I finally did it. I got an iMac. Let me explain.
Since 2009, I have only had hackintosh desktops. Of course, I've also owned an iBook, MacBook, two MacBook Pros, three iPads, four iPods and three iPhones in that time, but as far as desktops go, I've always stuck with building hackintoshes. Obviously like many others, the performance/cost ratio has always been so appealing, but I also love to build and mod, so it was the perfect fit. Currently I have a dual-core hackintosh in a Mac Pro case, and it looks like a beast, but it's hard to move. I've had a couple of issues with it (sleep, USB weirdness, video weirdness) but nothing that was unfixable if I gave it the chance. I also have started giving photoshop lessons locally, and although I've had plenty of compliments (and conversations) about my Mac Pro hack, I HATE transporting it, along with my monitor and speakers (for video presentations).
More recently, I have also had issues with my 5770 video card. Sometimes if I let my monitor(s) go to sleep, they would refuse to wake. The computer would still be on (I could hear emails and IMs coming in), but nothing I did would wake them up. Removing a video cable automatically would force them into sleep that they wouldn't wake from. I also felt as though it was time for a monitor upgrade - my 20" consumer-grade Acer has been faithful, but simply not that great for graphics work (what I spend most of my time doing). Finally, I had started to have USB issues. My keyboard and mouse would disconnect randomly. My Wacom tablet would behave erratically. I know it probably has something to do with the USB expansion bracket I'm using, but still irksome. So, I priced things out to see what I could upgrade:
24" IPS Monitor: $200 (for a half-decent one: [url="http://www.amazon.com/Dell-C9VNT-IPS-LED-24-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor/dp/B009H0XQRI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364482024&sr=8-1&keywords=24+IPS"link[/url])
New Graphics Card: $100-200 (depending on what I wanted to get, and this was keeping it cheap...)
Then I jumped on eBay, and noticed that Buy It Now 24" iMacs were going for around $550. Sure, they're older and only running Core 2 Duo's, but I find myself doing less and less video work, so I actually don't need the power. 90% of what I do is through a web browser, the other 5% is photoshop/Aperture, both of which run pretty well on a Core 2 Duo with enough RAM. Well, long story short I managed to win an auction for a like-new 24" iMac for $440 with free shipping! This is only a little bit more than I would have spent on my upgrades, and with an 240GB SSD and 6GB of RAM that I already own, this should be a pretty nice machine for the price! So what with the Mac Pro Hack? I will still be tinkering, upgrading and testing. Building hackintoshes is too much fun, but I can't help but be pretty excited about my new toy
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Since 2009, I have only had hackintosh desktops. Of course, I've also owned an iBook, MacBook, two MacBook Pros, three iPads, four iPods and three iPhones in that time, but as far as desktops go, I've always stuck with building hackintoshes. Obviously like many others, the performance/cost ratio has always been so appealing, but I also love to build and mod, so it was the perfect fit. Currently I have a dual-core hackintosh in a Mac Pro case, and it looks like a beast, but it's hard to move. I've had a couple of issues with it (sleep, USB weirdness, video weirdness) but nothing that was unfixable if I gave it the chance. I also have started giving photoshop lessons locally, and although I've had plenty of compliments (and conversations) about my Mac Pro hack, I HATE transporting it, along with my monitor and speakers (for video presentations).
More recently, I have also had issues with my 5770 video card. Sometimes if I let my monitor(s) go to sleep, they would refuse to wake. The computer would still be on (I could hear emails and IMs coming in), but nothing I did would wake them up. Removing a video cable automatically would force them into sleep that they wouldn't wake from. I also felt as though it was time for a monitor upgrade - my 20" consumer-grade Acer has been faithful, but simply not that great for graphics work (what I spend most of my time doing). Finally, I had started to have USB issues. My keyboard and mouse would disconnect randomly. My Wacom tablet would behave erratically. I know it probably has something to do with the USB expansion bracket I'm using, but still irksome. So, I priced things out to see what I could upgrade:
24" IPS Monitor: $200 (for a half-decent one: [url="http://www.amazon.com/Dell-C9VNT-IPS-LED-24-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor/dp/B009H0XQRI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364482024&sr=8-1&keywords=24+IPS"link[/url])
New Graphics Card: $100-200 (depending on what I wanted to get, and this was keeping it cheap...)
Then I jumped on eBay, and noticed that Buy It Now 24" iMacs were going for around $550. Sure, they're older and only running Core 2 Duo's, but I find myself doing less and less video work, so I actually don't need the power. 90% of what I do is through a web browser, the other 5% is photoshop/Aperture, both of which run pretty well on a Core 2 Duo with enough RAM. Well, long story short I managed to win an auction for a like-new 24" iMac for $440 with free shipping! This is only a little bit more than I would have spent on my upgrades, and with an 240GB SSD and 6GB of RAM that I already own, this should be a pretty nice machine for the price! So what with the Mac Pro Hack? I will still be tinkering, upgrading and testing. Building hackintoshes is too much fun, but I can't help but be pretty excited about my new toy
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