iMac - 24-inch: 3.06GHz

rlculver

rlculver

rlculver

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30 Oct 2002
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309
Hi,

I am thinking of getting a Apple Mac :)

I have always used Windows, which I still very much like, but feel I need to learn something else.

Are the iMac very good systems? I am able to build / repair my PC, but when i get a MAC, will I still be able to do this or will apple have to be involved?

Does MAC hardware often go wrong or is it normally quite stable?

Do I need system clean up tools / anti virus software, or is this all built in? Do i need an anti virus or are MAC's still virus free.

With regards to boot camp, can I run windows vista? Does the iMac come with a DVD, so I can reinstsall the Mac OS from a formatted hard drive?

Thanks
 
I've been a long time PC builder/tinkerer, but nowadays I really don't have the time and money to continually upgrade (not by necessity but by want) my PC.
In that light I ordered myself a new 3.06Ghz iMac, still to receive it but I really can't wait.

I've ben using a Macbook Pro for a couple of years and love it, mainly the OS. I've been so much more productive on my Macbook Pro than my PC, which I used for gaming mainly.
Unfortunately, and I might suffer the same fate, you cannot realistically repair anything that goes wrong inside by yourself, not only due to the difficulty in opening iMacs up but because it also voids the warranty.
Saying that though, I believe they are very reliable, granted they do go wrong but it's the same with any piece of technology nowadays it seems, occasionally you will have something go wrong, dead pixels or broken optical drive. In that regard the iMacs an be a nuisance as you'll have to either take it to an Apple store for repair or have Apple pick it up for you.

OS X in my experience is really nice for keeping itself clean and clutter free, it's not perfect by any means but I haven't found any need to install anti-virus software on OS X but saying that NOD32 and Kaspersky which I have used in the past on Windows aren't much of a resource hog and are easy to use and run, so the whole no AV I guess is nice but is not a make or break point in my opinion.
OS X contains a few CLI commands you an run in Terminal (DOS Prompt equivalent?) and there are many free tools, Onyx is a very popular one which I use also, it repairs permissions and runs a whole load of scripts that clean out caches etc.

All the iMacs come with what Apple call a superdrive (bit misleading ;)) that is a DVD drive, read and write so no worries on that score. You can reinstall when you want yes from a clean install, I tend to do so when I get a new machine, I just like the experience of reinstalling, as daft as it sounds, mainly as OS X is very very easy to do so.

You can easily run Vista on bootcamp, I intend to do the same thing on my machine when I get it, just to run a few games. And when Vista is installed on the iMac you can put the Leopard disk in and it will automatically install all the drivers for all the iMacs hardware, from bluetooth, to display drivers to the hotkey support on the Apple keyboard.
 
To answer your first question, yes the iMacs are very good systems. I have used my a few of my friends iMacs and I found them to be very nice machines. I love the screens as well as the colors are very rich like on my MacBook.

Most the time if something does go wrong it would be best to involve apple as they know their systems inside out and it would be easier to send it to them than trying to find the right hardware and then replacing it your self.

Mac hardware is basically normal PC hardware, it can always go wrong anything can with any computer product. But if you look on the internet it seems very rare for something major to keep going wrong in the iMacs or any mac system.

You will not need any form of Anti-Virus or clean up tools, the only tool you may want to run if you feel your system is slowing down is Onyx but you would not need to run that everyday or even every week maybe just once a month from what I've found.

Using Boot Camp you can install Vista and it will run fine, this just creates a second partition it will leave your OSX partition intact. The iMac does indeed come with reinstall CD's so you can do a fresh install of OSX when ever you like.

If you plan on running windows on the iMac but not for gaming use, look into VMWare Fusion or Parallels. Those pieces of software allow you to run windows inside of OSX and it works really well but not so good for the most demanding games.
 
I'm getting one and looking forward to it, I have a Macbook pro already with vista via boot camp so I know it runs fine. Even play COD4 on my MBP with a X1600 so a 8800GS should be fine ;)

I'm not changing because I'm fed up with PC's but just fancy a change of hardware as I'm more into photography now and photo's look so much nicer on a 24" iMac than my 24" dell.
 
Hey!

I have the Early 2008 iMac 3.06 which your refering to, and its amazing, its like nothing else. I love it and only thing I can think you might want is ScreenShade a free app because the screen is almost always too bright.
 
Hi,

Thanks for the comments.

Like wise, I like my PC and Windows, but want to expaned my knowledge.

Any idea why Blu Ray drives will be intergated to the iMac?
 
I just ordered a macbook, but am gonna hold off on an imac until blu-ray drives are in the range.

My theory is blu-ray support is pointless on a 13" notebook, that was my excuse to ordering one :p
 
Hi,

:(:( - next year for blu ray.

Just been thinking, would it be a better idea to get a Mac Mini, as it is my first mac?

Or , do you think a iMac would be most cost effective?

Thanks
 
If you got the Mac Mini then you could maybe save up for a Mac Pro, as hopefully apple will introduce Blu Ray into the Mac Pro range some time next year.

If you want a full desktop replacement, then get the iMac as they are still great machines.
 
Hi,

Thanks for reply.

Sounds like a great idea :) - Are the Mac Mini's still very good machines.

I am looking at the 2.00 Ghz, 2 GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive.

What do you think?

Robert
 
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