Apple iMac Owner?

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
at 5:00pm

I’ve talked about it a lot the past few months and have wanted to for the past 2 years and the time has come. This morning I finally purchased my first Mac. I went with the 24″ iMac as I prefer desktop over laptops and technically we have a laptop in the house plus I’m thinking about a MacBook Air next year. The iMac has everything that I want and need. I’m used to dual monitors and working on my 22″ Dell so now I will use the 24″ iMac and the 22″ Dell for a complete workspace. There will be a minor size difference of course but this Dell is only 11 months old so I’m not ready to replace it with an Apple monitor yet. The price of the iMac is a little much for most however honestly I have spent the same price or more on PC upgrades and parts in the past. In fact last year I spent $800 on a few internal upgrades (fan controller, light controller, etc). I have done lots of research on the iMac and visited lots of great sites with plenty of resources. I also bought the MacHeist bundle last month to give me several apps to play with and some I planned to buy anyways like CSSEdit.

Here are the iMac specs for what I bought;

  • 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
  • 1GB of Memory (bought a 4GB kit to max it out)
  • 500GB Hard Drive
  • Super Drive
  • Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse
  • Apple Wired Keyboard

I would have preferred the wireless keyboard for a slick look on the desk however the Apple Wireless Keyboard doesn’t have the numpad and the arrow keys are moved. I use the numpad all the time and can’t do with out (of course I’m not used to laptop keyboards either). So, the keyboard will be wired but not a huge deal. I also went with 1GB of Apple Memory because I bought the 4GB (2×2GB) Kit from Crucial for $145. So, I will be maxed on ram which will be nice. Also with the order I purchased the mini-dvi to dvi adapter to use my 22″ Dell as dual monitors and a new Canon PIXMA MP520 Photo All-In-One Printer. We have a printer but its an old HP that has served its use and time for a new one and since Apple provides a $100 rebate for printers if bought with a new Mac, it was nice.

Everything was bought this morning and should arrive by Monday. I’ve actually already gotten the tracking number for the Crucial Memory as its being shipped today and should arrive by Friday. The Printer and adapter will also be here by Friday however the iMac shouldn’t arrive until Monday as its labeled as ‘custom’ due to the upgrade HDD and wireless mouse it won’t be shipped today. Did 2-3 day shipping though so we will see when it shows up. The total from the Apple Store came to $2,174.79 and $145.03 from the Crucial Store. My goal was around the $2,000 mark and I only went over by $320, so did pretty good. I still have some apps to buy but I’m happy with the purchase and look forward to it getting here. I will of course post after it comes in with pictures of the unboxing (as if there isn’t enough Mac unboxing pics on flickr).

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5 Comments

Matt Brett

February 6th, 2008
at 11:59am

Good stuff, dude! You’ll no doubt love your shiny new iMac.

I have the last 24″ white iMac and absolutely love it. I maxed the RAM at 3GB and have had no complaints since doing the upgrade. So you’ll be set with 4GB, not to mention the fast processor, etc.

I too opted for the wired keyboard when it was time to find a replacement. I turned into a really stickler about cables on my desk for a while there and really wasn’t stoked on the idea of going back to a wired keyboard, but honestly, it’s no biggie. It’s also nice having a couple of USB ports so handy (on either side).

James

February 6th, 2008
at 3:32pm

I’m looking forward to it. I had thought about going down to an Apple Store so I didn’t have to wait but the nearest is about 2 hours each way and I wouldn’t have had the time this week. So, shipping would be faster.

I debated on RAM for awhile and thought about just going with 2GB but I run dual-monitors and lots of multi-tasking along with Photoshop and video editing so maxing out at 4GB will be nice (compared to my current 1GB in my PC right now, which Photoshop and Snitter kills daily).

I also prefer wireless and it helps to keep the desk organized and look clutter free and I also thought about the wireless keyboard until I noticed the lack of a num pad and I currently use it a lot and the moved/smaller arrow keys would mess me up for awhile. But having the one wire to the iMac shouldn’t be bad. I also like the idea of 2 usb ports on the keyboard. Nice to quickly plug in a thumb drive.

Wes Steele

February 8th, 2008
at 10:11pm

Hey man, haven’t talked to you in a while. Hope you’re doing good.

Congrats about the purchase, I’m not a huge mac fan myself but I’m sure you’ll love it. I’m just too used to Windows to switch. I’ve played around with Mac’s and they are very responsive, but I just feel at home with Windows.

I recently got myself a nice laptop from HP, the specs are a 2.2 GHZ T7500 Core 2 Duo, 2GB’s of RAM, 250 GB HDD, and 8600M GT video card. It has Vista Home Premium and I have loved it so far, no complaints. Only problem I’ve had so far is finding drivers for my printer but I was able to find a custom one someone made since HP no longer supports my old printer.

I’m using the Laptop right now with my 20.5″ LCD and a USB keyboard and wireless mouse, it replaced my old desktop which was old and shitty. Hopefully around the end of March I’ll be building my own desktop from scratch.

So yea and friend of mine and I have this new project going on, http://gamernade.com

Basically it’s going to be a full blown gaming site, we are aiming for something like IGN or GameTrailers. It is currently being developed and should be released within the next couple months, the forums will be released in the next week (hopefully). You should join up when it launches, this is the first project I’ve been a part of in a while that I am really psyched about.

Well just dropped in to see how you were doing, and again congrats on the purchase!

James

February 11th, 2008
at 11:55am

Yeah, its been awhile man. Your laptop setup sounds nice. I hope to get a MacBook or MB Air in the next year or two. I don’t use laptops much although my wife has one but I just find desktops fit me better. Love larger screens (which is why I use dual-monitors) and I’m not fond of laptop keyboards (no numpad and the moved arrow keys kill me). I guess its all about getting used to it though.

I will check out your latest project. You need to send me a friends request on Live. Gamertag; twofivethreetwo . I’m currently playing Halo 3 and bought Burnout Paradise last night.

Wes Steele

February 11th, 2008
at 2:03pm

Yea I will add you. I don’t have Halo 3 and I haven’t picked up Burnout yet, I might just rent it.

But we definitely need to play something sometime.

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