Buying my first iMac.

[Twerkin4Welfare]

Hi guys,

Usually I just read the forums, but I decided to make an account and get some opinions before I buy my first iMac.

I'm currently in college and I need a computer thats good with multitasking research papers, video editing, photoshopping, and gaming (Sims 4 & Sims City). I'm pretty set on a 27-inch non-retina iMac.

My friend said 16GB RAM would be enough for what I want to do, but I can't help but be tempted to go with the 32GB. Would it be a waste of money to max out the RAM? Also, what is the benefit of going with the Fusion Drive over the normal 1TB Serial ATA Drive? I read somewhere that the Fusion Drive can make the Mac slightly noisy?



Thanks!

 

[Apple fanboy]

Hi guys,

Usually I just read the forums, but I decided to make an account and get some opinions before I buy my first iMac.

I'm currently in college and I need a computer thats good with multitasking research papers, video editing, photoshopping, and gaming (Sims 4 & Sims City). I'm pretty set on a 27-inch non-retina iMac.

My friend said 16GB RAM would be enough for what I want to do, but I can't help but be tempted to go with the 32GB. Would it be a waste of money to max out the RAM? Also, what is the benefit of going with the Fusion Drive over the normal 1TB Serial ATA Drive? I read somewhere that the Fusion Drive can make the Mac slightly noisy?



Thanks!

For the tasks you list, 16gb of RAM is plenty.
Fusion Drive is a combination of a standard hard drive and an SSD (which has no moving parts). Therefore if anything it would be quieter. Also the OS puts the things you use the most on the SSD, so it makes your machine nearly as fast as a full SSD hard drive for a fraction of the cost.
Also I own an iMac with 16gb of RAM and a Fusion Drive. Runs super quiet.

 

[Twerkin4Welfare]

For the tasks you list, 16gb of RAM is plenty.
Fusion Drive is a combination of a standard hard drive and an SSD (which has no moving parts). Therefore if anything it would be quieter. Also the OS puts the things you use the most on the SSD, so it makes your machine nearly as fast as a full SSD hard drive for a fraction of the cost.
Also I own an iMac with 16gb of RAM and a Fusion Drive. Runs super quiet.

Okay perfect, I'll go with the 16GB! Thank you!

 

[Asher133]

Hi guys,

Usually I just read the forums, but I decided to make an account and get some opinions before I buy my first iMac.

I'm currently in college and I need a computer thats good with multitasking research papers, video editing, photoshopping, and gaming (Sims 4 & Sims City). I'm pretty set on a 27-inch non-retina iMac.

My friend said 16GB RAM would be enough for what I want to do, but I can't help but be tempted to go with the 32GB. Would it be a waste of money to max out the RAM? Also, what is the benefit of going with the Fusion Drive over the normal 1TB Serial ATA Drive? I read somewhere that the Fusion Drive can make the Mac slightly noisy?



Thanks!

16GB is more than enough for what your using it for unless you plan to start video editing in the future, I would also suggest getting the retina model you will really appreciate the retina display it just makes everything look that much better, and to answer your question the fusion drive is much quieter less moving parts Aswell as having a significantly higher boost in performance compared to the HD

Hope this helps

 

[Twerkin4Welfare]

16GB is more than enough for what your using it for unless you plan to start video editing in the future, I would also suggest getting the retina model you will really appreciate the retina display it just makes everything look that much better, and to answer your question the fusion drive is much quieter less moving parts Aswell as having a significantly higher boost in performance compared to the HD

Hope this helps

It does, but now I'm worried about the Fusion failing and questioning if I should spend the extra $720 for the 1TB Flash. Yet at the same time I feel like 1TB wouldn't be enough. Crazy talk, I'm driving myself insane over here lol. Also, whats the difference between the upgraded graphics? I probably should get the retina but I've heard bad things about it on here. :\

Also, if I go with the rMac should I upgrade the graphics card?

 

[ApfelKuchen]

It does, but now I'm worried about the Fusion failing and questioning if I should spend the extra $720 for the 1TB Flash. Yet at the same time I feel like 1TB wouldn't be enough. Crazy talk, I'm driving myself insane over here lol. Also, whats the difference between the upgraded graphics? I probably should get the retina but I've heard bad things about it on here. :\

Also, if I go with the rMac should I upgrade the graphics card?

