[Subnova]

I'm really worried about plopping down 2500 on one, yes that includes the student discount.

I mean, 2 gb of Ram, the NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB SDRAM card, 250 gb, 24inch screen, 2.33ghz.

It just seems I might not get my bang for my buck.

Although my friend is confident that it will run Crysis at max settings. Which is incredible.

[dohidied]

What do you want to do with your iMac? If you're just concerned with running Windows games at max settings, your money is spent more wisely elsewhere.

[Subnova]

Well I do want to game, but at the same time I also want to have photoshop and the like.

I really want this computer to be extremely fast.

[dohidied]

Well, Photoshop isn't going to be extremely fast on an Intel Mac until CS3 comes out. If you just want a fast computer that plays Crysis and does Photoshop, I'm not sure why you're looking at a Mac.

[Subnova]

Because I can't stand Windows. It's a terrible OS, and XP was horrible.

But I mean, I want something different you know?

[Subnova]

Here's what I can get on a PC:

CASE: Raidmax Katana Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply
POWER SUPPLY: Thermaltake Purepower 700 Watt Power Supply [SLI Ready]
PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6700 (2x 2.66GHz/4MB L2 Cache/1066FSB)
PROCESSOR COOLING: Liquid CPU Cooling Fan System Kit --- [for INTEL CPU]
MOTHERBOARD: [Quad-Core Support] Asus P5N-E SLI nForce® 650i SLI Chipset w/6-channel CODEC, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB
MEMORY: 2048MB [1024MB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand More Options
VIDEO CARD: 2X NVIDIA GEFORCE 7950GT 512MB W/DVI-+TV OUT VIDEO
HARD DRIVE: 320GB
CD-DVD DRIVE: 16x DVD-ROM Drive
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive: 16X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive
SOUND CARD: 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
SPEAKER SYSTEM: Creative Labs SBS-580 5.1 Surround Speakers + Subwoofer
KEYBOARD: Saitek Eclipse-II PK02U Gaming Keyboard
MOUSE: Razer Diamondback Plasma Edition Gaming Mouse

Total cost: 2291

Add another 100 for Vista Ultimate.

[ecking01]

Make a cheaper pc for gaming and get a mac mini for everyday computing and have them share the same monitor or get a gaming pc and a mac notebook.

OR

Get the iMac(i would)

[JKT]

Originally Posted by Subnova 

Here's what I can get on a PC:
<snip>
Add another 100 for Vista Ultimate.

You left out the price of a decent 24" monitor.

FWIW, you can BYO PC for far less than an equivalent ready-made (from anyone, not just Apple) so it all boils down to the following:

1) how important it is to buy a computer right now,
2) how important it is for you to be able to game (and will it still be as important in a year or two or three?),
3) how much you dislike Windows.

Incidentally, its been quite some time since the iMacs were last updated, so within the next few months, an update should occur.

[mduell]

I disagree with your friend. Crysis will be a slideshow on the generation-old middle-of-the-line GPU in the iMac at max settings and native screen resolution. The 7600GT sits between the "minimum requirements" and "recommended requirements" (closer to the minimum) for Crysis. I think you're looking at about a third of the screen's native res at medium settings for a playable game.

[mrplow]

i think almost everyone responding to this guy missed the point that he wants a mac... so any non-mac-related comments were irrelivent.


you pay money for things because you want them. how badly do you want the imac? it's worth it if you want it-- it's not worth it if you can get *the same thing* cheaper but pay the higher price, but thats not the issue (look at Amazon's rebate + taxfree deal first, though). it comes down to a decision of what hardware you want and how much you want to pay for it.

in summation, sometimes you've just got to spoil yourself.

ps- CS3 is extremely fast in OS X and can be had just as easily as CS2, legally or illegally.
and for whatever its worth, I'm using a macbook with 1.25gb ram and only a coreduo 1.83 and I think it's extremely fast... (excluding GPU related areas). I'm also pretty certain the iMac's CPU can be upgraded if you ever felt like ripping it apart in the future to put in the fastest core2duo. You will probably have regrets in a year or so when the new 24" has abunch of cool new things yours doesn't and it's value on ebay is $500 less... but that's just unavoidable.

