No 56k: New computer time, some questions.

One thing hard to put into money terms is the ease of upgrading/swapping things. When I hear stuff like "my battery is not removable" or "my desktop only has one drive bay" it makes me shrug.


I've just done a quick snoop around, the low-end 27" iMac is 1700?. A quick speccing of the core components gets me to 520?, that lacks minor details like webcam, wifi, or bluetooth. If you want all of them you're looking at maybe 600-650?. That leaves around 1000? for the monitor.
Now, if you want more powwweeeerrrrrr!!! than the low-end you can always upgrade it at Apple. However, upgrades are costly. Going for the 3.6GHz i5 is 180? extra at apple, 170? when picking parts (ok I admit, bad example). Getting 8GB RAM instead of 4GB is an extra 180? if you want 4x2GB, an extra 360? if you want 2x4GB - when picking parts it is an extra 50? for 4x2GB, an extra 100? (or less, too lazy to go through everything) for 2x4GB. In other words, upgrading RAM saves you 130-260? when not going with the rotten apple.
Upgrading the 1TB HDD to 2TB is 135? for the mac, 40? when picking parts - 95? saved.
Getting an additional 256GB SSD is 675? at apple, 430? when picking parts - 245? saved, even more when going for a 120GB SSD, that's more than enough when paired to a 1TB HDD.
Those few performance mods added together would save you 610? - almost enough to pay for the monitor.




On the list above:
- I'll wager you don't need a 700W PSU.
- You're comparing a quad 2.8GHz with a duo 3.2GHz, not quite fair :tease:
- You missed the GPU?

This is my attempt at matching the base 27" iMac's core components:

https://pic.armedcats.net/n/na/narf/2010/12/05/notimac.png

Sums up at 517?. Even with the list price for the 27" Dell you'd be 350? under the iMac's 1700? (or 1500? with 12% discount, 150? under).
If you still have a case, maybe a DVD drive, etc you will obviously save more.



Also, considered this? http://ts.fujitsu.com/products/displays/p_line/p27t-6-ips.html
729? at Alternate, too lazy to look for a UK shop. I'd go for the Dell because I can get it for under 700?, but if you can't get that in the UK then this may be a viable option.
 
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I specced a computer too, complete with mouse, keyboard and 27" monitor for ?1162 that will beat it performance wise too.

pcspecs.jpg


Yes, I did go with a AMD 6 core processor instead of speccing an Intel quad core.
Also, 8GB of RAM and powerful GPU.
Only the PSU might be a bit low on power.
 
Yes it's only 1920x1080 but so was the 24" Dell he specced. I only chose it because it was the best 27" monitor in stock at that store, it being TN is also a downside because it only displays 16.7 million colours compared to the Dell's 1.07 billion.

Still, my specs leave about ?100, almost exactly enough to go with the Dell monitor.
 
The Dell U2410 is 1920x1200. The more "square" a display is, the more display area you get for a fixed diagonal size.
 
Hm, but 1920x1080 is better for watching movies in 16:9 (imo)
 
Very true, but (and this is personal preference) I'd sacrifice some resolution for a better cpu and gpu because that too will help a lot when doing photo editing.
To be honest, the iMac with that discount is a pretty good package for the price. It'll all come down to what otispunkmeyer prefers; epic screen and less (but still sufficient) performance or epic performance with a lesser screen. :)
 
I'd rather invest in an SSD rather than in a GPU - it speeds everything up, not 3D gaming only.
 
Yeah gaming just isn't a priority and due to where the machine is kept movies won't being watched on it either.

I did forget to spec a graphics card, but something cheap, passively cooled and powerful enough to drive 2 big displays will do. If I went windows I would almost certainly get an SSD. No question they improve performance in general usage massively. I can see it being a massive ball ache migrating back to windows, especially as all my data is locked up in a time machine backup!

I just discovered apple upgrades are a bit cheaper in the HE store as well. So I could push the boat out for the faster i5.

Currently specing my work computer, it's more fun when you aren't spending your own money. The uni use crummy viglen machines but I can max the spec sheet with 8gb ram, core i7, workstation level gpu
And big hard drives for dirt cheap!
 
Yeah gaming just isn't a priority and due to where the machine is kept movies won't being watched on it either.

In that case the price for my quickly-specced core components rig drops by 50?.

I just discovered apple upgrades are a bit cheaper in the HE store as well. So I could push the boat out for the faster i5.

Upgrading RAM with apple is three times as expensive as in the real world. No HE discount can correct that.
 
My personal opinion about Macs is that you can never justify the cost of a Mac desktop. Although my opinion is very biased away from most Mac products so take that with a grain of salt. Make sure you get a nice mouse if you are buying that. A fast computer with a bad mouse isn't a satisfying experience.
 
Already got a magic mouse and apple keyboard but you get them again if you get the iMac. So that's sorted because i like the magic mouse.

Having said that I actually really like
The big track pad thing they sell. To me it just feels more intuitive than a mouse for some tasks. ( and damn if I hit the return key on this iPhone keyboard one more time I'm gonna hurl this thing out the window! it's so bloody annoying!)

Spent 1400 yesterday, on my work rig:

Core i7 2.93ghz
8gb ram
Fx 580
500gb hd
2x22" monitors

Should be sweet!
 
Ok so I caved and bought the 27 iMac and got it with the 3.6ghz i5

It arrived 2 days ago and now I literally sit at my desk in awe of it. It's like a higher presence sat infront of me!! The desktop real estate is biblical, full HD is swamped by it, and I have my old dell 2005fpw sat in portrait mode next to it and it looks puny by comparison.

I'm away for Xmas at the moment but I will get some desk photos up asap. It's just beautiful.
 
Ok so I caved and bought the 27 iMac and got it with the 3.6ghz i5

It arrived 2 days ago and now I literally sit at my desk in awe of it. It's like a higher presence sat infront of me!! The desktop real estate is biblical, full HD is swamped by it, and I have my old dell 2005fpw sat in portrait mode next to it and it looks puny by comparison.

I'm away for Xmas at the moment but I will get some desk photos up asap. It's just beautiful.

sounds lovely, care to post a pic or two?
 
^ needs all the area you can get.

A bit late for otispunkmeyer, but an alternative to the U2410 is multiple U2311H or U2211H monitors. 1920x1080 resolution, but they're still IPS, and with each being 1/3-1/2 the price of a U2410, you get almost twice as many pixels for less money. It's a combo I'm seriously considering for a future build myself.
 
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