I've decided to buy an iMac. How should I configure it?
The programs I'll be using will be primarily: Safari, IE, IM, MS Office, iLife, Dreamweaver, and Photoshop. I know I'm getting an Airport Extreme card for our wireless network and APP to protect it for 3 years, but what else do you guys suggest for my needs?
1. 512MB RAM or 1GB? How much faster would it be?
2. 80GB hard drive or 160GB? How fast does 80GB fill up, like how many songs/pictures/programs would it be?
3. Bluetooth? What would it be good for other than a wireless keyboard and mouse?
4. 17" or 20"?
Thanks for your suggestions!
1. 512MB RAM or 1GB? How much faster would it be?
2. 80GB hard drive or 160GB? How fast does 80GB fill up, like how many songs/pictures/programs would it be?
3. Bluetooth? What would it be good for other than a wireless keyboard and mouse?
4. 17" or 20"?
Thanks for your suggestions!
Comments
if you get the 20 you start with a 160gig hd anyway so the only question there is if 90 extra gigs is worth $100 ($90 edu)...
And congratulations on the decision to buy the G5 iMac. This looks like a very, very good bit of computing hardware.
Originally posted by BRussell
For RAM, I'd have Apple bump it up to 512, and then you'd have one free RAM slot if you want to buy more yourself (cheaper).
Yeah, but how much of a difference would 1GB of RAM make for my needs? Also, if I get it from Apple, it's under warranty and it's not THAT much more expensive than if I bought it elsewhere.
Originally posted by McCrab
Assuming that this will need to last you 3-4 years, I would get at least 512MB RAM (preferrably 1GB) and the 160GB hard drive (or the 250GB - even better). I remain to be convinced that BT mouse and keyboard is a good idea and have a preference for the reliably old-fashioned wired versions (unless of course you need to sync with other mobile devices).
And congratulations on the decision to buy the G5 iMac. This looks like a very, very good bit of computing hardware.
Thanks! It's time for me to get a new Mac and every time I use the new iMac in the Apple Store, I like it more and more even though I hate the only ok graphics card. Well, I'm not really a computer gamer anyway and I don't do intensive graphics work.
About the BT, I agree. I don't mind the wires and I don't want to worry about batteries and possible delayed response times.
About the HD, how fast do you think 80 GB would fill up?
Originally posted by dferigmu
About the HD, how fast do you think 80 GB would fill up?
Depends what you're going to do with it. Video eats drivespace. Superdrives help.
You could always use an external drive too, but perhaps not the bang/buck.
Originally posted by dferigmu
About the HD, how fast do you think 80 GB would fill up?
I have a powerbook with an 80GB Hard drive. I have installed many programs (photoshop, indesign, games, etc.) and have about half my drive taken up. I think that unless you are going to do video editing or have a large amount of music 80GB should be fine for a while.
Originally posted by dferigmu
Yeah, but how much of a difference would 1GB of RAM make for my needs? Also, if I get it from Apple, it's under warranty and it's not THAT much more expensive than if I bought it elsewhere.
You could get an extra 512 MB RAM DIMM for $150 from Apple, but you could certainly get one for under $100 from a third party. Far be it for me to want you to save money though.
Whatever you do though, I think it would be a good idea to have Apple replace the 256 with a 512, because it will probably save you money in the long run.
When you get your new iMac, I would partition the drive into OS X , Data. This will protect you from OS X getting hosed and taking your data with it. This will also allow you to do a full clean install when ever you require it (rare) and when you do a full OS upgrade (Tiger, etc). Doing full format install of the OS drastically cuts down potential problems with the OS happening. Now cleaning out your library folder when you do an OS upgrade/clean install is a different story since your User Home folder is stored on your Data drive.
Dedicating 50GB for OS and Apps will give you enough space for OS and apps over the next 4-5 years. Also having a SuperDrive is indispensable, since you are able to backup 4.7GB of data per disc.
Hope this helps.
