Choices, Choices

My previous entry talked about the computing tasks I currently consider important and how I use multiple machines with different operating systems. The goal is to consolidate to a single Mac. I went about trying to match up what I wanted to do with the current Mac lineup. Of course I would love to get a maxed out Mac Pro with a giant Apple Cinema monitor but that is out of my price range at the moment.

I also very strongly considered getting a Mac Mini and just plugging it in to my current setup but one of the things I wanted was a larger monitor. My old Sony 17se II CRT monitor has served well for a dozen years but it is time to relegate it to backup duty. Pricing a Mac Mini plus a monitor meant I was quickly approaching iMac territory. In previous years I would have never considered an all-in-one machine but these days I really just want something that works and am not as interested in constantly upgrading the machine.

A nice benefit to the Intel-based iMacs is the ability to run Windows, Linux or any number of other operating systems. Where I used to build multiple machines I can now use a combination of multi-boot and virtual machines to stuff everything onto one system. I am looking forward to it.

So with the iMac as the logical choice the question was 20" or 24"? Looking at the two side-by-side in the Mac store it was a no-brainer, go for the bigger one! I think I'm going to be a bit surprised at the size when it actually gets here. I probably would have been happy with the 20" but I'm sure I will get used to the larger size quickly.

There aren't a whole lot of options on the iMac so it wasn't hard to pick what I wanted:

• 2.8GHz processor
  
• 2GB RAM (I have ordered the Crucial 4GB kit)
• 750GB hard drive
• NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS video card

Really the only difficult part was trying to decide whether or not to go with the ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO or the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS for the video card. I couldn't find much info on the web about the relative benefits of the more expensive NVIDIA but in the end I went ahead and got it. Since you can't easily upgrade the card I decided to get the better one even though it added a bit to the cost.

Thanks to a company discount the system is going to come in at around $2000. More than I would like to spend but considering I'm essentially getting a new computer and monitor at once it seems reasonable. I also nabbed one of the "free after rebate" printers. I don't know if I am going to use it or sell it.

Now the wait. Tuesday is supposed to be the day...