Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Advice on new computer

I'm looking at getting a new iMac this winter and would like whatever input the 'fire can input as to which ones are good and what're bad. Reviews I found seem inconsistent.

I have crappy internet (Hughsnet satellite) if that matters. Basically it's for surfing the web, music (i still use iTunes), picture repository, etc. Not doing any fancy digital editing or business work or anything.

It absolutely is going to be an iMac, as we all have iPhones and I'm familiar with it. and it makes interfacing with the phones easier. The one I currently have is nigh on 10 years old at least. Been a good machine, but it's getting sloooooow.

Thanks in advance.

Question............iMacs are all made by Apple?

No one else makes that type of computer?

All you are doing is choosing options or something?

Yeah, sizes and the guts differ. New models, last year's models etc.

I'm fairly computer 'tarded

Cool. I hear people talk about Mac computers all the time.


We had them in typing class back in grade school, but other than that I have never been around one.

My wife got a Mac last year! She hates it. Can't make it talk to her work system, gremlins up the kazoo with anything to do with that. There ya are Gruff in true fire fashion, answers to questions you did not ask. haha

They're supposed to be good with graphics and artsy endeavours and speak to iphones well. (My iPhone speaks very well to my PC btw). That's all I got good luck.

Pick the processor that you really have to have, the budget you can afford & go from there.

Hint: Never had a processor that was too fast; as far as RAM goes, IIRC, Mac doesn't really give you much for options in any given (preset) package.

MM

With satellite internet speeds being as slow as they are, I personally would not spend big bucks for the latest and greatest. A year or two old machine is where I'd look. If there is any possible way to get faster internet, I'd look into that before I buy a new machine. The Mac I'm typing this one is 8 1/2 years old and works just fine. For simple web browsing a newer machine won't give you much return for your money.

Are you maxed out on RAM? Our home one is 8 years old and I found I put some more RAM in a couple years ago and it's doing OK enough that I'm going to try and put off a purchase until spring.

For what you’re doing have you considered an iPad? It’s very portable and it’s nice for traveling. I don’t need a “computer” and all the things it does, including frustrating the hell out of me and I’ve been very happy with my iPad.

I prefer Apple to Microsoft for its ease of use and not having a thousand programs that I’ll never use but will spend countless hours “updating” those programs and add-ons.

Good luck.

Faced that decision a couple of years ago. The only thing I use my laptop for anymore is as a repository for photos and music. About twice a month at best it gets used for Excel, visual studio and changing the playlist on my iPod. The 64 Gig wi/fi iPad won out for every day use. There’s not much that I can’t do on it.

bgg,

walt might have it right. with Hughes, which I just happily got rid of!, any improvemtn in speed you purchase may go to waste on internet browsing as Hughes is not the fastest option out there.......the only one at times I know well.

Can you update RAM as Pugs alluded to with the Mac you own now? Might be the best option for a while.

Good luck with it.

Geno

The Ipad does everything I wanna do.

Still, I can put it in a stand and set it on the table or desk, but still wish there was a mouse that worked with it.

And one port only for charging and input/output. Not the coolest set-up...

I did the same replacing an aging Chromebook..Not having owned any Iphones or anything Apple,it has been a ride....The thing is very secure compared to the Android tablets and Chromebooks I have owned..

About the only thing I ever used a real computer for was Rooting cell phones,other than that the Ipad does everything I need and securely..

Just get a Mac mini, apple key pad, mouse and monitor .....your all set!

Have you removed all the temp files? if not, do a system search, by typing in %temp% and it should pull up the all the temp files. Select all of them and hit delete. There will two or three current files the system will not let you delete. If there is any files are over three weeks old that are not deleted, click on them and as the administer of the system, delete them. Also, make sure you are set to delete all cookies and brousing history every time you shut down the computer. Try this and see if it speeds things up for you.

I have an iMac that's about 10 years old. I upgraded the RAM to all it would take and when the hard drive was making a noise I didn't think it should make, I replaced it. It has crashed a couple of times but, thanks to a Drobo, I lost no data and the Apple Store got it up and running again on both occasions at no charge.

I use my computer a lot and it's plenty fast for me. A computer used online will be no faster than the internet connection. Due to the great service at the Apple Store and the fantastic life of the machine, when it finally dies, I'll no doubt be getting another iMac. That's from one who has also used various Windows machines very frequently since the late 1990s. There are some things a Windows machine does better and I have several of those which get used on occasion.

Thanks for the input gents.

No idea on the RAM, would that be the available memory?

Couldn't find any temp files, so I guess I don't have any.

No other options as far as internet service unfortunately. I initially had it through the copper phone lines, but that was absolutely horrible. The satellite still sucks, but it's more reliable at least.

I have always liked the Mac's because as a non-techy all I had to do was plug it in, turn it on and voila. And having 4 iPhones in the family staying with the apple makes most sense to me.

We've got a first gen iPad that is still going. Barely lol. I hear you on the iPad or laptop, but I'm old fashioned, or stuck in my ways, in that I like to sit down at the computer desk and type on a keyboard and use the mouse on a bigger screen.

For the price of a new computer, ouch, I wanted to make sure I didn't drop all that coin on something that wasn't any better than what I've got now. Wife backed up most of the pics to thumb drives, just in case it crashes. It hasn't yet, just gets funky sometimes.

Probably should read up on a few articles and reviews from: Wired, PC World and Cnet before dropping $1k plus on a new IMac.

Not to mention...

https://www.macworld.com/

To add if I wanted my new desktop or notebook to last 10 years Id get it with most RAM and fastest processor I could afford.