[Glitchy81]

I'm will hopefully buy an iMac in the next 6 months, and I'm wondering if anyone could give me some spec recommendations. I do a lot of image editing, mainly with Paint.net. But since that won't work on a Mac nativly, I'm going to buy VMWare with it. Or, I will use Photoshop. Other than that, I usually just use the internet and AIM. Of course, I don't think there is a word-processing application on the Mac, so I need some power to run iWork. (Which I will buy). I generally don't use a lot of space with the stuff I have on my current PC. (I'm only using 36GB, even though I uninstalled a lot of things to speed it up). I'll also run The Sims 2, and the Sims 3 when it comes out.

[ferrija1]

If you're only dealing with .rtf or .txt files%2

[namenotfound]

Originally Posted by Glitchy81

I'm will hopefully buy an iMac in the next 6 months, and I'm wondering if anyone could give me some spec recommendations. I do a lot of image editing, mainly with Paint.net. But since that won't work on a Mac nativly, I'm going to buy VMWare with it. Or, I will use Photoshop. Other than that, I usually just use the internet and AIM. Of course, I don't think there is a word-processing application on the Mac, so I need some power to run iWork. (Which I will buy). I generally don't use a lot of space with the stuff I have on my current PC. (I'm only using 36GB, even though I uninstalled a lot of things to speed it up). I'll also run The Sims 2, and the Sims 3 when it comes out.

Mac's have a trial of iWork and a trial of MS Word to start you off.

I never really liked Paint.net, Photoshop is great on a Mac (runs faster on my Mac than on my Windows machine)

If you're gonna use VMWare Fusion, I recommend getting no less than 4 GB of RAM memory.

[ferrija1]

Huh, I just noticed my post got messed up, I had a lot more there.... ??

Anyways, here's basically what I said...

If you're only dealing with .rtf or .txt files, TextEdit (built-in) will work fine for you.

Try looking at Pixelmator.

Any iMac will work fine for your needs as long as you don't run Windows, then you will want at least 2 GB of RAM. I am quite confident, however, you will not need to run Windows, I've found programs on the Mac for everything I've needed to do.

[namenotfound]

I use Windows (via Bootcamp and VMWare Fusion) for IE7/8 (for website testing purposes) and MSN Messenger (because the Mac version of MSN Messenger sucks).

WIth the Mac version of MSN Messenger, you can only use a webcam if you have a business account, personal accounts can't use it. Windows version of MSN Messenger lets you use webcam, handwriting, and other features that Microsoft left out of the Mac version.

For everything else, I was able to find a Mac version.

[Glitchy81]

Okay, I'm going to order a refurbished one tonight. It's either probably going to be the one with the 2.4 Ghz or the 2.8 GHz processor, and I don't know which one is a better deal, or if it's worth it to spend $200 more for the 2.8 and get 1GB more of RAM. (If I'm correct, you'll actually save $100 or more in the long run if you get the one with 2.8 Ghz Dual Core 2 and 2GB RAM).

Also, Pixelmator look amazing. I'm looking forward to buying it. (Er...Downloading it? I have no idea. Is it shareware or something?)

I still don't know if I should get VMWare. I don't really need Mac OS X and Windows running side by side, so having to reboot every time to run them doesn't bother me. (I'm talking about Boot Camp).

[namenotfound]

If you want more RAM, but want to save money, get the minimum from the Apple store, then buy RAM at another store. I was able to get 4 GB of RAM for a little over $100. At the Apple store, 4 GB of RAM would have cost me $400.

I bought the 4 GB RAM kit from this website: http://www.crucial.com/

[Glitchy81]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Thanks for the tip.

[ferrija1]

Pixelmator is $60.
http://www.pixelmator.com/

I would also recommend the AppleCare Protection Plan for your iMac, especially for a refurbished Mac. You have about a year to buy it, though, and your computer will remind you then, so you don't have to buy it right now. Just something to think about.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB585LL/A

[Glitchy81]

Actually, I got a new iMac for $850 here.

It seems a little suspicious. I ordered it at about 9:00 PM and it said it would take about 12 hours to receive tracking. 21 hours later, the status and tracking are still blank.

Also, Pixelmator is shareware, so you don't need to pay.

[Serge_N_Gin]

Originally Posted by Glitchy81

Also, Pixelmator is shareware, so you don't need to pay.

True, however:

[macfan777]

Pixelmator is outstanding, however, I found that GIMP works fine for me. Try the GIMP and a Pixelmator trial and see whether you really need Pixelmator.

[namenotfound]

Everytime I use Gimp on a Mac, it shuts down on me.
They need to make a native version of it, all X11 ports seem to work like crap.

[ferrija1]

Originally Posted by namenotfound

Everytime I use Gimp on a Mac, it shuts down on me.
They need to make a native version of it, all X11 ports seem to work like crap.

I agree, in fact, I'm all-around not too fond of X11.

[macfan777]

Yeah, X11's not too great, but to be honest I've never had it crash on me - you just have to get the xquartz version of X11 and follow their instructions on how to install it.