Customer Reviews

Apple iMac G5 Desktop with 17" M9844LL/A (2.0 GHz PowerPC G5, 512 MB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had written a raving review about my iMac G5 several months ago. Then tonight it started burning and the power failed. After looking online for a while on my wife's PC, it turns out that the power system failing due to overheating is a fairly common problem with the new iMacs. I had been using the computer for several hours, editing video with Final Cut Express, but I noticed a strange smell that I didn't realize was coming from my computer, and a few minutes later it shut down completely and won't start up again. Several people online suggest that this is a design failure that Apple has been aware of, but won't fix unless you are still under warranty. Unfortunately Amazon will let me change my review, but not my rating, otherwise it would drop to one. My warm fuzzy apple feelings are dissipating.

UPDATE: Apple is aware of the problem, which affects the first version of the iMac G5, and was fixed for the more recent models. They will extend the repair plan for people like me who are no longer under warranty, but where the problem was due to a design flaw in the power system, that has since then been fixed. I'm feeling better now. The problem did not destroy my harddrive, and is now being fixed.

I absolutely love this computer. I bought it from the Apple Store in early July and could not be happier. In the three years before buying this computer I owned two laptops which spent more time being sent to HP's tech support (in all that time I never once encountered someone who spoke English fluently) than they did being used. I may never find out what Apple's tech support is like because this computer has no problems whatsoever.

I have the base model, which does not include the superdrive. The iLife suite covers all your basic needs with programs that work well, a big improvement over the junk which tends to come on windows.

Another hugely useful feature is dashboard. Go on the widgets page on [...] to see the many useful widgets you can download and access by hitting F12. The function keys are generally well used by Apple. F9 shows you all your open windows, F10 shows you all the windows open in a particular application and F11 minimizes all the windows.

Another thing that I love is that basically anything can be simply plugged in and used. You don't usually need to install anything. This made the switch much faster, since I didn't have to reinstall programs for my digital camera, printer, etc. It also connected to my school's network instantly, whereas most PC users had many more troubles.

But the final reason I love my Mac is how pretty it is. It just looks great on my desk. When people see it, they compliment me on my nice moniter, and are always surprised when I tell them it's the entire computer.

Overall, I definitly recommend this computer.

This is a speed beast. I had upgraded RAM to 1 GB during time of purchase and man, it rocks!!

A small regret though, wished I had gone for the 20" model.

Apple is, quite simply, the best and most innovative computer manufacturer. A recent article in Consumer Reports identified Apple computers as the most reliable computers and PC Magazine user surveys have reached the same conclusion. Furthermore, PC Magazine regularly designates the iMac G5 as the best all around desktop computer. Now the ultra-reliable, user friendly iMac G5 has an even faster G5 processor.

Yes, most people use Windows-based PCs, but do you really want to be just another member of the PC herd -- with all of the problems and frustrations presented by Windows-based PCs (including regular virus attacks) -- or are you looking for a computer which is user friendly, seldom crashes, and is virtually impervious to viruses? If these virtues are more important to you than being one of the crowd, please seriously consider buying an Apple computer. This new iMac G5 is Apple's latest and fastest iteration of the innovative iMac series of compact, user friendly computers at reasonable prices. Like all G5-powered Apple computers this new iMac is a very fast computer -- more than twice as fast as a Pentium 4 with the same clock speed -- and has a state-of-the-art 64-bit processor. All computers will have 64-bit processors some day but very few PCs, except for Apple G5s, have them at this time. If you're looking for a fast, versatile, easy to use computer, want to stop worrying abut virus attacks, and are willing to try something off the beaten path, you'll love this elegant and now faster new iMac G5.

Ordered this from the Apple store online with 1.5 GB RAM, and a 250 GB HD. Also bought a swivel round base (white) specifically made for the iMac (called i360 from Raindance) and just love the ability to turn my monitor around at the push of a finger. The i360 sells for about 40.00 and is really worth it. Amazon sells it also I think. Anyway, love the screen on this Mac, it is pretty awesome, and it tilts back and forth really nicely. I've also paired this with the Airport Extreme. In addition, I acquired an Airport Express to play my iTunes library through my living room speakers and it rocks! Continuous music for hours, how cool is that? I do enjoy Tiger OSX on this, because I definitely enjoy Spotlight and Dashboard (which is not installed on my iBook because it still has Panther).

