First time buyer iMAC... HELP

[Inamali]

Hello

First time buyer and my first thread here

IS there a big difference between :

21,5 inch
2,9 GHz Intel Core i5
8 GB (2 x 4 GB) RAM
1 TB harddisk1
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512 MB

and

27 inch
2,9 GHz Intel Core i5
8 GB (2 x 4 GB) RAM
1 TB harddisk1
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M with 512 MB

Now the questions

1: 512MB graphic card on 27inch - is that enough for this iMac with 2,9 GHz??

2: Considering these configurations is it better to buy 21,5 inch with 7i processor OR 27 inch with 5i processor??

3: I am planing to use iMac for PhotoShop, video making, and off-course web surfing, music and that stuff. My budget allows me to buy one of these two iMac`s.

Please give me some feedback.. experience with imac`s... anything will help..
Maybe some questions are stupid but... I have never had iMac... so my questions are not stupid
THanks

 

[Fatboy71]

Hello

First time buyer and my first thread here

IS there a big difference between :

21,5 inch
2,9 GHz Intel Core i5
8 GB (2 x 4 GB) RAM
1 TB harddisk1
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512 MB

and

27 inch
2,9 GHz Intel Core i5
8 GB (2 x 4 GB) RAM
1 TB harddisk1
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M with 512 MB

Now the questions

1: 512MB graphic card on 27inch - is that enough for this iMac with 2,9 GHz??

2: Considering these configurations is it better to buy 21,5 inch with 7i processor OR 27 inch with 5i processor??

3: I am planing to use iMac for PhotoShop, video making, and off-course web surfing, music and that stuff. My budget allows me to buy one of these two iMac`s.

Please give me some feedback.. experience with imac`s... anything will help..
Maybe some questions are stupid but... I have never had iMac... so my questions are not stupid
THanks

I have the 27 inch iMac but with the 1TB Fusion Drive. I don't play games. I do video and photo editing, surfing, email, and music and I also make video guides, and I find the 660M is more than adequate for my usage.

Here's the spec differences between the 650M and the 660M:

GT 650M:

GPU Engine Specs:
384 coresCUDA Cores
Up to 900 MHzGraphics Clock (MHz)
Up to 27.2Texture Fill Rate (billion/sec)
Memory Specs:
DDR3\GDDR5Memory Interface
128bitMemory Interface Width
Up to 80.0Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec)
Feature Support:
4.1OpenGL
PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0Bus Support
DirectX 11, Optimus, PhysX, OpenCL, DirectCompute, 3D Vision, CUDASupported Technologies
Display Support:
3840 x 2160Maximum Digital Resolution
Up to 2048x1536Maximum VGA Resolution
YesHDCP
YesHDMI
3D Vision Ready
Yes3D Blu-Ray






GT 660M:

GPU Engine Specs:
384 coresCUDA Cores
835 MHzGraphics Clock (MHz)
30.4Texture Fill Rate (billion/sec)
Memory Specs:
2000Memory Clock
GDDR5Memory Interface
128bitMemory Interface Width
64.0Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec)
Feature Support:
4.1OpenGL
PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0Bus Support
YesCertified for Windows 7
3D Vision, 3DTV Play, CUDA, DirectX 11, PhysX, SLI, TXAA, FXAA, Adaptive VSyncSupported Technologies
2-waySLI Options
Display Support:
3840 x 2160Maximum Digital Resolution
Up to 2048x1536Maximum VGA Resolution
YesHDCP
YesHDMI


Apart from the texture fill rate difference, there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference to me.


Too be honest, I think an i5 processor will be more than adequate for your uses. I have the i5 processor in my iMac and I installed extra ram myself and saved a fortune compared to Apple's prices, and I do pretty much what you would be wanting to.


I was in your position around 7 months ago when I got my iMac (my first Mac also). I was previously a Windows user for 10 years. I was nervous of the move, but I haven't regretted it one bit. I only wish I'd done the move earlier


If I were you, I would go with the 27 inch (has the ram is user upgradable in the 27 inch, but it is not in the 21.5 inch). At least you would be able to add more ram as and when required.

I would also go with the i5 processor in the 27 inch and perhaps use some of the extra money (that you would have paid for the i7) to get the Fusion Drive. The Fusion Drive is something you will see the benefit of every time you use your iMac. Whereas the i7 processor, you might never see its full potential.

The Fusion Drive is a good compromise until such time that an all SSD iMac is more affordable.

