Fusion is really fast for work, not just startup.
I'm looking at getting a 27 in. iMac. I mostly browse, upload photos for website editing, use PhotoShop quite a bit, may in the future do a little video editing. I'm looking at spending around $2,200.
Here's what I'm comparing (I really no little about this stuff) I will be adding more RAM myself to either machine. As a side note, I'm replacing my 10 year old 1.8GHz PowerPC G5, 2.5 GB DDR SDRAM
# 2.9GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
# 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
# 1TB Fusion Drive
# NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M 512MB GDDR5
OR
# 3.2GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
# 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
# 1TB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
# NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX 1GB GDDR5
So I guess my main question is, will I really need the better graphics card and which would be better the 2.9w/fusion or the 3.2 by itself?
Suggestions other than the above are welcome
Thanks
Hi Doreen,
I just upgraded also from an ancient G5. Off your subject, but I used the Migration Assistant to move EVERYTHING over directly from the G5 on an Ethernet cable between the two. Worked fine, the dock opens up just like the G5 one, and you won't recognize any difference on the Desktop except it's HUGE!
I also recommend a copy of "Mountain Lion - the Missing Manual" if you don't already have one. Mountain Lion is different, and it has a lot of built in nasty surprises because Apple seems to want everything to act like a mobile device with a built in Magic Trackpad.
You will find as I have that lots of the software that ran on the PowerPC won't work on the Intel processor. It's easy to solve that problem because Mountain Lion will tell you essentially "Forget it!" when you try to open the old stuff, (or anything like the PowerPC version of Adobe Reader that some of the old stuff needs). I suggest going early on to the Adobe site and downloading the current Intel version of Adobe Reader. It's free. The other old stuff that won't run on Intel you might as well just trash - it's history as far as the 27" iMac is concerned. I was surprised however, at how much does still work - like Office 2008 fortunately. I use Photoshop Elements 6, and it still works.
I agree on going for the Fusion Drive. It speeds up your most used application software as well as OSX, also will take all of Office if you use that. It takes it a while to figure out which of your software you use frequently so it can keep those items on the SSD. It's really fast and seems to be getting faster as it learns my peculiar priorities.
I chose the 680MX GPU rather than a hotter CPU because I game and use X-Plane V10 which both like a good graphics processor. I flew for many years including for the Navy, starting in 1946. I'm 81 now and figure I can play some and enjoy flying at my desk instead of in a cockpit, but I want the thing to be as real as possible, hence the hot GPU. You probably don't need it and can save your money for something else.
I had no trouble with Photoshop on the old G5, so I can't imagine that or iPhoto or iTunes (the new ones are really neat) could need the hotter GPU. I got 3TB because I have tons of music and photos and they take up a LOT of disc space. I maxed out the Macintosh HD on the old G5, so I had no more space for scanning in any more of my 35mm hordes or stealing my wife's Beatles box set from her iMac over our internal net. I didn't want that to happen again, hence the 3TB even though I didn't think I'd need the hottest CPU. Just wanted LOTS of space to store stuff.
You will find adding the RAM is really easy unless you've already done it. If you have you already know that. I've added lots of it and it's sort of fun.
I purchased a 16GB RAM kit from Crucial. Whoever you get yours from, the upgrade is really simple. Make sure the thing works OK as it arrives with the two Apple 4GB sticks in it before you mess with the new sticks.
To put in the new ones, just put the iMac down on its face on something soft after unplugging everything. A bed works fine. Make sure you discharge any static electricity on you B4 you touch any of the sticks. I finesse that (I think) by touching only the plastic bits on the sticks.
Push the little button inside the socket for the power cord. The RAM cover panel will pop off with a little help possibly. Set it down carefully so you can put it back on the same way.The thing fits really tight, so you have to give it a good push to get it back on when you are through playing with the RAM sticks.
Spread the two little handles and pull them up gently.
The following three paragraphs only pertain if you are adding a 16GB kit. If you are only adding two more 4GB sticks or 4 8GB just fill up all the slots, close it up and you're done. Skip the next three paragraphs. They are important because the processor goes to slots 2 and 4 first and you want the largest RAM sticks in those slots.
REMOVE the two Apple sticks from the slots they are in and replace them in the slots that WERE empty. They come out with a pretty good tug. There are guide slots on the ends of the slots to guide the sticks in SOLIDLY so they are all the way in.
If you do them one at a time it's easy to tell when you've got them all the way in.
Just pull out the top Apple stick and move it to the next slot up, which is the top of the four slots. Then move the other Apple stick up one slot to the third of the four slots. Insert your two new sticks in the two now empty slots(2 and 4) where the Apple sticks used to be, rotate them all back in and click in the little handles, and you are all done and can put the cover back on, plug it all back in, fire it up and look at the much bigger RAM number under "About this Mac".
You MAY not need more than 8GB, so I recommend hanging on for a while to see if your Photoshop usage needs it. Probably not, but Apple's OSX keeps growing, which was my main reason for adding the RAM.
I purchased my new iMac from MacMall with "Pay Me Later". No sales tax, no payments or interest for 6 months. I've bought five Macs and lots of other stuff from them over the last 20 years with no complaints. It took exactly 30 days from my phone order with Aris (37365), 800-622-6255, until Fedex delivered to my door, during the first frantic month the things were available. It's certainly faster now.
Despite Apple's misguided idea that "Nobody needs an Optical Disk Drive", I grumbled a while and then just added an Apple Superdrive to my order.
It sits on the iMac stand and looks like it belongs there. It does, however, insist on using one of your USB slots on the iMac. It will not accept a hub.
So Tim Cook's goof by not building it in not only costs you money, it also uses up one of your four slots instead of being built in and not needing any.
Enjoy!
