View Full Version : Imac 27" Advice
Does anybody have the imac 27" computer, if so whats it like positives and negatives.
Ash.
Patrick
06-07-10, 11:29 PM
Does anybody have the imac 27" computer, if so whats it like positives and negatives.
Ash.
I can vouch for the 21.5 as that is what I have, there were one or two issues with early 27" iMacs last year but that has been dealt with.
Quality wise iMac monitors are fantastic but you can see that for yourself when you see them working in your nearest Apple store or Apple outlet.
Before you buy go to the Apple web site, scroll down the options and on the left close the the bottom you will find their refurbished page.
They come with the full 12 month warranty and Apple care can be purchased as normal to extend warranty to 3 years plus support.
They are packed just like a new one and look just like new, and to all intents and purposes are new. That's where I bought mine and saved a lot of money. I shouldn't hesitate to buy a refurbished item if the model you want is offered, but I should only buy refurbished from Apple.
My MacBook I bought new from Amazon at a great price, stunning monitor on that as well.
Patrick
pewidane
07-07-10, 07:50 AM
The absolute best computer I`ve had,great screen,great sound and nice design,can certainly recommend it.Peder.
Been running iMacs and MacBooks now for three years, don't have a 27in but have 24's and 21's all are perfect for just about anything. No problems at all, great monitors, great performance, great reliability. Wouldn't swap for any other machine. Watch monitor brightness though - way to high. I run all mine with the brightness turned to it's lowest setting. Calibrations slip easily too. Tends to be an issue with LCD's. I find mine need re-calibrating at least every month, ideally every 2 weeks.
Thanks guys, ive just looked on apple site and there are some good bargains, saving of about 200 quid off new for the 27 incher. :)
Been running iMacs and MacBooks now for three years, don't have a 27in but have 24's and 21's all are perfect for just about anything. No problems at all, great monitors, great performance, great reliability. Wouldn't swap for any other machine. Watch monitor brightness though - way to high. I run all mine with the brightness turned to it's lowest setting. Calibrations slip easily too. Tends to be an issue with LCD's. I find mine need re-calibrating at least every month, ideally every 2 weeks.
A lot of new premium quality screens now have LED backlights and these are far less prone to brightness and colour shifting over time.
Ian
The 27" are led, am I right in thinking you can't get the 24" in led?
Also Im aware that you can run windows on the macs with intel chipsets but does this run alongside the mac operating system at the same time or do you have to choose on boot up?
cheers
Ash.
Ash
Think you are right about the 27's, the 24's were not available with LED backlights.
On intel macs ou can run Windows. Apple Boot Camp is part of the O/S I believe but you have to choose the O?S at boot, to change you have to re-boot. Annoying. There are software packages that allow you to run Windows alongside OS X. I use VMWare and it works very well. you can move seamlessly between Windows and OS X both of which are running at the same time. You can cut and paste between the two etc. All in all it works perfectly for what I do. A similar app is Parallels. The only downside really is that you have to buy a copy of Windows to run. Not a problem if you already have a copy with install disks though.
Patrick
07-07-10, 03:19 PM
Ash
Think you are right about the 27's, the 24's were not available with LED backlights.
On intel macs ou can run Windows. Apple Boot Camp is part of the O/S I believe but you have to choose the O?S at boot, to change you have to re-boot. Annoying. There are software packages that allow you to run Windows alongside OS X. I use VMWare and it works very well. you can move seamlessly between Windows and OS X both of which are running at the same time. You can cut and paste between the two etc. All in all it works perfectly for what I do. A similar app is Parallels. The only downside really is that you have to buy a copy of Windows to run. Not a problem if you already have a copy with install disks though.
I use Parallels and find that also works well, I have recently created my Windows virtual machine on a external hard drive which is useful as it can also be connected to the MacBook to use Windows should I wish. Other platforms such as Linux can also be setup.
Patrick
Mmmmm interesting stuff, thanks alot for the info, I cant run windows on my power mac as its a g5 processor and the case is just taking up too much deskspace, the ultra high rez screen of the 27" imac is very appealing, just been and had a play with one today and I wan't one yesterday*LOL
Sod you Ash, now you've got me thinking it is time to upgrade so I've just been to the Apple Spain shop and had a look at the refurbed machines - a couple of nice looking 27in iMacs at really good prices - looks like the credit card might be making another appearance. 2nd hand iMac anyone ?
