What kind of iMac would you buy for $1800

jasonpp

G4 1Ghz +

512 MB 266DDR RAM

100 GB HD 7200 RPM Ultra ATA 100

15.4" wide screen LCD from PB

Airport 2 and Bluetooth built in

wireless keyboard and multibutton optical roller mouse

SuperDrive

Geforce 3 (how old is this card?)

multi monitor spanning support

NO FAN

No NOISE

LCD footprint

MS Mac Office X bundled

Option to add an iPod for $199.

spiffyguyc

That isn't an iMac, it's a pro machine. I will not buy an iMac that costs more than $1600. $1800 is more than an iBook, for crying out loud. Apple would never go with such a pricing scheme on their most consumer-oriented device. I don't know why we are even discussing it.



$1800 for an iMac is absurd. I would drop it on a cube, however, with the features you describe.



-S

eman

[quote]Originally posted by JasonPP:

<strong>

Geforce 3 (how old is this card?)

</strong><hr></blockquote>



It was introduced last year at MacWorld Tokyo.



[ 01-04-2002: Message edited by: EmAn ]</p>

o and a

geforce 3 is also one of the better cards out there



oh and um i would not pay 1800 for an imac EVER



try more like 1499 and that would be 800 mhz g4 flat panel or crt i dont' care and 256megs of ram or 128 ram is so cheap i'll jsut add it myself if i want to and with an 80 gig hard drive and geforce 2mx thtas a decent machine a machine that cost 2500 as a tower currently

outsider

The kind that came with an instant $1000 rebate.

brussell

Considering that the current low-end PowerMac is $2300 including 15" LCD display (not including any specials), I think there is a ton of room above the top iMac ($1500).



I'd prefer it if the PowerMacs came down in price, but if the value of the iMacs and PowerMacs increase enough, it has the same effect.



The LCD iMac will take the place of the Cube in the line-up, and the CRT iMacs will stay at the low-end.

junkyard dawg

$1800 iMac:



17" LCD display

1 GHz G4

266 MHz bus, ddr RAM

GeForce 2mx

CD-RW/DVD-ROM

60 GB HD

256 MB RAM



I think this would be worth it. I would buy such a Mac for sure, it's got a nice display, fast cpu and mobo, and it IS a value for what it offers.



One thing most people have overlooked:



Perhaps this new iMac DOES top out at $1800, and it's because the new iMac has two different screen sizes. 15", and 16" or 17". The displays could just snap into an ADC port on a swivel, and this way a single base for the iMac would be made, with everything but the display. This would also have the advanatage of allowing Apple to change displays easily, without changing the enitire form factor. This would be important since if Apple plans to use this design for as long as the last iMac, displays would drop in price and Apple would want to change displays to keep the new iMac competitive.



In a sense, it would be the result of Apple having learned from the mistake of the original iMac. It still uses a cheesy 15" CRT display, because to add a different display would entail redesigning the whole iMac. If the display were housed separately from the base unit, it would solve this problem,

kidred

One with a G5 in it.

imacfp

[quote]Originally posted by BRussell:

<strong>

The LCD iMac will take the place of the Cube in the line-up, and the CRT iMacs will stay at the low-end.</strong><hr></blockquote>



Perhaps so but Apple would still need a good $1,200 and $1,499 model with an LCD. Having the same form factor below $1,800 would do nothing to solve the iMacs short comings.



[quote]Originally posted by Junkyard Dawg:

<strong>

Perhaps this new iMac DOES top out at $1800, and it's because the new iMac has two different screen sizes. 15", and 16" or 17". The displays could just snap into an ADC port on a swivel, and this way a single base for the iMac would be made, with everything but the display. </strong><hr></blockquote>



That sounds good, but could be complex for Apple to manage. They would have to deal with three types of displays: the iMacs 15" CRT, three snap in displays, and three or more studio displays.



[ 01-04-2002: Message edited by: imacSE ]</p>

applenut

I will never pay 1800 for something that has a fixed screen size and no expansion other than RAM.



