Should I get iMac?

[Guo Xiang]

I complained to my brother about my computer and what I believe to be cheating practises by the company who sold it to me.

He then proceeded to convince me to buy iMac, sounding totally like an Apple fanboy.

I'm honestly quite convinced already... especially after he said I could install Windows and play games as usual there... only problem is that he's not a gamer so I'm not very sure how well the iMac would be able to handle Window games, especially heavy ones such as 'The Elder Scrolls', 'Football Manager', and 'The Sims'. I'm not going to take his words for it.

But he will be going to Hongkong next month, where he will buy it for me if I do decide to get an iMac.

I'd like to know if iMac is good for playing games, especially for games that take up lots of memory such as 'The Elder Scrolls', because I'm honestly a stranger to laptop and iMac specs.

http://store.apple.com/800-908-988/W...ac/family/imac

I'm considering to pick between the 20 inch-2.4 GHz or 24 inch-2.4 GHz iMac. I'm a gamer, so I'd definitely be installing the Windows, although I would use the iMac OS for internet surfing since my brother makes it sounds so virus-safe.

Any suggestions and ideas would be very much welcomed and appreciated.

[Tom]

You sound pretty convinced, so I'm not sure if my words can stop you.

I say don't get a Mac. Why? Because most of the programs, games, etc. out there are still made primarily for PC users. PC is also easier to use IMO. Cheaper as well. No reason to spend more money on something that isn't as good. Hmm?

[sarakoth]

You sound pretty convinced, so I'm not sure if my words can stop you.

I say don't get a Mac. Why? Because most of the programs, games, etc. out there are still made primarily for PC users. PC is also easier to use IMO. Cheaper as well. No reason to spend more money on something that isn't as good. Hmm?

She stated she'll be installing Windows, so software compatibility won't be a problem. But I do agree PC's seem easier to use. Perhaps that's because I've been using PC's since I was born, literally.

[Guo Xiang]

You sound pretty convinced, so I'm not sure if my words can stop you.

I say don't get a Mac. Why? Because most of the programs, games, etc. out there are still made primarily for PC users. PC is also easier to use IMO. Cheaper as well. No reason to spend more money on something that isn't as good. Hmm?

Well, yes. Because I'd be getting iMac IF its specs suit the gaming requirements, and that is actually one of my biggest concern about getting the iMac because I don't understand laptop and iMac specs.

A PC would have been much more easier and familiar to me, yes, but because I'm a gamer, a new one won't come cheap either.

[mich]

Erm...if it's all Windows based games you are playing...just get a windows PC.

As for price...it depends on the configuration of your hardware and how hard you bargain with the vendors. So, your new Windows pc might be cheaper than your mac. If you are on singnet, it's not so friendly to mac users..from my personal experience.

Oh...and gaming on a laptop's tiny screen is never that fun. Hahahaha...

Just see if you can modify your current pc specs and get a bigger LCD. Heh

[sarakoth]

Gaming-grade hardware isn't a great prolem. Imacs can be customized with high end dual core processors clocked at 2.8 GHz and fairly good graphics card by ATI.

[SkyKing]

y buy it in HK? y not buy in the US?? seem like the price are somewhat similar....

[Guo Xiang]

Erm...if it's all Windows based games you are playing...just get a windows PC.

As for price...it depends on the configuration of your hardware and how hard you bargain with the vendors. So, your new Windows pc might be cheaper than your mac. If you are on singnet, it's not so friendly to mac users..from my personal experience.

Oh...and gaming on a laptop's tiny screen is never that fun. Hahahaha...

Just see if you can modify your current pc specs and get a bigger LCD. Heh

Laptop is no good for gaming too. It's simply not that suitable.

I need more spacing on my desk... and iMac gives me that option. Besides, I'm inclined to trying something new, especially since my brother said iMac OS is virus-safe.

A gamer's PC is never going to be cheap, unless the gamer in question sticks to playing old school games.

Besides, I'm incompetent at bargaining.

Gaming-grade hardware isn't a great prolem. Imacs can be customized with high end dual core processors clocked at 2.8 GHz and fairly good graphics card by ATI.

What about the 2.4 GHz? The 2.8 GHz is too expensive for me. Is the 2.4 GHz good for games?

Is the iMac memory in the same equation as PC memory? As in, is 1GB of iMac memory also 1GB of PC memory?

y buy it in HK? y not buy in the US?? seem like the price are somewhat similar....

Well, except that nobody in my family is going to the US.

[MysteriouX]

LOL do any single one of you even realize WHY macs are almost completely free of VIRUS?

Its because 90% of the world runs on PCs and Windows so people who create virus will aim for the bigger target. Now if the situation was reversed and the world ran on Macs and its OS, then it would be PCs which would be virtually free of viruses.

It's amazing that even with the growing number of tech savvy people in the world, people still don't realize this common sense fact.

But viruses also mainly attack software, not hardware so even if you do get a Mac, if you are going to install Windows, you may as well protect it as much as you would protect your PC.



As for memory, 1024 mb will always be 1024 mb which is exactly 1 gb. What you need to measure is the bus speed.

It's only in hdds that manufacturers omit the fact that their 80gb hdd is actually 74gigs if you measured the number of bytes using the standard 1024 b = 1 kb, 1024 kb = 1 mb, 1024 mb = 1gb. Instead hdd manufacturers measure in how many billion bytes their hdd can store, so of course they would say a hdd which can store 80 billion bytes is 80 gb though if you did the unit conversion it would be less.

[mich]

Wise guy...we didn't mention about the imac being almost virus free due to its niche market does not indicate that we don't know or do not have common sense.

