iMac new or refurbed

Paul_M · 5 Jul 2011 at 17:17

I was looking at the 2011 iMac 21.5" 2.8GHz i7, ATI 6770M GC with 512mb memory but have seen some refurbished iMac 27" 2.93GHz i7, ATI HD5750 GC with 1GB memory on the apple site for a similar price. The iMac would mostly be used for photo editing/graphic work (photoshop & lightroom) and cad (highdesign & sketchup). Would there be any benefit in going with the older model because of the increased vram?

JediFragger · 5 Jul 2011 at 19:27

Personally I'd def go for the 27" model if possible, had one recently and it's the Daddy :cool:

Vonhelmet · 5 Jul 2011 at 19:35

I have 21.5" and it's great, but 27" would be e-mazing.com

LordSplodge · 5 Jul 2011 at 19:37

27" all the time. It's a world apart.

Elric · 5 Jul 2011 at 19:38

I've got two 27" refurbished iMacs. If you can have a 27" for a similar price to a new 21.5", it's worth a look just for the screen alone.

Zeebedy · 5 Jul 2011 at 19:44

And because its coming from Apple, refurbished is basically saying "brand new".

RTJ

durbs · 5 Jul 2011 at 20:42

rip-the-jacker said:
And because its coming from Apple, refurbished is basically saying "brand new".

RTJ

+1, I got a refurb MacBook Pro i5 from Apple and it was brand new.

Paul_M · 6 Jul 2011 at 09:46

general consensus is that it should be the 27" then

. I take it the performance difference between the two would be negligible, although the 21.5" comes with the newer sandbridge?

Supertaff · 6 Jul 2011 at 19:54

had a 27 iMac from the refurb store end of last year, excellent item like new apart from the shipping box.

Yesterday my Mac Book Pro 17 arrived from the refurb store, again perfect, like new apart from box.

Also go 27 rather than 21.5 the difference is very very noticeable you won't regret it.

Taff

JediFragger · 6 Jul 2011 at 20:26

I'd personally sacrifice a little in terms of cpu/gfx power for the awesome screen :cool:

rctneil · 7 Jul 2011 at 00:06

I just bought a new 27" iMac as my first ever mac and it's just stunning. Loving it. The screen is absolutely second to none. Crystal clear and just HUGE!!.

Deffo go 27"

Paul_M · 8 Jul 2011 at 23:01

Having popped into the apple store to take a look at the two screen sizes, must say I was extremely impressed with the 27". Had a look at the online store and they had a refurbed 27" 3.4GHz i7, so took the plunge and went for it.

Picked it up today at 8.00pm as I missed the carrier, and loving it so far and as an added bonus it was advertised as 4GB & 1TB hard drive, but its actually come with 8GB & and 2TB drive

JediFragger · 9 Jul 2011 at 09:37

WOW m8 you did really ****ing well! Jealous as

Glad you got it m8, sweet deal :cool:

I was gonna splash 2k+ on an SSD equiped 3.4 i7 but I saw a reallllllllly good deal on a 2nd-hand i5 model so plumped for that instead. I know I'll get the next model though, esp as I'm expecting a design-change for 2012

Somnambulist · 9 Jul 2011 at 18:18

Got to love the Refurb store. New stuff tends to be added around between 11pm-1am, if you want first dibs.

kirkster · 9 Jul 2011 at 20:25

Somnambulist said:
Got to love the Refurb store. New stuff tends to be added around between 11pm-1am, if you want first dibs.

Where does the refurb kit come from?
I have a theory its kit that has been switched on in Apple stores 7 in the morning until done for the day with people fiddling with it all day.....

Would that be an issue?

Brian8bit · 9 Jul 2011 at 20:37

kirkster said:
Where does the refurb kit come from?
I have a theory its kit that has been switched on in Apple stores 7 in the morning until done for the day with people fiddling with it all day.....

Would that be an issue?

The majority of stuff is returned items with faults. A manufacturers idea of repair is to just replace the main components instead of trying to bug hunt. It's cheaper and quicker. (This isn't unique to Apple, it's the same for most companies). Though "open box" and shop floor demonstration units probably end up on there as well.

Bring in MBP with fault.
Apple say it's faulty and they will replace your product.
Apple give you new MBP, they keep old one.
Apple send it off to be refurbished.
Apple open it up, replace either main board, drives or screen depending on fault.
Apple then list it on refurb site.

All my own gear is from the refurb store. 13" MBP, 21" iMac and 1TB Time Capsule. The only reason my iPhone wasn't bought from the refurb store is because they don't sell refurb'd phones.

Fr0dders · 9 Jul 2011 at 20:51

Same here

Everything i've bought has been from the refurb store.

All exactly like new apart from the fact the box is just a plain white one.

Somnambulist · 9 Jul 2011 at 21:25

Yep. Cheaper and the only difference is it the white box it comes in. Any problems and it's still under warranty and everything. As some people find out, you often get a better spec than is advertised as well, although my Mac Mini was as described.

In future when I get a 27" iMac, I will be using the refurb store. There's a dashboard widget called RefurbMe which lets you know when new stuff has come in. The best deals tend to be snapped up quite quickly; I never saw any Mac Minis on there except the Server ones, so I decided to camp it out several nights running. Lo and behold a couple of Minis were added, and I grabbed the one I wanted, must have been on display for about 5 minutes.

kirkster · 10 Jul 2011 at 09:33

Can you still get the free 3 year warranty with the higher education discount anyone know on refurb kit?

Faustus · 10 Jul 2011 at 11:22

My spin on this is the 21.5" is to small the 27" to large though the text is very small and the mirror screen is a nightmare (unless of course you enjoy your own reflection).

I'm keeping everything crossed for a Mini update in next couple of weeks then I can get rid of my iMac buy a Mini and use my own 24" matte screen. I've given my iMac two years to get used to it and haven't so this isn't a snap decision.

I don't think there's anything wrong with refurbished at all but simply question your choice of product.