Originally posted by Mac Write
Go for the 1.8GHZ/20" screen. bump the drive up to 250GB you will thank me down the road when you need the space. Add the Bluetooth module since it is internal and CAN'T BE ADDED AT A LATER DATE. Bump the RAM to 512MB from Apple then go to Kingstons iMac G5 page, and you will see they sell 1GB RAM Modulle for $415. Kingston is quality RAM and is the only way I would go. You can knock the price down a bit by buying Kingston Value RAM. Same quality as the more expensive Kingston RAM.
When you get your new iMac, I would partition the drive into OS X , Data. This will protect you from OS X getting hosed and taking your data with it. This will also allow you to do a full clean install when ever you require it (rare) and when you do a full OS upgrade (Tiger, etc). Doing full format install of the OS drastically cuts down potential problems with the OS happening. Now cleaning out your library folder when you do an OS upgrade/clean install is a different story since your User Home folder is stored on your Data drive.
Dedicating 50GB for OS and Apps will give you enough space for OS and apps over the next 4-5 years. Also having a SuperDrive is indispensable, since you are able to backup 4.7GB of data per disc.
Hope this helps.
It helps, but I have about a $2000 limit that I want to spend. How will Bluetooth help me down-the-road and how do you partition the hard drive?
Bluetooth can be added internally later but it is something that should be done by an Apple store or retailer. You can easily add a third party plug in part later and may be superior anyway to what Apple puts inside.
I got 2 sticks of 512 RAM at 8004Umemory.com for $71 a stick. My iMac flies. Memorytogo.com was the same price but shipping was a little higher. Both fully guarantee their memory. Go to ramseeker.com to find best prices.
Good luck with your iMac. You will love it. It is the best iMac yet.
Originally posted by kcmac
I would not consider partitioning the hard drive. There are plenty of threads that you could search for on this topic. Basically, you will always wish your partition was either smaller or larger and there isn't much you can do about it. And there really isn't any need for it with OS X.
Bluetooth can be added internally later but it is something that should be done by an Apple store or retailer. You can easily add a third party plug in part later and may be superior anyway to what Apple puts inside.
I got 2 sticks of 512 RAM at 8004Umemory.com for $71 a stick. My iMac flies. Memorytogo.com was the same price but shipping was a little higher. Both fully guarantee their memory. Go to ramseeker.com to find best prices.
Good luck with your iMac. You will love it. It is the best iMac yet.
Yeah, I've had bad experiences with partitioning hard drives. About RAM, getting 1GB from Apple is about $200 extra with the education discount and it's under warranty. If I bought RAM myself, is it still under warranty?
Originally posted by dferigmu
It helps, but I have about a $2000 limit that I want to spend. How will Bluetooth help me down-the-road and how do you partition the hard drive?
Partitioning is easy, since everyone will agree that a clean install of your new iMac when you get it is good since it can sometimes be wacky.
Partitioning is really easy. for people who say one partition is all you need, haven't had the OS hose, or done a proper clean install. I have seen countless times where a partitioned HD OS/App and Data would have saved data etc.
30-40GB partition for OS and Apps will be right, that still leaves you with 200-210GB for Data (not sure what the actual space is on a 250GB).
MS Office, Dreamweaver, Photoshop will take 1.5GB-2GB of space max over the next 4-5 years. Now iLife is a different story. Full installed that takes up 4.5GB of space currently for iLife. But if you are into GarageBand and add JamPacks or other add-ons, boom space goes up. Add 5GB for the OS over the net five years and you have a total space requirement of 15GB without JamPacks or other Garage Band Add ons. going with a 30-40GB OS/Apps partition would cover you for expansion of the apps you use+ some future games etc. Games on average are not 2GB+each. I Strongly recommend as someone who is a Mac consultant and has seen people's computers and worked on them go with a OS X and Data Partition. Also id you want to delve into other OS's or pre-releases (if you go for the ADC membership) then a spare 5GB partition for that would be good as welll.
