Today we are going to focus on just one of the many Apple products, and we’ll choose the iMac which is a range of desktop computers. It was introduced on the market in 1998 and since then it is the primary product offered by Apple for the desktop of any user. Here in this image you can see the first model of iMac which was the iMac G3.
When you look at it you think that it is just a simple CRT monitor, but no!...this is the entire computer! It has both the monitor and all of the other components in a single unit. The next generation was made quite different and here it is, the iMac G4:
The whole central unit that you are used to from a classic desktop computer is fitted into that small and round shape that is placed under the monitor. The newest model is the iMac G5, which we can say that got back to its roots because it has all of the components behind the monitor…only that it is much thinner than the iMac G3.
So after all the iMac is a really cool and compact computer, with quite good features and technical details. But all of these come at a high price, one much bigger than the one of a regular desktop computer. So if you don’t have enough money to buy a new iMac, you can choose to buy one of the many used iMacs that are for sale. You can find many of them on the internet (on auction sites or retail sites), and if you are lucky you can get quite a good computer, at a reasonable price.
A site where you can find many models is www.powermax.com, and now let’s discuss about some of the models here. For example you can buy an used 24” iMac with Intel Core 2 Duo (2.16 Ghz) processor for just 969 dollars. The technical details for this model are:
- 1024 MB of RAM
- 250 GB internal drive
- Internal SuperDrive
- No keyboard
- Airport Extreme and Bluetooth installed
- NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT-128MB video
- Built-in iSight
- 24" TFT display
- Certified Pre-Owned Mac with 90 day warranty
- OS CD is not included
- OS 10.4.10 installed
If you are looking for a more powerful computer, you can choose the iMac with a screen size of 24 inch and an Intel Core 2 Duo (2.8 Ghz) processor for a price of 1459 dollars. And the technical details for this model are much better:
- 4.1 GB of RAM
- 500 GB internal drive
- Internal SuperDrive
- No keyboard
- Airport Extreme and Bluetooth installed
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro video
- Built-in iSight
- 24" TFT display
- Certified Pre-Owned Mac with 90 day warranty
- OS CD is not included
- OS 10.5.2 installed
If a display screen of 24 inch is too big for you, then you can choose an iMac with a screen size of 17 inch diagonal. And this will be even cheaper. For example you can have an iMac 17 “ with a Intel Core 2 Duo (1.83 Ghz) processor for 759 dollars. The technical details won’t be as good as the previous models, but if you are looking just for a simple computer to take care of the simple day to day activities, you can choose this one. And it will have these technical details:
- 512 MB of RAM
- 160 GB internal drive
- Internal Combo Drive
- No keyboard
- Airport Extreme installed
- 17" TFT display with built-in iSight
- Certified Pre-Owned Mac with 90 day warranty
- OS CD is not included
- OS 10.4.10 installed
But the most cheapest models from this site are the G4 iMac-s with a screen of 15 inch, and the prices for these models seem quite really low (between 100 and 300 dollars). For example you can buy an used LCD iMac G4 700 for just 169 dollars. But the technical details will also be “cheap”:
- Dual Bootable
- 640 MB of RAM
- 40 GB internal drive
- Internal CD-RW
- Internal 56k modem
- No keyboard
- 15" TFT display
- Certified Pre-Owned Mac with 90 day warranty
- OS CD is not included
- OS 9.2.2 and 10.4.11 installed