this is definitely one area where we are not being spec whores. it IS a SATA 7200rpm, but xBench clearly shows some hold-up in the hard disk department... so yeah, HD performance needs to flow better next rev... otherwise, it's just a waste of a SATA 7200rpm !! and the next iMac rev will be 100gb starting sweet!!
AppleStore UK has reduced iMac availability to 2 days, and increased eMac availability to 2 days. So I'm wondering if really it was just a temporary supply issue and we're not expecting a new upgrade after all?
AppleStore UK has reduced iMac availability to 2 days, and increased eMac availability to 2 days. So I'm wondering if really it was just a temporary supply issue and we're not expecting a new upgrade after all?
A number of international stores are listing 1-2 days now.Maybe that means nothing is coming but maybe it means new machines next week.It is time for an upgrade,well at least for a company that doesnt like its products to rot on the shelf (does Apple fit that description?).Anyway my 4+ year old imac is about dead so I will need a new machine soon.If Apple doesnt release a new imac soon I will go for the mini and Apple looses money because I wont pay for a computer released half a year ago!
Well I've been wanting a new computer for ages and have 99.9% made up my mind to get an Apple (potential "switcher" here, never had a Mac before) but since discovering sites like this it's made it really hard! First I wanted an eMac back in the days when the old iMac G4 was out because it seemed a very similar spec for half the price, then the new iMac came out and I was really tempted but the price seemed a little high for my needs, then the Mac mini came out so I wondered if I should consider that, then there's been rumours in this site about a new eMac and new iMac coming soon! Every time I think I'll get one something seems to happen to put me off!
Although the AppleStore UK has reduced availability times, a couple of UK-based resellers have cut their prices on the base model iMac between £50 and £70. Since discounts on any Apple machine seem extremely rare from any reseller, this makes me wonder if they are soon to be replaced and they're selling off their stock at a slightly lower price.
I know you can't just hang around and wait for upgrades for ever, but I don't want to buy a machine that's just about to be replaced not so much because I'll be cross I don't have the latest spec - I don't need the power anyway - but lately when Apple releases new specs, they seem to lower the price at the same time, and cost is an issue with me. Also, if they bring out new machines you can sometimes get the older versions at a big discount.
I think I'll wait until early next week - if there's no new announcements by then I'll just buy one, I've been waiting long enough.
Well I've been wanting a new computer for ages and have 99.9% made up my mind to get an Apple (potential "switcher" here, never had a Mac before) but since discovering sites like this it's made it really hard! First I wanted an eMac back in the days when the old iMac G4 was out because it seemed a very similar spec for half the price, then the new iMac came out and I was really tempted but the price seemed a little high for my needs, then the Mac mini came out so I wondered if I should consider that, then there's been rumours in this site about a new eMac and new iMac coming soon! Every time I think I'll get one something seems to happen to put me off!
Although the AppleStore UK has reduced availability times, a couple of UK-based resellers have cut their prices on the base model iMac between £50 and £70. Since discounts on any Apple machine seem extremely rare from any reseller, this makes me wonder if they are soon to be replaced and they're selling off their stock at a slightly lower price.
I know you can't just hang around and wait for upgrades for ever, but I don't want to buy a machine that's just about to be replaced not so much because I'll be cross I don't have the latest spec - I don't need the power anyway - but lately when Apple releases new specs, they seem to lower the price at the same time, and cost is an issue with me. Also, if they bring out new machines you can sometimes get the older versions at a big discount.
I think I'll wait until early next week - if there's no new announcements by then I'll just buy one, I've been waiting long enough.
yeah rSteve, best to use this forum to get buying advice on your first mac. once you buy your first mac, then you can come back and praise it to the skies on how awesome it is... then you can start bitching about this and that and speculate on the latest greatest thing
GET YOUR MAC FIRST!! ANY ONE. YOU WONT REGRET IT...! then you can join in on the whining and speculatin'
a Mac Mini is good, because you can use your existing monitor and mouse... get an Apple or Apple-like keyboard though, it will help with your Switching
trust me
(keep your two-button mouse with scroll wheel, it will work with Mac)
Thanks for the advice I'll be buying a Mac within the next week - availability at AppleStore UK is back to the standard within 24 hours on both iMacs and eMacs so I'm going to wait until the end of Tuesday this week. If no updates are announced by then then screw it, I'm getting one.
