21,5 vs 27 late 2012 new imac

[risk52]

Hi there! I'm going to buy my very first macintosh computer and it's going to be the new imac..
I am going to use programs like final cut,premiere,after effects,photoshop,lightroom,illustrator maybe sony vegas etc...But I'm not sure about which imac i need.. my budget is 2.300 $ max!
So guys give me an advice about which one is better between 21,5"/i7/16gb/fusion or 27"/i5(3,2ghz)/fusion..

(I use a 15" screen now and i think that the 27" is very big! also if I'll buy the 27" I will upgrade ram myself at 24gb for now and maybe later 32gb)

Thank you in advance!

 

[cyclotron451]

well here's just a free opinion that's worth what I'm being paid for it...

27" iMac 2.9GHz Quad Core i5 Fusion 8GB (2x4) for $2,049
upgrade the RAM with 2 X 8 GB from a third-party to get 24 GB for $60

This has the best features of the new iMac, the great screen (I currently use a variety of screens but 27 is my favourite!) (I have 9" all the way up to 55") it has the Fusion Drive, it has a quad core CPU that Turbo boosts to 3.6GHz with most current software - but has great performance when the multithreaded software comes in.

personally I avoid the hotter faster clocked CPU's, (the few percent of clock-speed won't be noticed in practise). 24GB should certainly be enough RAM for the next year or two (I have no swap file & no page-outs with extended usage of a 2012 Mac mini @10GB RAM) You could spend the rest of the budget on a nice USB3 'couple of terabyte' external backup disk?

 

[risk52]

Thank you for your answer!
I have already a usb 3.0 external hard drive 1 tb and the fusion drive is 1tb too so i think i am ok with space for now!..so you think the 27" is a better solution?
16gb ram is not ok for the nexr years? i7 worths the money for the 21,5" ? it's not only the cpu but the graphic card..i'm making editting works and i think that i need a better graphic card..

 

[comatose81]

Isn't physical size pretty much the only deciding factor between the 21.5" and the 27"? If the 27" fits where you are putting it, obviously that is the way to go.