There are only 17 people in the world who need to custom hand-install 16 GB of RAM in the smaller iMac.
But all 17 of them are about to post And I feel your pain: you need what you need!
It also has a slower hard drive - 5400rpm rather than 7200 previously.
Really dissapointing, makes me think of keeping mine upgrading the RAM and chucking in a big fat SSD more appealing
I think the lack of an optical drive is more off putting than soldered in memory. I can understand getting rid of it on a portable, you can plug in a USB drive when you need it, but on a desktop if you ever need it you'd plug it in and leave it cluttering up your desk, filling up a USB port. Plenty of us want to watch a DVD, or rip it, rip a cd a losslessy or burn a cd or DVD.
I know someone that just bought last year's iMac and I felt bad I didn't warn about the upcoming iMacs. Now I know he's got a computer that suits his needs better, I just feel bad that he could have probably got it cheaper.
Do we think the 21.5" has soldered RAM or is it just like the HDD and Apple needs to upgrade it?
IMO most base model users will never upgrade the RAM and 8Gb will probably outlive the useful life of the computer.
Either way I'm looking at the 27" and will add 8Gb more RAM later.
There are only 17 people in the world who need to custom hand-install 16 GB of RAM in the smaller iMac.
But all 17 of them are about to post And I feel your pain: you need what you need!
Used to be, the best bang for your buck in buying a Mac was to buy the bottom of the line, and upgrade hard drive and RAM over its life. However, even with the last gen iMacs, changing the hard drive was no small feat. Now, the 21.5" model has no user-serviceable features.
Apple is re-jiggering the value equation by only giving people who pay more (by getting the 27") the option to service RAM (no word on the hard drive or Flash storage).
Having said that, I have a mid-2007 iMac which was purchased with 4 GB RAM, and I haven't found a clear need to upgrade that. So, in some ways, I think Apple is trying to partially future-proof by including 8 GB in the new base model. It's not a ton, but the reality is that most people can use that computer for 4-5 years and never see the need for more RAM. This notion is further supported by the fact that the new Mini which does have user-serviceable RAM still starts with only 4 GB.
I don't know if I like this new anti-DIY Apple or not. But, I do know that paying an extra $400 or so to get a bigger screen (that I don't really need) and the ability to replace/upgrade RAM is not worth it for lots of folks.
Used to be, the best bang for your buck in buying a Mac was to buy the bottom of the line, and upgrade hard drive and RAM over its life. However, even with the last gen iMacs, changing the hard drive was no small feat. Now, the 21.5" model has no user-serviceable features.
Apple is re-jiggering the value equation by only giving people who pay more (by getting the 27") the option to service RAM (no word on the hard drive or Flash storage).
Having said that, I have a mid-2007 iMac which was purchased with 4 GB RAM, and I haven't found a clear need to upgrade that. So, in some ways, I think Apple is trying to partially future-proof by including 8 GB in the new base model. It's not a ton, but the reality is that most people can use that computer for 4-5 years and never see the need for more RAM. This notion is further supported by the fact that the new Mini — which does have user-serviceable RAM — still starts with only 4 GB.
I don't know if I like this new anti-DIY Apple or not. But, I do know that paying an extra $400 or so to get a bigger screen (that I don't really need) and the ability to replace/upgrade RAM is not worth it for lots of folks.
That's what we need to wait and see. Although if taking off the iMac case (which from the explanation of how it's welded together) reveals RAM slots that doesn't really help us out either.
RAM slots on the iMac? Is this what Tim Cook meant when he said he had something great in store for Mac Pro users?
A 5400 rpm hard drive though? Ouch. I think they should have just put a 128gb SSD in there. I mean I can always add an external drive for storage. Many will have a Time Machine back up drive connected anyway.
I can even mount it (out of sight) to the back of the Imac. There is a company that makes such a mount or shelf for this sort of purpose.
There are only 17 people in the world who need to custom hand-install 16 GB of RAM in the smaller iMac.
But all 17 of them are about to post And I feel your pain: you need what you need!