Advice wanted: 17" 2006 iMac or current 1.83GHz Mini?

I'm thinking of either buying a 2006 17" iMac or a current issue 1.83GHz mini. They'd both be right around the same price when all is said and done (total price outlay is an important factor here), and apple-history dot com shows that they're almost the same machine stat-wise with the exception of the HD capacity and speed and the Superdrive in the iMac. Monitor/keyboard/mouse isn't an issue for the mini.
This computer is for my wife and 8-year old daughter whose needs are currently limited to web, email, and perhaps some television show watching & youtube. Gaming would not likely include 3D shoot-em-ups cuz the wife isn't interested and I don't want to go there with my young kid. It seems like a 50/50 thing except I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on how you believe one would hold up for future use over the other. Can anyone think of something that would sway you in one direction or the other if you were making this choice?

My personal opinion: I'd go with the refurb iMac w/warranty. I had a 2 GHz Mini for a short while last year and was less than impressed with its performance (seemed very slow, processor working too hard, and continuous issues with its' Airport card. That was replaced, but the connection problem persisted). I had purchased it mostly to connect it to my HDTV and browse internet/watch movies, but could not get a signal from my router on the Mini while my MBP works just flawlessly in the same location. I was told that the airport card/antenna is smaller to fit inside the Mini, so I decided the Mini was too "entry level" (?), sold it, bought the 24" iMac (refurb), and use my MBP with my HDTV. One of my better decisions - everything works just as it should.

Similar Messages

I have a 2006 iMac and currently run Snow Leopard. I want to upgrade to Lion, but don't know if my computer is too old to run OS 10.7

I was hoping to upgrade to Lion 10.7 in order to utilize iCloud with my iPhone. However, I cannot determine if the OS 10.7 is compatible with an 2006 iMac. I am currently running Snow Leopard. Everything I've looked at on the Apple Site shows the newer OS on a laptop with a touch pad. Does this disqualify an iMac?

Correct, they are different generations of processors. The Core 2 Duo being a 64bit processor. The Core Duo being 32 bit. Lion needs a 64 bit processor.
You would think the chip manufacturers could come up with more distinct names. :-)
Stedman

HT201178 With the coming of OSX Mountain Lion, will there be support for a late 2006 iMac (currently running OSX Lion

With the coming of OSX Mountain Lion, will apple be supporting a late 2006 I mac currently running OSX Lion?

Ahhhh. Well, now you have earned a "Slap Kappy" coupon good for one slap. Expires in 30 days.
The 64-bit kernel thing will leave a lot of use behind. My main machine is a 2006 Mac Pro on which I've spent some money putting in two 4-core CPUs and an ATI 5770 GPU in the past year. If I want to run ML I can't do so. The only options I have for a desktop Mac is either a newer Mac Pro model - post 2007 - used or refurbed or a recent or new iMac. This assumes the Mac Pro line may be dropped. Apple has been very mum on that.
Clearly, Apple wants to get users of older hardware to buy new machines in order to run ML now and in the future. Because it is possible to boot the older models with the 64-bit kernel via some hacking, Apple might have been able to install ML on them by adding some code and retaining 32-bit drivers where needed, but they've chosen not to take that route. I think it's a bit of a marketing ploy to help drive up sales of new Macs, but I appreciate that Apple has chosen to abandon legacy support in the past in order to avoid having an OS like Windows - bloated by support for older and older hardware.

Have a late 2006 iMac with new Ram installed in late 2011 . I am currently running Mountain lion. Did/ hit something while half asleep and was asked for my recovery password didn't know it.Not sure what i did after that but wont boot just searches,

I have a late 2006 iMac with new Ram installed in late 2011or early2012 . I am currently running lion. Did/ hit something while half asleep and was asked for my recovery password, I didn't know it & not sure what I did after that but it wont boot up just searches with a light grey whit -ish screen. Cant get it to clear. Any advice?
Charlies Secret Angel-

Try to boot in Safe mode, see if you are able: Hold down shift and then power on. For wireless keyboards, hold down shift after the chime.
Safe Boot
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk

I want to transfer some of the data from an intel 2006 iMac running 10.4.11 to a 2011 iMac running 10.6.8

I want to transfer some of the data from an intel 2006 iMac running 10.4.11 to a 2011 iMac running 10.6.8. What is the best way?

