deecy//
Leading Member
--The iMac has been out for a while now. Do any owners have any complaints about the design, or regrets about choosing this configuration?
Best,
Tom
deecy//
Best,
Tom
deecy//
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iMac Regrets?
- Thread starter deecy//
- Start date
danpauls
Well-known member
I recently purchased the 20" model with the wireless keyboard and mouse. The computer works like a dream. My kids have had no trouble transitioning from Windows/Linux to the Mac - the one-button mouse is the only stumbling block (I may swap it for the bluetooth Microsoft mouse I use with my Powerbook, since I don't mind the single button and it has an on/off switch which the Microsoft mouse lacks).
Performance-wise, the machine is great. The screen will spoil you for life (my 15" Powerbook isn't as impressive as it used to be...), and the "coolness" of the whole thing being in one unit is great.
Keep in mind, this is for use as a general-purpose family computer. Digital photography, game playing, Internet surfing, importing DV and making family movie DVDs. I know the PowerMac has its place, but the iMac does what I/we need it to.
Regards,
Dan
Performance-wise, the machine is great. The screen will spoil you for life (my 15" Powerbook isn't as impressive as it used to be...), and the "coolness" of the whole thing being in one unit is great.
Keep in mind, this is for use as a general-purpose family computer. Digital photography, game playing, Internet surfing, importing DV and making family movie DVDs. I know the PowerMac has its place, but the iMac does what I/we need it to.
Regards,
Dan
CptnJustc
Senior Member
Not really. It works pretty well, and is a clean, simple solution for a serious work machine with a pretty big display in an area in which space is at a premium.
I do sometimes wish I had a dual-processor PowerMac for some of my photo operations, but that's another story.
I do sometimes wish I had a dual-processor PowerMac for some of my photo operations, but that's another story.
deecy//
Leading Member
--Couple of questions-
What about your photo operations exactly? Is the iMac sufficient for storing, editing, etc.? Does it run PS okay?
And, since nobody brings up the obvious, I will - when the iMac is hooked up with support devices (hard drives, floppy disk drives, printers, scanners, etc, etc.), are there a lot of wires plugged into it at the rear of the machine? In which case, is it still as cool as it looks in the stores?
Thanks,
Tom
deecy//
Gordon J Smith
Leading Member
Tom,
We have the 20' iMac with 2gb ram. It runs Nikon Capture fairly well (the program is inherently slow, however, on both Mac and Windows platforms.) Haven't bought PS yet, so can't tell you how it does.
We're running an external LaCie HD, a printer, and a Scanner, cable modem (ethernet), plus an Ipod doc and a Treo phone doc off the back. So there are some cords, but they are fairly well managed. Much better than any windows box.
Gordon
We have the 20' iMac with 2gb ram. It runs Nikon Capture fairly well (the program is inherently slow, however, on both Mac and Windows platforms.) Haven't bought PS yet, so can't tell you how it does.
We're running an external LaCie HD, a printer, and a Scanner, cable modem (ethernet), plus an Ipod doc and a Treo phone doc off the back. So there are some cords, but they are fairly well managed. Much better than any windows box.
Gordon
At the Apple store near you go play with a dually and render a 10mb image. Then go to the iMac and do the same. You can get a whole blink in before it is done on the iMac compared to the 3/4 on the dual processor. Unless you are doing heavy graphic design daily and your are willing to spend the extra money (you wouldn't want anything less than a 30" monitor in that case) this is not an issue to be worried about. It's fast, period.
Yes, more than enough.
Runs Photoshop CS perfectly.
There are only so many ports and if you do it correctly you'll never see the wires. It looks cool. You might also consider getting an AirPort base station and installing a card. You can eliminate the wires for your network, printer, and modem doing that. Floppies? What's that? Time to put everything on CD or DVD-R or even on the Apple server because you'll want to get .Mac too.
Your welcome.
CptnJustc
Senior Member
Oh, don't get me wrong, it's plenty powerful enough. Not exactly blink-and-you'll-miss-it for heavy processing of large RAW files, but it runs PS fine, and works beautifully at 1680x1050. I've got a gig of RAM and wish I'd gone for two, but not at the prices Apple charges. Perhaps I'll get an upgrade from Micron at some point.
There are a fair number of wires plugged into the back of my machine (printer, card reader, iPod, wireless mouse receiver - couldn't do with just one button), but it's still all very neat. Of course, you could always get a USB or network hub to keep the cables at bay.
Paul Charlesworth
Forum Enthusiast
I have one of the original Bondi iMacs that still works great even though I never upgraded it past the original 32MB of RAM. If you use software of that period, you would swear it was as fast as some of our current machines at performing simple tasks. What is really cool, is I have it sharing an office suite area with the "original" iMac, a Mac classic that still has one of the early versions of Word and MS Works. Most of the time it just runs the Star Trek screen saver, but it is a fun thing to have around.
