Is it wrong to want an iMac?

[SirWilliam]

I have been a PC user my whole life but I have been staying in this hotel room that has a 27" iMac and the experience is just great. The screen is so bright and the video playback is excellent.

I know this is not hugely important but Hulu videos play beautifully full screen...on my 5 year old HP Compaq notebook the play black is jerky full screen (1680x1024)...even though it has a dedicated ATI X1600 graphics card.

I want an iMac but I am worried I would have buyers remorse...for $2000 I could get a much more powerful and upgradable PC.

 

[refraxion]

Owning an iMac really is a luxury if you already have a top end computer, IMO. If you really want a top end PC get that first if you are into gaming. If not, go right ahead and get the iMac as the 27" is still pretty awesome, just a bit of a luxury to be paying that price.

 

[Dan_D]

Yes it is wrong to want a Mac. Especially an iMac. It will turn you into a Starbucks slurping Volkswagen (or Prius) driving hippy. It will also cause you to ignore logic and reason. Their is also a potential connection between Volkswagon's, Apple computers and homosexuality. Why would you want any of that?

While I am joking here, the stereo types seem to hold true a lot of the time.

 

[synergyo1]

Yes it is wrong to want a Mac. Especially an iMac. It will turn you into a Starbucks slurping Volkswagen (or Prius) driving hippy. It will also cause you to ignore logic and reason. Their is also a potential connection between Volkswagon's, Apple computers and homosexuality. Why would you want any of that?

While I am joking here, the stereo types seem to hold true a lot of the time.

I love my GTI and my iMac.






And women...

 

[Terpfen]

I want an iMac but I am worried I would have buyers remorse...for $2000 I could get a much more powerful and upgradable PC.

You might be able to build a PC that has some individual components that are more powerful, but I don’t think you could build a PC that has completely better specs than the iMac for the same price. For example, Newegg doesn’t currently list any LED backlit display capable of 2560x1440 (or the more standard 2560x1600) resolution at 27’’ or any other size that I can find.

So, no, it’s not wrong to want an iMac. You get what you pay for.

 

[phide]

Owning an iMac really is a luxury if you already have a top end computer, IMO.

There is no better 'accessory' to a high-end gaming PC than an iMac (or a Mac mini), in my opinion. Said another way, there is no better accessory to an iMac than a high-end gaming PC. If your budget precludes you from owning both, then own only the one you really want.

If you don't think you'd like an iMac, odds are you might not. Nothing wrong with that — Macs just don't fit well with everyone. For me, the hardware does the job, the displays are unbelievable and the software is really in a class of it's own, but not everyone leans the way I do toward things. It's a shame the 27" LED Cinema Display is an apparent no-go for PCs (reportedly), because if it were, it'd let you have some of the best from both worlds together in one machine. But that's life.

 

[Serpico]

Not at all. The 27" 2560x1440 IPS display by itself is $1000 from Apple or $1100 from Dell. On top of that you get a very fast and dead silent computer built into it. The value of the high end iMacs is IMHO the best of any of Apple's computers, simply based on the quality of the display you're getting and the internals.

Hell, its great even if you have an existing gaming PC. I currently have my PC plugged into both my 24" NEC display and my 27" iMac. If I want to game with my PC, I now just use the iMac as a display for my PC. Its called Target Display Mode. So long as you have DisplayPort output or a converter from your PC, you're golden. Looks phenomenal.

As for upgradability, I wouldn't worry about it based on the fact that Macs hold their resale value very well. Before my 27" I had a 24" from November 2007 which I sold February of 2010. I sold it for about 60% of what I bought it for. I wish that I could sell my PC components for as much.

You have to think about upgradability differently. Instead of doing piecemeal component swaps, you swap out the whole thing at once. It was totally worth it, as the jump from the 24" H-IPS display to the 27", on top of everything else, was totally worth it.

