Old iMac or new iMac?

bastet

OH and I have agreed to buy our DD an iMac for xmas.
I am now undecided if I should get the current one or the new one that was announced last night.
I was disappointed that there was no cd/dvd drive but then I can't think what it'd be needed for?
Anyone here have the current one? Would you change to the newer model?
The main use would be, games, downloading music/films (legally of course:D) school work and internet access.
I would be wanting to use it for general office/work.
Also my DD is not keen on the keyboard, would I be able to buy a 'normal' keyboard and connect it?
Can anyone recommend a good wireless printer too?
Thanks

wba31

bastet wrote: »

OH and I have agreed to buy our DD an iMac for xmas.
I am now undecided if I should get the current one or the new one that was announced last night.
I was disappointed that there was no cd/dvd drive but then I can't think what it'd be needed for?
Anyone here have the current one? Would you change to the newer model?
The main use would be, games, downloading music/films (legally of course:D) school work and internet access.
I would be wanting to use it for general office/work.
Also my DD is not keen on the keyboard, would I be able to buy a 'normal' keyboard and connect it?
Can anyone recommend a good wireless printer too?
Thanks

If that's all she will be using it for, the old model might be more sensible, but the design etc is a few years old.
The new one has no disc drive because Apple believe in buying music and renting films etc through itunes, and then keeping all media on iCloud (I for one love having CD's and will be buying a superdrive when I buy the new imac!)
the old model will not be available for long.

But after the list of things you said the item will be used for, you really need to spend £1000 on an iMac? I am a big Apple fan, but for that sort of stuff you could buy a PC for less than half the cost of an iMac for using Facebook and itunes and school work...

gonzo127

cant advise properly however something to note is that macs do not really do games, so you can scrap that idea, yes there are a few but if you want to play games, a windows based system is better.

otherwise in general if you can afford it it would be better to go for a new one over the older one, and printers you have to make sure its apple compatable as not all are

bastet

I have had pc's in the past but slowly fell out of love with windows and the constant updates then not responding etc. We have 3 laptops but prefer the iPads when it comes to internet browsing!
It would be online games (moshi monsters would be the main one!) but it would also be used for school based applications like mathletics. I can't get either of these on iPad as they require flash!
The price difference between an iMac and PC is alot but I am kind of hoping it will be a bigger investment in the long run?

bastet

Can data be backed up to one of those usb things or sd card?

gonzo127

bastet wrote: »

The price difference between an iMac and PC is alot but I am kind of hoping it will be a bigger investment in the long run?

just wondering what do you expect to get out of it as a investment?

macman

bastet wrote: »

Can data be backed up to one of those usb things or sd card?

You'll need to purchase an external drive to do proper backups using Time Machine, via USB or Thunderbolt.

macman

gonzo127 wrote: »

just wondering what do you expect to get out of it as a investment?

Macs do hold their value better than PC's.

almillar

You don't 'need' an iMac
The older model will certainly do nicey. It's fatter and a bit slower. Look out for PC World or Currys getting rid of the old stock in a few weeks, it's a rare time when you might actually get a decent discount on a Mac! Also if you daughter is at school I assume you're aware of the Education Store at Apple?
The missing DVD drive is amazingly easy, buy a USB one. Very slim, and can live in a drawer until needed. Does NOT need to be an Apple one.
Keyboard - plug in any USB keyboard you like. Or a Bluetooth one. Other wireless ones, make sure there's a Mac driver for them.
Wireless printers - don't know, but not Mac specific.
Backup - Backing up onto DVD at 9GB per disc makes no sense to me at all these days when you can have a 500GB USB hard drive for £50 or 32GB SD cards (yes the iMac has an SDXC slot) for £20. Both solutions are faster and easier than DVD.

Figment

You don't need to buy a USB DVD drive. Use Remote Disc to 'borrow' the DVD or CD drive of another Mac or any Windows PC/Laptop on the same LAN.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5287

InsideInsurance

Since the Steam engine came across to Mac their gaming is getting better but it certainly isnt a wise purchase if you want the latest game and to run everything at max settings.

I have a nearly 3 year old iMac 27" and love it dearly, replaced the harddrive for an SSD, files stored on an external raid array connected with Firewire. Certainly does absolutely everything I want it to do and more.

The Fusion drive looks great!

Worth nothing that the new 21" iMac is a fully sealed unit, you cannot even upgrade the ram where as the 27" does still allow user ram upgrades.

Personally I think a higher resolution screen is not too far away and I personally will hold out until then.