I Mac computer

[dondiego]

Howdy:
I'm considering buying and iMac with 24" screen, Intel2.8, 500HD, 4GB RAM.
1- Is that a good investment?
2- How good is the monitor?
3- Would it handle CS3 and Lightroom comfortably?

If it is not a good machine for digital photography please suggest me one.

Thank you,

[ufauxreal]

I am about to order that exact machine, except I plan to get the 2.4ghz with (I think?) 320 HD. I would think, with 4 gb ram, you should have no problem at all. Have you had a chance to 'play' with one at an Apple store... it's a wonderful machine. The monitor is gorgeous, although it is a glossy screen which some people do not like. It does make those colors pop though!

Joan
PS Apple wants an obscene $850 to put in 4 gbs of ram, which can be had at reputable places like Crucial for a little over $100. I plan to buy the ram on my own and have found an authorized Mac re-seller who will install it for me for much less than $850. People say it is very easy to install the ram, but I'm a klutz and would rather have someone who knows what they are doing, install it for a fee.

[frank abramonte]

There are only 2 memory slots in the iMac. It normally ships with 1GB of memory. I just purchased a 2GB memory for $60.00 and installed myself. It's extremely easy, just follow the instructions in the manual.
i don't know whether memory comes in 3GB, so you may either have to waste the 1Gb that comes with the iMac and install two 2GBs or settle with a a total of 3GBs.

MacMall has your computer for 41,694.00 with free shipping, free epson printer and free parallels (allows you to run windows, but does not include the windows operating system).
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/families/newimac/

[TonyW]

MacMall has your computer for 41,694.00 with free shipping, free epson printer and free parallels

For that price I think I would expect free shipping (and maybe a free car too :D)

Tony

[ljameso1]

Good one Tony. Don Diego, I don't know if free shipping would extend to V.I. might just be continental US. If get to mainland would be useful to play in apple store. Macs are are great for photo darkroom. I've had mine for 5 yrs and have been very happy. Bought the most ram(2-250s) and memory could get at the time. Even with larger raw files only a little slow down, so you should be fine.

[Wendy]

Hi ..

I think that the 2.8 24 inch screen iMac now comes with 2GB as standard .. (2 x 1GB)

Wendy

[frank abramonte]

Tony, the price I quoted was a typo on my part, the price is 1,694.00 and not 41,694.00.
Hope you didn't really think it actually cost that much.
I'll be more careful with my proof reading in the future.

[Jancy]

Don--I absolutely love mine. I have the 20 inch monitor and I feel like it is huge! Looks much bigger at home then in the stores. I also will be ordering memory from crucial. The difference in price is amazing. Mine has only 1 gig of ram but to order 2 sticks for a total of 4 gig ram it will only be $130.00. As opposed to the 850.00 price from Apple. Very easy to install. 2 screws at bottom of screen they pop out and that's it. According to the specs.
I think I will surprise my friend that bought me my computer with a couple of sticks for himself. :D That's the least I could do!
I am just so impressed with the mac. I had no clue that I would love this so much!! :)

[Wendy]

Hi Jancy ..

Oh that would be a nice thing to do :)

Glad that you are loving the Mac ... I think that they are wondeful computers :)

Wendy

[Jancy]

Thanks Wendy--I just cannot seem to stay away from it!! and I did decide to call her "Pixie" even though she is not
the one with the dead pixel! :)
They a FABULOUS!!!

[dondiego]

Howdy:
After a few days of HD research I found out that the iMac 24” monitor do not calibrate properly.
The monitor is unable to come down to 150 (for got the name of the measurement) that are required by the calibration software and hardware. I verified this with a friend of mine that is a graphic artist and Mac user. The sad part is that Apple wont help because they do not consider the iMac a pro computer.

Now I call Dell and got a pc with 2.4 mhz chip, 4 gig RAM 800 bus, 1Tbt of HD on RAID configuration, 2 additional LaCie 500HD, 24”Ultrasharp Monitor (this monitor has been rated 9 out of 10 by both PC Magazine and Computer Shopper magazine), 512 Nvidia video card, 2 years in house service and one year interest free financing. And I only paid $2,300.00 delivered to my door. Now that is a Dell of a deal, what do you think? The same outfit on Mac would have cost me $1,500.00 or more.

[Woebgon]

My 24" 2.8GHz 4GB iMac is fantastic. There's no comparison between it and my PC.:D

[Lesa]

2 years in house service and one year interest free financing.
Good thing you got the in-house service, as you'll most likely need it. One of the many great things about the Mac platform is that there are no viruses, adware or spyware. As such, there is considerable less time spent troubleshooting the computer.

