iMac 21.5

just get a macbook pro

unless you are deadset on desktop

I have an older 07 model iMac at the house that just keeps going. I have better hardware now, but still use it frequently.

I had a 21.5 iMac and really enjoyed it. However the obvious lack of probability is its downfall. The Macbook I just got last year has double the RAM and was about the same price. To me it just doesn't make a lot of sense to have your main machine as a desktop anymore unless you strictly use it for a lot of heavy photo or video editing.

Integration is tight and automatic. She'll love it.

ETA: Everything syncs: Mail, notes, calendar, contacts, Messages, photos , music--you name it.

Mine is probably 5 years old now. It's a 27 inch version but similar bells whistles. Still runs great with no real reason to replace yet. In my opinion they're cheaper in th long run than a Windows machine that you'll replace over and over during the same lifespan. I'm sure there will be someone following this post describing their $200 Windows desktop though.

All that said I use my MacBook Pro as often due to portability.

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I have an older 07 model iMac at the house that just keeps going. I have better hardware now, but still use it frequently.

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I have the same and it is still in use but the OS on mine can't be upgraded any longer (and the browser) and that is causing problems with some websites.

Over the years I have added RAM, upgraded the internal hard drive to a faster 1TB unit. Unfortunately, I also had to spend $300 to get the motherboard repaired due to some swelling capacitors.

With all that considered I have gotten a tremendous amount of use out of it for a 9 year old computer. My last iMac DV I also kept and used for about 10 years.

ETA:With regards to operating costs. In the 9 years I upgraded the OS 2x at less than $100 each. I also never spent one dime on Antivirus software.