What can I get for the equivilent of the new top spec iMac 24"?

[adjones1980]

The new iMac came out yesterday and I want to see what I could get for the same money by building myself.

I don't want to go on about why I want to look at this etc... it is a complicated argument between myself and the Mrs so leave all those kind of comments for another thread. Lets just say I like games and she likes pretty/fashionable things and as she is paying for it too she has a say!

OK, I specced up a 24" iMac which has the following for £1500...

* 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme
* 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2 x 1GB
* 500GB Serial ATA Drive
* SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
* Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse
* Apple Wireless Keyboard + Mac OS X
* ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
* 24-inch glossy widescreen LCD
* AirPort Extreme
* Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

Now, it need to be in a nice aluminium case (somthing like the Silverstone TJ09S so the Mrs will accept it!) and it has to have a monitor in with the price. The monitor has to be at least 20" and look smart, preferabley a brand (again, the Mrs!). Don't worry about the keyboard/mouse as I have these already. Doesn't need to be bluetooth enabled but wireless is a must.

The cost also has to cover Vista (as I already have a copy of Windows XP). I am concerned about the whole Vista OEM/changing your motherboard issue as I don't want to have to buy vista each time I change my mobo in the future.

OK, I think that about covers it!

Thanks in advanced for your suggestions

[staffsMike]

The iMAC's only problem imo is its built with laptop components.. so its fighting a losing battle from the start.

That said I didn't know anything was using the 2.8GHz Exreme chip yet.

For £1500 you will kill that imac

To give you an idea i built this on a budget of £1500

Intel q6600 (2.4 quad core)
4gb pc5400 (677mhz) RAM
Abit IP35 Motherboard
Geforce 8800GTS 640mb (kills that ati card)
Dvd Writer (samsung)
2x 500gb Western Digial AAKS hard drives
2x 22" Samsung 226W screens (easily fit a samsung 24" or dell 24" into your budget)
Vista Ultimate
Asus Wiress card (£11 jobby from scan)
Antec P182 case
Corsair 520w HX
Scythe Ninja HSF

That with Vista and the screens came to about £1400 in the end i think.

So remove One hard drive and change the case to the TJ09 and you are looking well within £1500 still.

Thats a near silent running pc which will kick that imacs tooshy all day long.

[adjones1980]

Sweet!!

I thought that this would be the case. What I plan on doing is to show the Mrs the monitor and case and sort the rest out myself.

I can't believe you can get all that for £1500... just goes to show really!!

FYI on the C2D Extreme in the iMac... the new ones were release yesterday and I wanted to see if they were going to put some decent GPU'age in there. I was a little disappointed having read the 2600 pro review.

Cheers Mike!

[silentvoice]

I can't believe you can get all that for £1500... just goes to show really!!

Yeah, it's sicking really isn't it? I know macs have their uses but they've never really competed with PC's on the price front. Mind you they do come with a good software package - or used to anyway.

[staffsMike]

The software package is good and so easy to use but it's not worth the premium to me..especially when you essentially get a 24" laptop

[Biscuit]

Personally iv never been a massive fan of macs... but like silentvoice said; they have their uses. For media & entertainment production software such as final cut pro, a mac is next to nothing and if you are going into that industry you have to have the knowledge becasue that is what you use, END OF.

For home use genrally i would say windows PC is a far better deal UNLESS its a complete computer newby who doesnt have a clue, then the downright simplicity that comes with a mac & the advantages of avoiding virus' almost bring macs back into it... but what kind of a newb is gunna spend that mch money on a mac whn PCs are cheaper and more popular.

Macs selling point is this clean fashionable image but at the end of the day its just another computer & who exactly are they showing off too? other slightly poorer mac owners? A regular pc can look just as stylish in the home. Infact... all macs look the same, you will have individuality on your side

Edit: ALSO if it is the GUI that she likes (which it doesnt seem likely ) you can install Mac OSX on a fancy C2D machine and she would never know

[adjones1980]

She likes the OS X look but to be honest Vista looks pretty good (even though some people say it doesn't work that well - I have no experience of it tho). And Ultimate has that cool video desktop thing which I think would be great!

[Biscuit]

She likes the OS X look but to be honest Vista looks pretty good (even though some people say it doesn't work that well - I have no experience of it tho). And Ultimate has that cool video desktop thing which I think would be great!

That desktop thing is on all of them except the most basic version i believe. I have very few problems with vista itself, its the drivers made by the various companies that have caued issues. I think that 32bit is pretty much 100% ironed out now and 64bit is getting pretty close

[staffsMike]

If you go with 64bit deffinatly get that asus wireless card i mentioned. It's one of the few that actually work with it.

[DR]

Remember, the Mac is a solution... Just like a Dell etc - you are buying in to the product, and the support....

... also the high end mac is over priced - the sweet spot is the 24" 2.4G below it...

[staffsMike]

Again the problem with the imac is even if you dual boot with windows to play your games, that graphics card will be next to useless on a 24" screen @ native resolution

[DR]

Yep... don't buy if you are a gamer

[adjones1980]

Well, the Mrs was generally ok with my suggested case and the monitor staffsMike mentioned. I think I have a deal on my hands. Much appreciated peeps.

Oh, Is it true you can get a active/moving/video desktop on the other Vista packs other than Ultimate?

[DR]

I wouldn't pay extra for ultimate...

[s_kinton]

Oh, Is it true you can get a active/moving/video desktop on the other Vista packs other than Ultimate?

Dreamscene is an 'Ultimate Extra' - I dont even use it tbh. I know of any third party software to do the same as Dreamscene, but I might be wrong.

As said above, Ultimate isn't really worth it. The so-called extras are terrible and the aforementioned Dreamscene is STILL in beta!

[Clunk]

I'm not sure why anyone would want anything other than a plain black desktop