iMac

Can you be a bit more specific? What exactly do you mean by the screen "flickering"? Could we be looking at a power supply issue? 🤔 I ran into something similar with my iMac7,1, and swapping out the power supply fixed everything. 🙂

Regarding your iMac5,1: are we talking about the 17" or the 20" model? How much RAM are you running—1GB or maybe 3GB? And what's the hard drive situation, 160, 250, or 500GB? Also, are you on Mac OS x 10.4 or something more recent? Are you using Microsoft Office or some other suite?

I wouldn't suggest buying a used Mac; this is a machine you'll be relying on for a while. If you do decide to go with a newer model, just keep in mind that any iMac from 2012 onwards DOES NOT have an optical drive (CD/DVD).

P.S. I've been using them personally for about 15 years now, and I haven't regretted a single cent. 👍

About a third of my screen is just black now... there's been this thin line running right down the middle for ages.
Now the colors are starting to fade too—letters and icons look all washed out.
The IT guy at our office says the monitor is basically toast.
It's a 17"

Yours is slightly less powerful than mine, though the specs are solid enough. You could always jump to Mac OS x 10.7 Lion if you haven't already—it's free, by the way. 🙂
Before you go dropping cash on a new Mac, if you're in the New York-Newark area, maybe swing by an certified service center to see if your current iMac can actually be saved.

PS. Why on earth are you using a Windows 7 HP ??? 😲

For basic Microsoft Office work, you can get by with a decent PC setup—maybe a tower around $500 plus a monitor, depending on your budget. You could grab a nice IPS display for anywhere from $150$333 up to $500 that even has a pivot function, and it’ll handle everything just fine. Honestly, why even look at a Mac, especially if you're planning on running Windows anyway?

Timothy Kim60 said:Honestly, if you just need it for Microsoft Office, a PC setup with a decent tower plus a monitor—maybe an IPS one around $100 to $333 or even $500 if you want that pivot feature—is plenty. I don't see why anyone would go Mac, especially if you're planning on using Windows anyway.

I actually managed to talk my boss into doing the same thing.🎉

1 x Intel Celeron G1840 (2.80GHz,512KB,2MB,54 W,1150) Box,
1 x Asrock H81M-HDS, s1150, Intel H81, M-ATX, dual Channel 2xDDR3
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingmax, 1600MHz, FLGF
1 x Zalman T5 mini tower case. 170(W) x 427(H) x 348(D)mm.
1 x FORTRON 400W Power Supply, HEXA Plus 400, 12cm fan
1 x LG GH24NS DVD writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x WD 1TB HDD, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3.5", 24mo

$716

Since this is an office PC, if 120GB is sufficient, you could opt for just an SSD instead of that 1000GB HDD. An SSD offers significantly faster performance, though it does come with a higher price tag per gigabyte. SSD vs hybrid vs hdd

For example:

1 x Intel Celeron G1840 (2.80GHz,512KB,2MB,54 W,1150) Box,
1 x Asrock H81M-HDS, s1150, Intel H81, M-ATX, dual Channel 2xDDR3
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingmax, 1600MHz, FLGF
1 x Kingston 120GB HyperX Fury SSD, 2.5", SATA 3 6G
1 x Zalman T5 mini tower case. 170(W) x 427(H) x 348(D)mm.
1 x FORTRON 400W Power Supply, HEXA Plus 400, 12cm fan
1 x LG GH24NS DVD writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R

$730 Assembly and shipping are free through our site. Alternatively, you can run both an SSD and an HDD simultaneously if you need more storage—essentially creating a hybrid setup using a sshd. You are welcome to tweak this configuration however you see fit to match your specific needs.

Monitor:

Consider an IPS monitor with a pivot function, such as this one. Generally speaking, a pivot stand is a fantastic feature; click here. If you don't strictly require those features, you can certainly cut costs; for instance, this is a great value purchase. This model also uses an IPS panel, which provides superior color reproduction and avoids the color shifting or dimming issues seen in standard TN panels when viewing from wider angles. click here

Note that this build could be made even more budget-friendly by utilizing a lower-tier office power supply, a case without front-facing USB 3.0 ports, or a motherboard lacking a USB 3.0 header.

I've got an iMac3 27" with a 1 TB HDD, a 3.2 GHz CPU, and 4 GB of RAM...

My drive is split into three partitions, but even though I'm running Yosemite, everything is just breaking. Applications keep vanishing, Google Search is acting up, the App Store is broken, and honestly, the absolute worst part is that the system won't let me update or install anything at all. It even trashed my Microsoft Office installation—now I can't fix the old one or even attempt a fresh install...

Any idea what the hell is going on?

Is there anyone in the New York-Newark area or nearby who has an external drive I could borrow to wipe this thing clean and run a fresh install?

Have you tried running Disk Utility to hit "verify/repair disk" or maybe "verify/repair disk permissions"?🤔

Noah Sanchez39 said:Have you tried running Disk Utility to do a "verify/repair disk" or maybe "verify/repair disk permissions"?🤔

I've already tried everything. It doesn't do a damn thing. Every single time, it just tells me everything "seems to be OK."

I honestly just need someone who can wipe the whole thing clean and install a fresh copy of Yosemite from a USB drive.

You don't even need a USB drive. Just boot into OS X (Internet) Recovery and reinstall Yosemite. 🙂

Anyway, if you happen to know anyone looking... that iMac I mentioned earlier is up for sale.👍

Anyone around Washington, D.C. or the surrounding area happen to have a fresh Yosemite installer on a USB for a USB-boot?