I bought an iMac at the end of January (surely a sign updates are imminent..) and I'm very happy with it. I was going to wait for a possible revision, then I thought I may as well wait for Tiger too and save myself £70. Eventually I realised this was going to take ages, I had the money, I needed (yes, needed) a computer soon and just went for it.
I figured that even if there was a jump to 2GHz that it probably wouldn't be that noticeable in the real world, I don't play games so the gpu is good enough, and although more ram would be good I'd still want to buy a third party upgrade anyway.
It might be worth waiting until wednesday night rather than tuesday, but whenever you decide to take the plunge I hope you'll be very happy with a Mac.
Okay well I waited as long as I could but yesterday I cracked and ordered the basic iMac G5 1.6GHz. I upgraded the memory to 512Mb but left the rest alone as it's already probably over-specced for my needs - but I just love its looks and quietness so much it'll be perfect for my tiny open-plan apartment.
Its estimated despatch date is the 10th March. So if Apple updates them by Wednesday 9th, could I cancel the order?
I did a price-match with a rival site and got it for about £70 less than the standard on-line Applestore price.
MY FIRST MAC after two PCs - you guys have a CONVERT!
I think the iMac G5 is a great computer, regardless of the graphics package. I can't wait to see what improvements that Apple makes to the Rev. B, whenever that model sees the light of day.
I just really hope the Mac world is all you make it out to be! Windows is crappy but I KNOW it - kind of better the devil you know!
So long as you get a good system (which is likely), I think you'll be happy. I'm perpetually surprised at how fast my mom's 1.6 GHz iMac is for some common tasks, even with the stock 256 MB of RAM.
I just really hope the Mac world is all you make it out to be! Windows is crappy but I KNOW it - kind of better the devil you know!
with us appleinsider geniuses around, you're Switching experience stands a bloody good chance of being bloody awesome
you in the UK? UK/EU has some pretty good money-back policies should anything bug you or not come up to expectations... (once we've had our chance on this forum to help ya out....
...okay now i am off to leave my iBook for a while and figure out my parents 10 year old hardware and printer which just died yesterday \ better the devil you know indeed.....! ARHGHGHGHAHRHGHGHARHHGGHGHGHGHHGHG
jesus christ new printers nowadays have only a 1 year warranty standard... hats off to good OL' HP, our DeskJet 520 has worked fine for 10 years
Okay well I waited as long as I could but yesterday I cracked and ordered the basic iMac G5 1.6GHz. I upgraded the memory to 512Mb but left the rest alone as it's already probably over-specced for my needs - but I just love its looks and quietness so much it'll be perfect for my tiny open-plan apartment.
Its estimated despatch date is the 10th March. So if Apple updates them by Wednesday 9th, could I cancel the order?
I did a price-match with a rival site and got it for about less than the standard on-line Applestore price.
MY FIRST MAC after two PCs - you guys have a CONVERT!
Apple has a 10 day policy for new products, so you could buy the 9th and return it on the 19th.
Whatever happens you can be guaranteed that scads of posters will complain about the video card and the CPU/bus speed. These folks are just misguided.
iMacs have always had entirely adequate video systems. They tend to have very inadequate amounts of base RAM, small HDDs, and underspec'd opticals.
1299 for a combo-drive, 80GB, and 256MB of RAM?
Make it a super, 160GB and 512, and even if they don't touch the CPU/bus/GPU, they've just made it a much more credible offering. Those are improvements that would make a far better All-in-ONE machine than CPU/GPU bumps, since the buyer won't have to go out and get any extra RAM or storage, and will be able make full use of iLife without any additional fuss -- isn't that supposed to be the point of an AIO to begin with?
Apple, stop skimping on the important stuff. And BTW, drop the combo-drive 17 to 999, it's not worth more than that.
iMacs have always had entirely adequate video systems. They tend to have very inadequate amounts of base RAM, small HDDs, and underspec'd opticals.
