As you know, I’ve been using a Hackintosh that I built and setup for a little over a year now. In this time, I’ve come to appreciate the smooth operation, quick startup and shutdown, and the ability of the Mac OS to run Windows software as well as Mac native software (with the use of either Boot Camp, or Parallels Desktop 5.0). I’ve also come to appreciate the Unix kernel built into OSX.

With the introduction of the infamous iPhone 4, I knew I wanted to learn how to design apps for that platform and then deploy to a real iPhone. I’ve been working on some Monotouch C# code for the iPhone for a secret project for my day job for a few weeks now and I wanted a real Mac to test it and the deployment of it to a real iPhone.

So on July 11, 2010, I took the plunge and ordered a brand new iMac 27″ system with 8GB of Apple memory, a 2TB hard drive, running the new quad-core Intel i7 chip at 2.8 GHz and the ATI 4850 graphics card. To avoid having to pay huge sales tax. I ordered the system from MacMall online.

About a week before ordering, I visited Apple’s website and read all the propaganda about the iMac models and decided that the 27″ i7 four-core system was probably for me. I needed a powerful replacement for my Hackintosh that was either as powerful, or more powerful. I needed the speed for my development work and 3D artwork. I was a little concerned about the ATI 4850 not being good enough for the 3D graphics software, like Maxon Cinema 4D and e-on’s Vue 8 xStream that I use, but both packages seem to fully support this graphics card.

A few days before ordering, I went to the local Apple store to preview all the models and decide whether the iMac was the right one for me. I noticed that the system runs pretty hot, but it’s fan system was very quiet and the operating system seems to do a good job of controlling the temperature.

I read the reviews online and on Apple’s website about this system. Everyone seemed to love it, but several had severe overheating problems. So, I decided that long term, I better have AppleCare to protect the system at a lower cost. I purchased the three-year AppleCare extended warranty with the system.

I got the system on Monday July 19, late in the day. The first order of business was to unpack it and set it up. Setup was easy. Installing all the software I had previously on my Hackintosh – that was not. Then came the arduous task of transferring all my data from the old system to the new one. This process was made much easier by Parallels Desktop 5.0. MacMall had two rebates on this if you bought it with the iMac so that after the rebates it was free. What a program! It makes running Windows 7 64 bit software so easy since it fully integrates with your OSX desktop. You can have Windows 7 app windows open in the OSX desktop and switch between them.

It’s been a week since I got it and I am really glad I made the switch. The system runs very hot, however. But the fans seem to come on when needed and cool it down, then shut off. Putting the system to sleep during the day when I have lunch, and later at night before I break for the day, makes it painless to let the system cool down after hard work.

I got a Western Digital 2TB My Book USB 2.0 external hard drive from Costco (got it there even though it was about $20 higher than mail-order and with tax because I have had trouble with these external hard drives breaking down so I wanted to be able to return it easily if the worst happened) and I set it up for use with the Mac Time Machine (Apple’s backup software bundled with OSX). The drive is quiet and fast. So far it works great.

Here’s a gallery of photos of my new toy: