Hi all,

What with Apple giving ten months IFC until the beginning of January, I'm looking at getting a 27" iMac. Is there any reason currently not to buy them? I seem to recall a while back that the iMacs were having screen problems?

Cheers,
Ben

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#iMac

It looks like they're coming close to the end of their product cycle.

You may want to wait a couple months... but then you won't get the IFC.

As for issues... not sure... sorry.

I'd say they're probably in the last revision of this exact form factor but they're not going to revise for at least six months (Mac Pro is next to be revised, IMO). That's not necessarily a bad thing. They've got all the kinks worked out of the design and do you really want to be buying the first version of the next one? Plus they tend to put the prices up when they redesign. The only reason to hang on for the next revision is if you expect the next one to have USB 3, which I think is by no means certain.

The thing with gadgets is alway the same - buy what you can afford, when you can afford it. Something newer and shiner will come along within a short period (in the grand scheme of things) anyway.

I've got one of the 27" screens and, if I'm being 100% honest, it's maybe a bit too big. If you put a window in the corners it is almost into your peripheral vision. I'd say if you have a budget that's limited, go for an upspecced 21" over a minimum spec 27". Also be aware that adding a BTO HDD in there is going to up your wait substantially, as Apple have been hit by the floods in Thailand as much as anyone. SSDs aren't affected, apparently.

Jon

I wonder what the upgrades would entail...The current hardware looks pretty decent...

I'm looking at the 27" with 3.4GHz i7, 16GB RAM, better GPU. I'm going for a bigger screen to unclutter my desk of the two I currently have (plus I think screens are better in odd numbers, one or three...Or five ).

HDD wise, I'm looking at the stock 1TB. All my other storage will be external (see viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15292).

... or eight...

http://www.digitaltigers.com/zenview-at ... aelite.asp

See there I think ten would be better. You've got to have a central monitor, otherwise you end up turning your head to your delegated "main" screen all day...

What do people reckon I'd get for my Mac Pro (early 2009, 8-core 2.26GHz Xeon, 6GB RAM, NVidia GT 120, 500GB HDD). I'd be including my two 22" Samsung SyncMaster T220s too.

Not sure about MacPros...

But 6 months ago my little bro sold his early 2008 (I think) MBP with a 2.4GHz C2D for £400 (IIRC).

I've got a 27" model and the screen is fine, no issues to report. It's the top off the shelf model IIRC (i5, 6970, 1TB) but in tests some cheaper models were shown to perform better strangely.

I also stuck and extra 4GB in mine from Crucial.

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk

Mac Pro's appear to hold their value rather well. Early 2008 models are around the £1000 - £1200 mark on various second hand mac sites. The 2009 model with your spec should be around the £1500 mark without the TFT's. You can still see the odd PowerMac G5 kicking about for the £200 - £300 mark.

I'm hoping the addition of the monitors, plus a webcam might bump it up to somewhere near £2000, that was I'm getting my iMac for pretty much nothing

To be honest I think you might be better off selling the monitors separately. You'll have a much larger market with more competition that way.

Why's that a good thing when he wants a good price?
There's plenty of people out there who'd want a ready to go set up.

Have you never used eBay? More potential buyers increases the odds of a good price.

If only 1 person wants the entire setup then there's no competition and the price will be low. 1 bidder is a bad thing for the seller. If 1000 people want the mac and 10,000 people want the monitors, then unless you decide to sell to the lowest bidder you should get more money.

However, if there's a glut of product on eBay, you'll never get your ideal price.
The market for a complete, ready to go edit suite (such as this would lend itself to) is smaller, but commands a much higher price than merely being yet another display in a market of thousands.