I went to look at things in the flesh rather than talk to anyone about anything but there were a few members of staff there that were pretty clued up/horrendously geeky and quite happy to chat to me about my needs without trying to sell me stuff.
Unfortunately it's opened my eyes to the fact that what I want really isn't a sexy, slim line, all in one pc or iMac, but rather a boring but very functional tower pc that I can upgrade as required. Of course, being upgradeable also means I don't necessarily need to shell out for a top spec machine right now, I could go for something with a more modest spec (and price tag) and upgrade it if/when I feel it's needed.
FWIW though they had some 2015 iMacs (and, I think, Macbooks) in stock at the old prices. I almost coughed up for a 2015 iMac with i5 and Fusion drive (the sort of mid spec one) which they had at £1599 (currently £1949 on the Apple site).
Just FYI, my hack originally cost 350 quid, and performed the same as the top end iMac. dint look as good ,sure, but if you've given up on that go self build..
I chucked some stuff in an ebuyer basket the other day and before I knew it I was at £1100 without peripherals and pretty sure I'd have missed some basics.
Interesting visit to PC World tonight.
I went to look at things in the flesh rather than talk to anyone about anything but there were a few members of staff there that were pretty clued up/horrendously geeky and quite happy to chat to me about my needs without trying to sell me stuff.
Unfortunately it's opened my eyes to the fact that what I want really isn't a sexy, slim line, all in one pc or iMac, but rather a boring but very functional tower pc that I can upgrade as required. Of course, being upgradeable also means I don't necessarily need to shell out for a top spec machine right now, I could go for something with a more modest spec (and price tag) and upgrade it if/when I feel it's needed.
FWIW though they had some 2015 iMacs (and, I think, Macbooks) in stock at the old prices. I almost coughed up for a 2015 iMac with i5 and Fusion drive (the sort of mid spec one) which they had at £1599 (currently £1949 on the Apple site).