It comes down to what you need. The iMacs are excellent machines, and the newer ones (mine is the late 2009 model) have great video cards now if you really want to game on them without turning any settings down. Hope this helps.

 

[Serpico]

You might be able to build a PC that has some individual components that are more powerful, but I don’t think you could build a PC that has completely better specs than the iMac for the same price. For example, Newegg doesn’t currently list any LED backlit display capable of 2560x1440 (or the more standard 2560x1600) resolution at 27’’ or any other size that I can find.

So, no, it’s not wrong to want an iMac. You get what you pay for.

You can't find those displays on Newegg but you can find them elsewhere. Apple's is $1000, Dell's is $1100, and NEC's (awesome) one is $1400.

 

[ranviper]

I have been a PC user my whole life but I have been staying in this hotel room that has a 27" iMac and the experience is just great. The screen is so bright and the video playback is excellent.

I know this is not hugely important but Hulu videos play beautifully full screen...on my 5 year old HP Compaq notebook the play black is jerky full screen (1680x1024)...even though it has a dedicated ATI X1600 graphics card.

I want an iMac but I am worried I would have buyers remorse...for $2000 I could get a much more powerful and upgradable PC.

Its absolutely great actually. Especially now than you can dual boot with windows 7 you can play just as many games as you like on rather high settings. If you want a computer that WILL last you a long time, will give you the compatibility of both operating systems than mac is a good choice. Great customer service too if you have have a problem...which is rare. LoL. I have used macs for years, I have nothing against PC's, I even want to build one for gaming for myself, but I know macs can do both.

 

[Terpfen]

You can't find those displays on Newegg but you can find them elsewhere. Apple's is $1000, Dell's is $1100, and NEC's (awesome) one is $1400.

Right, but bringing up the displays had an underlying point. I wasn’t indicting Newegg’s inventory, I was pointing out that it’s not easy to build a computer with equal or better specs at a lower price than an iMac. Heck, Macs in general have very competitive hardware specs.

 

[phide]

You can't find those displays on Newegg but you can find them elsewhere. Apple's is $1000, Dell's is $1100, and NEC's (awesome) one is $1400.

Unfortunately only the Apple is LED-backlit. Though you sacrifice quite a bit of color gamut with a WLED-based backlight, the instant brightness factor becomes irresistible after you've used a CFL-backlit and an LED-backlit display side-by-side. That's my take on it, anyway.

 

[Liver]

You can't find those displays on Newegg but you can find them elsewhere. Apple's is $1000, Dell's is $1100, and NEC's (awesome) one is $1400.

Kinda off topic but which NEC are you referring to?

 

[phide]

No doubt the PA271W-BK.

 

[refraxion]

There is no better 'accessory' to a high-end gaming PC than an iMac (or a Mac mini), in my opinion. Said another way, there is no better accessory to an iMac than a high-end gaming PC. If your budget precludes you from owning both, then own only the one you really want.

If you don't think you'd like an iMac, odds are you might not. Nothing wrong with that — Macs just don't fit well with everyone. For me, the hardware does the job, the displays are unbelievable and the software is really in a class of it's own, but not everyone leans the way I do toward things. It's a shame the 27" LED Cinema Display is an apparent no-go for PCs (reportedly), because if it were, it'd let you have some of the best from both worlds together in one machine. But that's life.

Yeah what I meant is that if you had a high end gaming PC, you could get an iMac. It is a luxury for most people if they don't have a high end gaming PC still. But if you already own a good PC, get the iMac as its always good to have an alternative other than windows.. plus its really dandy at 27"!

 

[Cbshahji]

well i've high end laptop and high end desktop and now i've them both i've no knowledge of mac as half of my friends have mac and other half have PC, i can fix their pc but when it comes to mac i make them runarounds with repairs as i've only done few things on one or two of them, they freaking scared the shit out of me, but now i want one myself as newer macs gotten more better than older once as i can learn them, don't need brand new but decent one and i'm looking on craig's list here in my town every day twice for good deal for last 6 month.