Thanks Patrick for your advice on the refurbished models on apple's website, I was litterally a click away from ordering when i came across a minter on ebay for collection and saved a bundle, blown away by the screen and speed of the thing everything else is redundent and going on ebay*LOL
Patrick
22-08-10, 10:49 AM
Thanks Patrick for your advice on the refurbished models on apple's website, I was litterally a click away from ordering when i came across a minter on ebay for collection and saved a bundle, blown away by the screen and speed of the thing everything else is redundent and going on ebay*LOL
Hi Ash
Glad your happy
Every time I followed an iMac on ebay the price always seemed to finish to close to the refurb price, and since the refurbs are fully supported like a new one including a full warranty I couldn't see the point in buying off ebay. Sound like you were lucky and got bargain.
How are you getting on with software? I converted Photoshop and a number of other of my licenses from Windows to Mac at no cost.
I have seen some machines on ebay with software preloaded that would cost more than the machine, I suspect in these cases it bootleg:eek: unless they supply the original disks.
The screen quality is superb isn't it and worth the move on its own.
Patrick
I had to dload elements 8 from adobe, my windows key does not work so I would be interested to no how you converted for mac. A new copy is not going to break the bank but when you have already purchased it you should be able to use it on either system, lets face it they could fit both versions on the dvd if they really wanted to.
cheers
Ash.
Stephen
22-08-10, 10:19 PM
I had to dload elements 8 from adobe, my windows key does not work so I would be interested to no how you converted for mac. A new copy is not going to break the bank but when you have already purchased it you should be able to use it on either system, lets face it they could fit both versions on the dvd if they really wanted to.
cheers
Ash.
I had to ring Adobe. They need a copy of your box or disc with serial No. They send you a letter of destruction which you sign and return. In due course they will send you a Mac copy, though you will have to pay delivery and handling charges. I seem to remember they rang me and took CC details, think it was about £12
Josh Bear
22-08-10, 10:29 PM
hi
with me I just downloaded the mac version and used my windows serial number. BUT. I needed the original serial numbers from previous versions as I had been upgrading as I went along. Give those a try if you have them.
Josh
Stephen
22-08-10, 10:42 PM
hi
with me I just downloaded the mac version and used my windows serial number. BUT. I needed the original serial numbers from previous versions as I had been upgrading as I went along. Give those a try if you have them.
Josh
Maybe they have a different system for PSE, I was doing it for CS3
Patrick
22-08-10, 11:59 PM
Maybe they have a different system for PSE, I was doing it for CS3
I thought Elements like Lightroom runs on the two platforms with the same serial. Perhaps I'm wrong.
Before contacting Adobe I would de-register Elements on your Windows machine and any others Windows installation you have (Adobe allow you to install on two machines), and try again using the same serial on the Mac installation, if that doesn't work then follow Stephens route.
I had upgraded mine twice (CS3 then CS4) via download so had to negotiate over the phone, before they sent me a new full version disk, they charged me £5.50 after telling me they would charge £12.00:D
Patrick
Ok thanks for advise, ive got a month to sort it out before the trial runs out so hopefully I should'nt have to buy another copy!
Ash
A quote from adobe:
We value you as a customer and are ready to assist with your Photoshop Elements 8 installation concern.
We would like to inform you, however, that your Photoshop Elements 8 is for Windows and won't work for a Mac computer. Your End User License Agreement allows you to use your software for 2 computers but it will
be only for 2 computers running on the Windows platform or operating system"
Well they don't value me as a customer because they are not helping me, and they also insult my inteligence reminding me the software will not work on a mac*LOL
Patrick
03-09-10, 11:11 PM
A quote from adobe:
We value you as a customer and are ready to assist with your Photoshop Elements 8 installation concern.
We would like to inform you, however, that your Photoshop Elements 8 is for Windows and won't work for a Mac computer. Your End User License Agreement allows you to use your software for 2 computers but it will
be only for 2 computers running on the Windows platform or operating system"
Well they don't value me as a customer because they are not helping me, and they also insult my inteligence reminding me the software will not work on a mac*LOL
Ring em up Ash and ask for a license change, that's what I did.
Patrick
Ok Ill give it a go! How does that work, do they give you a new serial code?