iMac v Pc

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soggy

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Having read a few threads on here i know theres a repeated debate about which is best so can i just put my choice infront of the masses for discussion
I've just recently got into photography having purchsed my 1t slr 3 months ago
My 6 year old pc is obviously not up to scratch so i want a new computer before i get photoshop and start some photo editing
Other than photo editing it will be used for basic computing/internet/some video editing
Having a budget of between 750-1000 the choice seems to be;
Windows PC with spec- i5-750/4gbram/1tb HD paired with Dell 2209wa monitor for about £800
iMac 21.5'' c 3.06Ghz i3/4gbram/500gbhd for £999
as above refurbished for £750
What shall i get(never had a mac b4)
:help:
 
I went for the 27' iMac and I don't regret it, I haven't used it to anywhere near it's capabilities yet though
If you buy the iMac and don't get on with the mac OS you can always put windows on it and run it as a dual boot system
 
how does the iMac screen stack up against a decent monitor lke the Dell
 
The screen is it's best feature, it's fantastic, I read somewhere the 27" iMac is a bit of a bargain because it uses the same 27" screen that Dell use and they want around the same price just for the screen.

I think I paid £1269 for the i5 2.66ghz as a refurb from apple but it was as new, not a mark on it, buy the 3 year apple care from ebay for £50 and it's a winner
 
It's all subjective tbh - if you are a gamer though then I'd stick with PCs as I don't think there's as much going on gaming wise on the mac.

I went for the 24" imac after getting fed up of constantly fixing PC's (user error mostly if I'm honest & also a lot of family members that loved breaking them for fun :LOL: ) I've never looked back - would never go back to a PC again unless using it via crossover/bootcamp on the mac. Not really a very steep learning curve either imo so the transmission shouldn't be too much of a pain.
 
As Moomike said, I switched to Mac as I was fed up of fixing my PC constantly. Nothing ever worked properly, I had to start some 'services' function and manually click for internet and printer to work after every reboot. I hated it!

Since buying the Mac I've not had to touch it. Everything just works on it's own - it updates itself, fixes itself and communicates with everything I've ever plugged into it.

I have vowed NEVER to use another Microsoft product!
 
soggy said:
how does the iMac screen stack up against a decent monitor lke the Dell
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Having had both Dell and iMac I can tell you that the iMac screen is fine. The gloss can be a bit of a nuisance but if positioned properly it's not a problem. I believe the iMac screens are produced by LG

I use Color Eyes Display Pro for monitor calibration, and the iMac screen calibrates fine with very little deviation.

Now I'm not going to start the Mac vs PC debate, But I now have a Macbook Pro and iMac so I'm obviously a happy bunny. However what I will say is find an Apple store or Apple authorised reseller and go and have a play. It's the only way you'll find out if a Mac is for you.

Don't worry about learning a whole new OS. Should take you about 5 mins to figure most things out. Plus if you really get stuck book an appointment with an Apple "Genius" ( It's free, but I do hate that phrase "Genius").
 
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Another vote for the mac here... great machines, and something to think about... very few if any people have a Mac and go back to a PC, which tells you something.
 
Once you get a mac, you won't want a PC! I've got a pc and rarely use it! I have a MacBook pro i7 and it's fab! You can get parallels desk top if you do decide you want to put windows on it. But you should be fine with apple software.
 
I prefer a PC myself as they are easier to upgrade.
 
From what I've read here the 27" iMac is a steal considering the quality of the screen, other than that it's very much up for debate.

Oh and
jordanogrady said:
Once you get a mac, you won't want a PC! I've got a pc and rarely use it! I have a MacBook pro i7 and it's fab! You can get parallels desk top if you do decide you want to put windows on it. But you should be fine with apple software.
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I've had a Macbook for 3 years now, and my desktop has always seen FAR more use than my Macbook. If anything I'm wondering whether I should buy another Mac ever again as the build quality has been disappointing...The standby LED is broken, and there are cracks on the wrist rest :( Granted it's a 3 year old laptop, but these are the sort of problems you wouldn't expect from such a high end brand.
 