 

[Terpfen]

don't need brand new but decent one and i'm looking on craig's list here in my town every day twice for good deal for last 6 month.

Macs hold their value pretty well. You’re not going to find a cut-rate bargain if that’s what you’re looking for.

Apple’s refurb prices are pretty good.

 

[SirWilliam]

Would you guys pick the bottom of the line Mac Pro over the top iMac? I tried to buy a Mac Pro about 4 months ago but I just could not do it because it was more expensive and the specs were worse than an iMacs but now they updated it.

The reason I have always liked the Power Macs and Mac Pros is that the parts are modular. I used to work in an IT department several years ago and Apple customer service was horrible and the repairs were outrageously expensive. I remember a Powerbook G4 that needed to have the screen lid latch replaced and it was going to cost $300! It would be nice to have a computer that I can service my self...I have no clue how to open up this iMac.

Apple has no high level of service like HP or Dell were you just call a number someone picks up right away and you get the parts next day or someone comes to your door next day to fix it. With Apple you have to go into an Apple store which is not very convenient, not to mention annoyingly overcrowded.

There really is no perfect computer...maybe I should just buy a couple.

 

[dr.stevil]

Try looking around for a used one. You can find great deals from people that are looking to upgrade

also a little off topic, OP, did you/do you run the TCCoA?

 

[Cat1yst]

its awfully expensive if you buy it for the monitor....

i just dont see why anyone needs persay an imac, or an all in ones in general.

maybe if i lived in an apartment in tokyo, was not a computer enthusiast, and space was at at absolute premium, but when you can build a Mitx rig.....

OSX i guess.

 

[Frobozz]

If you like the display, consider just getting the display - 27" LED Cinema Display.
Then you could run your current PC. Though you'll have to see if you need an upgrade to get it hooked up to the mini-display port.

If you could use a new desktop and your target was the $2000, you could consider the above except with throwing $1000 at the PC build by itself (should be beastly.) Alternatively you could consider the iMac and get one of the best all-in-one experiences with respectable specs, and the advantage of running OSX or Windows with ease. (and it'll be legit)

There really is no perfect computer...maybe I should just buy a couple.

I like your thinking!

 

[Jon55]

I love my GTI and my iMac.






And women...

+1 to that. And no OP, it's not wrong to want one. It's still just a computer at the end of the day. You can get your iMac and love OS X, and then boot into Windows 7 64-bit and have fun natively running it and other programs. This way you get the best of both worlds. I'm sure you could put some Linux flavor on there too (although I've never tried myself).

 

[Chibo]

I had a 27" i5 for a while and I sold it because I was moving to a place I couldn't have a desk. I loved that computer, and I will probably buy another when I can afford it again, but then again I'm not a benchmark or gaming whore so the highest performance for the dollar isn't a big deal to me.

 

[Terpfen]

Would you guys pick the bottom of the line Mac Pro over the top iMac?

I wouldn’t. The Mac Pro is a workstation in the classic sense of the term. It’s there for truly intensive computing tasks, and no, that doesn’t mean gaming. That means code compiling, high-end 3D graphics rendering, scientific work, etc.

Apple has no high level of service like HP or Dell were you just call a number someone picks up right away and you get the parts next day or someone comes to your door next day to fix it. With Apple you have to go into an Apple store which is not very convenient, not to mention annoyingly overcrowded.

You might want to re-examine that opinion. You could be surprised. But more importantly, we’re not talking about IT implementations or deployments of Macs, so Apple’s enterprise support isn’t quite relevant to whether or not home users should get an iMac, the point of this thread.

 

[Dan_D]

I wouldn’t. The Mac Pro is a workstation in the classic sense of the term. It’s there for truly intensive computing tasks, and no, that doesn’t mean gaming. That means code compiling, high-end 3D graphics rendering, scientific work, etc.