It depends on what you have. The options include:
1. Connect them with a FireWire cable and start up with old iMac with the T key held down.
2. Copy the files over a network.
3. Copy the files to an external drive. Some files require the volume to be formatted as Mac OS Extended.
(117837)

Help! 2006 imac need Mountain Lion to run Photoshop elements

Hi, getting very frustrated : (
Have a 2006 Imac Intel; upgraded to snow leopard last year; now wanted to run Photoshop elements. Imac says NO. We needed Mountain Lion- ordered this online, computer says NO. Need more memory. So have bought and installed new memory (2gb + 1gb). Computer still says no, wont download Mountain Lion.
I just want to use elements!!
Any help appreciated, I'm not that computer savvy
Thanks : D
Gareth

The new version PSE will run on OS X 10.7 Lion.
PSE 12 runs on 10.7- 10.9
Here are the system requirements for OS X 10.7 Lion.
To use Lion, make sure your computer has the following:
An Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
Mac OS X v10.6.6 or later to install via the Mac App Store (v10.6.8 recommended); you can install without Mac OS X v10.6 by using an OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive, available on the Apple Online Store
7 GB of available disk space
2 GB of RAM
To find out info about your system
Click on the Apple symbol in the upper left of the OS X main menu bar. A drop down menu appears. Click About this Mac. A smaller popup window appears. This gives you basic info like what version of OS X your iMac is running, the speed of your iMac's CPU and how much RAM is installed.
Click on the button that says More Info. A larger window appears giving you a complete overview of your iMac's hardware specs.
Highlight all of this info and copy/paste all of this into another reply to this post, editing out your iMac's serial number before actually posting the reply. This will tell us everything about your iMac so we may begin to help with your iMac issues.
If your 2006 iMac can run Lion then you can purchase a Lion install code here.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/D6106Z/A/os-x-lion
Before installing a major systems upgrade, it would be prudent to have a viable backup of your current system and important data in case something should go wrong with the installation.
Good Luck!

TA23843 How much memory upgrade can I get on a late 2006 imac

Looking to purchase GB memory for late 2006 iMac. What do I get and how much will it support? I want to install OS Lion but need 2GB to do that apparently.

Here are the specs and maximum capacity for your Late 2006 iMac:
667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300), supports up to 3GB
I would recommend OWC or Crucial as excellent online vendors in the US.
Hope this helps

Why is my 2006 iMac so slow now with Snow Leopard 10.6.8?

Hello,
I bought and installed Snow Leopard on my 2006 iMac so that i could use my new Lacie Minimus Drives for backup using Time Machine.
Since my install though the computer is slow and everything seems to take a long time to do. For instance, when i select one of the shortcuts in my bookmark bar i put the mouse icon over it and it takes 5 seconds for it to go dark grey so i can select it.
It's like it has a time delay on everything now. Everything is sooooo slow.
Also before i updated the OS there was this sound coming off the computer like it was doing something in the background, a sort of rustling/crinkling noise from the drive i think. When it makes this sound the computer will slow down and display that little spinning disc icon until the sound went away and then it would speed up again. This was another reason i wanted to wipe my drive and update my software. That sound is almost constant now.
I wanted to wipe my entire hard drive and install the Snow Leopard on a fresh new system. I usually do this once a year to get rid of any unwanted junk on my computer but i never realised that the Snow Leopard disc doesn't give you the option of 'Erase and Install'.
So, do i need to install Tiger with the 'Erase and Install' option, creating a fresh system, then install Snow Leopard and update it?
Also would installing new RAM improve my mac's performance? (MichelPM, thanks for your suggestion)
There's one on ebay made by Sandisk for sale at £30. It's 2GB and seems like the best option. It's listed below.
I have 1GB on board now so that would make it 3GB.
Would doing this get rid of these unwanted and very annoying sounds and time delays?
If i have to hear that rustling or see that little coloured disc for much longer i am going to lose it.
Thanks for you time.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2GB-Ram-Memory-Apple-iMac-2-16GHz-Intel-Core-2-Duo-iMa c-2-4GHz-Intel-Core-2-Duo?item=260992423037&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkpa rms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D899659199115 7919118#ht_4483wt_1165

