Build-to-Order Pricing for New iMac Models Revealed

[zedsdead]

Originally Posted by Robdon771

I am purchasing a new iMac on business expense. I have to keep it as close to $1600 as possible. I'm only looking at 21.5 inch iMacs and I get an educators discount.

Could someone help me understand which option will have more bang for the buck?

2.9 GHz w/ ram upgrade to 16 GB for $1599
2.9 GHz w/ Fusion drive upgrade for $1649
3.1 GHz with no other upgrades for $1599

I can only afford one option of the three with my work budget.

I do a bit of video editing; but not a lot. I mostly write and research.

I don't get to purchase a new computer for work very often so I want this to be as future friendly as possible.

Thanks for the help!

Fusion Drive will give you the most benefit

[jdegid]

Holy schnikes! $2,568 for the configuration I want without tax??? Plus I need to upgrade the ram later? WTF man I can have like two and a half really nice PC's for that.

Ugg... I'm rethinking my whole idea of switching to Apple.

how am I supposed to get the wife on board for a $3,000 desktop?

I'm dying over here

[GunZi]

i wish i could afford the flash SSD ... i dont think the Fusion drive is worth it since there is a HDD inside it.

Fusion drive or HDD wont last more than 3 years... so not worth it anymore.

+ if the drive fails i'd have to buy a new damn computer!

* i was hoping to make this my first mac..

[mattopotamus]

how is a SSD not the standard =/

[SeattleMoose]

Since Apple appears to be cleaning house lately, can they also fire the dumb@ss who came up with an iMac design with RAM that is NOT user upgradeable?

[bigcat318]

Anyone else notice the screen resolution listed as 1920x1080 on that site?

[840quadra]

Originally Posted by nrose101

Looks likes I will be getting the 27" since I need more than 16 megs of RAM

16 megs is a bit low, My Quadra 840AV has more than that !!

[Razeus]

Originally Posted by teddyofindy

is it worth to upgrade the fusion drive for a premium of $250 at least?

No. Overpriced for this "upgrades".

[bigcat318]

Originally Posted by GunZi

i wish i could afford the flash SSD ... i dont think the Fusion drive is worth it since there is a HDD inside it.

Fusion drive or HDD wont last more than 3 years... so not worth it anymore.

Why won't it last more than 3 years? Or are you just spouting opinions as facts. I have multiple HDDs that have been running fine for over 5years.

[Robdon771]

Originally Posted by Incindium

Fusion Drive would result in the most noticeable performance improvement for normal use in my opinion...

Originally Posted by Spectrum

Definitely the Fusion option. 8GB is already plenty, and the Ghz upgrade will be barely noticeable - especially given your tasks. By contrast, solid state storage (that the Fusion drive contains) gives the most useful performance gains in real world tasks (booting, saving, reading).

Originally Posted by zedsdead

Fusion Drive will give you the most benefit

thanks for the help. I know that everything helps. But to a newb like me, it's all just numbers at some point. I would have picked the extra ram not knowing the difference. thanks. Looks like itll be a fusion drive then!

[gagaliya]

Originally Posted by renderpaz

Only a $1300 option for 768gb SSD on the 27" and NO SSD for the 21"? Say all you will about the fusion drive, but it is just a low cost holdover. While fast, it is still only as reliable as the weakest link (the magnetic disk or possibly Apple's caching layer).

Solid state is the future. Apple is usually good about leading the way (dropping floppy, DVD, RJ45, etc). This represents an odd step sideways.

i agree.

1) cpu upgrade to i7 for $200 is reasonable

2) gpu upgrade from 1gb gtx 675m to 2gb gtx 680mx for $150 is an amazing deal, i fully expected to pay a couple hundred $$ for this.

3) ram upgrade is a non-issue, just buy them for 1/4 of the price from newegg and install it yourself in 2mins.

4) The 768gb ssd upgrade for $1300 is batsh*t crazy. Fusion drive is okie for casual users but i want to play pc games on bootcamp windows 7, fusion drive is useless for me. Apple should offered a middle level 300-500gb ssd for ~$500. Considering the 256GB ssd are going for $150 now...

Does anyone know if the harddrive is user upgradeable?

