My new Imac! (from a Microsoft convert) Some advice?

[ca9phoenix]

I have just paid for the 3.06ghz 24'' Imac and am awaiting delivery.

(told it should be here before the 1st Sept)

I'm very new to Macs so am still learning,

My first mac was in the early 90's and i suppose was a predecessor to the imacs called a Mac plus

It had a greyscale monitor built into the unit about 6'' square screen and i had to load the OS by floppy into the 4Mb Ram every time i turned it on!

I hope they've moved on some since then!

I then went over to PC's and spent thousands on gaming rigs etc

I've recently sold my high end gaming pc and as a replacement was given a G4 power pc running leopard (badly) but it has got me hooked.

What do you guys think i should get for it (the imac not the G4) (programs etc)

Will i be able to load my copy of Vista Ultimate X64 (oem) onto it via Boot Camp?

Should i take some unboxing photo's of it and post them?

Should i buy the 4GB ram from OcUK to replace the standard 2Gb it comes with (and does this make a huge difference?)
or should i get the 800mhz kingston ram that i have found for slightly more?

Any other advice to a new mac convert would be very much appreciated

 

[JonB]

Upgrade to 4gb and it will FLY.

There are various threads with recommended programs. It really depends what you want to use it for as to what to recommend.

 

[ca9phoenix]

Uses will be various, some video editing, converting and burning. Some word and excel work but only very simple and basic. A few games here and there (spore, civilisation and other rts with a sprinkling of fps too)

I have read up on the programs I should need so that's no majour drama

 

[1337z0r]

First thing to do is upgrade to 4GB of ram, makes a whole lot of difference in how fast Leopard is.

Vista x64 might not work on the iMac, I think the only true driver support apple have given is too the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro but some people such as my self have gotten x64 to run under the normal MacBook.

There should be someone around here with an iMac to tell you if they have succeeded in installing Vista x64. If the OEM version is the one from your old PC and it has been activated then you will not be able to use it as the OEM edition is tied to the motherboard use in the PC in which is was activated.

Few apps I reccomend:

Adium for Instant Messaging - MSN, GTALK, AIM ect.
VLC for video files

Plenty of threads on this forum though suggesting apps which are good on the Mac. Plus theres a few top 100 mac posts on the net just search google.

 

[ic0n]

right so vista 64 will not work as far as i know as it needs 2 ba 32bit os dont know y just did last time i tryed to use it shame as my macbook pro has 4gb ram

any way stuff to get well there is a program called quicksilver that lets u load up program by typing there name is kinda nice and free

caffeine is a plug in that puts a button at the top of your screen to stop the mac from sleeping this is really good for watching streaming video with out having to turn of screen saver and stuff

vlc will play everything i think

qucktime pro with flip4mac and perian will run most videos in hd and in frount row as well

growl is nice will let you know whats going on with your mac as stuff happens

adium is a nice IM program i love it

also amsn is a windows live clone that allows webcam use

transmission really good torrent application

there u go thats about it

 

[ca9phoenix]

thanks for all that, i'll start on some research regarding vista and xp etc.... i'm sure i can obtain a 32bit version of vista if neccessary....

as it's only a sideline i'm considering using xp anyway as every day use will be Leopard.

 

[ic0n]

yer i use vista as i only have windows for games and need vista for some games but if not then use xp as its much smaller

 

[LordSplodge]

I'll be cold and dead before I install Windows XP (or any version of Windows) on my MacBook.

As for you iMac. Well done, great machine! I recommend QuickSilver as well as Flip4Mac, Perian and VisualHub for all your media needs. If you are going to be primarily in OS X and like to keep track of your Finances then iBank is good, it is like the iTunes of finance software!

I'd put as much RAM in as you can afford as OS X like RAM and can use it well.

Enjoy.

 

[ca9phoenix]

to compliment my IMac i have just purchased

Kingston DDR2 PC6400 SODIMM - 2 x 2GB kit from another site for just over £70 delivered.

With the bank holiday and everything it should arrive just before the IMac does!