You might want to re-examine that opinion. You could be surprised. But more importantly, we’re not talking about IT implementations or deployments of Macs, so Apple’s enterprise support isn’t quite relevant to whether or not home users should get an iMac, the point of this thread.

It's a valid opinion. Trust me. Apple's customer service when it comes to hardware/warranty repairs is sub-par compared to Dell and HP. You do not have to go to an Apple store though for support. That's wrong. The experience is pretty shitty most of the time though.

 

[phide]

I've certainly never had a problem with Apple's customer service. Considering Apple ranks significantly higher in overall customer satisfaction than either Dell or HP — having recently achieved the highest ACSI score in the personal computing category in history, in fact — the claim that Apple's CS is "sub-par" in comparison is a dubious one at best.

 

[Terpfen]

It's a valid opinion. Trust me. Apple's customer service when it comes to hardware/warranty repairs is sub-par compared to Dell and HP. You do not have to go to an Apple store though for support. That's wrong. The experience is pretty shitty most of the time though.

I’m not saying it isn’t valid, I’m just saying it’s immaterial to this thread.

Actually, I’ll take it a step further and say that Apple is a consumer oriented company. Enterprise sales and support are an afterthought. The end result is that people use Dells or HPs at work and go home to use their Macs or iPads.

 

[Dan_D]

I've certainly never had a problem with Apple's customer service. Considering Apple ranks significantly higher in overall customer satisfaction than either Dell or HP — having recently achieved the highest ACSI score in the personal computing category in history, in fact — the claim that Apple's CS is "sub-par" in comparison is a dubious one at best.

I'd bet on that being due to Apple Zealotry. Zealots often won't complain about Apple when they should because they mistakenly suck on Steve Jobs pants faucet believing they are satisfying god. As we know, awards from certain publications are suspect anyway. They bow to the advertising dollar. Few truly take a stand against that sort of thing and tell the truth. After having experienced how bad Apple customer service can be myself many times, I find the notion of Apple CS being better than HP or Dell's to be "unlikely" at the very least. I can tell you that when comparing Dell or HP's business machine customer service, it really can't get any better. At best Apple can only achieve parity with them. Their service is really that good. Consumer units, I don't know for sure. I know that Dell and HP sell many, many times the units Apple does and therefore support on those units would be harder to manage world wide.

 

[Dan_D]

I’m not saying it isn’t valid, I’m just saying it’s immaterial to this thread.

Actually, I’ll take it a step further and say that Apple is a consumer oriented company. Enterprise sales and support are an afterthought. The end result is that people use Dells or HPs at work and go home to use their Macs or iPads.

Fair enough.

 

[The_Stickman]

Love my new iMac. Primary use is as a DAW. Gaming performance has been great via bootcamp. Thankful to have the thing. Just rocks!

 

[ryken]

I'd bet on that being due to Apple Zealotry. Zealots often won't complain about Apple when they should because they mistakenly suck on Steve Jobs pants faucet believing they are satisfying god. As we know, awards from certain publications are suspect anyway. They bow to the advertising dollar. Few truly take a stand against that sort of thing and tell the truth. After having experienced how bad Apple customer service can be myself many times, I find the notion of Apple CS being better than HP or Dell's to be "unlikely" at the very least. I can tell you that when comparing Dell or HP's business machine customer service, it really can't get any better. At best Apple can only achieve parity with them. Their service is really that good. Consumer units, I don't know for sure. I know that Dell and HP sell many, many times the units Apple does and therefore support on those units would be harder to manage world wide.

You're basing your opinion of an entire company's customer support on your own experience, while denouncing independent studies because "they're probably based on fanboy response." You need to step back and look at how your own feelings about Apple are clouding your judgment.

Consumer Reports (can't link directly without paying) ranks Apple highest and that is about as independent as it gets (they don't advertise).

There will always be exceptions and no customer service will ever be perfect, but your reasons for why Dell and HP are better are faulty.