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Avid fan of both Windows 7 and OSX here. My main workhorse is the 27" iMac. I love the screen, love the OS - my only gripe? It feels a TINY bit slow at times when dealing with larger photos or multitasking across a high number of hi res edits. My 64 bit DELL running Windows 7 (The machine is about 2 years old), feels much quicker.

If I were buying again, iMac 27" would still be my choice. I went for the better processer / memory. £1,600 approx.

Gary.
 
Another vote for Mac.

I have a Macbook Pro, and I am getting a new iMac in the next few weeks.
 
A good PC could easily be built for the price which would then be able to upgrade easily in the future. Apple care won't solve any problems after the warranty expires!
 
People always say Macs are expensive, but when challenged to come up with a PC with like for like spec for less money they always struggle.

Just got a 27" iMac and it's absolutely stunning. Very impressive screen to use to show clients pictures as well.
 
Guys,

My 27" iMac packed in after 2 months of ownership. Applecare repaired it, they had to replace something called a "Logic Board" if I remember correctly. The price for the repair was £1,300. It was obviously covered under warranty, however I will be extending said warranty before year 1 is up!!

Also, I have a 24 inch iMac. When it was three weeks old or so, a small fly managed to find its way onto the inside of the screen, and it died. It looked like a 20 x 20 pixel blotch of crap. This was NOT covered under warranty, and everything I tried to shift it failed. Eventually it simply vanished - I had booked it in for repair though.

Gary.
 
EdinburghGary said:
Guys,

My 27" iMac packed in after 2 months of ownership. Applecare repaired it, they had to replace something called a "Logic Board"
Click to expand...

Basically Logic Board what Apple calls the motherboard. I had to have mine replaced in my Alubody Macbook (as with yours, under warranty).

They do go wrong, as does anything computer wise because of the manufacturing tolerances etc. Some are bound to. Just because it is Apple doesn;t mean it won't go wrong, but the driver issue is the thing that won't as you can only use certain parts.

As for upgrade, I used to have a PC over 3 Years I increased the memory etc. and then needed new motherboard, which meant new ram, new graphics card etc. I will sell on my iMac when I upgrade and put the remainder to a new iMac, which is in money terms the same as upgrading most of a PC.
 
grum said:
Just got a 27" iMac and it's absolutely stunning. Very impressive screen to use to show clients pictures as well.
Click to expand...

I am knee deep in home DIY at the moment, hopefully the upshot of this will be the go ahead from the Boss to upgrade mine.

Every keeps tempting me by saying how amazing the new 27 inch ones are.
 
My last pc i built has been fine running windows 7 4 gig of memory blah blah.....

But i recently saw a imac 27" in pc world and i had a semi on.

I will be selling my pc after my wedding on the 4th and getting a imac 27".

I have seen alot of pc's over the years but the clairty of a mac's screen always blows me away.

That and the fact of the space and wires all over the place.

But i would never say one is more reliable than the other.
 
EdinburghGary said:
Also, I have a 24 inch iMac. When it was three weeks old or so, a small fly managed to find its way onto the inside of the screen, and it died. It looked like a 20 x 20 pixel blotch of crap. This was NOT covered under warranty, and everything I tried to shift it failed. Eventually it simply vanished - I had booked it in for repair though.

Gary.
Click to expand...

iMac screens (or should I say the perspex cover) are held in with magnets. I saw a youtube video of how to remove them and clean inside. The guy just put a suction cup from a satnav on the top corners and pulled gently - away it came allowing him to clean behind the perspex and also dust the real screen inside (y)

EDIT: Found it -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cHMHzq5E5I&feature=related
 
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I love these debates!

The simple answer is buy what suits you. I you like apple buy a mac, you won't regret buying one. As with all electrical items they have problems, I've had 1st hand experience with apple care, and they are 1st class.

Mac's (in my eyes) look and are far more stylish too, so if that's something your bothered about then it's something to consider.

It's fact that people don't like change and will argue black is White sometimes when it comes to PC's and macs.

Just buy a mac! I'll be throwing my PC out inthw next year and getting the 27" bad boy! :)
 
For anyone who says that Macs don't need upgrading and PCs do, the only upgrade I've made to my desktop in the last 3 years is from a dual core to quad core CPU, and that was only as I found one going cheap. The idea that you have to upgrade a PC every year to keep them going is false. Spend on quality mid range at least components and it will last you years, like mine has :)
 
Oh good grief..