Hello,
Thanks for the help everyone.
First, i have all my data/files backed up on my older Lacie drives. New ones are still in their boxes.
Second, the noise with the disc. It's not a clicking sound. It's more like the drive is struggling to do something.
It's not continuous, It happens when opening up itunes or iphoto or another app. Or when i try to open up a page on Safari, the page will start to load, the noise will start and either the noise stops and the page loads or the page stalls and the sound continues and then i just hit reload or quit Safari depending on how annoyed i am at the time! It did do this before i updated to SL but it seems to be more and more now!
If i have Safari, iPhoto and Mail open all at once, it's like a battle over what get's done with the sound creaking away and the spinning icon all over the place.
How do i check my drive using Disk Utility? Do i 'verify' it? I have done it before but it was a long time ago.
I never did a clean install. I just put in SL and let it update, then i updated the software to 10.6.8.
I will do that when i get the new RAM however just to start afresh.
I have bought a 2GB Crucial RAM memory (Thanks RadiationMac) but do i need to buy another one now?
Also how would spotlight make noise?
Thank you. These forums are invaluable.

Im trying to download the new itunes so i can use my iphone 5 , however , the new itunes requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later and i cant seem to install that onto my imac even after searching for the new update (my imac is currently on 10.5.8.

.Im trying to download the new itunes so i can use my iphone 5 , however , the new itunes requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later and i cant seem to install that onto my imac even after searching for the new update (my imac is currently on 10.5.8.

You have already seen that you cannot load the new iTunes into your 10.5.8, so as Neil says, you need Snow Leopard (current cost £14). And you'll probably need to update the disc you buy via the combo update, though that is free.
As far as the new iTunes is concerned, there's been a certain amount of grumbling so you may want to study the forums before you update. The main problem has been with album artwork which does not transfer easily.

Using an external display with a 2006 iMac?

(Scenario in paragraph one, question in paragraph two)
I've got a problem trying to get data off an old iMac, and don't see an obvious solution... I have an old 2006 iMac that's been unused for years, and the display quit working about a year ago. I'm trying to just get the data off that computer, but my current 'main' computer's a MacBook Air that doesn't have an Ethernet port, so direct connection is out. I could try to move a couple hundred GB over wifi, but the wifi in the old iMac is an old wifi standard that takes forever, and tends to error out when transferring data over hours of time (I've tried).
Thus my question: The old iMac has a mini-DVI-out port, but the challenge is how to switch to an external display, when I don't have a display to navigate through settings? Is there a keyboard shortcut, or something? I've looked online, but can't find any solutions. I've got a mini-DVI-to-VGA cable, and a VGA-capable monitor, but when I plug the Mini-DVI into the iMac, to the VGA, nothing happens. I'm guessing I need to go to preferences, and select video-out? But that's impossible (as far as I've tried) with a display to navigate on the iMac.
Some miscellany: Someone suggested Command-F2 for something monitor-switching-related, but that did nothing. Someone at work thought that the signal from the DVI out might not work with the Gateway FPD1760 I'm trying to use as an external display...
Any suggestions/help would be appreciated!

