zastore and iMac query

[Dolby]

Firstly - is http://www.zastore.co.za/ up to date regarding pricing and models?

I notice on the home screen it says iMacs from R10,500.00 - but the cheapest is R12,000.00 in the link?
Secondly I notice no i7 model - which I think there is?
How accurate is the pricing then?

Also the difference between the R12k model and the R15.5k model doesn't seem large - but I could be wrong. For the extra R3.5k one is getting the same size graphics card - albeit a different model number, a 2.7ghz vs a 2.5ghz and a larger HDD.

Is that it?

 

[Ipwn 4]

Lol Dolby, the apple bug bit you good...

 

[Zyzzyva]

Firstly - is http://www.zastore.co.za/ up to date regarding pricing and models?

I notice on the home screen it says iMacs from R10,500.00 - but the cheapest is R12,000.00 in the link?
Secondly I notice no i7 model - which I think there is?
How accurate is the pricing then?

Also the difference between the R12k model and the R15.5k model doesn't seem large - but I could be wrong. For the extra R3.5k one is getting the same size graphics card - albeit a different model number, a 2.7ghz vs a 2.5ghz and a larger HDD.

Is that it?

Yip, the upgrade isn't worth it. Sadly we south africans have to put up with what core gives us. No i7 models, and the price jump is kind of crazy. I've got the base model 27inch and i'm happy with it.

I'm not sure if id be happy with a 21 inch screen, if you want a higher end model i would seriously consider skipping the higher specced 21inch and getting the cheapest 27inch.

 

[HermanG]

The R10 500 was from when they were selling some old models (If I remember correctly). The prices on the 4 diff model are correct. The i7 is a special order I think. You have to contact them and they will send you a quote for it.

 

[Zyzzyva]

Lol Dolby, the apple bug bit you good...

Hehe, well he hasn't experienced the good stuff yet. An iPad is kinda limited and isn't exactly the gift that keeps giving.

 

[Zyzzyva]

Dolby, 21inch IPS displays are kinda easy to get, but 27inch 2560x1440 IPS is the real pricey-but-worth-it luxury in the whole deal. Getting a similar screen would set you back 7000 to 10 000 on its own.

It really improves the experience a lot.

Ouch -->http://www.zastore.co.za/displays.php

 

[Dolby]

I've never hated Apple!

I just see their glaring flaws - but I see their positives as well!

Thing is the lower specced 27" has got an i3 - and going from a Core 2 Quad people are saying it's a downgrade? Then the 27" i5 is R5.5k more than what I wanted to spend anyhow :/

I'll need to see how things go with my tenant in the next month or two.

By the way - do they upgrade these things yearly?
So buying at the end of the year/early 2012 means a replacement is out soon?

 

[Zyzzyva]

I've never hated Apple!

I just see their glaring flaws - but I see their positives as well!

Thing is the lower specced 27" has got an i3 - and going from a Core 2 Quad people are saying it's a downgrade? Then the 27" i5 is R5.5k more than what I wanted to spend anyhow :/

I'll need to see how things go with my tenant in the next month or two.

By the way - do they upgrade these things yearly?
So buying at the end of the year/early 2012 means a replacement is out soon?

Eish i know how you feel. But you kinda have to get it in your head that specs don't really matter unless you are doing video production or 3d design or something. Remember macs are not great gaming machines if you are taking fps/price into consideration. You are better off continuing the high end gaming thing with a gaming pc on the side. hehe but in saying that I'm engrossed in skyrim at the moment playing in bootcamp. Both processors for everything else are plenty fast - an i3 dual core is just fine. The biggest upgrade you could do to produce a real day to day gain would be an ssd. A quad core cpu doesn't make that much difference day to day tbh. But what does make a monumental difference is the 27 inch (very high resolution)screen.

Once you take high end gaming out of the equation it allows you to make completely different decisions. This is a bit tough considering specs have probably been the big driver in all computer buying decisions up to this point.

You need to think about real experiential gains versus assumed gains based on specs which don't really deliver in practice. A trackpad on the MacBooks is a massive thing versus something like a slightly faster x which hardly every get used in day to day life. Modern processors are super fast at pretty much everything, the real bottle neck is the hard drive.

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#iMac

 

[Ry4n]

jak3 speaks sense

 

[Dolby]

Thanks for the reply, jak!

I don't play games at all - so I'm not over the top regarding specs

But I do use PSE9 and - although fast - I wouldn't want to go slower. I notice a lag on certain function when editing that I want to reduce or at worst, stay the same. Also thing like adding to iTunes library (which already takes hours) mustn't really be slower. I'll look into it - but I gather I need an i5 as opposed to the i3.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...inch-aluminum-mid-2011-thunderbolt-specs.html

This is the R12,000.00 model?
So they all have Airport built in - so I can toss my wifi and save on a USB port? I see it only has 4 :/
Silly question - although it has speakers, it has the same line out as a PC to use my current speakers?

 

[Dolby]

http://www.macworld.com/article/159692/2011/05/imacmid2011benchmarks.html

According to this, it's a huge difference too!

