I had been trudging along on a 2009 Mac G5 (desktop) which was experiencing significant 'slows' with the entire Microsoft suite freezing the machine and force quitting apps became my daily routine (among other issues). I watched Amazon for pricing fluctuations which I found occur often. Actually was about to pull the trigger on a great price just before Christmas and got busy with kids and the restaurant we own to come back a bit later that evening and found it had jumped $300! I was really upset at this and spent quite a bit of time with support complaining about what had happened. No dice. I kept watching, finally another large price drop on a refurbished machine and went for it. It arrived quickly (a plus as I use it for our business) in a plain cardboard box with huge bubble wrap (my daughter found this to be the best part of the purchase). All good, set up, backing up and transferring files with migration assistant and wiping my old machine and re-installing OS took a couple of over-nighters (DSL internet out here in Hill Country Texas, ugh!) but everything since has been flawless. It's super fast, the 27" screen allows for multiple windows without crowding and has gorgeous color rendition. I love no longer having my big 'desktop' unit under the desk banging my knees and it really suits my needs. I'm not a techie and coming from a 10 year old dinosaur may color my unreserved excitement at having a beautiful new Mac but there it is, for whatever its worth. d