About Used iMac
When Apple introduced the iMac back in 1998, it was considered the first legacy-free personal computer. The introduction of the iMac G3 saw the Universal Serial Bus added to the model range. Incorporating a cutting edge design, it had an egg-shaped look accompanied by a single button roundish looking mouse. The sides were translucent plastic through which you could see the innards of the machine. This version saw one revision with a slot loading CDROM being added. Running applications on this machine was a breeze, and surprisingly, still is, today. Apple then introduced a new iMac called the G4. This had a hemispherical base with a 15 inch LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitor on top. The more expensive 17 and 20 inch monitors were added as options later. To this day there is still a demand for a pre-owned apple iMac of this era.
Apple eventually launched another version called iMac G5 which was still a design with all the components packaged behind the LCD screen, also available in 17 and 20 inch models. It was also the last of the Apple computers to use a Power PC chip. Apple continued to add modern components as they became commercially available. Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, larger drives, better graphics all came to symbolize what was known as the best graphics capable machine of its time. Apple also migrated to Intel based architecture with this model. It is an excellent machine to buy if you want to start off with Apple, on a budget.
Apple then retired the iMac G5 and thus was born the modern iMac which continues to evolve till today. 2006 saw Apple coming out with a new version of the iMac, powered by a Core 2 Duo chip. Apple also introduced a new 24 inch model with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 WUXGA (Widescreen Ultra eXtended Graphics Array), making it the first iMac to be able to display 1080p content. In August 2007, Apple introduced a totally redesigned version of the iMac. Featuring an enclosure made of aluminum, glass and plastic, it was what the model looks like till today. This computer looks more modern than most current machines available today and can still compete with the best of them.
When searching for a used apple Mac, look carefully at the features, as they are the only clue as to which model you are looking at. Apple used widescreen 16:10 aspect ratio LCD up till 2009 and switched to the current 16:9 aspect ratio. Processors went from Core 2 duo to Core-I series in late 2009.
Hard drives also jumped to one terabyte (TB) in 2009. 2009 also saw memory double to 4 gigabytes (GB) as standard. Also remember, that a recent used iMac will have a dedicated graphics card as standard. Displays became standard 20 inch LCDs from 2007 onwards. If you are looking to buy a used computer, iMac is a great start point.
