Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Congrats! I've always wanted a Mac, but can't justify the massive premium they demand over PC's, though I know it's not an apples to apples comparison (specs to specs.)
Depending on your needs, that Haswell i7 should take what ever you'll throw at it for the next decade or so, though it may be overkill now if all you do is surf the interwebs! One thing I would like to see on their site, is which i7 processor it is. For those who know, it can be found using the generation and speed, but most people won't know 3rd from 4th generation...
The video card is about 2/3 as good as the 5850 I have in my tower, which can handle just about every new game, though there are many that I can only run at mid settings. If you're not a gamer, then the dedicated card will be great for you for just about any video-related task you toss at it; however, if you game, then I suggest you return it and look at something a little more powerful, since that rig may have trouble running games that are a couple of years old on more than mid settings.
Might I ask why you went with the smaller screen size? I remember thinking that my 23" screen was massive when I first upgraded a while back, but now it seems minuscule compared to all of the other high-quality 27"+ screens that are out there. It very well may suit your needs, again if all you require of it is to look very pretty while surfing the internet and viewing videos while seated in front of, or standing nearby. If you plan to use this for watching movies from a seat further away or from the bed, then I'd personally spend the extra money and get the 27"
Otherwise, I'm sure you'll love it. I hope my comments come across as helpful, as that's what I intended, not to take the jelly out of your donut, so to speak!
For years I had reservations about paying the "Apple Premium" over the cheaper Windows units and better "specs" for the dollar. Every PC I had became slow and bogged down after 2 years and the virus software took forever to load at start-up and was a memory hog.
After I switched to a Mac, I wished I would have done it sooner. My three year old Mac runs just as fast as the day I bought it. My mother has had hers for 7 years with no real problems (when she did have one issue, Apple customer service was great) and it still runs everything she needs pretty fast. I think mine will easily last another 3-5 years as well.