# Solved: Buying My First Mac



## JonathanShane (May 19, 2009)

Hello Mac Users of the World!

Too many times I've heard "Once you go Mac, you don't go back". I'm making the switch. Soon, too. I'd like your help on answering a few questions I have about the Mac system.

There are several I am looking at. I started on apple.com, made my way to refurbished computers, but am now at macconnection.com. Anything good or bad about this site I should know?

The one I'm considering getting: http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=8517178

I'm noticing through my research of buying a Mac, that Mac harddrives are always larger than Window harddrives. Any particular reason? Do things saved on a Mac save in a larger way (or - something) that make a larger harddrive necessary?

I keep hearing/reading "Leopard". What is it? How is it relavent?

I'm going to school. For a long time, I'll be in school (six more years until I finish law school). During that time, I forsee technology progressing rapidly. Is the system going to be easy to upgrade?

Speaking of school, if I e-mail a teacher a paper or something that I wrote in iWork, will the teacher be able to open it?

Is the iSight camera thats built in any good?

Is 2Gigs of RAM pretty good too? I'm pretty certain off top my head thats what my 2007 Dell Laptop has.

Does the earlier linked system have wireless access? Is wireless much different with a Mac? (Will the network I have set up at home on a Dell computer be accessible from my Mac?)

Um. I think I've asked a lot. So I'll stop here, by asking if you have any final comments about iMacs, this particular system, etc.

Oh. I plan on using Sims 3 as the only game on this system. Will it run fine? (As good as Sims 3 can run, considering I've heard some negative things about it already)


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## JonathanShane (May 19, 2009)

And I had a customer walk-in as I was finishing which had me forget to say:

Thank you all in advance!


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## Rondiz (Jun 5, 2009)

> I'm noticing through my research of buying a Mac, that Mac harddrives are always larger than Window harddrives. Any particular reason? Do things saved on a Mac save in a larger way (or - something) that make a larger harddrive necessary?


 No.



> I keep hearing/reading "Leopard". What is it? How is it relavent?


 Leopard is the name of the operating system.



> I'm going to school. For a long time, I'll be in school (six more years until I finish law school). During that time, I forsee technology progressing rapidly. Is the system going to be easy to upgrade?


 IMac's are not easy to upgrade, no all-in-one is. Granted upgrading memory and harddrive is relatively simple.



> Speaking of school, if I e-mail a teacher a paper or something that I wrote in iWork, will the teacher be able to open it?


 iWork is a excellent application, if you're just doing word processing. To be the most compatible with others, use Microsoft Mac Office for word documents, spreadsheets and power point presentations.


> Is the iSight camera thats built in any good?


 Yes.



> Is 2Gigs of RAM pretty good too? I'm pretty certain off top my head thats what my 2007 Dell Laptop has


 Depending what you're using it for will determine how much memory you will need. Keep in mind, Mac Osx Leopard does not use nearly the system resources Windows OS uses. 2gb of ram is usually more then enough.



> Does the earlier linked system have wireless access? Is wireless much different with a Mac? (Will the network I have set up at home on a Dell computer be accessible from my Mac?)


 Yes it supports a/b/g/n wireless. And yes it will work fine on the existing network.


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## JonathanShane (May 19, 2009)

Wow! Thank you Rondiz. I'll be purchasing (this piece, most likely) in August. Basically, now I just need to know if anyone knows if Mac is going to be updating anything that I should wait for now. 

Or. Any arguments for Rondi? I like hearing both sides of things


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## Rondiz (Jun 5, 2009)

No problem, glad to help. Keep in mind the imac model you linked has been refreshed already. 24" IMac - 2.66ghz Intel Core 2 Duo - 4GB DDR3 Memory - Nvidia 9400 graphics card - 640GB Harddrive. Introductory price is $1499

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac


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## JonathanShane (May 19, 2009)

Hmm. I'm a little confused. The one on MacConnection is still the same price...? Not sure what you mean or why you link one direct from Apple


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## Rondiz (Jun 5, 2009)

You asked if mac was updating anything.. And yes the model you specified in your starting topic is an older model iMac which has been updated.


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## JonathanShane (May 19, 2009)

Gotcha. I had like literally, the second I got the e-mail saying I had a reply, figured out what you meant. 

Do you think the video card in the MacConnections iMac is a very good card?


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## Rondiz (Jun 5, 2009)

Yes, it's a good video card and provides excellent HD video image quality. It's not the best gaming card but it will do for games like WOW and what not. I do however prefer nvidia's competition the Geforce 8600 GTS card. I am more of a nvidia fan.


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## JonathanShane (May 19, 2009)

Thanks a bunch Rondiz. I looked at your profile and saw you had a pretty nice Mac too, so I'm guessing you know what you're talking about ;-). Presuming this Mac is still available in August, this is the one I'm getting


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## Rondiz (Jun 5, 2009)

Thanks  I am an apple consultant at bestbuy. I try to know as much as I can.


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## JonathanShane (May 19, 2009)

Haha. Thanks would explain it. I'm guessing you get an employee discount too... Lucky


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## Rondiz (Jun 5, 2009)

LoL; Not really through bestbuy. But since I am apple certified I get a discount through apple.


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