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27" iMac - which to get

photogpab

photogpab

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 21, 2010
491
8
i have a 5 year old iMac and Im ready to upgrade to one of the new 27" iMacs.

One of the main problems I have with my current "old" iMac is that years ago video editing was great but with time, the new video editing softwares dont run as well on it anymore, its slow and sluggish, and editing HD video can sometimes be a little frustrating as the machine has a hard time keeping up. rendering can take an eternity!

anyhow... my current iMac has 128MB of video ram, and with the new iMacs I have a choice between the less expensive model with 512MB of video Ram or the more expensive one which has 1GB of video ram.

I dont know what to go with. I cant afford the more expensive model right now. i'll have to wait atleast another month to save up. but I can probably buy the "cheaper" one ($1699) with 512MB of ram right now or very soon!

i just want to make sure i buy the right one. will i see a drastic difference in speed between the two? particularly with video editing??? i edit alot of HD video and I'd like my new machine to handle editing well... QUICKLY... efficiently. sometimes the "rendering" on my old machine will take so long i leave the room and come back 10 minutes later and its still going... once i tried to add stabilization to HD video in Final Cut Pro and it said it would take over 30 min just to analyze the video. that cant be typical?!

i rather save the money if the cheaper one is going to be more than enough video ram for editing... but if i really "need" that 1GB of video ram... then should i keep waiting? video ram is one thing i dont know much about.
 
since you say you do HD video editing alot, i would say wait a little longer and save up for the higher end model. and if you can even wait and save up some more, upgrade the CPU to the core i7. The hyper threading will help out alot and you will see a big difference in rendering time.
 
dylin - what type of performance would i get from the lower model? is it going to be alot of the same frustrating experience I've been having with my old dinosaur?
 
graphics is irrelevant for video editing today

either buy the cheapeast 27" model and load the RAM to 16gb or buy the top model with an i7 and load the ram to 32gb

you will probably see 10-40% speed increase in video editing dependent on the exact task

the cheapest model is pretty damn fast though. What cpu are you coming from ?
 
Agreed +1

foxyfabio said:
You could also consider a refurbished "pimped out" iMac. :cool:
Click to expand...

See if you can get a refurb 27" with specs along the lines of mine:

27" 16GB RAM 2GB VRAM.

Bought mine new back in July, but if you want, PM me and I will put you in touch with some useful people at :apple:

You are better off saving and waiting a while, but I think a refurb should be possible.....You won't get 16GB RAM, probably 8, but I upgraded ny RAM later on anyway. I work in the Music business, render video and music files and mine never misses a neat. Have tried similar tasks on the lower end iMacs and they lag a bit.
 
I have a bottom spec 21.5 imac from 09 and it's editing my 1080p 30fps dslr footage perfectly alongside running 2 screens with after effects + premiere. Any mac in the current range would do the job fine really so i say you're safe with the base 27. video editing as of recent is more ram dependant then graphics anyways, so maybe boost the ram?
 
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thanks all -

so from what i'm reading it seems like video editing is more RAM dependent these days, so if I got the low end 27" iMac and boosted it up to 8GB of RAM or even 16GB of RAM I should see fast speeds???

I was watching a tutorial on youtube the other night, this guy was showing how to "stabilize" video in Final Cut Pro, and his Mac literally analyzed and rendered the video in about 10 seconds! I was floored.

Then I tried the same thing on my 5 year old iMac and it said it would take over 30 min!! LOL

Here are the specs of my machine:

1427hqv.png


I just want to make sure when I buy my new iMac I wont get home and be disappointed that its only slightly or moderately faster. I really want to see BIG improvements in performance. Not just for bigger tasks like editing video, but I'd just like a fast smooth machine. I don't edit video all the time, maybe once every month or so, but I do use Photoshop almost daily and that's become quite slow too.

My iMac in general has become VERY sluggish. Even web browsing, running iTunes, multiple programs at once... the iMac starts to stall or goes extremely slow. It wasnt like that years ago. I guess it's reaching the end of its life...
 
photogpab said:
Here are the specs of my machine:

Image

My iMac in general has become VERY sluggish. Even web browsing, running iTunes, multiple programs at once... the iMac starts to stall or goes extremely slow. It wasnt like that years ago. I guess it's reaching the end of its life...
Click to expand...

Your biggest problem currently is the 2GB of RAM. Since the limit is 3GB (says Apple) there's not a whole lot you can do. Refurbs are great and get you a bit more for your buck. If you can afford it go with the i7 quad core.

I'm still using my 2.0 GHz Core Duo original Macbook Pro and plan on getting an iMac in the not to distant future as well. I feel your pain on the render times.
 
cawesjmu - yep! at the time the iMac only came with 1GB of RAM and I upgraded to 2GB on the advice of the sales employee.

I will beef up my new iMac with atleast 8GB of RAM. But hopefully more, maybe 12GB or the max 16GB.

But since I am no expert, I don't know how much realistic effect that will have on video editing and other heavy tasks like Photoshop. I know I will see improvements I just don't know how drastic these improvements will be.