You can always add an external Firewire HD at a later date if you run low on space. 210GB for Data should be plenty for you. storing music at 320kbps AAC, 2,500 songs would only take up 25GB.
I have asked Apple and you can not add the Bluetooth module at a later date. The reason you would want it, is for if and when you get a cell-phone with bluetooth. OS X and a bluetooth cellphone are amazing. leave your phone on beside your Mac, get an incoming call and the name and number (if the person is in your addressbook on your phone or Mac) will appear on your screen. You can also use bluetooth as a remote to control iTunes, etc. Well woth the investment of the $50 now to cover yourself.
- 17'
- 1.8GHZ
- 256MB
- 250GB
- Bluetooth
- Airport Extreme
- AppleCare
- $1,997.00
Get this setup, and dump the AppleCare for not, and buy it in 11 months. This will save you $170 right now and you can buy it before your one yesar Apple care warranty is up and still have the 3 years of protection. Do that and put the $170 savings towards 2x512MB RAM. This I think would be the best route.Originally posted by Paul
how do you set it up so that your home folder is on a different partition?
Extremely simple:[list=1][*]Open /Applications/Utilities/Net Info Manager[*]Authenticate with an admin Username and Password[*]click on Users[*]Then your short user name[*]click on home folder path which is /Users/username[*]add /Volumes/partition name/ in front of users[*]click on a different user name[*]click to confirm on the next 2 dialogues[*]logout and back in again[/list=1]
Now move all the files from OS X partiton/Users/username to your new home folder and your done.
That's it.
Originally posted by kcmac
...Basically, you will always wish your partition was either smaller or larger and there isn't much you can do about it. And there really isn't any need for it with OS X. ...
This is a somewhat funny argument. But the funniest thing about that argument is: it is TRUE
I would not consider partitioning the hard drive.
i support that.
120GB Drive: 85GB OS X, 20GB OS 9 (Last OS 9 machine made so it's my OS 9 machine indefently), 5GB testing drive.
160GB Drive: Home Folder and Data
200GB Drive: Will be for archived files (files that have been backedup) which I will be getting soon.
The only time you should partition is when you can't have your OS and apps on a physically separate drive from your Data. My 85GB OS/Apps partition is over-kill now (50GB free) but I don't know what apps I will have in the future, and since I am using a tower, most pros have a dedicated OS/Apps Drive, and a scratch drive. in my case I have OS Apps, and a Data Drive.
Basicly only use partitions for OS/Apps, and Data, and when ever possible use physical drives instead of partitions.
Originally posted by dferigmu
About the HD, how fast do you think 80 GB would fill up?
If you plan to be a serious user of the iLife suite, 80GB will fill up fairly quickly. Here are a few rules of thumb:
iTunes - 1,000 songs - 5 GB
iPhoto - 1,000 photos - 2 GB (using a 6MP camera)
iMovie - 5 minutes of DV footage takes approximately 1GB.
In addition, an average applications folder will take up 4-5 GB.
If you can afford it, I would go with the largest disk possible (250GB). Alternatively, you could go with 160GB internal and buy a cheap 80GB FW external and use this as a backup disk (or if you plan to use FCE or something, as your scratch disk).
Some questions:
1. What are the differences between 2 DIMM's and one DIMM? If I buy 1 gb RAM consising of 2 DIMM's, will the capacity be equal to 1 gb RAM consisting of 1 DIMM? If so: does that mean that buying a 1 gb 2 DIMM setup is a bad pruchase compared to 1 512 1 DIMM setup?
2. I'm looking at an iMac g5 and I want to buy a bluetooth module because I can't insert it afterwards. But I can't aford buy it with the wireless keyboard and mouse. Can this be purchases and put to function later?
3. Do you need several bluetooth-modules if you need to do several bluetooth-tasks? i.e. one module for keyboard and mouse, another one for cellphone-connections etc?