On a more serious note, I have an 800MHz iMac FP in another part of the office and one at home. They are wonderful machines and I am looking forward to getting an iMac G5 for home at some point.
They really are a delight to work with and I wish I had bought one for my office rather than trying to upgrade my G4-466 Powermac, which even with extra fans seems to be on the brink of overheating in my office.
On a more serious note, I have an 800MHz iMac FP in another part of the office and one at home. They are wonderful machines and I am looking forward to getting an iMac G5 for home at some point.
They really are a delight to work with and I wish I had bought one for my office rather than trying to upgrade my G4-466 Powermac, which even with extra fans seems to be on the brink of overheating in my office.
if you are doing alot of photo work (especially when using third party stuff like neatimage) you will definitely be twiddling your thumbs longer with the imac. yes the imac is a good machine, and can do PSCS etc very well. yet if photo (or video) work is a major function, think carefully.it's all about priorities, which only you can answer; cost, speed, compact form, tolerance for waiting, etc.
i have a dual 2.0 pm and 20" screen; sometimes i wonder if i would like the 23" better. probably, but 20" screen works extremely well.
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Greg M
Senior Member
It is Apple's only monitor that has only a 90 degree vertical viewing angle. It changes noticeably when you move it up and down. Shift in your chair and watch it change.
Greg M
http://www.dslrcameras.com/gallery/index.php
http://www.dslrcameras.com
Boston Red Sox World Series Champions!
Best of all was handing the Yankees the worst defeat in baseball history!
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Greg M
http://www.dslrcameras.com/gallery/index.php
http://www.dslrcameras.com
Boston Red Sox World Series Champions!
Best of all was handing the Yankees the worst defeat in baseball history!
Scratching his head. That's what I said.
it sounded to me as if you thought the speed difference is minor. anyone doing lots of photos (most of us here?) will appreciate the significant speed increase on the dual. sorry if i misunderstood your point.
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Jari M
Forum Enthusiast
extremely happy with one 17" at home and another 20" work
Cheers Jari
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Nikon D1, Nikon D100, Mac OS X
Cheers Jari
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Nikon D1, Nikon D100, Mac OS X
Norcalbob
Active member
Hi Tom,
I bought a 20" iMac Bluetooth in December and absolutely love it. This is the first Apple procuct I've owned and I am hooked. I added 512 MB of RAM to give me 1 GB total. For great sound, I have a set of Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II speakers and sub. I also bought an AirPort Extreme Base Station and set up a wireless network with a Dell PC. To top it off, my wife gave me an iPod for Christmas...and everything has been working great. It is a beautiful machine with less clutter than any computer I have ever owned.
I am new to Photoshop CS and so far it is running great. The speed seems fine but I only work on a few photos at a time. I bought a GretagMacBeth Eye-one monitor calibration device and calibrated the monitor. It was simple to use and I am getting a great match between my screen image and the my prints on an Epson R800 once I got the Photoshop settings dialed in.
I am not a power user, so all and all, I am extremely happy with my setup.
Bob
I bought a 20" iMac Bluetooth in December and absolutely love it. This is the first Apple procuct I've owned and I am hooked. I added 512 MB of RAM to give me 1 GB total. For great sound, I have a set of Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II speakers and sub. I also bought an AirPort Extreme Base Station and set up a wireless network with a Dell PC. To top it off, my wife gave me an iPod for Christmas...and everything has been working great. It is a beautiful machine with less clutter than any computer I have ever owned.
I am new to Photoshop CS and so far it is running great. The speed seems fine but I only work on a few photos at a time. I bought a GretagMacBeth Eye-one monitor calibration device and calibrated the monitor. It was simple to use and I am getting a great match between my screen image and the my prints on an Epson R800 once I got the Photoshop settings dialed in.
I am not a power user, so all and all, I am extremely happy with my setup.
Bob
Joel Crawley
Active member
Just about everyone ups the RAM which is understandable. 256K for a computer that's going to be used as an iMac will is a joke.
But anyway I'm on the verge of ordering an iMac 20" to replace my aging Powermac. I don't plan on buying any RAM from Apple. What I planned to do is order with the included 256K and buy a 512K stick from a third party vendor. This way I'll have 3/4 of a Gig for around the same as Apple wants for just the 512 upgrade.
But is that a good idea? I've heard pro/con on using non matched sets. I'm just wondering if anyone has done it and could give me some "real world" experience.
