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I'm also looking to buy a new 27" iMac. I'm replacing a 2008 24" iMac that continues to have problems... so, I figured this would be a good time to update. But... I'm having a really difficult time deciding what to get. I use my computer for the basics... emailing, surfing,etc. I don't do any gaming or use my iMac for work... but I have a very large (and growing) photo collection... also a large iTunes account which includes music, videos, tv shows etc. I also have a growing collection of digital movies... (with multiple grandchildren... I have a lot of Disney movies!) :eek:

So, on the surface... it would seem logical that a 3 TB HDD would probably be a perfect fit for me, right? But... will I be spending $2000 plus on older technology that might soon be obsolete? What if Flash storage prices drop significantly in a year or so allowing SSD technology to become standard? (And thereby making my one or two year old expensive iMac obsolete?)

I could buy a 512 GB SSD Flash iMac... but, I worry that it won't be big enough to hold my media collection. I'm not really tech savvy enough to keep my media in an external hard drive... plus... what's the point in having an all-in-one computer that requires additional storage that I would be constantly accessing on a daily basis? But, at least with the Flash drive... I would feel like I'm one step ahead of the current technology.

That brings me to the Fusion Drive. In a word... I don't believe that this technology has been tried, tested... and proven to be flawless yet. I've spent many hours reading long threads about problems with the Fusion Drive. I will also admit that in my elderly, pea brain... it just seems plausible that the more time a computer spends moving things around between two drives... the more potential there is for a breakdown along the way. If we were five years out from the introduction of the Fusion Drive and the technology was working perfectly... than, yes... I would consider this option.

Right now... I'm leaning towards the 1TB Flash. I don't really want to spend that much money... but, at least I'd be getting a computer with the very latest technology to take me into the future... at least for a few years. ;)

Okay... now you get to tell me where I've gone horribly wrong in my thought processes.
 
I'm also looking to buy a new 27" iMac. I'm replacing a 2008 24" iMac that continues to have problems... so, I figured this would be a good time to update. But... I'm having a really difficult time deciding what to get. I use my computer for the basics... emailing, surfing,etc. I don't do any gaming or use my iMac for work... but I have a very large (and growing) photo collection... also a large iTunes account which includes music, videos, tv shows etc. I also have a growing collection of digital movies... (with multiple grandchildren... I have a lot of Disney movies!) :eek:

So, on the surface... it would seem logical that a 3 TB HDD would probably be a perfect fit for me, right? But... will I be spending $2000 plus on older technology that might soon be obsolete? What if Flash storage prices drop significantly in a year or so allowing SSD technology to become standard? (And thereby making my one or two year old expensive iMac obsolete?)

I could buy a 512 GB SSD Flash iMac... but, I worry that it won't be big enough to hold my media collection. I'm not really tech savvy enough to keep my media in an external hard drive... plus... what's the point in having an all-in-one computer that requires additional storage that I would be constantly accessing on a daily basis? But, at least with the Flash drive... I would feel like I'm one step ahead of the current technology.

That brings me to the Fusion Drive. In a word... I don't believe that this technology has been tried, tested... and proven to be flawless yet. I've spent many hours reading long threads about problems with the Fusion Drive. I will also admit that in my elderly, pea brain... it just seems plausible that the more time a computer spends moving things around between two drives... the more potential there is for a breakdown along the way. If we were five years out from the introduction of the Fusion Drive and the technology was working perfectly... than, yes... I would consider this option.

Right now... I'm leaning towards the 1TB Flash. I don't really want to spend that much money... but, at least I'd be getting a computer with the very latest technology to take me into the future... at least for a few years. ;)

Okay... now you get to tell me where I've gone horribly wrong in my thought processes.


I don't believe that this technology has been tried, tested... and proven to be flawless yet.

your right 100% apple bring out technology, charge an arm and leg for there products
they don't fully test them because its all about making profit etc! :mad:
 
I don't believe that this technology has been tried, tested... and proven to be flawless yet.

your right 100% apple bring out technology, charge an arm and leg for there products
they don't fully test them because its all about making profit etc! :mad:

ilyasdesign... I read in your previous posts that you purchased your iMac just last month. Did you get the Fushion or Flash? In all my forum reading and youtube watching... the one sure thing I came away with was that a Fusion drive and Boot Camp do not play well together. (Even though it says on apple.com that they are compatible.)

Are you otherwise happy with your 27"?
 
ilyasdesign... I read in your previous posts that you purchased your iMac just last month. Did you get the Fushion or Flash? In all my forum reading and youtube watching... the one sure thing I came away with was that a Fusion drive and Boot Camp do not play well together. (Even though it says on apple.com that they are compatible.)