[P]

The native resolution on the iMac is 1920*1200. I don't think anything short of an 8800 GTS is going to run Crysis well at that resolution. If you're dead set on running Crysis at high resolution, there is no Mac and precious few PCs that can do it right now. In that case, you should wait until the 8600 generation of boards is launched and hope Apple puts one in an iMac.

What is driving up the cost of your machine is that you're upgrading things for a rather minor boost at a very high cost. The 2.33 GHz upgrade in particular seems frivolous to me.

[mitchell_pgh]

I'm still holding out for the return of the $1499 Mac Pro.

[kcmac]

I am holding out on buying an iMac at the release of Leopard or soon after. I gotta believe they will happen very near each other. The 24 inch is so tempting but the second rev should be even better.

[bensone1]

i recently ordered a 24" imac with the same specs as yours except for a 500GB hard drive.... i first ruled out ever going back to the windows world so that made things a little easier.... then i decided that i didnt feel like waiting for the new imac to roll around whenever that would be.... could be when leopard comes out or it could be in september 07... i dont know. all i knew was that i felt like buying this thing cause i wanted it and was willing to spend that money on it. i thought about going for the pro but felt that it was a little out of my range and that i would want to stay in the consumer mac market, so that was my choice.... a nice thing is that the imac will hold its value quite well compared to anything else out there.

so good luck in choosing what you want, cause in the end that's all that it really comes down to: what you want

[Subnova]

bensone1 how good is your iMac? I was thinking of opting towards a 500gb too.

[bensone1]

Originally Posted by Subnova 

bensone1 how good is your iMac? I was thinking of opting towards a 500gb too.

i ordered my iimac the 26th of jan w/ just ground shupping and wont be getting it until the 6th of feb. i have been tracking it with isnoop.net universal package tracking i just put in my tracking number and watch it go no where.... but seriously, it is on its way and i should get it shortly. if you do decide to get one, you might want to consider going in on the express shipping, i would have definitely done that looking back on this. i will be sure to give you an update and let you know how everything goes.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh 

I'm still holding out for the return of the $1499 Mac Pro.

Although I wouldn't mind seeing that, I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Subnova]

Originally Posted by bensone1 

i ordered my iimac the 26th of jan w/ just ground shupping and wont be getting it until the 6th of feb. i have been tracking it with isnoop.net universal package tracking i just put in my tracking number and watch it go no where.... but seriously, it is on its way and i should get it shortly. if you do decide to get one, you might want to consider going in on the express shipping, i would have definitely done that looking back on this. i will be sure to give you an update and let you know how everything goes.

Yeah please update me on how it is, I get paid on the 6th so I'll send my order out pretty soon.

[P]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh 

I'm still holding out for the return of the $1499 Mac Pro.

That is the one Tower Mac configuration that I could actually see happening - after all, take an existing Mac Pro, sell the included CPUs, buy a single lower-end Xeon to put it in and you'll have your $1500 Mac Pro right there - but Apple stopped making them for a reason. Presumably they didn't sell well enough.

[JKT]

Originally Posted by Subnova 

Yeah please update me on how it is, I get paid on the 6th so I'll send my order out pretty soon.

Honestly, unless you really need a computer right now, I would not do this. It has been about 150 days since the iMac was last updated and the average period between updates for iMacs is 168 days. You will be kicking yourself if a new model comes out within 3 or 4 weeks of your purchase.

Obviously, this isn't guaranteed to happen, but if you can wait a month (or even two) I would.

[earthlings]

Originally Posted by ecking01 

Make a cheaper pc for gaming and get a mac mini for everyday computing and have them share the same monitor or get a gaming pc and a mac notebook.

OR

Get the iMac(i would)

I agree. Get a emachine for gaming and the other stuff MACs. Thats what I have.

----
I am waiting for later this year to see what apple has insight for us with Leopard.