Also I plan on getting Bluetooth as well (even though I don't even have anything BT). I can't count it out in the future. It seems as though you can get the works (keyboard, mouse, and installed internal BT device) for around a 100 bucks. Good deal. I won't even use the mouse (too much in love with my Logitech MX1000) but the keyboard is nice. I'm just curious if I go for this option does it still include the USB keyboard/mouse? I'll be selling the Powermac on ebay so I won't have any wired keyboard and it makes me somewhat nervous not having one in case I need to troubleshoot something.
Thanks for any insight.
But anyway I'm on the verge of ordering an iMac 20" to replace my aging Powermac. I don't plan on buying any RAM from Apple. What I planned to do is order with the included 256K and buy a 512K stick from a third party vendor. This way I'll have 3/4 of a Gig for around the same as Apple wants for just the 512 upgrade.
But is that a good idea? I've heard pro/con on using non matched sets. I'm just wondering if anyone has done it and could give me some "real world" experience.
Also I plan on getting Bluetooth as well (even though I don't even have anything BT). I can't count it out in the future. It seems as though you can get the works (keyboard, mouse, and installed internal BT device) for around a 100 bucks. Good deal. I won't even use the mouse (too much in love with my Logitech MX1000) but the keyboard is nice. I'm just curious if I go for this option does it still include the USB keyboard/mouse? I'll be selling the Powermac on ebay so I won't have any wired keyboard and it makes me somewhat nervous not having one in case I need to troubleshoot something.
Thanks for any insight.
CptnJustc
Senior Member
If I were you, I'd go for at least a gig. Macs can really chew through memory, especially with Safari, Photoshop, and > open. Haven't tried unmatched sets... thinking about it, in order to get to a gig and a half.
No, you don't get a wired keyboard. It'll work with USB keyboards, though. It did give me a scare early when the Bluetooth seemed to conk out (geeze, the language filters here are strict)... but, for some reason, it's been running fine since the first week, when it crashed once and the Bluetooth froze up. I'm guessing you'll be fine.
No, you don't get a wired keyboard. It'll work with USB keyboards, though. It did give me a scare early when the Bluetooth seemed to conk out (geeze, the language filters here are strict)... but, for some reason, it's been running fine since the first week, when it crashed once and the Bluetooth froze up. I'm guessing you'll be fine.
Norcalbob
Active member
Hello Joel,
I bought my 20" iMac with internal BT at the local Apple store. It came with 512 MB of RAM factory installed. I purchased an additional 512 MB module of Apple RAM and it cost $150 and installed it myself. I also bought an Airport Extreme card and installed that for wireless networking. Both were a snap to install.
I don't think the matched pair thing means that much but I decided to stick with all Apple products and I didn't think the price was too high. The iMac came with a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse and both have worked flawlessly from the get go. I am so impressed with this machine that I may become an Apple geek!
Bob
I bought my 20" iMac with internal BT at the local Apple store. It came with 512 MB of RAM factory installed. I purchased an additional 512 MB module of Apple RAM and it cost $150 and installed it myself. I also bought an Airport Extreme card and installed that for wireless networking. Both were a snap to install.
I don't think the matched pair thing means that much but I decided to stick with all Apple products and I didn't think the price was too high. The iMac came with a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse and both have worked flawlessly from the get go. I am so impressed with this machine that I may become an Apple geek!
Bob
Joel, you will read lots of posts from people who warn that you will have freezes or other problems if you dont use apple or crucial ram. well, i've had 5 macs, have added 3rd party ram to all of them, and never had any problems. could be i was lucky. could be it's an overrated problem.
here's where i bought my last ram for my dual 2.0 pm:
http://store.yahoo.com/boundless1/1067.html ("boundless technology" at dealram)
here's where i bought my last ram for my dual 2.0 pm:
http://store.yahoo.com/boundless1/1067.html ("boundless technology" at dealram)
Joel Crawley
Active member
Thanks for the replies. Of course I meant MB's not K's as I stated in my first query. Thanks for not correcting me ;-)
I know I've been using a cheap third party RAM stick in my PM since I bought it without any trouble.
Right now the only thing that's holding up the works is Apple. I wish they would do a revision on the iMacs. That's all I'm waiting for.
I know I've been using a cheap third party RAM stick in my PM since I bought it without any trouble.
Right now the only thing that's holding up the works is Apple. I wish they would do a revision on the iMacs. That's all I'm waiting for.
Applal
Member
My 20" iMac G5 is an absolute joy to use, easily the best Mac I've ever used, and I've used a lot of them! I loved getting my desktop back and the 20" screen is great to work with or show off. I am getting more work done on this machine than I ever did before. I do a fair amound of video editing, making DVDs and processing my photos, and the thing just gets it all done. Very happy user!
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