I have the 27" non-Retina with Fusion and 16 GB. I agree, 16 GB is plenty for now. You'd have one of the few new Macs that allows for user-installed RAM updates (you'll have 2 free slots), so why buy more than you're likely to need?

Fusion failure is no more of an issue than in any HDD-equipped machine, maybe less, considering the HDD is accessed less frequently in a Fusion system. Even if you had an all-SSD machine, you still need to make backups. You can buy a lot of backup drives with the money you save by going with Fusion vs. all-SSD.

As to the graphics card, it depends. For your purposes, the standard card is likely enough. If you were editing on a professional level, then the upgrade is more worthwhile - time is money, so the investment is more likely to pay off.

You've "heard bad things" about the retina? If you depend on Internet forums, then you'll see bad things about each and every product made. On balance, I'm not seeing any more "bad things" for this Mac than for any other, perhaps less, but I haven't been watching very closely.

 

[zone23]

I personally went 16GB and 500GB SSD drive. The speed of the SSD is is unbelievable and will make just about any app fly, basically waiting for apps to load is a thing of the past. Also for video editing it can't be beat. That said it wasn't cheap but Macs last a long time so your better off spending a little extra now as you will probably have it for a while. My turn around cycle is about 4 years. Thats a long time for someone who used to run Windows machines and upgraded about every 6 months. Love my Macs.

 

[Asher133]

It does, but now I'm worried about the Fusion failing and questioning if I should spend the extra $720 for the 1TB Flash. Yet at the same time I feel like 1TB wouldn't be enough. Crazy talk, I'm driving myself insane over here lol. Also, whats the difference between the upgraded graphics? I probably should get the retina but I've heard bad things about it on here. :\

Also, if I go with the rMac should I upgrade the graphics card?

Everything fails at some point but don't let that deter you I honestly think the 1TB flash storage would be the better option fusion drives are just as reliable as a HD but just better at performance.

What makes you think 1tb isn't enough, what are you current computers specs?

Trust me you can not go wrong with the retina it's going to be the new standard in Apple products and will have a much longer life span than the non retina also be cause you will be gaming I do suggest you get an updated graphics card, I'm not to sure on how graphical demanding the sims is on the card

 

[Twerkin4Welfare]

Everything fails at some point but don't let that deter you I honestly think the 1TB flash storage would be the better option fusion drives are just as reliable as a HD but just better at performance.

What makes you think 1tb isn't enough, what are you current computers specs?

Trust me you can not go wrong with the retina it's going to be the new standard in Apple products and will have a much longer life span than the non retina also be cause you will be gaming I do suggest you get an updated graphics card, I'm not to sure on how graphical demanding the sims is on the card

Right now I have a late 2008 MacBook, 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256MB graphics card, 250GB SATA Drive. Running Yosemite like a snail. Someone told me I wouldn't notice a big difference between the 3.5Ghz i7 Non-Retina and the 4GHz i7 Retina.

The reason I'm afraid 1TB wont be enough is because I hate deleting personal videos and photos. Plus my iTunes library is pretty large. I'd like to be able to keep everything on the same device without the need for an external drive. Right now I had to move all my photos and videos to an external drive and I don't like it. Then again maybe I feel that way because it's a laptop. Ugh! lol

 

[Asher133]

Right now I have a late 2008 MacBook, 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256MB graphics card, 250GB SATA Drive. Running Yosemite like a snail. Someone told me I wouldn't notice a big difference between the 3.5Ghz i7 Non-Retina and the 4GHz i7 Retina.

The reason I'm afraid 1TB wont be enough is because I hate deleting personal videos and photos. Plus my iTunes library is pretty large. I'd like to be able to keep everything on the same device without the need for an external drive. Right now I had to move all my photos and videos to an external drive and I don't like it. Then again maybe I feel that way because it's a laptop. Ugh! lol

Spec wise no you wouldn't notice a difference at all but visually you will notice major difference and if your going to be keeping this puppy for s while why not get the best your money can buy

I know what you mean lol but if you were to get a HD it will really slow down the more full it gets VS the SSD it will keep its constant speeds but have an external hard drive isn't a bad idea by anymeans it will insure that you have a back of all of your files.