The new $1199 21.5-inch, 2.5GHz Core i5 quad core iMac was nearly 24 percent faster overall than last year’s entry-level 21.5-inch iMac, which had a 3.06GHz Core i3 dual core processor.

The new entry-level system was 37 percent faster in our Handbrake encoding test, 34 percent faster in our Cinebench CPU test, and 64 percent faster in MathematicaMark

The new $1199 iMac was even faster than last year’s high-end standard configuration model, a 27-inch 2.8GHz Core i5 quad core iMac, by nearly 10 percent. In this case, the processor-intensive tests were very close, but the file duplication, zipping and unzipping a folder and opening a Word document in Pages were all considerably faster on the new $1199 iMac

 

[Zyzzyva]

Thanks for the reply, jak!

I don't play games at all - so I'm not over the top regarding specs

But I do use PSE9 and - although fast - I wouldn't want to go slower. I notice a lag on certain function when editing that I want to reduce or at worst, stay the same. Also thing like adding to iTunes library (which already takes hours) mustn't really be slower. I'll look into it - but I gather I need an i5 as opposed to the i3.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...inch-aluminum-mid-2011-thunderbolt-specs.html

This is the R12,000.00 model?
So they all have Airport built in - so I can toss my wifi and save on a USB port? I see it only has 4 :/
Silly question - although it has speakers, it has the same line out as a PC to use my current speakers?

Yes they all have wifi built in.

It has one line in and one line out. Both are dual purpose standard 3.5mm jack/optical digital audio (minijacks). You can hook up the surround sound speakers via their optical port to the iMacs digital optical with the right cable.

If you have an existing speaker system which doesn't have optical in and only multiple 3.5mm jacks, you can get an "adapter" like this. http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-4019-FIRESS-FireWave-Surround-Sound/dp/B000A09IUS

 

[Zyzzyva]

http://www.macworld.com/article/159692/2011/05/imacmid2011benchmarks.html

According to this, it's a huge difference too!

The new $1199 21.5-inch, 2.5GHz Core i5 quad core iMac was nearly 24 percent faster overall than last year’s entry-level 21.5-inch iMac, which had a 3.06GHz Core i3 dual core processor.

The new entry-level system was 37 percent faster in our Handbrake encoding test, 34 percent faster in our Cinebench CPU test, and 64 percent faster in MathematicaMark

The new $1199 iMac was even faster than last year’s high-end standard configuration model, a 27-inch 2.8GHz Core i5 quad core iMac, by nearly 10 percent. In this case, the processor-intensive tests were very close, but the file duplication, zipping and unzipping a folder and opening a Word document in Pages were all considerably faster on the new $1199 iMac

Yeah the new gen intel cpu's are a fair jump in performance. The one to buy is the i5 27 inch for R17000, but if i were choosing between a faster 21 or a slightly slower 27 i'd take the 27 any day. The screen is my favorite feature. I'd rather wait marginally longer for encoding to happen(when i occasionally do it) instead of staring at a much smaller screen for 6 hours a everyday. The screen manifests as an actual thing 24/7, in contrast to the faster processor which only manifests momentarily when you are doing intensive things. If you are using it for professional work then the extra cash shouldn't be such a big deal, screen real-estate is gold.

Either way you will love the machine. But make sure you really know how big 27 inches is compared to 21. Get out a tape measure and mark it out on your wall with 4 washable dots or something. You can get the dimensions here: http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html

 

[Dolby]

Thanks jak3!

I'll think about the larger screen - but wow it does look like overkill for my tiny study!

 

[[)roi(]]

Thanks jak3!

I'll think about the larger screen - but wow it does look like overkill for my tiny study!

The 27" display is superb;

I'd however like you to think about a few things before going down the road with an iMac:

• They're difficult to bordering on impossible to upgrade (fyi Core likes to rip people off for any upgrades prior to purchase), hence if you do buy one, make sure you buy one with exactly the specs you want (excl. RAM which is very easy and cheaper to add yourself)
• A top end Mac Mini + 27" thunderbolt display is very similar in specs to a top end iMac + its much easier to upgrade yourself. Note: Keyboard, mouse / trackpad and DVD drive is not included in the price for this option.
• Portability -- Owning a Macbook Pro provides you the best of both worlds -- very portable, easy to upgrade, wonderful battery life and remember that nothing prevents you from attaching an external monitor at a later stage.

Standard peripherals for an iMac (you have this choice at no extra cost):

• A trackpad is more suitable to a magic mouse re swipe gestures in OSX Lion.
• The full size keyboard (as opposed to the wireless one) includes a number pad, and has two easy accessible usb ports underneath i.e. avoids the need to go to the back of the iMac to plug something in.

