Couple of questions regarding an iMac purchase

horrorshow

horrorshow

Lakewood Original
Joined
Dec 14, 2007
Messages
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Ok [H], now slow down.... This isn't for me heh

So, my lady friend was in the mood for an upgrade (her old iMac is circa 2007)

I told her to buy this (which she did):

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FE086LL/A/refurbished-215-inch-imac-27ghz-quad-core-intel-core-i5

Which is obviously a HUGE upgrade....

What I didn't realize is iMacs after 2012 no longer include cd/dvd drives etc.

So, is an $80 Superdrive the best option if she wants to burn cd/dvds etc?

Other than that, is an Applecare Plan worth it for $169 considering convenience is paramount if she runs into problems etc etc??

Thanks as always,
Horrorshow
 
I can't speak to the Superdrive, but I would definitely consider the AppleCare Plans, especially with how difficult newer models are to repair on your own.
 
Any external CD/DVD burner that uses a USB connection would be suitable. They can go for around $30.

If she has any other Apple computer that has a drive, you can use the Remote Drive option. If you are looking for convenience for the lady friend, I'd just get the external drive.

I would recommend you get her AppleCare as well. It'll save many headaches if the iMac goes south.
 
Thanks all! We're picking it up within the hour at the local Apple store....

I will definitely push for Applecare etc.

As always, thanks for the advice!
-Horrorshow
 
Oh, one last question....

She has an external HD ofc.

How easy would it be to backup all her stuff? Is there a Mac app for that or something?

All recommendations are welcome. I'm trying to save myself some headaches tonight etc.

Thanks.
 
horrorshow said:
Oh, one last question....

She has an external HD ofc.

How easy would it be to backup all her stuff? Is there a Mac app for that or something?

All recommendations are welcome. I'm trying to save myself some headaches tonight etc.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Yep... it's called Time Machine. But you have to dedicate an external hard drive to it.
 
Yes there's a built in backup app "Time Machine" super easy to use and setup. Go with applecare because imac repairs are a pain to do on your own.

PsycoGeek said:
Yep... it's called Time Machine. But you have to dedicate an external hard drive to it.
Click to expand...

You can partition your drive to so time machine doesn't take up all of it.
 
elzeus said:
You can partition your drive to so time machine doesn't take up all of it.
Click to expand...

True, but I feel it's better to just dedicate a drive for backups and leave it at that. It all breaks down to personal preference...
 
Just keep in mind that for best results, Time Machine should have around 2 to 4 times as much space on the external drive as the drive it's backing up.
 
horrorshow said:
So, is an $80 Superdrive the best option if she wants to burn cd/dvds etc?
Click to expand...

I have something to say about the Apple Super Drive, but first a bit of back story...

A while back I decided to re-rip my entire music library. I spent two days (couldn't sleep because of back problems) pretty much ripping around the clock on both my rMBP w/Super Drive, and a PC using an external LG DVD burner, both external drives were USB 2. Now, the PC was running Win7 on much older hardware, and my rMBPs specs are in my sig. The MacBook/super drive combo ripped anywhere from 4-6 discs for every 1 the PC ripped. IMO, the Super Drive really is super and not a bad choice, but is a bit over priced (but I think worth it).

I even tried the LG burner on the MacBook with pretty much the same results... slow ripping.
 
Applecare is worth it IMO because you're not going to be swapping out broken parts for anything you can order aftermarket. All of Apple's repairs are expensive out of warranty.
 
AppleCare is worth it, if you are not a smoker or have a cat (I've read some complaints about those some time ago, they just won't RMA or repair it because it would be a health hazzard apparently).

But definitely worth it, specially that these new macbooks have almost everything soldered on it can be quite complicated because there won't be much of a DIY fixing
 
Get AppleCare, but there are far cheaper alternatives to the Apple SuperDrive unless the purchase is for aesthetic reasons I suppose. Even then though, it's easy enough to keep a $30 plastic drive in a drawer for when its needed.
 
I have to agree on applecare.

But, I have an imac and almost never need the optical. It's also one of the first components to fail usually.



Have you considered investing in a good cloud service like Box.com or something and going media-less ?
 
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