a lower-priced tower last week I probably would have experienced regrets (I do like the upgrade options in a tower), but he didn't. And my iMac is great. It is quiet, the screen is huge, and now that I've added RAM, it even behaves as I think it should. (And yes, I know that's my fault.)

It really is a very, very nice machine.

[JKT]

Originally Posted by cheesepasties 

I bought a refurb 24″ imac a few days ago, using it now, but it has serious problems.

It is still defective. Take it back and get it replaced.

[Richard Richard]

my imac 20" DC had problems with it's screen - still does

BUT

i'd still rather have it than my mac pro - anyday

there's a LOT to be said for an all-in-one

[Richard Richard]

Originally Posted by I WAS the One 

Don't buy an iMac. Believe me. I've been using Macs since 1992, never used a Windowz Box in my life. Desktops and towers never give me problems and last more than 5 years (they are very expandable and upgradable) I fall in love with the iMac design and when I was ready to buy one something inside of me was screaming "NO" but I decide to buy it anyway. Today (my third month with it) Its in an Apple Store waiting to be repair. and I never had this problem before. NEVER. I always open my desktops and fixed everything myself, repairs, upgrades, anything! now something's wrong with it and I couldn't be able to do nothing. Thanx God for my other three Macs at home. Be Real. Spend your money correctly. Buy something that last 5 years. buy a Mac Pro.

you mean the mac pro with the videocard upgrade that required an on-line petition ?

A call for a GeForce 8800 GT for "the rest of us." Petition : [ powered by iPetitions.com ]

the mac pro is a joke imo , the imac wipes the floor with it in 99% of home office situations / home family fun , the mac pro isn't even that upgradeable as proven by my link above

if you want to expand your hd - just buy an fw hd add on , if you want a bigger screen - use the dvi out and link to a big lcd tv , if you want more speed , wait a year and buy the new imac - apple won't let you upgrade your 'pro' cpu after all..

waste of time and money the pro - biggest regret i've made in mac purchases in almost 10 years

next time i am 100% definitely buying another imac

[AmeliaW]

I switched to Apple last year. I really want to like this product, but I'm struggling with extremely slow speeds compared to a PC.

I have the iMac model with the 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo. I am running OS X 10.4.11.

This machine is very slow to switch between programs. And the wireless LAN is almost as bad as dailup. (The wireless LAN works beautifully with a PC, so it's not the router or the broadband connection.) The internet access is even slow if I connect the iMac to the router with ethernet! I've used both Safari and Firefox, but see no difference.

I have spent hours reading the postings on macnn with regard to networking, hoping that there was an external network adaptor I could use which would be more powerful than the built-in Airport card. But there seems to be some exception for the iMac model I am using. Thus, I am very confused about whether or not there is any possible solution to the slow speeds other than chucking this computer altogether (which would force me to listen to my husband endlessly gloating "I told you so.")

Thank you in advance for whatever suggestions you might have.

[0157988944]

thats too slow even for that computer. Out of curiosity, where did you get it?

[I WAS the One]

Originally Posted by Richard Richard 

you mean the mac pro with the videocard upgrade that required an on-line petition ?

A call for a GeForce 8800 GT for "the rest of us." Petition : [ powered by iPetitions.com ]

the mac pro is a joke imo , the imac wipes the floor with it in 99% of home office situations / home family fun , the mac pro isn't even that upgradeable as proven by my link above

if you want to expand your hd - just buy an fw hd add on , if you want a bigger screen - use the dvi out and link to a big lcd tv , if you want more speed , wait a year and buy the new imac - apple won't let you upgrade your 'pro' cpu after all..

waste of time and money the pro - biggest regret i've made in mac purchases in almost 10 years

next time i am 100% definitely buying another imac

hey... are U serious? No offense but I had always use a tower all my life until now... and all my Macs were pretty upgradeable I most say. Never give me problems and always runs more faster than any iMac back then. This time the iMac offer me a great hardware for the price, so I bought it... today it's still at Apple Store.. and I'm back using my G4. First time having a problem that I can't fix my self in 15 years.. get it?

[bearcatrp]

Give us some details so we can help you fix your problem. How long have you owned it? Buy it new? How long has the problem been going on? Did it start after installing any particular software? How much ram is installed? How big is the hard drive? How much free space is there?
I would first recommend repair permissions. Then repair disk. Do this and answer these questions for us so we can give you a solution.
Randy

Originally Posted by AmeliaW 

I switched to Apple last year. I really want to like this product, but I'm struggling with extremely slow speeds compared to a PC.

I have the iMac model with the 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo. I am running OS X 10.4.11.

This machine is very slow to switch between programs. And the wireless LAN is almost as bad as dailup. (The wireless LAN works beautifully with a PC, so it's not the router or the broadband connection.) The internet access is even slow if I connect the iMac to the router with ethernet! I've used both Safari and Firefox, but see no difference.

I have spent hours reading the postings on macnn with regard to networking, hoping that there was an external network adaptor I could use which would be more powerful than the built-in Airport card. But there seems to be some exception for the iMac model I am using. Thus, I am very confused about whether or not there is any possible solution to the slow speeds other than chucking this computer altogether (which would force me to listen to my husband endlessly gloating "I told you so.")

Thank you in advance for whatever suggestions you might have.