So the various 'F2', 'Command-F7', etc, etc, didn't work. But I did find a simple solution: I used my Fiancé’s MacBook Pro that has an Ethernet port, connected via Command-k, and transferred about 40GB so far. Pretty painless, and I can get dthe data to one of my multiple-TB external drives from her computer. Using her computer hadn't entered my mind...
Disappointing that I couldn't get the video out to work, but at least I'm getting the data off. I'm going to try the 'firewire/Target mode' idea later, when I need to erase the drive, etc.
Thanks for the help!

2006 imac wont boot ! g5 cord ok to try?

My late 2006 imac wont power up after a power outage. I did have it plugged into a surge protector tho that is over a decade old by now, didnt think of that earlier. I just get a black screen, no change when i press the power button after it being unplugged.
I Wanted to try the hardware test but the cd drive wont pull the cd in like it normally does when i place it in there.
I have tried an smc reset, no change.
I have an old g5 that no longer works. Im thinking of trying to use the power cord from that to see if its the cord that is the problem. would that be ok to try?

You should be fine trying the G5 power cord.

My early (white plastic) 2006 imac freezes. I'm running Snow Leopard and have formatted and reinstalled the software 3 or 4 times.   Model Name:     iMac   Model Identifier:     iMac4,1   Processor Name:     Intel Core Duo   Processor Speed:     2 GHz

My early (white plastic) 2006 imac freezes. I'm running Snow Leopard and have formatted and reinstalled the software 3 or 4 times.   Model Name:          iMac
Model Identifier:          iMac4,1
Processor Name:          Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed:          2 GHz
Until I installed the SMC FanControl application my screen would "break up" into strange patterns and then would eventually freeze. Please help.

If you are trying to upgrade using a gray-faced OS X disk from another system, that won't work, as those disks are locked to the system types they are delivered with. You'll need to drop the $29 on a retail copy of Snow Leopard, which is available from the Apple online store. Note Snow Leopard requires 1GB minimum, and you may want at least 2GB for better performance.

Why is my Late 2006 iMac arbitrarily excluded from the Macs allowed to run Mavericks?

To install Mavericks, you need one of these Macs:
iMac (Mid-2007 or later)
MacBook (13-inch Aluminum, Late 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or later)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or later),
MacBook Pro (15-inch or 17-inch, Mid/Late 2007 or later)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later)
Mac mini (Early 2009 or later)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later)
Xserve (Early 2009)
Your Mac also needs:
OS X Mountain Lion, Lion, or Snow Leopard v10.6.8 already installed
2 GB or more of memory
8 GB or more of available space
My Mac:
has a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
Is currently running OS X Lion
has 3 GB memory
has a 250 GB hard drive (most of which is empty)
was built in Late 2006
Why is my Late 2006 iMac arbitrarily excluded from the list of Macs allowed to run Mavericks?
I called 1-800-MY-APPLE to find out what change was made in 2007 that was not present the year before. No one had an answer for me, they just shuffled me around to different departments while I listened to the same lame songs repeat over and over again.
On hold 1:01:55
Don't need to walk around in circles
Walk around in circles, walk around in circles
Walk around in
Doom da doom da doom
What I'm doing, I'm doing
Doom da doom da doom
What I'm doing, I'm doing
(The phone hold system at Apple should really get an iPod.)
I eventually spoke with CPU Senior Advisor, J.T. Thornton, and I asked him to explain which mandatory feature was added to the 2007 iMacs that wasn’t present in the 2006 models. He pulled up the technical specifications of the 2006 iMac next to the 2007 iMac, and even he was unable to identify what changed in 2007 that would cause the incompatibility. He went on to explain that it was probably an algorithm that caused my Mac to be incompatible.
I asked (somewhat facetiously) if the algorithm was if build year<2007 then FAIL, and then to my surprise, he agreed with me.
Why isn't there a smarter algorithm to determine compatibility? I can clearly see that my system exceeds the minimum system requirements, with the exception being, of course, the year it was built.
Planned obsolescence, anyone?

