Apple updates - Imac's, Mac Mini's & Mac Pro's

[DanNG]

For anyone interested..

Apple updates - Imac's, Mac Mini's & Mac Pro's
http://www.apple.com/au/

[Calxoddity]

Hi
I'm working thru the night tonight and have looked at the new 24" iMac lineup in particular:
- the previously included remote control is now a $30 extra
- you can now have up to 8GB RAM, with default of 4 GB - but the extra 4GB costs $1,700 more
- default HDD size up from 320 to 640GB
- lose 2 x FW400 ports, gain one USB2
- newer graphics cards (more grunt but how much extra, not known)
- CPU speed around the same, with a new new entry level speed of 2.66GHz, 2.8GHz replaced by 2.9xGHz, 3.06GHz unchanged.
- price change/value a bit difficult to pick due to better RAM/HDD baselines together with price increases and de-featuring.

Will I be trading in my 2.8GHz 24" iMac? Nope.

Regards,
Calx

[bigdazzler]

you can now have up to 8GB RAM, with default of 4 GB - but the extra 4GB costs $1,700 more

Will I be trading in my 2.8GHz 24" iMac? Nope.

$1700 !!

Ditto for me ..

[kaiser]

Ram City currently have 2x2gig of genuine Micron DDR3 1066mhz 204 pin SODIMM RAM for $139 (read: bargain!) ends 6th March. I think their 4gb sticks are aboiut $350 too...a bit cheaper than $1700 lol

[Calxoddity]

Here's a quick comparison of the price for the previous 24" iMac mainstream model versus new models, based upon the one I bought at rrp price in August/Sept:

OLD = 24" 2.8GHz iMac, u/g to 4GB RAM, std 320GB HDD, ATI Radeon 2600/256, Applecare, ILife, remote, keyboard = $2,839
NEW = 24" 2.93Ghz iMac, 4GB RAM, 640GB HDD, Nvidia GT120/256, Applecare, remote, iLife, keyboard = $3,296

On the face of it, the new model is a little over $450 more expensive than the outgoing one, for an imperceptible tweak in CPU clock speed and and additional 320GB HDD. The new model does, however, give you a little more RAM headroom to play with if you can afford it and perhaps a noticeable tweak in graphics performance.

The new model should have been on a par with the price of the outgoing model - if not cheaper - but our lower exchange rate put paid to that.

Recommendation? If you don't need 8GB RAM, grab a refurb old model IMac from the Apple Store: they represent great value at their historical asking price.

Regards,
Calx

[Emko]

I was expecting more grunt from CPU. DDR-3 and more play with RAM is a nice addition though.
I was waiting for this update to upgrade from 20" to 24" iMac, and will be looking closely at what i choose. And do not be fooled by apple and their ram upgrades. $1700... geezus.

[MarkW]

Whilst looking at the new Mac Pro I noticed the notification for Safari 4 and with all the ####y new features, yet they still don't realise that the ability to view EXIF data is the prime reason a huge number of Mac devotees wont use Safari.

Why won't developers programmers actually listen to the end user. Who actually needs tab views and auto fill when it just cant handle EXIF. Safari is a good browser but would be great with a viewer.

[bigdazzler]

And do not be fooled by apple and their ram upgrades. $1700... geezus.

I bought my 4 gig of RAM for my mac from AP sponsor Epowermac for $149 delivered within 36 hours ..

[ShaneB]

Apparently, the ads Apple has placed in the USA tout their lower prices. No mention of that here, of course!

If the justification for some massive price hikes is the exchange rate, I wonder why Macs weren't cheaper when the South Pacific Peso was heading towards parity with the US$?

As to the prices on Mac bits, go to somewhere like Harris Technology (not the cheapest, BTW) and see the incremental prices on hard drives, CPUs, etc.

Macs are great computers (mainly due to their OS), but so overpriced!

Ok ... let me have it.

[Emko]

I bought my 4 gig of RAM for my mac from AP sponsor Epowermac for $149 delivered within 36 hours ..

I got 4GB's of Kingston RAM for $101 @ eBay, got it within 2 days
You can seriously get ripped off, specially by apple if you don't shop around or don't know much about them.

[bigdazzler]

I love ebay , use it all the time for all sorts of stuff. Personally I wouldnt buy internals for any computer from there. Its just too hard if something goes wrong.

I will recommend epowermac to anyone wanting mac upgrades, the price was good, communication and service was excellent and the ram has a lifetime warranty. Plus buying from AP advertisers through the site banners, Rick gets a commission.