Brian

This frustrates me so much when people think this way. The whole "I'm not Tech Savvy," "I'm too stupid when it comes to this stuff..." etc. way of thinking. You have failed even before you purchased anything. Being a hairdresser has nothing to do with your ability to learn. Don't sell yourself short. Take things one at a time. Just think, there was a time you couldn't feed yourself, walk, go to the restroom, write a sentence, etc. You had to learn how to do those things. Same thing goes with a computer. Start small. Read books. Watch YouTube videos...there is just so much stuff out there now these days teaching you stuff for free.

Before buying anything, do you have an Apple Store or a store that has Apple's products on display? Why not give things a test drive? Both on a Mac and Windows Machine. See how easy they are to operate for you. You might like a Mac, or might buy a Windows computer. In either case, I would try both systems out if you can. Then make a decision that is best for you.

Steve Jobs before he died was complaining on how people were still on Macs that were 8 years old. He wanted people in the market sooner. So then Apple decided to cripple the 21.5" from 2012 to present. Apple wants you to "Go Big or Go Home." The really want you to buy that A$3500 model. Not the base one. The expensive one. As for the 5-7 years, that's how long things last before you are out shopping for a new computer. It seems that every 36 months manufactures come out with the latest "Wow!" Feature/Gizmo, around 5 years you think about upgrading to make things go a little faster (more RAM, bigger HD, etc.) At around the 7 year mark, current software requirements exceed your "old" computer. At 7 years, things will "run," but not "run well."

A proper Mac Laptop for photo editing, that would be an expensive MBP. In the US, you are looking at around $3600. Australian, that would be over A$4200. Or more. Which is INSAINE to spend on a laptop Laptops only last around 3 years. Of course there are folks out there that have laptops around the 5 year mark, but around 3-4 years is when things start "locking up," "it's so slow..." Etc. We live in a throw-away society. There is no passing down technology anymore. This stuff is built to get you in the market sooner than later. In addition, they don't use Lead in the solder anymore. So you have crappy solder joints which makes things break so much easier. Things just don't last. I've been a computer tech for the last 23+ Years. The plastics used are SO CHEAP...it's on everything, from computers to printers, to camera bodies to cars, the quality just isn't there like it was 10+ years ago.

I would SERIOUSLY invest in a solid tripod for real-estate photography, even if you use a auto-mode that does HDR for you. I can recommend one if you'd like.

OK, believe it or not, this is pretty straightforward. These days, you'll want to avoid the 21.5" iMacs. I know they are less expensive, but Apple really has crippled them and you can not upgrade the RAM yourself and as for a professional to do it, it's pretty complicated. They also use slower components in them as well. For just a few hundred more, you can get a MUCH better setup. That should last you a good 5-7 years. I recommend the base 27" iMac model. For you in Australia that's the A$2799.00 version: There isn't that much of a difference between the A$2799 model and A$3099, except for the Fusion Drive upgrade. A Fusion Drive is a Hard Drive that has a small capacity SSD Drive built into it, which makes things faster to load. Since that's the ONLY difference between the two, it's not worth a $300 price difference.

You might want to read the manual that came with the laptop, or check the company's website for updates drivers. It should work, but maybe see if there is something that we are missing. This is one of the downsides doing this stuff online.

Seems ok. Doesn't mention about the display panel type, but it's fine in all the other areas. I'd buy it.

Fn + Whatever toggles your display. Look along the number row. You should see something like a logo of a rectangle. Probably around F5 or F6 YMMV. You might want to try and use the VGA cable 1st and see if you can toggle back and forth between the laptop and Dell Display. Oh, set the display back to auto select for the ports. Now, this is a real PITA and one of the major reasons I hate using laptops for editing. There is no set way and I hope your laptop has enough "Umph" to drive the monitor. If it doesn't, you are buying a new laptop, as this is something that can't be upgraded. Ok, let's give it a try and see what happens.

Oculus? I think that's the 3-D virtual reality helmet thing. It's for people who have money to blow. I wouldn't worry about it.

That HD is what Apple calls a "Fusion" Drive. It's fine. It helps speeds things up. Yes, that video card with 4GB of memory is separate & dedicated VRAM.

From your laptop? If so, you might have to toggle the port on with the Fn Key and one of the F-Keys up at the top.

If you can afford it, go with the Einstein 640. The reason is tge E640 is more consistent and the lowest power setting on the E640 matches the lowest power setting on the AB400. When outdoors and you need to crank things up, the highest power setting on the E640 (Full Power) matches a AB1600 at full power. So the E640 is like having a AB1600, AB800 and AB400 all in one light. Bees are good to start with or if money is tight. They can be quirky though. If you change power settings the color temp (white balance) changes on you and the output isn't very consistent. When you change things it kinda freaks the Bee out and you should fire it 3-4 times in order for things to settle down. Oh, hotspots are the norm with Bees. That being said, it's a few hundred for a Alien Bee, not $2200 for a Profoto B1 Air. So what would you expect?

Take it to the place that might do component level repair. This is a common problem and I immediately thought of your video card being the culprit. It's probably a faulty resistor and is way less than $500 to have replaced, if that place does that type of component level repair.

What year / model is your iMac? This problem sounds really familiar...

I'm sorry, there is nothing you can do at this point. It sounds like the video card is faulty or possibly it is a motherboard issue. In some rare cases, it could be a power supply. For what it's worth, it doesn't sound like a HD problem to me at this point. Which is good. That means your data should be intact.

Here is the cable: DP to HDMI, Rankie® Gold Plated DisplayPort to HDMI Cable 6ft Black https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00Z05JMKO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3misxbJ49TZ7G One end goes into the HDMI port, the other goes into the DisplayPort on the Dell monitor. They only insert one way, which makes things Easy-Peasy.

Take a photo of the back of your computer with your cell phone and post it here. I wanna see what ports you have.

Just make sure you do not use the standard 15-pin VGA (Blue) connector for the best results. Hopefully your computer has a DVI port (White) or a HDMI port. The monitor comes with a DVI cable and you can get a HDMI to DisplayPort cable from Amazon.

Yep. That one will work.

I receive no commission or kick-backs of any kind. So when I really recommend something, I would personally purchase it myself. i hate-hate-hate wasting money on this sh*t.

Here are some of Damien's thoughts: http://www.damiensymonds.net/art_monitor.html

Gaming computers are great for photo editing. Gaming monitors/displays? Notsomuch. You want color consistentcy and a IPS based display panel will give you the best chance of that happening. Also, you want a Matte screen or one that has a Matte coating at the very least. Glossy screens aren't the best for photo editing.

Re-sellers like B&H do ship to Australia, so you might want to do some investigating. I'm not sure what the final cost would be, but it might give you a few more choices. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/int-shippingRulesPolicies.jsp Check out this thread, the "Henry Posner" is the "H" in B & H. Things from B&H take about 8 days or so for shipment and to get through customs. http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/2224514

Yep. That's Australia for you. The bulk of the members in Ask Damien, from either this website or FB, are based in the US. Now that doesn't mean we have forgotten everyone else, it's just the way things are. Honestly, I've created a few threads over the years about stuff to buy in Australia and who/where to purchase it. Everything from printing companies to computer hardware companies, it just seems harder to find on your side of the world. Maybe it's because of that huge area of desert that really splits the country. Who knows....