In my opinion, Apple makes you come into the store, but Dell makes you call India and mail it in. Both have pros and cons. In the end, Dell doesn't offer any all in one solution that is as attractive (both in price, given the quality of the IPS screen and components, and actual looks of the form factor).

 

[MrGuvernment]

even though it has a dedicated ATI X1600 graphics card.

dont think the x1600 series supports flash decoding or what ever it is hu uses, it may be dedicated but the x1600 is an oldddddddddddddddddddd card.

 

[SirWilliam]

I guess I shouldn't have brought the customer service thing up...

I will looking into getting a PC and a nice monitor. My problem is I do not like things that look and feel cheap...I always end up with workstations when it comes to PCs because the consumer models all have horrible cheap cases. I will see if I can build an HP Z400 or a Dell Precision cheap.

 

[SirWilliam]

dont think the x1600 series supports flash decoding or what ever it is hu uses, it may be dedicated but the x1600 is an oldddddddddddddddddddd card.

Yeah it is almost five years old now...the computer works fine for everything else...I can play FEAR and Crysis fine on low settings (haven't tired any newer games). I just wish the computer would die so I could have a proper excuse to buy a new one.

 

[phide]

I'd bet on that being due to Apple Zealotry. Zealots often won't complain about Apple when they should because they mistakenly suck on Steve Jobs pants faucet believing they are satisfying god.

Hmm. You know, when you put it this way, I find it hard to imagine how I could have ever questioned your rational, sensible and perfectly objective, unbiased thoughts on this subject!

I will looking into getting a PC and a nice monitor. My problem is I do not like things that look and feel cheap...I always end up with workstations when it comes to PCs because the consumer models all have horrible cheap cases.

Why not build your own, get exactly what you want and save a few bones in the process? Your budget may preclude you from buying a Lian Li tower or similar, but you can pretty easily acquire a well-made case for around $100.

 

[heatlesssun]

I've certainly never had a problem with Apple's customer service. Considering Apple ranks significantly higher in overall customer satisfaction than either Dell or HP — having recently achieved the highest ACSI score in the personal computing category in history, in fact — the claim that Apple's CS is "sub-par" in comparison is a dubious one at best.

Apple does indeed top the lists of computer customer satisfaction surveys year after year for most of the last decade but they also make considerably fewer devices and generally have fewer configurations and options per model than the other major OEMs.

 

[Terpfen]

Apple does indeed top the lists of computer customer satisfaction surveys year after year for most of the last decade but they also make considerably fewer devices and generally have fewer configurations and options per model than the other major OEMs.

The latter might be a reason for the former. Fewer products built better.

 

[_brew]

Keep in mind when you start comparing prices to do an apples to apples comparison.

I find that people often don't compare the exact quality of parts
they don't figure the labor to build their own
they don't factor the value of the aesthetics of a Mac (that lightbulb that goes off when you look at one has a value--how much is up to you)
don't underestimate the value of AppleCare (you get nothing but protection from manufacturing defect when you build your own)
Don't underestimate the value of being able to use OSX legitimately (and without BS)

As for my latest personal experience with Apple's customer service:
A couple weeks ago I took my wife's 3 year old MacBook into the store because it was a couple days from losing AppleCare (1 yr standard full parts and labor warranty/3 yrs upgradeable). I asked them to replace the keyboard, bezel, the entire outer casing (lid and bottom), and in addition to that they replaced the optical drive without me asking

this was all done under warranty for 0.00
I didn't have to take it into the store, Apple would have mailed me a box and returned it to me (free).
I chose to take it in because the Genius told me he'd work on it during his break and get it back to me before closing...which is what happened.

I got similar treatment for replacing my macbook's topcase last weekend.
While I was there they exchanged my iPhone's sync cable and my earbuds.
I guess one could argue that the gas it took to drive there made all of those experiences non-free, but that's silly to me.