 

[ioannis2005gr]

In my opinion, iMac 21.5'' with i7 3.1GHz, GT650M 512MB vRAM, 16GB RAM and 1TB Fusion Drive is a complete beast of power....iMac 27'' gives you a huge monitor but you should consider to buy 1GB 675MX vRAM instead of the poor 512MB 660M vRAM...simply, better graphics!

Keep in mind, many customers of the iMac 27'' LG panel have experienced several problems (see other related threads). Thus, don't forget to buy the Apple Care extended warranty.

 

[orangextc]

In my opinion, iMac 21.5'' with i7 3.1GHz, GT650M 512MB vRAM, 16GB RAM and 1TB Fusion Drive is a complete beast of power....iMac 27'' gives you a huge monitor but you should consider to buy 1GB 675MX vRAM instead of the poor 512MB 660M vRAM...simply, better graphics!

Keep in mind, many customers of the iMac 27'' LG panel have experienced several problems (see other related threads). Thus, don't forget to buy the Apple Care extended warranty.

How much would the 675 vs the 660 make a difference in terms of photo editing? I've been trying to decide between the two myself.

 

[ioannis2005gr]

How much would the 675 vs the 660 make a difference in terms of photo editing? I've been trying to decide between the two myself.

photo editing? nothing! video editing? it depends....generally, go with the bigger and better to have peace of mind!

 

[orangextc]

photo editing? nothing! video editing? it depends....generally, go with the bigger and better to have peace of mind!

That's good to know. I feel a little guilty splurging on an imac for my photography hobby. But I'm pretty much leaning towards getting the standard 27" config (refurbished) and booting from an external ssd.

 

[The Robot Cow]

To be honest a base 21.5" is pretty good. No need to worry about the minor difference with graphics cards and processors. I have a base model with fusion drive and i can play Portal 2 really smoothly

 

[malvicus]

I think you have some valid suggestions here. If you were going to go the 21.5 inch route, I'd consider future proofing it with 16 GB of RAM since you can't upgrade computer once you buy it unlike the 27" where you can upgrade RAM later if you need to.

 

[VideoBeagle]

I found this graphic

from this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/17107600/ VERY HELPFUL in deciding which features were worth the $$$ when I was shopping for my iMac a month or so ago.

 

[historyteacher]

I just bought the base 27'' a few weeks ago and I am super happy with it. Wonderful screen and fast especially coming form a 5 year old MacBook. I would have liked the fusion, but decided to get the new AirPort Extreme and an external hard drive instead. Sure, mine doesn't start in 13 seconds like the fusions, but I can deal. I agree with the above post about the user upgradeable ram on the 27" as being important. Can always go external ssd via thunderbolt later down the line too. Good luck with your decision!

 

[crzdcolombian]

my brother is a graphic designer for Fortune Magazine but has tons of clients he works for and uses the 27inch just added more ram. I think he did a little over kill but says the extra space on the screen is defiantly better.

That being said it depends on what you need it and how often you are using photoshop and CS6. I see a bunch of people asking about games but in all honstesty if that is what you want then buy

1300 for base iMac
300-500 for a decent 37-42 inch LED tv
200-400 for a PS3/Xbox 360/PS4

Macs aren't gaming computers

 

[blanka]

If you do photo and video editing, then get a Mini 2.3 or 2.6 quad with a screen suited for your tasks.
The iMac does not offer video/movie framerates, where a mini can handle that (24/25p support for example).
The quad 2.3 Mini is faster than ALL non BTO iMacs. It has the most computer power for the money, and with video encoding and heavy RAW files you want CPU power, not GPU power.
And open the Mini yourself, and slide in 16Gb RAM and a 256-512Gb OZC Vector or Samsung 840 pro in the second empty drive bay, you're still around 1000 bucks and it will be much faster than Fusion too.
Idea for a screen: The 500 bucks Dell U2713HM.
It does perfect out-of-the-box sRGB with matte panel, it has support for judder-free 24p/25p display, you get all the important ergonomic adjustments and a decent warranty. So better than the iMac screen for less.

 

[DavidG328]

VERY HELPFUL in deciding which features were worth the $$$ when I was shopping for my iMac a month or so ago.

You know, I was curious whether or not the Fusion drive made the biggest difference when I was playing around with iMacs at the Apple store. Seems like it's the upgrade to go for, right? I was looking at the base 27 inch, figuring the GPU was fine for what I'd need it for. I'll be buying a new gaming console this fall, so that's not super important...yet I want to play Rome II eventually. I was just looking at the next step up, 3.2 iMac and figuring with student discount, I could just get that and have the better GPU.

Might just roll with the base + Fusion now.