Quoted from - http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...s.cfm?t=715972

Dick Smith Powerhouse are also pushing Mac's on the radio alot this weekend too I've noticed
(in Canberra anyway)

hmmm will the iMac soon get a upgrade, seems when macs go on special not long after something changes (such as the ACD recently being on special at next byte then having a price drop).

DSE probably got a bunch cheap and now are trying to move them.

Upgrades soonish I imagine.

$1349 is a great deal considering the Mac Mini isn't much less.

Yeah, the Mac Minis are now a bit overpriced. I expect a big bump in specs with the new model or a price drop - probably the former. Be nice to see a 120GB standard HDD, Core 2 Duo, and finally a graphics card.

The question is *when*. I've had the cash to drop on one for nearly 3 months, and they are so overdue for an upgrade it's not funny. I'm not betting on a decent graphics card personally, but one can hope. I wonder if by taking their sweet time, there might be something slightly bigger/better than a small upgrade on the way (Mac MiDi perhaps?).

I wouldn't bet on a discrete graphics card either, but a change to Core 2 Duo and a more recent faster integrated graphics solution wouldn't go astray.

I have to agree though... It seems like for ever I've been waiting for the next Mac Mini upgrade so I can update my G4 mini *sigh*

If they do put that rumoured seperate H264 chipset in for coding/decoding, it will be worth the wait.

I don't need another Mac, I just want Leopard and Photoshop Elements v5.

Walked into DSE at Maquarie Centre and they are down to $1299 now.....so tempted!

That price is only $50 more than the more expensive Mini... with a larger (probably faster) hard drive to boot. The only downgrade would be combo drive instead of superdrive. It's definitely worth a consideration.

Look at a similarly specced PC - what would the price be in relation to a $1300 17" iMac 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo??

Yes, please just release a new Mini already!

I too was interested in this, all prices from MSY:

Intel E6320 (Core 2 Duo, 1.86GHz) $228
Gigabyte 945GZM-S2 All-In-One Mainboard $79
512MB DDR2 667 RAM $29
160GB SATA HDD $66
Pioneer 18x DVD-RW SATA $50
17" Samsung 740N LCD $242
Antec NSK4400 & 380W PSU $115
Microsoft Standard Office KB & Mouse $25
Microsoft Vista Ultimate OEM $253
Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 $65
Logitech X230 2.1 Speakers $55
Assembly & Testing $100
$1307

I don't think I missed anything out there. So the PC has slightly better specs (desktop CPU instead of laptop, 18x DVD-RW, better speakers) and is no doubt a bit more powerful, but it lacks iLife, a proper 1 year warranty (have you tried to deal with these whitebox dudes) and of course there's the whole using Windows and it's shitty apps thing (oh, and security).

So I think it's fair to say the iMac is very, very well priced compared to a PC of the same specs. MSY are the cheapest in the country regarding PC hardware. No doubt a Dell or a HP machine would cost way more to get an equivalent spec.

Retailers / resellers know nothing about upcoming upgrades, if it was, it'd be purely coincidental. They probably just have a heap laying around, or it's an internal, dick smith promotion...