It would be nice to actually edit video in Final Cut Pro and have it run QUICKLY and smoothly. Even simple tasks like converting video from one format to another or exporting video from iMovie takes FOREVR.

I would also like to try the new Final Cut Pro X (which I know has mediocre reviews) but it requires minimum 256MB video Ram and my current iMac doesnt even have that. So I've never been able to try it.
 
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Go For 16GB

photogpab said:
cawesjmu - yep! at the time the iMac only came with 1GB of RAM and I upgraded to 2GB on the advice of the sales employee.

I will beef up my new iMac with atleast 8GB of RAM. But hopefully more, maybe 12GB or the max 16GB.

But since I am no expert, I don't know how much realistic effect that will have on video editing and other heavy tasks like Photoshop. I know I will see improvements I just don't know how drastic these improvements will be.

It would be nice to actually edit video in Final Cut Pro and have it run QUICKLY and smoothly. Even simple tasks like converting video from one format to another or exporting video from iMovie takes FOREVR.

I would also like to try the new Final Cut Pro X (which I know has mediocre reviews) but it requires minimum 256MB video Ram and my current iMac doesnt even have that. So I've never been able to try it.
Click to expand...

If you can, your newbie will render in next to no time....Mine was good with 8GB but is blistering with 16. You don't have to do that right away, it's a simple job and does not affect your warranty....Apple even give you a diagram booklet with your iMac.
 
I am wondering whether there is any real speed difference in photo editing (adobe lightroom mainly) between 12gb and 16gb ?

12gb is so easy to install, as you get 4gb with it and 8 gb can be plugged in without throwing away the apple installed memory.

Also, can the 27" i5 version install 32gb ? Crucial website seems to think only the i7 can take 32gb !!!!
 
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Came back to check on any replies, seems like everyone gave you some good input. Hope you figured out which one you are going to get
 
dylin - i am leaning towards the lower end 27" model because i think it might be the best one for me. i don't do tons of video editing, i mostly do lots of photo editing, but i do enough video editing that i want a good machine.

the lower end 27" model sounds like it should be solid enough for me with some added RAM.

i have a friend who works at the apple store who can get me 15% off one of the new iMacs, so now its a choice between buying a new one or getting a refurbished one. although I rarely see the refurbished ones selling for more than 15% off so i think its a wash for me either way.
 
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photogpab said:
dylin - i am leaning towards the lower end 27" screen because i think it might be the best one for me. i dont do tons of video editing, i mostly do lots of photo editing, but i do enough video editing that i want a good machine.

the lower end 27" model sounds like it should be solid enough for me with some added RAM.

i have a friend who works at the apple store who can get me 15% one of the new iMacs so right now its between buying a new one or getting a refurbished one. I rarely see the refurbished ones for more than 15% off so i think its a wash for me either way.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the low end will do. :)
 
I think the Apple store has a 2 week return policy, so if the lower-end one was not good enough you can always return it and get the i7 or whatever.
 
photogpab said:
dylin - i am leaning towards the lower end 27" model because i think it might be the best one for me. i don't do tons of video editing, i mostly do lots of photo editing, but i do enough video editing that i want a good machine.
Click to expand...

Hey. Have you thought about buying the late 2010 model from MacMall? I bought the i7 27" from there and bought some RAM off of Amazon for $92 shipped or so. Plus, you can use your display as a monitor for an external device with the right adapter.

For about $1600 (including shipping) total this is my machine:

2vtrx1v.png


I was too lazy to type all of the specs. ;) I do have 1GB of video memory and combined with the 16GB of RAM, Final Cut Pro runs flawlessly.
 
Boogsephine - i didnt because everyone told me i had to get the quad core sandy bridge processor because it was much faster than even the previous generation iMac. i dont know though???
 
photogpab said:
Boogsephine - i didnt because everyone told me i had to get the quad core sandy bridge processor because it was much faster than even the previous generation iMac. i dont know though???
Click to expand...

I agree that the sandy bridge processors are quite nice but they are also i5's if I'm not mistaken. As we speak I have the current applications running and I see no lag or slowness with the computer: Final Cut, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, VLC Player, Skype, Google Chrome, iChat, iTunes and Preview.

Like most people say, the Mac Pros are more designed for video editing and such but those are out of my price range right now. I settled for the i7 2010 iMac and it has been perfect!

I say at least save for the higher end model if you can wait. I know you'll end up wanting the top of the line as far as specs go after you buy the entry level machine.

Edit: Now if I am rendering a video or something like that, I can notice a speed difference. As far as the editing and switching between the applications, works perfectly fine for me.
 
" "27" 16GB RAM 2GB VRAM.

Bought mine new back in July, but if you want, PM me and I will put you in touch with some useful people at :apple:"

MacMan45, i'm currently looking at buying an IMac 27" refurbished and was seeing if you could help.
The one i'm considering is the 27" 3.1Ghz i5, 4GB memory, 1TB hard drive refurbished for $1660
or the 3.4Ghz i7 refurbished for $1870
Wondering if this is the best deals I'll get or if you have better connections. If I got either I would defiantly upgrade to 12GB memory.
Sorry i couldnt PM you, I'm a new member.
 
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