Good luck to you!

[mom to 4]

I have a 20 inch imac and I love it!!! Best investment I ever made. I bought it almost a year ago. I have 2GB Ram and it runs everything I have on it (except imovie08) without any problem. I do have cs3. I do believe the issue I have with imovie is with imove and NOT the imac. When I got mine, I got the 250 HD, don't think the 320 was offered, of if it was, it brought the price up too much for me.

My next door neighbor got a 24 inch a few years back and he uses his for magazine magazine work that he does and he has never mentioned a problem with calibration. I would be shocked to here that that is a problem.

I am sure you will absolutely LOVE yours!!!

Oh, the only thing I have been told by the Apple people and I have no idea if this is true, is that if you put in anything, like memory, and do not have it done by Apple, it will void your warranty. So, for what it is worth I thought I would pass it on.....

[Jancy]

I have been loving my imac also. I am not use to "no" trouble shooting!!!!:eek:
It is such a relaxing computer to use :)

[frank abramonte]

Colleen, if voiding the warranty were true why did apple make inserting additional ram so easy.
If you buy your ram from apple they are not going to send someone over to install it for you, and you certainly are not going to send your computer back to have it installed.
I understand that the only way you can calibrate the LCD monitors is with one of the third party calibrating tools.
These new iMac are great.

[ufauxreal]

Oh, the only thing I have been told by the Apple people and I have no idea if this is true, is that if you put in anything, like memory, and do not have it done by Apple, it will void your warranty. So, for what it is worth I thought I would pass it on.....
I have also read this on occasion. I am planning on purchasing the 2.4 24" iMac next week but will have 4 gb ram installed by an authorized Apple repair facility (but not an Apple store). I don;t trust doing it myself. Apple actually has a guide to installing ram on it's support site,
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86812
so it makes no sense to think that self-installed ram would void the warranty.

Joan

[mom to 4]

Frank:

Ya got me! That is just what they told me! Thought I would just pass it along. I would ask them before buying and if they said no problem, I would be writing down that guys name just in case. It's easy to install RAM in the imac???? I would not have thought that!

Jancy:

Pretty cool, eh???? I don't think I knew you had an imac.:confused::rolleyes:

I am lovin' mine too!!!

[Wendy]

Hi ..

As you all know I have been a Mac user for a long time :) :)

... and I use SuperCal to calibrate all our Macs, its works just fine and is so easy to use. As with a lot of Mac software it is shareware :)

http://www.bergdesign.com/supercal/

Wendy

[ufauxreal]

As an addendum to voiding the warranty by self-installing ram, I just ordered a new iMac. When I mentioned i plan to install memory myself, the salesperson stated that if you use third party memory that is different than what Apple uses, the warranty will be voided. I mentioned that I plan to order from Crucial. He stated the memory they sell is the same as Apple uses, and would not void the warranty. For 4 gbs of memory, that's a savings of almost $400!

Joan

[Grant]

Hi ..

... and I use SuperCal to calibrate all our Macs, its works just fine and is so easy to use. …

Wendy

Wendy

What advantage does this program have over the built in calibration tools that Leopard had hidden within System Preferences? Just curious!

Also my 20" iMac came with about 15 Colour profiles so I can colour profile my monitor to death. Heavens this profiling is confusing.

[mom to 4]

Joan:

Thank you for asking that questions and getting a specific clear and concise answer to it. My question to them wasn't nearly as specific :D and I guess they dealt with me with a non-specific response!!! I am really glad you followed up and were able to clarify things. What you were told does make sense to me!!!

Thanks!!

[Wendy]

Hi Grant ..

I just find SuperCal easier to use :)

Wendy

[ljameso1]

Grant, I've used the built-in profiling/calibration in system preferences for 5yrs and still am really happy with my print matches. No expensive calibraters for me:D. Macs are wonderful.

[dondiego]

Howdy:
I had 2 Mac's computers in the past and I know they are very good quality machines. But to me monitor calibration is a must have and I don't trust my eyes. So I prefer to use a software and hardware that will do that for me, beside I'm able to make my own printing profiles. Have fun with you Mac's I'll do the same with my Dell. After all we must do what make's ea. and everyone of us happy, that's what is important. :)

[Mystic Mark]

Tony, the price I quoted was a typo on my part, the price is 1,694.00 and not 41,694.00.
Hope you didn't really think it actually cost that much.
I'll be more careful with my proof reading in the future.

There goes TonyW's dreams of a free car...:p