Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

27" iMac retina display

Snaganaga

Snaganaga

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 15, 2014
9
0
Mt. Pleasant, SC
I am going to order this and I want to have it for a long time. I don't want to have it slow down, where I can't use it, in 4-5 years. Do you think the 2 GB Video memory will do the trick or should I just get the 4 GB? Called Apple and they said you cannot upgrade this later. I am also getting 16 GB memory, 3.4 GHz and 1 TB fusion drive.
I have been on this site for a while and this is my first post. I will be using the computer for home video editing with a the new GoPro Hero 4 black. Maybe some more video work down the road. I appreciate your help and any feedback.
Thanks
 
Snaganaga said:
I am going to order this and I want to have it for a long time. I don't want to have it slow down, where I can't use it, in 4-5 years. Do you think the 2 GB Video memory will do the trick or should I just get the 4 GB? Called Apple and they said you cannot upgrade this later. I am also getting 16 GB memory, 3.4 GHz and 1 TB fusion drive.
I have been on this site for a while and this is my first post. I will be using the computer for home video editing with a the new GoPro Hero 4 black. Maybe some more video work down the road. I appreciate your help and any feedback.
Thanks
Click to expand...

My advice.....skip the fusion, skip the extra video memory, add as much ssd as you can.
 
Since you will be unable to upgrade the ram later, just max out everything and you will be set for a while. Just put additional $$$ aside to pay for the higher costs.
 
baypharm said:
Since you will be unable to upgrade the ram later, just max out everything and you will be set for a while. Just put additional $$$ aside to pay for the higher costs.
Click to expand...

I assume you mean VRAM which is soldered next to the GPU on the logic board. Regular RAM can be upgraded at any time.

Yes, the GPU upgrade is a must have if you need your machine to be future proof.
 
Save the money from RAM and go with the 8GB Apple provides. You can add additional RAM for way less money and no hassle at all. I think the verdict is still unclear about the video card options at this point. I'm having issues with the base model and Photoshop at this point, but we're still troubleshooting.

I like the Fusion drive myself. If you're not a "pro" user, I don't see that the SSD benefit is great enough to warrant the high price tag.

But if it's in your budget, max it out with the i7 and the 4GB GPU.
 
Col Vandal said:
I like the Fusion drive myself. If you're not a "pro" user, I don't see that the SSD benefit is great enough to warrant the high price tag.
Click to expand...

I prefer an SSD with external storage. Since a 256 GB SSD equals a 1 TB Fusion in cost I'd go for the SSD. Also if an external HDD fails after warranty I won't have to open up my machine to replace it.
 
ssls6 said:
My advice.....skip the fusion, skip the extra video memory, add as much ssd as you can.
Click to expand...

As someone who has had the base model and now has one with the upgraded GPU I would strongly advise against skipping the upgraded GPU option.

Going from the m290x to the m295x the difference is night and day even in general use with having a few windows open. With the m290x there is a lot of very noticeable lag in the UI. Having the m295x fixes all of that.

Hopefully Apple fixes the issues with the m290x but right now paying the little bit extra for the upgraded GPU is worth it over every other option.
 
If it were me, I would not upgrade to 16 GB of RAM, and instead, upgrade everything else. The RAM is easy to upgrade later when you have more money and when your computer gets too slow, but nothing else is as easy of an upgrade. Also, by that time, hopefully RAM price will have fallen.
 
Thanks

dlewis23 said:
As someone who has had the base model and now has one with the upgraded GPU I would strongly advise against skipping the upgraded GPU option.

Going from the m290x to the m295x the difference is night and day even in general use with having a few windows open. With the m290x there is a lot of very noticeable lag in the UI. Having the m295x fixes all of that.

Hopefully Apple fixes the issues with the m290x but right now paying the little bit extra for the upgraded GPU is worth it over every other option.
Click to expand...

Swet thanks.

----------
Snaganaga said:
Swet thanks.
Click to expand...

Sweet. Thanks.
 
I got 256gb ssd over the 1tb fusion drive, thinking I should have got the 512gb ssd I don't know :-/ don't want to cancel and re order

I did the i7, 295X, 256gb ssd on order
 
Snaganaga said:
Does ssd have a longer shelf life than fusion or hard drives?
Click to expand...

Yes. In an iMac with Fusion drive the HDD is the component most likely to fail. The SSD will likely outlast other components in the machine.
I forgot to mention that it obviously depends on how much either drive is used to read/write data. This is just a typical usage case.
 
Last edited:
If the extra video memory (Vram) also comes with an upgraded GPU, then I would get the upgraded GPU. An iMac needs the best GPU you can throw at it.

The SSD will outlast the HDD and do better inside the hot case of the iMac. HDDs are great if you can easily get to them like an external drive.

People with older iMacs will pretty much agree that SSDs have done more to keep those machines relevant than just adding extra ram. So much of what we do is actually IO bound.
 
i have the i7, 295x, 16 gb ram and with 512 SSD.
the screen is perfect..no bleed no dead pixels no lag
 
dlewis23 said:
As someone who has had the base model and now has one with the upgraded GPU I would strongly advise against skipping the upgraded GPU option.

Going from the m290x to the m295x the difference is night and day even in general use with having a few windows open. With the m290x there is a lot of very noticeable lag in the UI. Having the m295x fixes all of that.

Hopefully Apple fixes the issues with the m290x but right now paying the little bit extra for the upgraded GPU is worth it over every other option.
Click to expand...

Really?

Curious was the only thing different at all was the upgraded GPU? Meaning do you now have a i5, m295x, 1TB Fusion setup
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back