I am currently using a 5 year old MacBook Pro attached to a refurbished 23 inch Apple Cinema display.
I want to upgrade to a more modern computer and use my MacBook Pro for backup and when I visit my son in Alabama for extended time (can't update my web sites on an iPad). What I would like to do is get the iMac and attach my cinema display with Thunderbolt (talk about desktop space). While perusing the apple web site I discovered that you can order a second hard drive installed, which is why I asked the question about adding a hard drive. I will also want to max out the ram. Don't know if it would be cheaper to just have apple put in the extra ram or to do it myself. If it's easy to install myself then I guess I want to do that. Also, since, as Lee says, it's pretty much a closed box, I should get an extended warranty. I really like the footprint and style of the iMac. But perhaps I should also consider a mini and buy an additional external monitor which Jonathan says the mini can handle. I'll keep the group informed. Thanks for your input. Harry Harry Jacobson-Beyer [email protected] On Apr 28, 2012, at 8:51 AM, Jonathan Fletcher wrote: > On Apr 27, 2012, at 12:00 PM, Harry Jacobson-Beyer <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I'm thinking of getting an IMac. >> >> How easy/difficult is it to install your own memory? >> >> How easy is it to install a solid-state 2nd hard drive (that's one of the >> options)? >> >> Has anyone used thunderbolt to add a second monitor? > > Harry, I have been agonizing over these questions lately, and I have some > thoughts. > > In the past month I have bought two Minis. > > I would have gone with an iMac in a heartbeat for their sheer quality and > simplicity. > > There is one huge issue that I could not overcome, though: updating drives is > for most budgets not possible. > > Adding more RAM is as easy as it gets. Drives are a different story. Apple > has configured their drives to work closely with the motherboard and so > replacing that drive with a non-"Apple-Certified" drive will cause the fans > to run at full speed all the time. > > Additionally, it is no cake-walk to disassemble the beast. The screen comes > off the front and you need special tools to do it. > > Soooo, I decided on the Mini for a headless solution for my server closet: > no-brainer. > > And yesterday I bought another mini for my desktop. I have been using an > external monitor attached to my laptop for a long time, and with this I can > just plug the mini into the same monitor. The lost screen real estate will be > replaced (and then some) by applying some of my eBay-Fu later today, as the > Mini will indeed drive two monitors handily. > > That said, another option I considered was to get the iMac and add external > drives via Thunderbolt, but options are few and expensive at the moment for > that approach. > > Another solution you may wish to research is to have OWC > (http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/turnkey/iMac) upgrade your iMac. They have > various options for adding drives, SSDs, and even an external eSATA port to > an iMac, but you have to send your computer to them to do it, and while their > prices are not exorbitant that will still add significantly to the cost of > your new computer. OTOH, if you compare that with the build-to-order options > from the Apple Store, you may find it doable. > > Good luck, Harry, and let us know what you end up doing, please. > > j. > > -- > Jonathan Fletcher > FileMaker 9/10/11 Certified Developer > > Fletcher Data Consulting > [email protected] > http://www.fletcherdata.com > 502-509-7137 > > Personal Blog o'Stuff: http://jfletch.posterous.com > > Kentuckiana's FileMaker Users Group > Next up: Build-from-scratch and more Twelve! > Tuesday, May 22, 12:00 pm to 3:30-ish > Blog: http://www.kyfmp.com > > > _______________________________________________ > MacGroup mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.math.louisville.edu/mailman/listinfo/macgroup
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