I agree with your post because I'm not a GPU head. However, it's all about what a particular user wants and needs. Some might argue that the hard drives are more than adequate and they'll never use a Superdrive so why should they have to pay for one. Gamers want fast GPUs. I doubt anyone would argue on the RAM issue. It's 2005; time for all computers to come with at least 512MB, with extra slots for more.
matsu, i HATE the constant whining about GPUs... but i'm gonna have to say the next iMac g5 will have to have GPU improvement.
here's my reasons:
1. imac g5 is an all-in-one for general purpose
2. part of this purpose includes gaming
3. 256mb is actually okay for most tasks..
4. in the pee cee world GPU advancements have been and continue to be *massive* apple would be pretty stupid not to take advantage of this
5. core image in Tiger 10.4
i guess it would be a bit of a tussle between us appleinsiders to see what we think is more important for the iMac, balancing GPU, speed, RAM, HD, optical drive improvements
Comments
Originally posted by trout
... get the HD right ....
this is definitely one area where we are not being spec whores. it IS a SATA 7200rpm, but xBench clearly shows some hold-up in the hard disk department... so yeah, HD performance needs to flow better next rev... otherwise, it's just a waste of a SATA 7200rpm !! and the next iMac rev will be 100gb starting
Originally posted by RSteve
AppleStore UK has reduced iMac availability to 2 days, and increased eMac availability to 2 days. So I'm wondering if really it was just a temporary supply issue and we're not expecting a new upgrade after all?
A number of international stores are listing 1-2 days now.Maybe that means nothing is coming but maybe it means new machines next week.It is time for an upgrade,well at least for a company that doesnt like its products to rot on the shelf (does Apple fit that description?).Anyway my 4+ year old imac is about dead so I will need a new machine soon.If Apple doesnt release a new imac soon I will go for the mini and Apple looses money because I wont pay for a computer released half a year ago!
Although the AppleStore UK has reduced availability times, a couple of UK-based resellers have cut their prices on the base model iMac between £50 and £70. Since discounts on any Apple machine seem extremely rare from any reseller, this makes me wonder if they are soon to be replaced and they're selling off their stock at a slightly lower price.
I know you can't just hang around and wait for upgrades for ever, but I don't want to buy a machine that's just about to be replaced not so much because I'll be cross I don't have the latest spec - I don't need the power anyway - but lately when Apple releases new specs, they seem to lower the price at the same time, and cost is an issue with me. Also, if they bring out new machines you can sometimes get the older versions at a big discount.
I think I'll wait until early next week - if there's no new announcements by then I'll just buy one, I've been waiting long enough.
Originally posted by RSteve
Well I've been wanting a new computer for ages and have 99.9% made up my mind to get an Apple (potential "switcher" here, never had a Mac before) but since discovering sites like this it's made it really hard! First I wanted an eMac back in the days when the old iMac G4 was out because it seemed a very similar spec for half the price, then the new iMac came out and I was really tempted but the price seemed a little high for my needs, then the Mac mini came out so I wondered if I should consider that, then there's been rumours in this site about a new eMac and new iMac coming soon! Every time I think I'll get one something seems to happen to put me off!
Although the AppleStore UK has reduced availability times, a couple of UK-based resellers have cut their prices on the base model iMac between £50 and £70. Since discounts on any Apple machine seem extremely rare from any reseller, this makes me wonder if they are soon to be replaced and they're selling off their stock at a slightly lower price.
I know you can't just hang around and wait for upgrades for ever, but I don't want to buy a machine that's just about to be replaced not so much because I'll be cross I don't have the latest spec - I don't need the power anyway - but lately when Apple releases new specs, they seem to lower the price at the same time, and cost is an issue with me. Also, if they bring out new machines you can sometimes get the older versions at a big discount.
I think I'll wait until early next week - if there's no new announcements by then I'll just buy one, I've been waiting long enough.
yeah rSteve, best to use this forum to get buying advice on your first mac. once you buy your first mac, then you can come back and praise it to the skies on how awesome it is... then you can start bitching about this and that and speculate on the latest greatest thing
GET YOUR MAC FIRST!! ANY ONE. YOU WONT REGRET IT...! then you can join in on the whining and speculatin'
a Mac Mini is good, because you can use your existing monitor and mouse... get an Apple or Apple-like keyboard though, it will help with your Switching
trust me
(keep your two-button mouse with scroll wheel, it will work with Mac)
I figured that even if there was a jump to 2GHz that it probably wouldn't be that noticeable in the real world, I don't play games so the gpu is good enough, and although more ram would be good I'd still want to buy a third party upgrade anyway.
It might be worth waiting until wednesday night rather than tuesday, but whenever you decide to take the plunge I hope you'll be very happy with a Mac.
Originally posted by Chagi
512MB RAM is a no-brainer with the next iMac update, I'm quite sure that all Mac models will migrate to this as a base config within 2005.
It certainly isnt. It its a no-brainer then Apple would have put 512 Mb in it at the same time as the rest of the industry. 12 months ago!
Its estimated despatch date is the 10th March. So if Apple updates them by Wednesday 9th, could I cancel the order?
I did a price-match with a rival site and got it for about £70 less than the standard on-line Applestore price.
MY FIRST MAC after two PCs - you guys have a CONVERT!
Originally posted by RSteve
I just really hope the Mac world is all you make it out to be! Windows is crappy but I KNOW it - kind of better the devil you know!
So long as you get a good system (which is likely), I think you'll be happy. I'm perpetually surprised at how fast my mom's 1.6 GHz iMac is for some common tasks, even with the stock 256 MB of RAM.
Originally posted by RSteve
I just really hope the Mac world is all you make it out to be! Windows is crappy but I KNOW it - kind of better the devil you know!
with us appleinsider geniuses around, you're Switching experience stands a bloody good chance of being bloody awesome
you in the UK? UK/EU has some pretty good money-back policies should anything bug you or not come up to expectations... (once we've had our chance on this forum to help ya out....
...okay now i am off to leave my iBook for a while and figure out my parents 10 year old hardware and printer which just died yesterday
jesus christ new printers nowadays have only a 1 year warranty standard... hats off to good OL' HP, our DeskJet 520 has worked fine for 10 years
Originally posted by RSteve
I just really hope the Mac world is all you make it out to be! Windows is crappy but I KNOW it - kind of better the devil you know!
Windows = Hell. Microsoft = Satan. Yea,that sums it up nicely.
Originally posted by RSteve
Okay well I waited as long as I could but yesterday I cracked and ordered the basic iMac G5 1.6GHz. I upgraded the memory to 512Mb but left the rest alone as it's already probably over-specced for my needs - but I just love its looks and quietness so much it'll be perfect for my tiny open-plan apartment.
Its estimated despatch date is the 10th March. So if Apple updates them by Wednesday 9th, could I cancel the order?
I did a price-match with a rival site and got it for about less than the standard on-line Applestore price.
MY FIRST MAC after two PCs - you guys have a CONVERT!
Apple has a 10 day policy for new products, so you could buy the 9th and return it on the 19th.
iMacs have always had entirely adequate video systems. They tend to have very inadequate amounts of base RAM, small HDDs, and underspec'd opticals.
1299 for a combo-drive, 80GB, and 256MB of RAM?
Make it a super, 160GB and 512, and even if they don't touch the CPU/bus/GPU, they've just made it a much more credible offering. Those are improvements that would make a far better All-in-ONE machine than CPU/GPU bumps, since the buyer won't have to go out and get any extra RAM or storage, and will be able make full use of iLife without any additional fuss -- isn't that supposed to be the point of an AIO to begin with?
Apple, stop skimping on the important stuff. And BTW, drop the combo-drive 17 to 999, it's not worth more than that.
Originally posted by Matsu
iMacs have always had entirely adequate video systems. They tend to have very inadequate amounts of base RAM, small HDDs, and underspec'd opticals.
I agree with your post because I'm not a GPU head. However, it's all about what a particular user wants and needs. Some might argue that the hard drives are more than adequate and they'll never use a Superdrive so why should they have to pay for one. Gamers want fast GPUs. I doubt anyone would argue on the RAM issue. It's 2005; time for all computers to come with at least 512MB, with extra slots for more.
here's my reasons:
1. imac g5 is an all-in-one for general purpose
2. part of this purpose includes gaming
3. 256mb is actually okay for most tasks..
4. in the pee cee world GPU advancements have been and continue to be *massive* apple would be pretty stupid not to take advantage of this
5. core image in Tiger 10.4
i guess it would be a bit of a tussle between us appleinsiders to see what we think is more important for the iMac, balancing GPU, speed, RAM, HD, optical drive improvements