buying an iMac for website design

[brianman]

Hi,

I plan to buy an iMac to use for website design. Basically, I'm going to use the computer to play around with Adobe CS4 Web Premium, surf the web and listen to music. I'll occasionally use word or excel.

What iMac should I purchase? I've been leaning towards the 24-inch, 2.8GHz with 4GB of memory. I assumed I don't need the NVIDIA Graphics Card upgrade. I don't need this much or should I get more?

Brian

 

[chilipie]

Yep, I'd go with the 2.8GHz 24". Unless you're gaming/working with Motion or Color (parts of Final Cut Studio), I don't think you need the graphics card update. The more RAM the merrier, so 4GB is good. I think you'd be much happier with a 24" rather than a 20" - you need to be able to display a webpage and all the palettes/toolbars around it in Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver etc.

 

[Willis]

yup, sounds like a nice setup. I would probably suggest holding off if you're interested in an iMac thats getting updated, otherwise the current machines are proven to be working perfectly.

Plus, you might actually need it sooner regardless.

 

[dr. shdw]

Wait for the iMac refresh, but get the 24". Better panel by far and GPU acceleration is important in CS4..

 

[brianman]

Cool. Thanks a lot. It helps eliminate any doubts I had.

Yeah, I was debating if I should wait for the refresh or not. Since my fiancee is a student, I am able to get a student discount on CS4. They have a special that brings the price down to $249.99 compared to $549.99. I just don't know how long that special will be around for.

 

[dr. shdw]

Cool. Thanks a lot. It helps eliminate any doubts I had.

Yeah, I was debating if I should wait for the refresh or not. Since my fiancee is a student, I am able to get a student discount on CS4. They have a special that brings the price down to $249.99 compared to $549.99. I just don't know how long that special will be around for.

The student discount usually don't go away.

 

[highjumppudding]

any imac is a great machine for web design. the larger screen will definitely help! the upgraded video card you do not need for web design. best of luck! oh, and get 4gbs of ram. its cheaper NOT to buy from apple.