[earthlings]

Originally Posted by JKT 

Honestly, unless you really need a computer right now, I would not do this. It has been about 150 days since the iMac was last updated and the average period between updates for iMacs is 168 days. You will be kicking yourself if a new model comes out within 3 or 4 weeks of your purchase.

Obviously, this isn't guaranteed to happen, but if you can wait a month (or even two) I would.

Wow, that is a good site for the times of the updates. I think I got my PB a month or so before Tiger or what came out in 2004. And before they had iLIFE installed with all computers. Sad, but true.

[centerchannel68]

I have a 24" with a 7600GT and 1 gig of ram. It's an incredible machine. I replaced my main system and my TV with it. It's great for watching movies, editing, or gaming. I can play Quake 4 or UT2004 max everything max res at very high FPS.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by earthlings 

...and the other stuff MACs.

I don't want to be an ass here, but people really need to stop mixing up MACs and Macs.

[earthlings]

I have a tendency to capitalize words. sorry

[Subnova]

What about this Mac Pro then?

* Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
* 2GB (4 x 512MB)
* 250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
* 2 x NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB
* Apple Cinema Display (20" flat panel)
* One 16x SuperDrive
* Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
* Mac OS X - U.S. English

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Subnova 

What about this Mac Pro then?
...

That system costs $3646. Even if you drop one of those 7300s you'll be paying $3497.

OTOH if you take a 24" iMac with a 2.33 GHz C2D and a GeForce 7600 GT that'll cost you $2549.

The MP certainly offers more raw power and it's much more expandable. OTOH the iMac is a grand cheaper, comes with a significantly better GPU, a larger screen and takes up a lot less space.

If you need the power or the expandability a MP is certainly justified. If not or if you're not so sure (which probably means no as well) I think the iMac is the better deal. Even in terms of longevity: if you chose to sell it and upgrade to a new iMac within the next year you could afford to lose 1k of value and you'd still have spent less than on the MP. Again, the MP is an awesome machine if you can really make use of its advantages. If you can't, you're wasting money.

[Subnova]

Do you think this MBP 17" is powerful?

* 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
* 160GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
* SuperDrive 8x (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
* MacBook Pro 17-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
* Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
* Accessory Kit

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Subnova 

Do you think this MBP 17" is powerful?
...

That depends very much on what you want to use it for. Of course for everyday tasks it is a very powerful system. But if you require several HDDs, PCI expansion, etc. it is not the right system. I think you first need to get a decent idea what your actual needs are and then spec out systems that fulfill those needs. Once you've done that, you can compare the systems against each other and decide which offers the most advantages and/or the best value.

[JKT]

I don't know if anyone else has posted this yet, but don't get your extra RAM from Apple - check other retailers first (e.g. Crucial) as it is likely to be much, much cheaper. However, do get good quality, tested RAM as no-name brands have the potential to cause you much grief via system instability.

[Subnova]

Well to just play Starcraft

Nah but seriously, I want this to be a worthy investment, like I can game with it. I can't wait to see what Bensone1 says though.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Subnova 

Well to just play Starcraft
Nah but seriously, I want this to be a worthy investment, like I can game with it. I can't wait to see what Bensone1 says though.

Hmm, if it's mainly about playing games well, I'd go for the MP with a 1900XT or the iMac with 7600GT. The former will be a lot more expensive, but you will be able to swap the GPU for something better further down the road. The latter is a good deal cheaper, but you will likely have to sell it off and get a new one if you want to upgrade to a better GPU (which OTOH has the advantage that you upgrade the CPU as well and get a new machine with a fresh warranty) .

IMHO you're deciding between:

MP - $3447
• Dual 2.0 GHz Xeon
• 2 GB RAM
• 250 GB HDD, 16x DL
• ATI X1900 XT, 512 MB
• 20" ACD 1680x1050 ( add $300 for 23" ACD 1920x1200)
• add $79 for AP Extreme and BT

24" iMac - $2549
• 2.33 GHz C2D
• 2 GB RAM
• 250 GB HDD, 8x DL
• GeForce 7600 GT, 256 MB
• 24" TFT 1920x1200

Unless you're certain the games you want to play now will not run decently on the iMac, I wouldn't go for the considerably more expensive MP if I were you. But this is really your decision to make.

