Best 27 inch Configuration for Web Design/Development

[macronerd]

About to get my first iMac and going for the 27 inch. My main usage will be web design with CS6, web and ios development, photo and video editing. Not much gaming. I would like to keep this machine 2-3 years.

I am unsure on which configuration would be best or overkill.

CPU - Would the base 3.2 i5 be sufficient vs the 3.4 i5?
Graphics card - I'm not a gamer but for photo and video editing should I upgrade to the GTX 780M?

Definitely getting the Fusion Drive and as much RAM as I can.

 

[iamdannygreen]

I've just ordered the 27inch for exactly the same purpose (Web Design).

I've stuck to the 3.2 ghz, and just upgraded to Fusion drive, I have a MacBook Pro (2ghz i7) at the moment which is more than enough to cope with the workload, I also do quite a bit of 3D work and AfterEffects without any problems

If I was you I would upgrade the RAM yourself, as it is significantly cheaper than paying for the Apple upgrade.

 

[macronerd]

I've just ordered the 27inch for exactly the same purpose (Web Design).

I've stuck to the 3.2 ghz, and just upgraded to Fusion drive, I have a MacBook Pro (2ghz i7) at the moment which is more than enough to cope with the workload, I also do quite a bit of 3D work and AfterEffects without any problems

If I was you I would upgrade the RAM yourself, as it is significantly cheaper than paying for the Apple upgrade.

Yep definitely upgrading the RAM myself. Just undecided on if I should go for the higher i5 CPU and max GPU for $300 more than the base configuration

 

[iamdannygreen]

To be honest, I think just upgrading to the Fusion Drive will be enough. I'd spend the $300 on another treat for yourself, graphics table etc.

 

[jclardy]

Yep definitely upgrading the RAM myself. Just undecided on if I should go for the higher i5 CPU and max GPU for $300 more than the base configuration

Well to give some perspective I do iPhone app development, design work, video editing and photo editing on a 13" retina macbook pro connected to an external monitor/keyboard/mouse. CPU wise I am pretty much fine and dandy for those tasks, but many times I do wish I had a dedicated GPU (Primarily for video editing) which is why I am looking at an iMac for my desk. So any 27" would be a huge boost for me at least.

You definitely want the Fusion drive though. Once you have SSD level disk speeds there is no going back...And of course upgrade the RAM yourself. I would say you probably don't need to max it out to last 3 years, but that is just me.

 

[fig]

The faster GPU is nice to have for 3d and gaming but won't have much effect on Photoshop and other 2d work, you can look up your particular editor but the GPU isn't usually heavily used by most editing apps either.

RAM and CPU will have more of an effect for your design and development work, and the faster hard drive is nice to have as well for a lot snappier day to day operations.

 

[maflynn]

i am pretty sure about that your existing configuration Mac can perform well for doing PS, Illustrator and some more designing software.

Given that the OP was asking this questions back in 2013, I'm sure he's already made his decision.