[Jacko]

Hello,

I am a long time PC user, and I have been seriously considering making the switch to Apple. I wont go into all the detail about why I want to switch, but just that Apple has won me over, and I really want to get into it.

I just need some advice on what a first time Apple user should buy. I already have an iPod and love it, and I am interested in buying a Mac. I really have a desire for a Power Mac G5, but that is a bit out of my price range, and I was thinking it may be a better idea to purchase a lower model to start off with, and if I like (which I'm sure I will ) then I may buy a Power Mac some time later.

I have been thinking about buying the rev b iMac, 17-inch 2GHz model. I am a little bit of a power user, and thats why I am looking into upgrading to a Power Mac a few years down the track. Now, would the iMac be a wise choice? I currently have a laptop (Win XP), and it has a few problems, especially overheating, and it has crashed twice due to overheating. As the iMac is also a small unit, would it have a heat problem?

If I do decide on an iMac, I am also looking at ordering it with upgraded ram, from 512MB to 1GB. Would this also be a wise choice? Is 512MB enough, or is 1GB is decent amount. I may be able to go up to 2GB of RAM if the need be. And yes, I will be ordering the RAM from Apple, I know it is slightly more expensive, but I would rather do it that way.

And one last question. How good is the ATI Radeon 9600 graphics card, standard on iMacs?

I'm happy with the idea of an iMac, and I'm just hoping that someone can answer my questions, esp. whether the iMac would be a wise choice for a slight power user, and a first time Mac buyer.

Thanks in advance!

[Brad]

Welcome to AppleNova! I hope we can help you with your decision and ease your transition to Machood once you get your new computer.

Truth be told, I have never once read a single report of a Mac (include PowerBooks, iBooks, iMacs...) crashing, freezing, or otherwise experiencing problems due to overheating. Yeah, the notebooks can get warm to the touch, but they certainly seem to manage well enough. All of Apple's systems have variable fan speeds that rev up and down based on the system's temperature.

From the looks of things, you have settled on an excellent choice. The iMac is a wonderful machine for new-to-Apple power users. It sports a very speedy processor (much better than the Mac mini's) and is a very good machine overall.

I'd definitely advise you to get the 1GB of RAM if you can afford it. When it comes to RAM in a Mac, you can never have too much! Mac OS X is very aggressive about keeping data cached for quicker future access and having more RAM can help improve performance when you're either running lots of applications at once or are working with large multimedia files.

I'm no expert with video cards; so, I can't give any advice about the Radeon 9600. I can, however, direct you to xlr8yourmac's video card related articles. There is at least one entry about the 9600.

Feel free to share any other questions or concerns you may have about your future Mac!

[Franz Josef]

Hi Jacko and welcome. The 17" iMac is a great machine - we use PowerBooks for portability but when we get a desktop it would likely be an iMac. More RAM definitely a good idea to get full benefit. I'd echo Brad's comments re overheating - a 12" PB can get hot to touch but it copes very well and I've never had a problem or a crash - I'd expect an iMac to be equally comfortable.

Given it's a very small footprint on your desktop, you might think of getting a wireless (Bluetooth) keyboard and mouse to avoid clutter.

[Jacko]

Thank you very much for your replies It may be a few months before I do order a Mac, but this has definately helped me with my choice. I can't wait to enter the Apple world. Any other ideas/comments welcome. Thanks

[Jacko]

I have hopefully one last question.
What lifespan can I expect from the iMac? I know it doesn't have much upgradeability. As for a Power Mac, I assume you could get more out of it, as you could upgrade it every couple of years. Would the iMac last beyond five years? I probably would get a new computer sometime before the five year mark. Thanks.

[Brad]

Yeah, I'd say 5 years is a safe figure. The LCD is the only thing that can't be replaced that would probably show some wear after that much time. All LCD backlights will fade over a length of time.

I'm using a Power Mac dual G4 that is a couple months shy of the 5-year mark. I also have a 12" PowerBook (1.33GHz G4), but I actually still use the old tower as my primary machine at home. I've installed Tiger on one of its drives and it's working great! It's still running with the original 500 MHz processors, too. I've only added RAM, hard drives, and a DVD burner. Truth be told, I'll probably continue to use this Power Mac for a couple more years and then I'll pass it down to a family member who'll get a few more years out of it.

Mac OS X has really done a good job of extending the already long life of Apple's computers.

Of course, my mother is using an old Power Mac 8600/250 circa 1997 (eight years old!) and it still works fine. It's a bit slow and is stuck running the Classic Mac OS, but it gets the jobs done that are pushed its way. My mother uses it for playing music in iTunes, typing the occasional Word document, e-mail, instant messaging, and light web surfing. The only thing that's changed from the original spec is that I replaced its hard drive about five years ago.