im considering buying an imac...

[craig7]

im thinking of buying a 21.5" 2.5ghz i5 imac. it is prtty expensive but lets forget about that for now, would an imac be a good htpc/gaming computer? when i look at the specs it seems pretty great, 4gb ram, 512mb graphics, 500gb hdd and its just a mac..... seems like a pretty good computer to me. i have heard mac minis make good htpc's so im assuming an i mac would be a good htpc too even though it doesnt have any hdmi ports but it has a thunderbolt port so i can buy an adapter. but would it be a good htpc/gaming computer? and if anyone here plays minecraft on one, how well does it run?

 

[gpost3]

It would make a fine computer but you can do better for the price. iMacs are generally overpriced. If "gaming" is your go, then go the PC route. There are a lot more games for Windows based PC than there are for macs.

 

[its phillip]

Um for an htpc, wouldn't you want something that would be appropriate to have on or near an a/v rack or tv stand?

It certainly would be a terrible choice for gaming. Minecraft would probably run fine, but I've never played it and I'm not familiar with the required specifications. I know it's all 8-bit retro looking but I've heard that it needs a decent machine because of how large the world gets and how much building or whatever goes on.

 

[JohnA]

Macs are fine for gaming, BUT, they are very limited on the games available for them. My wife and I were playing WoW on a Mac G4 Powerbook and a G5 tower just fine...until the recent exp pack (they changed the video graphics engine )... anyways... If you are a gamer than I would suggest going for a PC (and this coming from a mac guy )

The other thing to look into would be duel booting into windows on the mac, but I have no idea how games would play doing it that way.

 

[craig7]

but the thing is, i get everything i need in the imac, yes its overpriced but it has everything, i5 processor at a decent speed( not as fast as my p4 but not many are), 4gb ram... as much as i have now but its ddr3, 500gb hdd, 21.5" hd screen with facetime camera, and a thunderbolt port so i can plug it into a bigger hdtv when i get one. im sure i can find other pc's with similar specs for less but the thing is.... i want a mac... or a pc that can run mac os. know any pc's that have same or better specs that can run mac os?

 

[its phillip]

I dunno anything about hackintoshes or whatever. I don't recommend an imac (or any all in one machine) simply because of the lack of upgrade options. that i5 is so much better than your p4, regardless of clock speed differences.

 

[craig7]

I dunno anything about hackintoshes or whatever. I don't recommend an imac (or any all in one machine) simply because of the lack of upgrade options. that i5 is so much better than your p4, regardless of clock speed differences.

im aware its better and im not terribly sure about a hackintosh either.. but if you look at all the other macs... its the best option really. i HATE laptops (except my netbook for school), a mac min with 4gb ram, 500gb hdd, and a core 2 duo @ 2.66ghz is almost as much as an imac and you get alot less and then there is the mac pro... i would love one but no way i could afford one. the imac is quite expensive but in my opinion, i get everything i need (especially garage band).... then theres the bragging rights of owning a mac

 

[its phillip]

owning a mac is nothing to brag about

an imac is something i'd never buy or recommend to anybody, but if it suits your needs, then go for it. just be aware that for the price of the cheapest imac, you can easily build a much more capable computer.

 

[craig7]

owning a mac is nothing to brag about

an imac is something i'd never buy or recommend to anybody, but if it suits your needs, then go for it. just be aware that for the price of the cheapest imac, you can easily build a much more capable computer.

but it wouldnt be able to run mac os perfectly and by the time i save enough money for it i would probably be able to buy a refurbished one

 

[dkane360]

My brother has an iMac and plays computer games on it. The only real problem is that because of the minimal space in the case, it tends to get very hot. It's a great all in one solution if the "all" doesn't include games.

Stick with a PC for the hardcore gaming. And that's coming from a Mac owner

 

[gpost3]

if it is the User Interface that you like on Mac, then sure. But you can run Ubuntu with Docky on a PC which will look just like it. Is there anything that your mac can do which a PC running Ubuntu/Windows Combo cannot do? Beats me

 

[craig7]

well i do nt do hardcore gaming, that will probably change when they release gta V but until then i just play minecraft mostly, which does require a good computer but if runs well on my 6 year old hp, i think a new mac could easily handle it. and i have ubuntu on my netbook with the macbuntu theme and it fools people all the time but one big reason i need a mac id garageband. my pc also has ubuntu on it and just because it looks like a mac doesnt mean it performs as well...

 

[bikemig]

I use macs but over the years I've gone back and forth between macs and PCs. I've read some reviews stating that once you price out everything a mac has (and I forget all the technical details but the reviews were very thorough), the price difference is not as great as most people imagine it is. Plus the OS works really, really well which makes it a lot easier to keep it up and running. It is also ridiculously easy to network and makes a great music server. So you won't go wrong with an imac and I know you'll like it. But you can certainly save some money buying a PC. The pros and cons, though, are not as straightforward as some of the posts suggest. My 2 cents worth . . .

 

[JohnA]

On the hacintosh side of this... they are more trouble than they are worth, because you have to use specific hardware and a hacked OS, with a hacked OS good luck if you do updates. I have a "sudo" hackintosh, I have a Dell mini9 net book with OS X on it, but it is using a reg unhacked OSX, all it needed was a boot loader to tell it that the computer was ok.

Get the imac...and be happy.

 

[gpost3]

my pc also has ubuntu on it and just because it looks like a mac doesnt mean it performs as well

That has more to do with your PC than the operating system installed. Mac OS is a fork of Unix. Linux is also a fork of Unix. Just a FYI.

I think this thread is completely irrelevant. The OP is hard set on iMac so any other suggestions are automatically void. If you want to get a mac, then get a mac. But I don't see any good rationale behind you getting a mac other than the fact you can play minecraft. But even that argument is void because ..

but if runs well on my 6 year old hp, i think a new mac could easily handle it

if it runs well on your 6 year old hp, then why are you bothering to get a new mac? I think it is just an itch you have and we all get that once in a while and there is nothing wrong with that. it is your money sure go ahead buy a mac. But it stands that you don't have a very good reason to buy one regardless.

 

[its phillip]

He didn't just say Minecraft - he wants to use Garage Band which I assume is mac specific software, but he doesn't want to build a hackintosh, so that means he's buying a mac...so yes, the thread essentially has no point since his mind is already made up.