MAC vs pc boils down to personal preference and that's all.

Personally I find glossy screens appalling to work on. Oh and macs DO crash, need fixing, and required upgrading just as often as pcs do. They're both based on the same hardware so will become "old hat" just as quick.
 
neil_g said:
Oh good grief..

MAC vs pc boils down to personal preference and that's all.

Personally I find glossy screens appalling to work on. Oh and macs DO crash, need fixing, and required upgrading just as often as pcs do. They're both based on the same hardware so will become "old hat" just as quick.
Click to expand...

Always the voice of reason from neil_g :love:
 
grum said:
People always say Macs are expensive, but when challenged to come up with a PC with like for like spec for less money they always struggle.
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Right, so find me a brand new Mac for £400/500 or even £700? No? Well you can get a pc for that price. If you try and match specs, you will find apple about 20-40% more expensive (without software)
 
Oh and macs DO crash, need fixing, and required upgrading just as often as pcs do.
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Apple computers consistently score very highly (usually top) in independent reliability surveys.

http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/19436/

Right, so find me a brand new Mac for £400/500 or even £700? No? Well you can get a pc for that price. If you try and match specs, you will find Apple about 20-40% more expensive (without software)
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You're missing my point - Apple don't do lower end computers. But try and match an apple with like for like PC spec and there's usually very little difference. And that's even if you don't take into account the superb bundled software and excellent resale value of Macs.
 
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i think a trip to my local Apple store is the only way to decide this
thanks for everyones opinions
 
I've just got back from the one in the Trafford Centre.

I almost poked someones eye out when I saw the 21.5 and 27 inch!
 
Koolpc said:
A good PC could easily be built for the price which would then be able to upgrade easily in the future. Apple care won't solve any problems after the warranty expires!
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As I Said

Spec me something similar with a similar screen for that price!

Cannot be done, simple as that.

No company cares after the warranty expires and a fair few even when it is in warranty.

aligibbs said:
Right, so find me a brand new Mac for £400/500 or even £700? No? Well you can get a pc for that price. If you try and match specs, you will find apple about 20-40% more expensive (without software)
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Software is a moot point! You need it for either system and Adobe transfers from one platform to the other for free!

If I want a Luxury Saloon, I look at BMW and Merc. I could go buy a Proton, but it is not in the same league as those 2.

As said before, like for like little between in price between P.C and a Mac of similar spec.
 
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This thread will just get closed guys. The OP has already wrapped it up. Go and do something more interesting.
 
wack61 said:
The screen is it's best feature, it's fantastic, I read somewhere the 27" iMac is a bit of a bargain because it uses the same 27" screen that Dell use and they want around the same price just for the screen.

I think I paid £1269 for the i5 2.66ghz as a refurb from apple but it was as new, not a mark on it, buy the 3 year apple care from ebay for £50 and it's a winner
Click to expand...

anyone any experience of this Apple care off ebay - seems a bit of bargain
 
soggy said:
anyone any experience of this Apple care off ebay - seems a bit of bargain
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No idea about the authenticity of Applecare on eBay, but if you buy from John Lewis, you get 2 years cover, which is 1 more year than buying elsewhere.
 
Koolpc said:
I prefer a PC myself as they are easier to upgrade.
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Is that what made you choose the windows system over the Mac Mini?

taken from

http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-128519.../t-730799.html

Koolpc
Jul 25, 2009, 03:59 PM
"Quote"

I am at the same crossroads. Buy a Mac Mini or build a Windows PC!!

I quite like the idea of a small, silent but powerful Apple Computer on my desk!

Upgrading the ram to 4 gig and putting in a better Hard drive would make for an even better machine?

"UnQuote"
:LOL:
 
Oli R C said:
No idea about the authenticity of Applecare on eBay, but if you buy from John Lewis, you get 2 years cover, which is 1 more year than buying elsewhere.
Click to expand...

AppleCare is 2 years... It extends the warranty to 3 years total!
 
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