17inch imac or dual 867?

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I am trying to decide whether or not to spend the extra money and get a low end tower or just go with a 17inch imac. The imac has a super drive, a larger hd, and a flat wide screen moniter. Does anyone think it is worth not spending the extra bucks and just sticking with this for now?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    jambojambo Posts: 3,036member
    Moving to General Discussion...
  • Reply 1 of 8
    im looking at the same option..



    very tricky.



    ..but as someone pointed out - when you get rid of the imac - you lose a nice lcd display..whilst with the tower you can chop and change.



    im going with the tower.
  • Reply 3 of 8
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    What are you going to be doing with the computer? A PM might be more power then you need.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    I just went through the same analysis. I was ready to buy the imac, but was swayed at the last minute to get the dual 867. Here was my reasoning:



    1. I think there is slightly more screen real estate on the 17 inch studio display than on the imac 17 inch.

    2. Can swap the display when they come out with a new one (such as a 19 inch widescreen)

    3. Can add a second display to tower

    4. Some high-end programs that you may never use might work better with a tower (the specs for DVD Studio Pro say they require a g4 mac with 4x AGP graphics card, while the imac says it has a 2x card).

    5. I can swap graphics cards when better ones are available, and I think even add PCI sound cards (even though most things are now available in firewire or usb, you never know...what if they come out with some kind of usb2 or firewire2 upgrade that's available as a pci card?)

    6. I can add seventy-five billion gigabytes of hard drive space in the tower (ok, a slight exaggeration but you get the point)

    7. I can use the chrome drive door as a mirror to floss my teeth when bored.



    I'm awaiting shipment on the dualie...I'll let you know if I'm happy with my decision...

  • Reply 5 of 8
    willoughbywilloughby Posts: 1,457member
    [quote]Originally posted by AugustWest:

    <strong>7. I can use the chrome drive door as a mirror to floss my teeth when bored.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>





    You can use the chrome Apple on the iMac to floss your teeth as well.

  • Reply 6 of 8
    i want to use my new mac for 70-80% fun and 20-30% serious graphic design. (in company working on 450mhz G4, 576 mbram, 21" crt monitor)



    so here's my list why going for the imac 17":



    + all in one system with very stylish design

    + the cinema display is perfect for layout in xpress or indesign

    + i'm no prepress studio and therefore is no need for the possibility of an absolutely colorproof monitor

    + less expensive than cheapest powermac with 17" studi display

    + don't want a big "19" or 21"9 crt monitor in ugly grey "pc-colour" at home.

    + don't need big video cards for print layouting

    + it's fun to show people that you can do superior work on such a system than on their double expensive mega monsters ;-)



    the only negative aspect for me is the superdrive which is much too slow in cd burning (8x!!)



    hope it helps



    [ 08-21-2002: Message edited by: schrumpl ]</p>
  • Reply 7 of 8
    [quote]Originally posted by schrumpl:

    <strong>the only negative aspect for me is the superdrive which is much too slow in cd burning (8x!!)



    hope it helps



    [ 08-21-2002: Message edited by: schrumpl ]</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I think you'll be fine with the imac. You could always add an external firewire or usb cd writer, right? And besides, if history serves repeats itself, you might get a good resale value out of the imac if you ever need to upgrade...
  • Reply 8 of 8
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    [quote]Originally posted by EmAn:

    <strong>A PM might be more power then you need.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />



    *wipes tear from eye*



    Oh that's good stuff... <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />





    If you already have a monitor, get the tower. I have never been impressed with the quality of the LCD on the iMacs (15" or 17").
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