OH, GX...you could get a 3.0 GHz pc with 500 GB Hdd for $2XXX exclusive of LCD. PM me if you decided to go with a pc instead of a mac.

[remember_Cedric]

LOL do any single one of you even realize WHY macs are almost completely free of VIRUS?

Its because 90% of the world runs on PCs and Windows so people who create virus will aim for the bigger target. Now if the situation was reversed and the world ran on Macs and its OS, then it would be PCs which would be virtually free of viruses.

It's amazing that even with the growing number of tech savvy people in the world, people still don't realize this common sense fact.

So, I think I'm lucky to have met my 3 lecturers, all 3 with common sense. I was told of/reminded of that differences during my classes

[MysteriouX]

So, I think I'm lucky to have met my 3 lecturers, all 3 with common sense. I was told of/reminded of that differences during my classes

LOL I guess it you really do have common sense if you had to be told of that info by three lecturers and didn't realise it yourself.

[sarakoth]

Laptop is no good for gaming too. It's simply not that suitable.

I need more spacing on my desk... and iMac gives me that option. Besides, I'm inclined to trying something new, especially since my brother said iMac OS is virus-safe.

A gamer's PC is never going to be cheap, unless the gamer in question sticks to playing old school games.

Besides, I'm incompetent at bargaining.


What about the 2.4 GHz? The 2.8 GHz is too expensive for me. Is the 2.4 GHz good for games?

Is the iMac memory in the same equation as PC memory? As in, is 1GB of iMac memory also 1GB of PC memory?


Well, except that nobody in my family is going to the US.

The 2.4 GHz will seem like nothing in a year so . . . . . yeah. Best to prepare for the future. As for the RAM thing, refer to Mysterioux.

[SkyKing]

Well, except that nobody in my family is going to the US.

oh really? i always thought that u were in US

[u4ria]

you'll never run PC games on iMac with the same performance and quality as on the PC. Sure it may work most of the time, but you have a virtualisation program that is doing the conversion between Windows and OSx*

As a rule applications/games running in their native environment will always be faster than in a virtualisation environment.

* OK this is not true if you're booting Windows using Boot Camp. In fact benchmark confirms some Macs run Windows faster than similarly spec'd PC using Boot Camp. (http://www.mactech.com/articles/mact...tionBenchmark/)

[u4ria]

I need more spacing on my desk... and iMac gives me that option. Besides, I'm inclined to trying something new, especially since my brother said iMac OS is virus-safe.

iMac is an all-in-one machine which you have to stick to it for its lifetime. You won't be able to upgrade memory, video, hard disk, CPU etc.. with ease. Im sure there are PCs which are pretty compact and saves you desk real estate. And if you're worried about desk space, why not get a tower-case PC under your desk, and LCD monitor, keyboard and mouse on the desk?

What about the 2.4 GHz? The 2.8 GHz is too expensive for me. Is the 2.4 GHz good for games?

Todays performance is not about the CPU hertz. it's about how fast your video card is, how much memory you have, and to a lesser extend how many cores in your CPU.

[remember_Cedric]

LOL I guess it you really do have common sense if you had to be told of that info by three lecturers and didn't realise it yourself.

Nice imagination. Unfortunately, your misinterpretation Have I mentioned anything about *myself* on not realising that? I didn't post with prior to the topic doesn't mean I do not know.

u4ria, the techie guru.

[sarakoth]

iMac is an all-in-one machine which you have to stick to it for its lifetime. You won't be able to upgrade memory, video, hard disk, CPU etc.. with ease. Im sure there are PCs which are pretty compact and saves you desk real estate. And if you're worried about desk space, why not get a tower-case PC under your desk, and LCD monitor, keyboard and mouse on the desk?



Todays performance is not about the CPU hertz. it's about how fast your video card is, how much memory you have, and to a lesser extend how many cores in your CPU.

Although other factors must be considered, the speed of the CPU is still the speed of the CPU and is a very important factor. However, some CPUs make up what they lack in speed in other areas.

[warlock110]

I complained to my brother about my computer and what I believe to be cheating practises by the company who sold it to me.

He then proceeded to convince me to buy iMac, sounding totally like an Apple fanboy.

I'm honestly quite convinced already... especially after he said I could install Windows and play games as usual there... only problem is that he's not a gamer so I'm not very sure how well the iMac would be able to handle Window games, especially heavy ones such as 'The Elder Scrolls', 'Football Manager', and 'The Sims'. I'm not going to take his words for it.

But he will be going to Hongkong next month, where he will buy it for me if I do decide to get an iMac.

I'd like to know if iMac is good for playing games, especially for games that take up lots of memory such as 'The Elder Scrolls', because I'm honestly a stranger to laptop and iMac specs.

http://store.apple.com/800-908-988/W...ac/family/imac

I'm considering to pick between the 20 inch-2.4 GHz or 24 inch-2.4 GHz iMac. I'm a gamer, so I'd definitely be installing the Windows, although I would use the iMac OS for internet surfing since my brother makes it sounds so virus-safe.

Any suggestions and ideas would be very much welcomed and appreciated.

the windows on mac are emulation, i'm not sure you want to walk down that route.

1800 dollars for a computer is alot, 24" monitors (decent one) are walking at around 300 dollars, 1500 you can get a decent PC.

[u4ria]

the windows on mac are emulation, i'm not sure you want to walk down that route.

That's what I thought.. but if you're using Boot Camp, you're actually running Windows natively. It's like having a boot screen where u can choose which OS to load up. IMO, if you're going to run Windows this way, you might as well stick to PC and save yourself some money.