27" BTO Conundrum!

[TCJW]

Hey guys, how are you all today?

I've currently got a 15" MBP 2.66GHz i7 from last year (500GB, 4GB DDR3, 512MB NVIDIA GT 330M) but I have recently bought an iPad so am thinking about getting rid of the MBP and going for an iMac to force me to be more productive (gotta sit at a desk, not on the couch to do work).

I know I want the top end 27 machine from the most recent refresh, but am not sure what BTO options I should be getting. I am a graphic designer (running CS4) and do FCP editing too. I also like to play StarCraft 2 and am hoping to run a couple of other games on there too (mostly strategy like Total War, no FPS).

I was just wondering what you guys recommend? My dad's a tutor at the local uni so hopefully can save a few £££s getting it through him so could put the specs up a bit. What makes a difference? the better 2GB graphics? better processor? SSD?

Let me know as you all know a lot more about the machines than i do, Thanks guys!!

 

[FrankHahn]

I think you'd better have the top specs through BTO for you to be satisfied with your iMac when you do on it what you plan to do.

 

[TCJW]

I'd need all of the BTO options? might be a little over my budget haha.. i wish i could. out of all the options, what are the most important for running creative software? i've seen conflicting threads on whether or not the 2GB graphics are necessary, and if it's worth getting the bigger HD or SSD with thunderbolt caddies just around the corner. blahh i really don't know.

 

[Bear]

I'd need all of the BTO options? might be a little over my budget haha.. i wish i could. out of all the options, what are the most important for running creative software? i've seen conflicting threads on whether or not the 2GB graphics are necessary, and if it's worth getting the bigger HD or SSD with thunderbolt caddies just around the corner. blahh i really don't know.

If you want the SSD bootable, you need it inside the Mac. Right now Thunderbolt drives cannot be used as the system disk and nobody knows if Apple plans to change this.

There is much debate on the 1GB vs 2GB VRAM - it will depend mostly on what games you play.

Based on what you said ideal would be fastest processor and probably SSD+HD. And yes I know it's a lot of money and may not be doable. The question really is how many years do you plan on keeping the system? And then figure out cost per year of any upgrades you get.

 

[Sirmausalot]

Processor is the most important upgrade.

SSD is great for 'snappiness' especially when launching programs.

However, it is likely the upgraded video card will help more in high end, graphics and games. 'Likely' is the operative word here as you'd have to check the specific tech specs on the games and programs you run to see if they take advantage of the extra VRAM. But for what you describe, I'd choose that over an SSD as much as I love SSDs. It will also serve your needs to have a larger internal drive at this point.

 

[TCJW]

awesome feedback guys

i don't really think i am going to want to boot to an SSD. i know itd be awesome but to be honest the cost-benefit ratio isn't even enough for the massive investment. if thunderbolt does turn out to be bootable then awesome, if not then i guess i'll just make do.

also, i heard somewhere that SSDs weren't as good for using for video editing. i can't remember where i heard it and maybe there's no substance to it, but i guess i'll already be getting better performance from the 7200RPM drive in the iMac vs the 5400 in the MBP.

Definitely gonna go for the faster processor. i guess its just the 2GB graphics that i'm stuck on, though for £80 i guess it couldn't hurt, right?