My experience has been that those who can't or won't pay the premium for Apple products have a lot of shit to say about them. I get that in reference to my Bimmer, too. The reality is that when I was in high school I used to love to tear into my Dodge Dart. But now I prefer to cruise with the wife up and down the PCH with the top down in our convertible.

So consider just how often you are going to enjoy tearing into your case to load it up with cheap parts--because that's the main "perk" you get when you choose PC.

 

[Serpico]

I'd bet on that being due to Apple Zealotry. Zealots often won't complain about Apple when they should because they mistakenly suck on Steve Jobs pants faucet believing they are satisfying god. As we know, awards from certain publications are suspect anyway. They bow to the advertising dollar. Few truly take a stand against that sort of thing and tell the truth. After having experienced how bad Apple customer service can be myself many times, I find the notion of Apple CS being better than HP or Dell's to be "unlikely" at the very least. I can tell you that when comparing Dell or HP's business machine customer service, it really can't get any better. At best Apple can only achieve parity with them. Their service is really that good. Consumer units, I don't know for sure. I know that Dell and HP sell many, many times the units Apple does and therefore support on those units would be harder to manage world wide.

A friend of mine had a Macbook Pro who's motherboard had issues. He brought it in twice and both times it came back with similar issues. Finally they just replaced it with a brand new MBP.

Note that his MBP was almost at the end of a three year warranty, and he made off with a brand new one, no problem. That's pretty awesome.

Hell, someone in the Front Page forums posted his own story: http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1036243519&postcount=3

Meanwhile, threads like these are typical: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1552163

Business support is one thing, but for consumer support there really is no comparison. Also, the idea that Apple zealotry is a reason for high customer satisfaction without any backup smacks of "PC fanboy". After all, it isn't like the Genius Bars are empty. Go into any Apple Store and you'll see people with technical issues, it is to be expected with any computer. The difference is that Apple customers are generally very well taken care of, it is one of the things you pay for. There is a practical reason why customer satisfaction is so high, not some weird Apple Kool-Aid.

 

[Serpico]

Would you guys pick the bottom of the line Mac Pro over the top iMac? I tried to buy a Mac Pro about 4 months ago but I just could not do it because it was more expensive and the specs were worse than an iMacs but now they updated it.

Not anymore. My first Mac was a Powermac G4 in 2002, bought specifically to run Final Cut Pro. It was expensive and there was no good alternative at the time. The iMac didn't have the horsepower or the display size that I needed.

Fast forward to 2007 when I finally replaced it. Instead of a Mac Pro I replaced it with a 24" iMac with Core 2 Duo. It had more than enough horsepower to run Final Cut Studio, an amazing monitor (same panel as the $1100 NEC 2490WUXi), is quiet, and very affordable. On top of that the resale value is crazy high (sold mine years later for 60% of what I paid.

Now you have iMacs with i5 and i7 CPUs and a $1000+ 27" 2560x1440 IPS monitor built into it. It is a great machine at an excellent price when you consider the quality of the components, the all-in-one design, and the resale value.

If you REALLY need Quad or Octo or 12 core i7 Xeons, go for it. 99.9999% of people don't need that kind of computing power. They have CPUs that by themselves cost more than most PCs. Given the price/performance ratio for most people, IMHO it is a pass. If you are one of the few people that really does need that kind of horsepower, go for it.

There really is no perfect computer...maybe I should just buy a couple.

Yup, that's what I do!

 

[Serpico]

Why not build your own, get exactly what you want and save a few bones in the process? Your budget may preclude you from buying a Lian Li tower or similar, but you can pretty easily acquire a well-made case for around $100.

Examples?

The Corsair 600T is the first case I've seen under $200 that I've really liked, and that is about $150. Otherwise I like the Silverstone RV02, also around $150, and then there are the $200+ monsters like the Corsair 700D or 800D (my case! ). LMK if there is anything around $100 that I should be recommending.