(04-30-2020, 10:27 AM)huckleberrypie Wrote: Glad you got the iMac up and running! Wonder if you could run any Geekbench tests on that thing tho.
Didn't think about that. I will do so later tonight.
System performance is above my expectations, but it depends on the app. The basic built in apps (Calendar, QuickTime, iTunes, etc) run good without too many hiccups or beachballs. Google Chrome still runs well. Many websites load quickly, especially ones that use those modern interfaces like the new Facebook design or Instagram. I do have uBlock origin, so that helps in the performance department. No ads to slow stuff down. I also have SeaMonkey, and that tends to be a bit more slow than Chrome. Once I get the RAM upgrade, even that should be a bit more responsive. As for YouTube, 480p video plays fine with little CPU load. I'd imagine 30fps 720p would also work just as well, but the old C2D isn't quite up to speed for 60fps HD.
General app performance is also rather good. It's not as fast as a modern Windows PC or Mac with an SSD, but it's perfectly usable for stuff that doesn't really need a faster CPU or graphics like web browsing or basic audio recording. One app I was wanting to use is GarageBand, specifically for transferring over my expansive audio cassette collection (which consists of radio station airchecks dating back 15+ years). It loads up relatively quickly for an older C2D iMac, and everything I tested so far is responsive as it should be. To be fair, the version of GarageBand I have is not the latest, obviously. You need a newer macOS to use the latest release, but the App Store downloaded the last compatible version. Same went for other Apple apps like iMovie which I have yet to test.
I'd say that this C2D iMac would perform far better in some aspects than a stock, 2019 off-the-shelf iMac from a Best Buy, simply because Apple chose to use a 5400rpm mechanical disk instead of an SSD in the newer base models. I got beachballs when testing iMovie and Safari as I was trying out the 2019 base model at a Best Buy. That alone would give potential Windows-to-Mac converts a bad first impression. I mean, for a $1,000 base iMac you should get at least a 128GB SSD standard. The base model MacBooks and Minis also have SSDs as standard storage. Maybe later this year when they refresh that line, they will get rid of the 5400rpm dinosaur drives? I'm lucky mine came with a 7200rpm drive.
One idea was to get some kind of Mac as a simple daily use computer while reserving my Dell Inspiron for video editing and gaming. This iMac could work as a light internet/office computer for at least the next year or two, perhaps longer when I eventually patch to High Sierra. While my C2D iMac would probably be able to handle simple iMovie projects fine enough, it's certainly not fit for DaVinci Resolve or even Final Cut. Funnily enough I could install the last compatible version of Final Cut if I wanted to burn $300 for it, but nah. My ancient copy of Adobe Premiere 2.0 on Windows will do just fine.
Tomorrow, I plan on doing a fun project. I will install both XP and Vista on the iMac, my original retro PC plan before I got that Dell XP tower. It will have to be a manual install. The Boot Camp version packaged with El Capitan only supports Windows 7 or 8 discs. I do have original copies of the 2008 iMac setup discs in the mail, and those discs should contain the drivers needed for XP and Vista. I could even roll back to Leopard if I wanted to.
I love foxes, especially the one in my avatar.