But honestly if you can I would go with the retina model with a 1 TB SSD

 

[Twerkin4Welfare]

Spec wise no you wouldn't notice a difference at all but visually you will notice major difference and if your going to be keeping this puppy for s while why not get the best your money can buy

I know what you mean lol but if you were to get a HD it will really slow down the more full it gets VS the SSD it will keep its constant speeds but have an external hard drive isn't a bad idea by anymeans it will insure that you have a back of all of your files.

But honestly if you can I would go with the retina model with a 1 TB SSD

Lol as a college student, the only way I'd be able to afford the Retina Mac with a 1TB SSD is if I hit the lottery. lol My friend told me to go with a regular iMac i7 with 16GB RAM, GTX 775M 2GB with 1TB Fusion to save money. Honestly this is the hardest decision of my life. lol

 

[Asher133]

Lol as a college student, the only way I'd be able to afford the Retina Mac with a 1TB SSD is if I hit the lottery. lol My friend told me to go with a regular iMac i7 with 16GB RAM, GTX 775M 2GB with 1TB Fusion to save money. Honestly this is the hardest decision of my life. lol

Lol I'm in college aswell so I understand the struggle but thats a pretty solid build but the fusion drives scare me a bit they are the best of both worlds yet they have twice the chance it will fail but / have errors but let me know what you decide im pretty intrigued on your decision

 

[Twerkin4Welfare]

Lol I'm in college aswell so I understand the struggle but thats a pretty solid build but the fusion drives scare me a bit they are the best of both worlds yet they have twice the chance it will fail but / have errors but let me know what you decide im pretty intrigued on your decision

Thanks. I'm trying to talk myself down from a retina now. So I can save some money and buy myself a nice desk from IKEA lol. I have to buy it before I go to bed though. Considering what I'm upgrading from, it's going to be a good computer no matter what lol.

 

[Asher133]

Thanks. I'm trying to talk myself down from a retina now. So I can save some money and buy myself a nice desk from IKEA lol. I have to buy it before I go to bed though. Considering what I'm upgrading from, it's going to be a good computer no matter what lol.

lol try not to debate to much lol wish I could let you test my retina Macbook pro to see the difference its eye catching but you will be happy with which ever you choose it's an insane upgrade from what you have

 

[mattbaar26]

Thanks. I'm trying to talk myself down from a retina now. So I can save some money and buy myself a nice desk from IKEA lol. I have to buy it before I go to bed though. Considering what I'm upgrading from, it's going to be a good computer no matter what lol.

If you really want a retina, buy a 13 in retina macbook pro and with that extra money, buy a 4k monitor. You can get a nice Dell or Samsung for less than $800

 

[Twerkin4Welfare]

If you really want a retina, buy a 13 in retina macbook pro and with that extra money, buy a 4k monitor. You can get a nice Dell or Samsung for less than $800

In the beginning I didn't want a retina, and earlier today I talked myself into it. After thinking about it for a bit, I feel like I'd have to upgrade to the i7 and get the better graphics card. I might as well just get the normal one and save the money like I was originally going to do.

 

[Twerkin4Welfare]

Update: I decided to buy the 27 inch non-retina iMac with 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 3TB Fusion Drive, and 4GB graphic card. I'll probably upgrade to 32GB RAM sometime in the future, but for now I've decided to hold out on the retina especially with the recent talk of 8K screens. And if I'm really that unsatisfied with my choice I'll take it to my Apple Store and swap it for a retina iMac. Plus, now I can use the saved cash and get that nice desk and chair I was eye'ing at IKEA!

 

[Asher133]

Update: I decided to buy the 27 inch non-retina iMac with 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 3TB Fusion Drive, and 4GB graphic card. I'll probably upgrade to 32GB RAM sometime in the future, but for now I've decided to hold out on the retina especially with the recent talk of 8K screens. And if I'm really that unsatisfied with my choice I'll take it to my Apple Store and swap it for a retina iMac. Plus, now I can use the saved cash and get that nice desk and chair I was eye'ing at IKEA!

Great decision hope your happy with it