[scottiB]

Originally Posted by AmeliaW 

I switched to Apple last year. I really want to like this product, but I'm struggling with extremely slow speeds compared to a PC.

I have the iMac model with the 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo. I am running OS X 10.4.11.

This machine is very slow to switch between programs. And the wireless LAN is almost as bad as dailup. (The wireless LAN works beautifully with a PC, so it's not the router or the broadband connection.) The internet access is even slow if I connect the iMac to the router with ethernet! I've used both Safari and Firefox, but see no difference.

I have spent hours reading the postings on macnn with regard to networking, hoping that there was an external network adaptor I could use which would be more powerful than the built-in Airport card. But there seems to be some exception for the iMac model I am using. Thus, I am very confused about whether or not there is any possible solution to the slow speeds other than chucking this computer altogether (which would force me to listen to my husband endlessly gloating "I told you so.")

Thank you in advance for whatever suggestions you might have.

Regarding the slowness in switching programs, how much memory is installed?

For the slow network speeds, go to Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test and see how fast you're connecting to the internet in comparison to your cable modem or DSL speeds (or the PCs in the house). Also, try plugging in directly into the cable/DSL modem via ethernet, bypassing altogether any wireless or wired routers.

My guess is there is a configuration in your wireless base station/router (or your network settings on the Mac) that's slowing things. These are just off the top of my head.

[AmeliaW]

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 1.83 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 2 MB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM41.0055.B08
SMC Version: 1.1f5

I bought the iMac new in late 2006, I believe, from CompUSA. I didn't use it much until late 2007.

I will try the recommended repair processes.

Re networking, I have plugged directly into the router with an ethernet cable. Speeds are still slow. I will run specific speed tests, though, to confirm.

[AmeliaW]

From the utilities tool, I see that I am using 375 MB (Active + Wired) of 512 MB.

[peeb]

You don't have enough ram, for one thing.

[AmeliaW]

That should be easy enough to solve. Thanks.

[scottiB]

Maximize it to 2GB, then see how everything performs. Your download speeds may be fine, but the browsing experience is slow with the lack of physical RAM.

[bearcatrp]

Definately max out the ram. Also, keep the number of applications opened to a minimum. If you use dashboard, those widgets take up memory too. Upgrade your memory before doing your speed test. Probably wouldn't recommend upgrading to leopard. Tiger will do just fine. Let us know how its working once you installed the memory.
Randy

[Unblowupable5]

I don't think maxing out the ram is necessary. You could do it if you want- more is always better- but I' think you could get away with just getting another 512MB stick. That's what I did with my iMac G5. It felt like a whole new Mac after that. Either way, you'll see a big difference in overall system performance.

[shinykaro]

@Amelia

Up until a couple days ago I had the very same iMac. It needs 1GB RAM and then runs beautifully. I had mine maxed out at 2GB RAM, and most of the time I didn't even need it, but it's really pretty inexpensive, so go ahead and max it out if you haven't yet. The RAM will make a huge difference. I was incredibly happy with mine, but had to sell it because I needed a laptop. Don't let hubby ruin this for you. You still have a great computer.

[bearcatrp]

Amelia, let us know when its upgraded and tell us how its doing. Want to here if your husband is eating his words.
Randy

[harbinger75]

It really IS amazing to see how a little more RAM can snap a Mac to life. I discovered that early on with the original iMac.

Amelia, did adding RAM work out for you?

HitchHiker - I'm glad to see that your exchange worked out well for you! I'm getting ready to buy a 24" iMac and can't wait!

[air]

How To: Install OS X on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required

I'd recommend a hackintosh to anyone who wants a mid-level tower that runs leopard.

[AmeliaW]

I haven't yet added more RAM, but appreciate the info that moving to 1GB should do it. (Although if it's cheap, I may as well go with 2GB.) I live in a rural area and have to find a computer shop that supports Macs. I have determined that Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac is the primary culprit! There is an upgrade available (for another $200!) which I will have to purchase as I need these apps for my business. I hope I don't have to also buy an Apple base station (which is what Apple's technical support recommended.) Thanks, too, for the suggestion on the widgets in the toolbar. I didn't know they use a lot of RAM and some of these icons are needed.

[bearcatrp]

If you don't really need Microsoft Office, here is an alternative..
NeoOffice Home

Here is another web site for more cool apps...
Open Source Mac - Free, Open-Source software for OS X

You don't need an apple base station (presume you mean router). Linksys WRT54G and others work just fine. Just have to be set up properly. The widgets do suck up memory so limit your widgets. I would suggest you order online for your memory. Its less expensive. Find the latest Performance Upgrades, Firewire and USB Hard Drives, SATA, Memory, Laptop Battery, and more at OWC is a good place. There are others too. Let us know when you upgrade. Your husband will be eating his words when he sees how smooth your system is when its upgraded.
Randy

[SirCastor]

Originally Posted by bearcatrp 

If you don't really need Microsoft Office, here is an alternative..
NeoOffice Home

You don't need an apple base station (presume you mean router). Linksys WRT54G and others work just fine. Just have to be set up properly.

1) NeoOffice is really great.

2) You don't need an Apple BaseStation, but if you're in the market for a wireless router, you might consider the Time Capsule. What you get for your money is a great deal. Then again, every once in a while you can get a cheap netgear router at bestbuy for $30.