Mac Mini vs iMac http://www.maclife.com/article/features/imac_vs_mac_mini_which_one_right_you

Best upgrade option:
The most important upgrade you can make imo is to add an SSD -- iMac I'd strongly recommend you include this in the purchase. For the Mac Mini and Macbook Pro it can work out cheaper to purchase and install this yourself (simple process unlike the iMac)

SSD vs HDD example
[video=youtube;XK0zLmbQxKA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK0zLmbQxKA[/video]

 

[Zyzzyva]

The 27" display is superb;

I'd however like you to think about a few things before going down the road with an iMac:

• They're difficult to bordering on impossible to upgrade (fyi Core likes to rip people off for any upgrades prior to purchase), hence if you do buy one, make sure you buy one with exactly the specs you want (excl. RAM which is very easy and cheaper to add yourself)
• A top end Mac Mini + 27" thunderbolt display is very similar in specs to a top end iMac + its much easier to upgrade yourself. Note: Keyboard, mouse / trackpad and DVD drive is not included in the price for this option.
• Portability -- Owning a Macbook Pro provides you the best of both worlds -- very portable, easy to upgrade, wonderful battery life and remember that nothing prevents you from attaching an external monitor at a later stage.

Standard peripherals for an iMac (you have this choice at no extra cost):

• A trackpad is more suitable to a magic mouse re swipe gestures in OSX Lion.
• The full size keyboard (as opposed to the wireless one) includes a number pad, and has two easy accessible usb ports underneath i.e. avoids the need to go to the back of the iMac to plug something in.

Mac Mini vs iMac http://www.maclife.com/article/features/imac_vs_mac_mini_which_one_right_you

Best upgrade option:
The most important upgrade you can make imo is to add an SSD -- iMac I'd strongly recommend you include this in the purchase. For the Mac Mini and Macbook Pro it can work out cheaper to purchase and install this yourself (simple process unlike the iMac)

SSD vs HDD example
[video=youtube;XK0zLmbQxKA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK0zLmbQxKA[/video]

Ive been considering that exact setup for next time around. The major benefit is you can then just sell and upgrade the mini every 2 years without the need to buy a whole new screen as well. I also like the idea of splitting the two devices to reduce risk considering the lunacy which is core, as well as the added benefit of having a 27inch screen you can use for a macbook or whatever.

Earlier in this thread I was mostly punting the benefits of a 27 inch screen over a 21.5, and not necessarily the iMac per se.

Sadly, core sell the 27inch thunderbolt display for the shocking price of R12500 which means the split setup will cost significantly more than the cheapest 27inch iMac. Yes you could always get a dell 27 inch, but i like the thunderbolt stuff as well as the integrated charger cable.

 

[Dolby]

That's a fantastic way of doing things - and makes sense actually.

It's just way too expensive right now :/ At R12,000.00 I'm pushing myself right now .... because it seems I have a curse on me and money is just leaking from every single orifice over the past two months.

I haven't searched much on the Mac Mini yet - but does it have Airport Extreme built in?
Also - how is the heat in that system ... seeing as there is no fan and it's in a tight enclosure?

EDIT : I see it does have a fan - but notice that HDD is slower and graphics is 288MB shared? Is that enough to run the 27" monitor?

 

[Zyzzyva]

That's a fantastic way of doing things - and makes sense actually.

It's just way too expensive right now :/ At R12,000.00 I'm pushing myself right now .... because it seems I have a curse on me and money is just leaking from every single orifice over the past two months.

I haven't searched much on the Mac Mini yet - but does it have Airport Extreme built in?
Also - how is the heat in that system ... seeing as there is no fan and it's in a tight enclosure?

Everything apple makes comes with wifi built in as well as the usual assortment of bluetooth and the like. You never have to worry about stuff like that.

The airport extreme is the apple router.

Regarding heat issues, as far as i'm aware of its never really had heat issues, but i'm sure there are isolated incidents. Not something to worry about really , apple products are very well designed most of the time, and the mini does have a silent fan anyhow.

On a side not, the great thing with the iMac and mini is they both are very quiet. I can't even hear my iMac and that after years of listening to the hum of my windows pc. Silence is a major plus, and worth paying extra for especially if you do a lot of downloading and your pc runs 24/7. I won't be buying a windows machine again.

 

[Dolby]

Ah - thanks jak.

I just heard Airport Extreme was their wireless - didn't realise it was the router

Another question on the Mac Mini - can I run any screen off it? AS I say, it's pretty pricey going the seperate route - but could I get he Mac Mini in a few months and possibly the Mac screen a few months after that?

I see it doesn't have an optical disc at all - surely that'd be a restriction when running as an every day computer? What if one needs to reinstall the OS or install something only available on disc?

EXternal DVD would work?

 

[bwana]

Another question on the Mac Mini - can I run any screen off it? AS I say, it's pretty pricey going the seperate route - but could I get he Mac Mini in a few months and possibly the Mac screen a few months after that?

It comes with a hdmi to dvi adapter. You can also use a Mini DisplayPort adapter for either DVI or VGA.

I see it doesn't have an optical disc at all - surely that'd be a restriction when running as an every day computer? What if one needs to reinstall the OS or install something only available on disc?

EXternal DVD would work?

You can share the optical drive of another machine (pc or mac) or use an external usb (or thunderbolt) cd/dvd drive.

BTW - the OS doesn't come on a disk anymore. I do keep a backup copy on a SD card for just-in-case situations though.