Getting a new iMac in a day or so... advice?

[unreal]

Hey all -

I've been using a Hackintosh for a while to demo out OSX as both fields I love (art/illustration & music production) are centred on Macs. It isn't the best on my laptop, it feels very fragile since it's obviously not how it's meant to be experienced. But I learnt enough to take the plunge (particularly for music production I got to note) and go for it as the Hackintosh was only meant to be temporary anyway.

I will be keeping my Windows machine, but getting an iMac 21.5 as a work machine (the entry level since the specs are pretty good with the 3.06c2d, 4gb RAM, 500gb HDD, 1900x1080 screen!)

Not really 'moving' so to speak, but what programs etc you guys recommend most? Any advice on anything?

I'm getting it via student discount, with the extended AppleCare warranty and a printer at £9.95 with a rebate, altogether comes just under £900 I believe. I just want to avoid having to say 'ah well' or 'i'll do that next time' at any point lol.

[Gordy]

I would try out the new magic mouse in person before deciding to only use that. It's very much a love or hate it thing.

I would also consider getting the hard drive upgraded by apple as it's a pain to do it afterwards.

The other tip is to not go for the extended apple care. The reason for this is with the HE store you get three years hardware support included already. All the £46 upgrade does is extend telephone support to three years.

[abaxas]

Firewire and usb2. You want more space, just plug it in!

Obviously firewire is quicker!

[Gordy]

Originally Posted by abaxas

Firewire and usb2. You want more space, just plug it in!

Obviously firewire is quicker!

Yeah, but that takes up extra room and power. Internal is faster too

[unreal]

I already use a 1.5tb external drive luckily so it will probably find its new permanent home on the iMac, although being NTFS I can install NTFS-3G on it so it works perfectly fine right? I think that's what I have installed on Hackintosh but sometimes it's a bit flimsy. 500Gb is luckily fine for all the files I will need immediate fast access to, at least I hope but I am too aware of how optimistic I get with disk space haha. I will also have a M-Audio Fast Track Ultra permanently plugged in, and I have a USB hub to have random iPod cables, printer etc etc to connect to. That's 3 of the 4 USB ports used up already though :x

I would actually like to upgrade the HDD but they only let you do that on the next model up, where the price point is high enough where I would rather get a 27".

[mightymouse]

Originally Posted by Gordy

The other tip is to not go for the extended apple care. The reason for this is with the HE store you get three years hardware support included already. All the £46 upgrade does is extend telephone support to three years.

Are you sure about this? I thought they just provide the standard one year warranty. I'll be purchasing some kit soon too thanks for this info

[unreal]

Originally Posted by mightymouse

Are you sure about this? I thought they just provide the standard one year warranty. I'll be purchasing some kit soon too thanks for this info

I'll ask instore to double check, as I really don't mind paying it for the peace of mind.

I tried the Magic Mouse! I LOVE it, the whole back and forwards swiping thing is too difficult though. But I love the 360 navigation it replaces.

[mightymouse]

totally have to agree with the magic mouse. i hate that stupid roller ball that gets dirty very quickly and almost impossible to clean. but again its a love or hate, but you'll get used to it i'm sure... hehe

by the way i check the apple HE warranty T&C as mentioned by Gordy and he is right

10.1.1 All Apple-branded desktop and portable computer products shall be subject to a 36 calendar month warranty period commencing from the date of purchase (the date of your invoice).

This is to comply with the EU HE rules or something along those lines

but if you are not on your uni's network then 10.1.1 and 10.1.2 will not show up. I have to dial my uni's vpn to confirm this.

Also I have applecare on my imac (non-HE, bought off fleabay) and macbook (bought off forums) never ever used the phone call so its up to you.

[Gordy]

Originally Posted by mightymouse

Are you sure about this? I thought they just provide the standard one year warranty. I'll be purchasing some kit soon too thanks for this info

Yup I'm very much sure this is the case. I would check instore's policy is the same as I believe you only get the extra two years buying online. I'm not a 100% that they mirror the policy in store. Though some staff are unaware of the policy difference anyway!

It's just another reason why the HE store is great!

Unreal, I would format the external drive to be mac format as it will quicker and more stable. Unless you need to access it from other pc's. (IE plugged into a pc not shared)

[nightkhaos]

Originally Posted by Gordy

Unreal, I would format the external drive to be mac format as it will quicker and more stable. Unless you need to access it from other pc's. (IE plugged into a pc not shared)

I agree, but only if you tend to max out your CPU during copy operations and what not. The NTFS-3G driver runs at Application Level and tends to use a lot more CPU for copy operations than a native darwin kernel driver does.

On my 2.6GHz MacBook NTFS-3G is fast enough. And the stablity that Gordy refers to is not really a concern anymore.