Are you otherwise happy with your 27"?

no not happy i have the standard drive 1TB didn't want to take the risk of fusion drive
with issues with bootcamp!
had a lot issues this iMac and OS!
now have printing issues with my Xerox printer doesn't have all features

wouldn't say value for money!:mad:

wanted to play gaming via windows 7 but issues with temp and fan issues
 
Okay... now you get to tell me where I've gone horribly wrong in my thought processes.


I bought an iMac with a 3TB fusion Drive about a year and a half ago. No problems so far, and it boots and opens apps much more quickly than my 2010 Mac Pro. IMO, it represents a good balance of price and performance, and hard drives are very reliable. I wouldn't mind a 1TB SSD, but they're still very pricey. As for obsolescence, any iMac you buy will be superseded within a year or so, but that doesn't mean that it won't provide years of service.
 
Good choice! I was just playing World of Warcraft while streaming Silence of the Lambs from Netflix. The iMac didn't even make any fan noises let alone drop a frame in the game. And of course it has been extremely stable. It's the best computer I've ever owned.

Thank you! That sounds promising. I have ordered it now and have been waiting for it to ship from Irleland to Sweden. Its supposed to arrive sometime tomorrow, fingers crossed that they wont change the day!
 
are you not weary with the possible 880m coming out? I personally could care less about a 100mhz bump in processor but a Retina display or 880m card on a soon released one would leave me upset with myself.

Nope. Considering I thought that the HD5000 in my 2013 MBA was a pretty steep improvement from the 2008 MBPro, I think I'd still be blown away by the 780m. My standards are rather low in that respect.
 
This boost could also be a bit from the jump from 1600MHz to 1867MHz RAM.

If it wasn't such a hassle to swap the RAM out again I would test 8GB 1600 v 1867 on the same build of Mavericks.
(I have the machine VESA mounted in my desk so it's a little tough to pull the machine out to gain access to the RAM door.)

i m surprised how you running 1867mhz ram on ur iMac, i thought 1600 was the max, is this possible also for the late 2012 27" model to run 1867mhz ram?

Thanks..
 
i m surprised how you running 1867mhz ram on ur iMac, i thought 1600 was the max, is this possible also for the late 2012 27" model to run 1867mhz ram?

Thanks..
That I'm not sure, my wife has an i7 680MX 1TB Fusion 2012 27" and I added the stock 8GB 1600MHz from my 2013 to hers to give her 16GB.

Mine has been running rock solid, no panics, etc etc since installing the 1867 RAM. I installed it before I powered up the machine for the 1st time.

Never tried my RAM in her machine, the way my machine is mounted in my desk it is a lot more work to switch RAM out.

On another note it is in the top 5 performing 2013 iMac's on geekbench. I have been testing with most builds of 10.9.3 throughout beta just for S&G's and the other machines that beat mine are also using 1867MHz RAM.
 
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That I'm not sure, my wife has an i7 680MX 1TB Fusion 2012 27" and I added the stock 8GB 1600MHz from my 2013 to hers to give her 16GB.

Mine has been running rock solid, no panics, etc etc since installing the 1867 RAM. I installed it before I powered up the machine for the 1st time.

Never tried my RAM in her machine, the way my machine is mounted in my desk it is a lot more work to switch RAM out.

On another note it is in the top 5 performing 2013 iMac's on geekbench. I have been testing with most builds of 10.9.3 throughout beta just for S&G's and the other machines that beat mine are also using 1867MHz RAM.

Where did you buy your 1867MHz RAM?
 
Where did you buy your 1867MHz RAM?

Amazon.

I purchased the Crucial Ballistix Sport SODIMM 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3 1866 MT/s (PC3-14900) CL10 @1.35V 204-Pin Memory.
My iMac RAM

I originally ordered Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3 1866 MHz (PC3 15000) Laptop Memory CMSX16GX3M2A1866C10, this is 1.5v RAM and after doing some research I found that 1.5v would work in the 2013 iMacs but you may experience hangs or kernel panics.
This info from another thread on the forums here by various other members, many members also noted that when using 1-2 Sticks of 1.5v they had no issues but if they were using 3-4 sticks of RAM this is when they started having more issues.
So I just decided to order 1.35v to be on the safe side and I am using 4 - 8GB sticks for 32GB without issues.

I decided to try out the Corsair Vengeance 1.5v in my 2012 i7 Mac Mini and it has also been rock solid(knock on wood) with the 16GB I installed.

My Mac Mini RAM
 
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