[bensone1]

it's coming in today!

[earthlings]

Your imac is coming in today???

[Cadaver]

Originally Posted by Subnova 

What about this Mac Pro then?

* Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
* 2GB (4 x 512MB)
* 250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
* 2 x NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB
* Apple Cinema Display (20" flat panel)
* One 16x SuperDrive
* Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
* Mac OS X - U.S. English

Why two GeForce 7300's?? I hope you don't expect to do SLI.

[bensone1]

ladys and gents! it finally came in today @ 3pm and i have been tinkering around with it ever since. first off, the freakin thing is huge. it has such a beautiful screen. and i am lucky to say that i have no dead pixels. updates ran fine... oh yeah, the screen is sooooo freakin bright, i have the brightness all the way down and its still pretty dand intense, but i like. got the bt kb and might mouse, impressed with them both. although it is taking some time to adjust the switch from the macbook keyboard to the bt keyboard, but it has a nice solid and nice feel to it. the mouse is awesome, took a little while to master the right click feature but all is good. i added 2 gigs to the machine, and all my rosetta apps are running very very very nice.... no problems from microsoft office or adobe. im loading world of warcraft right now so i am going to test that and see how that does. hmmmm... what else. it was a snap to put together. i was kinda freakin out when it didnt come with the apple protection plan in the with the box, so i called them up and apparently they already sign you up and you recive notification about it a week or two after you register, so that will be coming too. what else can i say.... its intense and i am very satisfied with my purchase, knowing that there might soon be an update to these things on the horizon... but im diggin this so life's good. let me know if there are any questions that i can help ya with on this....

oh yeah.... it smells awesome

[Subnova]

Originally Posted by Cadaver 

Why two GeForce 7300's?? I hope you don't expect to do SLI.

Yeah that was pretty dumb, I should go with the ati card at the moment, and just replace it when Ati releases there new cards soon.

Also Bensone1 awesome dude, congrats. Tell me how good WoW plays.

[iMacYouMac]

Your best option is to build your own PC and buying a Mac Mini/ Macbook/iMac. I wouldn't recommend gaming with the iMac because you can't update it and to game on the Mac Pro you'll spend close to $3500 because the 7300 sucks for games....period. Whether you hate XP or not, you're going to need it for gaming whether you're on a Mac or a PC. You can build a VERY capable gaming PC for 1500$ and get a Mac for around $1000. Check out my signature for ideas.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by bensone1 

ladys and gents!

I have the exact same machine, minus the BT keyboard and mouse, and only 1 gig of ram. Even with 1 gig, this thing flies with almost any game I throw at it. It plays everything I've loaded at max settings at full res without a problem. And I avoided the BT mouse and keyboard for two reasons:

1. The mighty mouse is not very ergonomic. I tried using one, and my hand hurts after an hour. Plus, if you get any dirt on the little ball, I hear it's impossible to clean. No thanks

2. The current apple keyboard pisses me off. I call it the 'crumb catcher' style. I don't like how the keys are sitting in a tray with a raised lip, so all the dirt and crumbs and random crap can fall INTO the keyboard.

Anybody have any suggestions for keyboards that are mac-ish?

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by bensone1 

ladys and gents! it finally came in today @ 3pm and i have been tinkering around with it ever since. first off, the freakin thing is huge. it has such a beautiful screen. and i am lucky to say that i have no dead pixels. updates ran fine... oh yeah, the screen is sooooo freakin bright, i have the brightness all the way down and its still pretty dand intense, but i like. got the bt kb and might mouse, impressed with them both. although it is taking some time to adjust the switch from the macbook keyboard to the bt keyboard, but it has a nice solid and nice feel to it. the mouse is awesome, took a little while to master the right click feature but all is good. i added 2 gigs to the machine, and all my rosetta apps are running very very very nice.... no problems from microsoft office or adobe. im loading world of warcraft right now so i am going to test that and see how that does. hmmmm... what else. it was a snap to put together. i was kinda freakin out when it didnt come with the apple protection plan in the with the box, so i called them up and apparently they already sign you up and you recive notification about it a week or two after you register, so that will be coming too. what else can i say.... its intense and i am very satisfied with my purchase, knowing that there might soon be an update to these things on the horizon... but im diggin this so life's good. let me know if there are any questions that i can help ya with on this....