This desktop is a breeze to use and to transfer files from another Mac is a snap with a firewire to firewire cable (19.00). The sound on it is pretty decent particularly when watching DVDs. Right now I am listening to a symphony through the desktop as I type and it sounds pretty darn good. I also like that the speaker system was designed facing downward for better spread of sound. As far as heating, I feel there is enough ventilation built into it to keep it from overheating, but if left on for several hours, then it will feel hot to the touch. But I have not experienced any consequences as a result of leaving it on that long. Also love using the wireless keyboard as well as the mouse, which are both a snap to pair. If you have not yet decided on buying this, let me push you over onto this side: Go ahead and get it, you will not regret it. It really is a charm of a machine. I love it!

I have had this computer for 7 months and I still think it is the best purchase I have ever made. It is beautiful, efficient, and FAST! Never has the computer "locked up" on me, crashed, given me cryptic error messages, or taken more than a few seconds to open a file. My ONLY wish is for a two button mouse, as I still have to work on a clunky Dell at the office, I have never fully adapted to the one button mouse. This is a good, quality product that will last years. I purchased a video iPod shortly afterwards and I just love how the two products work together seamlessly.

The iMac G5 is an excellent computer for both the novice and the techno geek. Their ads are not just hype. It really is out of the box easy to use and with the assortment of usable software that comes with the G5, it will meets the needs of most users. The iPhoto combined with my digital camera is great. A zippy dependable machine that doesn't require constant updates, patches, and restarts. I use both PCs and Macs but this is the computer I chose for my home. My iMac is a useful tool rather than a time draining frustration.

Until purchasing my iMAC I had been a PC user/owner since the mid-eighties. I have owned four PCs, all but one I assembled myself from meticulously researched components that I spent countless hours in order to find the best bang for the buck. One could say that PCs were my hobby. As an electrical engineer, I had been constrained to use PCs since most work-related software had only been offered as WinBlow-compatible products.

I continued to be a loyal PC user at home despite the daily travails experienced while drafting MS Word documents at work. Bill Gates taught me to back up my documents on an hourly basis using unique file names so that I would limit my losses when MS Word would inevitably crash before the latest changes were saved. Word 2003 (and now 2007) are much better and hardly ever crash. The same can be said of Windows XP versus Windows 2000, 98, 95, and 3. Nevertheless, the thought of paying over a hundred dollars for yet another version of Windows always made me cringe. Of course an updated version of Office costs even more.

I pondered all these factors four years ago when I needed to replace my five-year-old PC. The issue that pushed me to the "dark side" was a co-worker's disappointing experience with a mainstream PC vendor's, expert-aided selection of a top-of-the-line, PC intended for digital video editing of his home recordings. Despite the expensive video card, fast hard drive, large, fast RAM, and memory-cached CPU, the PC could not display the digital video output of his camcorder in real-time! He had spent almost three times the amount I had budgeted for a new PC (and twice as much as I paid for my iMac) and didn't have a 'working product'.

That is when I paid a visit to my local Apple store with my Sony digital video camcorder in hand. Within a few minutes of entering the store, a clerk had plugged MY camcorder into an iMac and I was looking at a real-time, smooth-playing video displayed in a re-sizable image window. Only a standard off-the-shelf video cable was required to make this happen. No special software package, no custom driver, and no tedious setup was needed! I was sold.

I purchased my 17" iMac from Amazon the next day and have not regretted it for a second. My old PC only lasted six weeks after it and our iMac had been connected to our new broadband service. Despite the firewall, anti-virus software, and anti-spyware that I had maintained on a weekly basis, my PC "died" after a virus broke through the multiple layers of protection - it hadn't even been powered on for most of those six weeks. The virus wiped out my hard drive's boot record and with it my will to keep tinkering with computer products that are so clearly inferior to Macs.

One of these days, when I have more time on my hands I will resurrect my PC with a Linux operating system. Until then I plan to purchase another iMac so that my wife an I do not have to share what has become one of the best purchases we have ever made.

Go Mac and you won't go back. Good operating system, good utilities built-in, and great hardware without all the hassles that come with the PC world. (Note: the only change I've made to my iMac since I bought it in 2005 was to upgrade one of the RAM modules from 500MB to 1GB for a total memory of 1.5GB).

If you want a hobby buy a PC. If you want a computer buy a Mac!

I just bought my Imac G5 17" model and has been wonderful so far. It is the sexiest computer I've ever seen. It works like a charm. You never get those dreaded blue screens that you OFTEN get on pcs. Their 90% less likely to get a viruse. I mean come on what more could you want. Wait a beautiful screen, with even better programs on it. I mean no pcs give you as many programs as the imac does with its iLife software. This Machine is wonderful and I suggest that everyone goes out and gets one of these if there look for a new system. Also there are so easy to switch over from pcs. This is my first Apple and i learned how to use it in no time. !!!!!!!!! Best Item I've Ever Purchased!!!!

This is the sexiest computer i have ever seen. I've had mine for about a month now, and it is amazing! everything is perfect.