all-in-one-obsolescence wrote:
My machine works every bit as well as it did when it was new, and my computing needs have not changed enough to justify buying a whole new computer.
Then you do not need to upgrade.
But if you do remember that your needs may not have changed, but technology has. 32 bit machines are vintage now, they will not run moderns operating systems. So unless Mavericks has something that you must have don't upgrade. And if you do, a new Mac will be needed.
$1199 divided by 8 years is a cost of about $3 a week, a pretty good rate for a machine that works as well as it did 8 years ago.

Installing Leopard on an iMac G5 currently running Panther!

HI,
I heard a rumour that I might not be able to install Leopard on my iMac G5 currently running fine on 10.3.9 Panther, at least, not before I install Tiger. Is this true? I had hoped I could just buy Leopard and install that. Surely I don't have to track down a copy of Tiger and install that first?
Only reason particularly for upgrade is have bought some new iPods and they won't work with Panther :-(!!
Any advice would be gratefully recieved.
Ed.

MilkyJoe wrote:
HI,
I heard a rumour that I might not be able to install Leopard on my iMac G5 currently running fine on 10.3.9 Panther, at least, not before I install Tiger. Is this true? I had hoped I could just buy Leopard and install that. Surely I don't have to track down a copy of Tiger and install that first?
Only reason particularly for upgrade is have bought some new iPods and they won't work with Panther :-(!!
Any advice would be gratefully recieved.
Ed.
Just install Leopard directly. I suggest an Archive and Install and then migrate your stuff back. Many old apps and programs will not run with Leopard. Sherlock, to name one. Also be careful of your 3rd party apps. Some have been trouble.
Use SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner to make a full bootable backup of Panther and then test it by booting into it. You then have the best of both worlds - a dual-boot system with Panther and Leopard.
If you partition your external drive for Panther in a small partition and leave the rest for TimeMachine backups, you are really set.
I have my external TM drive with Tiger in a small partition. It boots and once and a while I run it to keep it from getting lonely

I have a 2006 Imac. I updated it to Snow Leopard from Leopard. So now my question is can I update to Mountain via The App Store?

SO I guess I'm doing this right haha. But I have a late 2006 IMac. It's running Snow Leopard. I want to know if I can update it to Mountian Lion via the appstore? I was thinking no, because it is a 2006 computer. But I read some articles that said I could. I just want your thought on this. Thanks!

No, it cannot be upgraded to Mountain Lion, but it may be updated to Lion.
Upgrading to Snow Leopard, Lion, or Mountain Lion
You can upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mountain Lion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $19.99. To access the App Store you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later installed.
You can purchase Snow Leopard by contacting Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service. The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will receive physical media - DVD - by mail.
Third-party sources for Snow Leopard are:
Snow Leopard from Amazon.com
Snow Leopard from eBay
After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store.
You can purchase Lion by contacting Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download.
Be sure your computer meets the minimum requirements:
Apple - OS X Mountain Lion - Read the technical specifications.
Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion
1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
7. Xserve (Early 2009)
Are my applications compatible?
See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps - App compatibility and feature support for OS X & iOS.
Am I eligible for the free upgrade?
See Apple - Free OS X Mountain Lion upgrade Program.
For a complete How-To introduction from Apple see Apple - Upgrade your Mac to OS X Mountain Lion.
Model Eligibility for Snow Leopard and Lion.
Snow Leopard General requirements
1. Mac computer with an Intel processor
2. 1GB of memory
3. 5GB of available disk space
4. DVD drive for installation
5. Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
6. Some features require Apple’s MobileMe service; fees and terms apply.
Lion System Requirements
1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
2. 2GB of memory
3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
4. 7GB of available space
5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.

Advice wanted: 17" 2006 iMac or current 1.83GHz Mini?

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