oh yeah.... it smells awesome

I hope you don't play to do any gaming with the mighty mouse...it's awful having to take your finger off of the primary click to right click. I really sucked it up at throwing grenades in Halo while I was trying out a Mighty Mouse.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by Gossamer 

I hope you don't play to do any gaming with the mighty mouse...it's awful having to take your finger off of the primary click to right click. I really sucked it up at throwing grenades in Halo while I was trying out a Mighty Mouse.

That too. I love this machine...but I'm using an MS mouse... much better

[Subnova]

So how fast are applications?

And do you game as well? How are the games?

[bensone1]

Originally Posted by Subnova 

So how fast are applications?

And do you game as well? How are the games?

all my rosetta apps run fast, cs2 is very nice...

i just bought battlefield 2142 today and have been giving that a workout... its so awesome. i got the graphics on the highest and its nice and smooth and have no problems. and actually it has been really easy to use the bt mighty mouse, it took me about 10-20 minutes to get used to it and it is fine to me... plus some of the posts on apple's discussions page say that it is pretty easy to clean the scroll ball, but i have been washin' the hands, slappin some hand sanitizer to make sure that everything is clean.... im just trying to keep everything immaculate. watched a movie on it today and it was great... i have been keeping the brightness on the lowest setting and it is still pretty darn bright. i will be sure to let you know how w.o.w. goes, right now i am installing the patch and our network here is so slow cause everyone is on it right now so i will have to wait until tomorrow to mess around with that. im going to post a picture as soon as i get everything organized.

[Subnova]

You've given me alot of hope and certainty over these past few days with your impressions, thank you.

Please post screenshots of the games running on your Mac...and I'd love to see what the Mac looks like too.

Sounds awesome, can't wait to get mine now

Oh and did you get any speakers?

[bensone1]

Originally Posted by Subnova 

Oh and did you get any speakers?

I am currently using a audio jack connected to my panisonic speaker system and i figured that since these things sound good and still work that i might as well just stick with these things until they go out. once that happens though i will get the harman kardon soundsticks II

im gonna post some pics later on today when i get some free time, and glad that i could help

[Subnova]

So I guess ben has been enjoying his mac too much to be posting here.

[bensone1]

alright, sorry this took so long.... this week was so busy and i actually wasnt able to spend that much time with my new baby. but here my flicker sight where you can see the setup when i first got it (i will get a better pic up later tonight) and also a screenshot from world of warcraft (still working on what settings i can max and what not). so enjoy and i will post some more. oh i will be sure to get some photos up from battlefield 2142.

Flickr: Photos from bensone86

let me know if there are any problems getting to this thing, i just made it.

[Subnova]

WoW looks great man, what resolution are you playing it on? I assume you've maxed out everything.

Thanks for the pics ben! I'd love for you to go into detail about your experience with the iMac some more, and keep me drooling till mine arrives next week.

[bensone1]

Originally Posted by Subnova 

Thanks for the pics ben! I'd love for you to go into detail about your experience with the iMac some more, and keep me drooling till mine arrives next week.

so you finally decided to get one?! congrats! did you get the specs that you listed before? WoW is running on th 1900Xwhatever it is widescreen.

[Subnova]

Yeah I ordered it on the 7th, and they still haven't shipped it out...my guess is by Monday they will and I'll get it Thursday.

Also I got 500gb of storage space instead of 250.

What are your specs? I assume you got the 2gb of RAM Geforce 7600 GT 256MB, 2.33ghz