[DIMEZ]

Originally Posted by GunZi

i wish i could afford the flash SSD ... i dont think the Fusion drive is worth it since there is a HDD inside it.

Fusion drive or HDD wont last more than 3 years... so not worth it anymore.

+ if the drive fails i'd have to buy a new damn computer!

* i was hoping to make this my first mac..

hopefully we can get in this thing and upgrade the ssd...if cant then ill keep mine for a bit longer.

[waloshin]

Originally Posted by nrose101

Looks likes I will be getting the 27" since I need more than 16 megs of RAM

What do you need more then 16 Gbs of ram for?

[Bubba Satori]

Originally Posted by elvetio

$200 for the RAM.. give me a break

It comes with a jar of Vaseline.
The adapter to open the jar is $29.99.

[GunZi]

Originally Posted by bigcat318

Why won't it last more than 3 years? Or are you just spouting opinions as facts. I have multiple HDDs that have been running fine for over 5years.

no, im just saying, from my own experience they dont have much of a lifetime.. and just by looking at the design of this imac... its a pain in the ass to get a new one.

*really dont know wether this is worth it anymore..

[riverpoet]

Did I miss something? How much is 256GB SSD instead of 1TB HDD?

High end + top proc is acceptable, the question is can one swap the HDD with SSD as "easily" as with current iMacs?

Looks like 27" won't come to Europe before January, which sux! Damn. (tax deductions...)

[topmounter]

Originally Posted by BRLawyer

It's actually MUCH better nowadays compared to what Apple used to charge for RAM in the 90s and early 2000s... The oldtimers know what I am talking about

The amount of "shock", "outrage" and general grousing about Apple's pricing and configuration options just goes to show how much their market has broadened since "the good old days"

[TsMkLg068426]

Originally Posted by Luap

Go find an iTunes 11 thread to whine in. I realise you didn't notice, but this thread is about iMacs.

Just because you did not like my post you did not have to read it and whatever, it does nto matter because it is related with time release of a product or software. If you need to rage try else where.

[iamgalactic]

great, one option on full SSD. a punishing $1300.

wonder why there are no options on smaller SSDs like there is with the Macbook Pros...

[6ftunder]

does the whining ever stop around here? :/

[Rogifan]

Here's an idea: if Apple pisses you off so much quit buying their stuff. No one id putting a gun to your head forcing you to buy any of their products. If you really want to change things the only way to do so is with your wallet.

[rjfv]

I haven't bought a Mac in about 6 years (still using MBPro 17", 2.8 Core 2 Duo), and I'm ready to go back to a desktop, but I'm not sure about what upgrades to get. I do get to save a little money with an educator's discount, but here's my user profile:

- LOTS of photographs (my wife's an amateur photographer, lots of fine JPEGs and RAW files)
- Good amount of family videos in HD (young children = lots of video)
- No real gaming, although I'd like to play the new SimCity at a good quality video option when it comes out

Definitely getting the 27", and I'm almost certain to get the 3TB Fusion Drive, but I'm not sure about upgrading the processor or the GPU. Is it worth it to upgrade either one?

And since I'll definitely order RAM from someone other than Apple, does the brand matter? And should I go with 16 or 32? The latter range in price from 140 to 230ish on Newegg, but I'm not sure what the difference is between brands, etc.

Thanks!

[bigpics]

Originally Posted by nrose101

Looks likes I will be getting the 27" since I need more than 16 megs of RAM

I believe we ALL need more than 16 MEGS of RAM....

(tho' my first computer had 64 KB! and DOS was limited to 640 KB for quite awhile in early PC's)

[lilo777]

Originally Posted by 6ftunder

does the whining ever stop around here? :/

It'll stop when Apple releases a normal desktop where people can install any HD, SSD or RAM. While PC owners have thousands of options, Mac users have half a dozen and they all are severely overpriced.

[Krayzie116]

I have a 2007 iMac and its getting slow for opening big photoshop files. What do you think would be the best optoin for me to get on a 27" iMac all I'm using for it Photoshop, Browsing the Net and maybe some video editing, and maybe do some programing on my iPhone Dev account. I want it to last for the longest it can since it going to be my last computer for awhile.