h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm currently looking to move to a Mac. I've got my eye on a 17" iMac. I'm scraping together the cash, and I've looked all around the net for the best prices. Is there any advice and/or general knowledge you can give me? Someone said the prices should be coming down soon... But I'm impatient.

I can't give any specific advice, but one tip: If, for the same price, you can get the newest and snazziest CPU, or the next-newest and twice as much RAM, go for the extra RAM! In six months both the CPUs will be obsolete, but the memory will still benefit you when you upgrade your processor.

I agree about the RAM, get the most that you can afford. If you are a student in the US, you can buy online from the Apple Education Store at discounted prices (go to http://www.apple.com/education/ to find the right link). I don't know if they have similar arrangements in other countries.

I am indeed a student in the US, and the discount from apple on the model I want is $50. I think I can get it cheaper from a retail store on the net. the 17" iMac only comes with an 800Mhz processor for now. But they might add a 1Ghz model and lower the price on the 800Mhz one, according to one prediction.
THanks for the tips!

Oh right, the predictions. Don't go by those. They either make sense in a sort of "everybody knows that anyway" kind of way (like "there will be faster processors soon") or they can be misleading. From years of Apple-watching, I've noticed a very general cyclical nature to their prices. They tend to drop prices just prior to releasing new models, and there are key times when they release new models (at the MacWorld trade shows, at the developer conference in May, just prior to the holiday shopping season. So you might get a price drop in late April/Early May or in early Summer, but it's hard to predict what model will drop when. The only thing you can count on is that whatever you pay it will cost less in 3 months or be have better specs for the same price. Guaranteed.

In that case I'll just buy one as soon as i have the money. Should be a couple of weeks.

Sure enough, the dropped the prices, and upped the processor, adding bluetooth and Airport Extreme. Just in time too, as I was about to buy one of the old ones.
I just ordered a new 1Ghz 17" LCD iMac. I'm quivering with excitement!

I want one.