I will never pay more than 1500 actually.

eman

[quote]Originally posted by applenut:

<strong>I will never pay 1800 for something that has a fixed screen size and no expansion other than RAM.



I will never pay more than 1500 actually.</strong><hr></blockquote>



I wouldn't either and I don't think many people would.

junkyard dawg

It wouldn't be that complicated. Apple could have a single iMac base unit, and two different snap-in displays. That's fewer models to deal with than back when there were 5 different colors.



The old iMac form factor could be offered in only one color, thus simplifying everything.



Since the snap-in displays could ONLY be used with iMacs, they would be separate from the ASDs, and they would probably be lower quality LCD screens to save on cost.

macaddict

I would never pay over $200 for a computer that isn't expandable, i.e. upgradable graphics card, PCI slots, and room for a few additional HD's.



I am sorry I never realized the prime shortcoming in my G4 when I bought it?no second drive bay.

mslee

I would.

junkyard dawg

Yeah, the lack of an extra drive bay on the Powermacs is inexcusable when one considers the price of those towers.



I'm convinced it's because Apple gets royalties off of each Firewire sale. So everytime a Powermac owner buys a new optical drive that's Firewire, Apple makes extra money that they wouldn't have if they had offered the tower with an extra drive bay. That's the only explanation that makes sense to me.

steve666

I wouldn't buy an iMac with a 15 in LCD for more than $1299. At $1800 I wouldn't even consider it. All I know is that Apple better have a $999 machine to sell.......................................

imacfp

[quote]Originally posted by steve666:

<strong> All I know is that Apple better have a $999 machine to sell.......................................</strong><hr></blockquote>



They do already. I'm not saying it's a good one but they have it.

thegelding

a G4 iMac widesceen LCD with superdrive, 80 gig hd, 256 ram and 2 years free unlimited connection time to new Apple Satillite Broadband gigawire system...sounds right for 1800...g

mithral

[quote]Originally posted by SpiffyGuyC:

<strong>That isn't an iMac, it's a pro machine. I will not buy an iMac that costs more than $1600. $1800 is more than an iBook, for crying out loud. Apple would never go with such a pricing scheme on their most consumer-oriented device. I don't know why we are even discussing it.



$1800 for an iMac is absurd. I would drop it on a cube, however, with the features you describe.



-S</strong><hr></blockquote>



So let me get this straight. You wouldn't drop $1800 on an iMac with those specs (with a built in 15.4" monitor, I might add), but you would spend $1800 if I changed the name to "Cube", compacted the form factor a little bit, and made you buy your own monitor?



Okay......

<img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />

ender

I have a G4/500 DP and a Ti PB 667, so I'm set for another couple of years. However, I am soon leaving and taking my machines with me, and my family will need another (less powerful) machine.



Right now, I'm having to recommend a wintel due to forces beyond Apple's control (realtor software that was written in Java that doesn't work on anything but PCs -- morons!).



However, an LCD iMac with a good 15"-17" display (for mom's eyes) and decent specs (for Java, networking, printing, and light digital image work) for around $1300 (I'd give up $1600 if it had a 17" LCD) would maybe let me forget about the PC-only software. VPC would start to look mighty fine.



My family and I love the Mac paradigm and the user experience has been bliss (except for that pesky Stylewriter 2500... damned 6 year old hardware ). The 5 Macs that have been lovingly used and maintained under our roof over the last decade have had zero troubles and have always been reliable. I'm telling y'all, that counts for a lot. Far more than a few hundred dollars extra for hardware with "below average" specs. The extra crap you have to deal with every day just isn't worth the trade. I hope I don't end up having to get my mom a Dell or Sony.



-Ender

eman

[quote]Originally posted by thegelding:

<strong>a G4 iMac widesceen LCD with superdrive, 80 gig hd, 256 ram and 2 years free unlimited connection time to new Apple Satillite Broadband gigawire system...sounds right for 1800...g</strong><hr></blockquote>



Sounds about right.