Going to pull the trigger on new iMac

[appstate]

I'm self employed, but it's time to get a new iMac... the 2011 27" 3.4Ghz is not performing well since the Maverick update

That, and since I gotta pay taxes on revenue, why not spend instead on equipment????

So I'm debating on a few things...

• 3.4 i5 or 3.6 i7

• 1TB Fusion vs 256 SSD

• 1TB Fusion vs 256 SSD

• Upgrade to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5

I'm a web developer who uses Adobe Creative Suite (mainly Photoshop and Dreamweaver, InDesign, and some AI) and also will have lots of programs running at the same time.

I'll upgrade to max RAM and plan to use my old 2011 iMac as a 2nd display (or sell it on Gazzell and buy a Dell 27")


I'm trying to keep the total cost at 3k or below.

Which of my options are the best bang for my buck?

 

[Paskell]

I'm self employed, but it's time to get a new iMac... the 2011 27" 3.4Ghz is not performing well since the Maverick update

That, and since I gotta pay taxes on revenue, why not spend instead on equipment????

So I'm debating on a few things...

• 3.4 i5 or 3.6 i7

• 1TB Fusion vs 256 SSD

• 1TB Fusion vs 256 SSD

• Upgrade to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5

I'm a web developer who uses Adobe Creative Suite (mainly Photoshop and Dreamweaver, InDesign, and some AI) and also will have lots of programs


running at the same time.

I'll upgrade to max RAM and plan to use my old 2011 iMac as a 2nd display (or sell it on Gazzell and buy a Dell 27")


I'm trying to keep the total cost at 3k or below.


Which of my options are the best bang for my buck?

Sell your old iMac privately not via gazelle there a rip off..

max cpu and gpu to future proof and get ssd if not enough space can always use an external as well.. i find if you as hesitant on buying one upgrade do it anyways cause you'll probably regret not getting it down the road.

Just my view

 

[appstate]

Sell your old iMac privately not via gazelle there a rip off..

max cpu and gpu to future proof and get ssd if not enough space can always use an external as well.. i find if you as hesitant on buying one upgrade do it anyways cause you'll probably regret not getting it down the road.

Just my view

Thanks Paskell,

Do you recommend selling on ebay or craigslist? I'm VERY hesitant about craigslist... I've sold some furniture recently on CL and 95% of the replies were scammers and bots.

If I can get $900 for my 2011 iMac on gazelle vs $1100 on ebay, I'm going w/ gazelle. $200 isn't worth the headache.

 

[almgreen]

I love my 27inch iMac used to have MacPro 3.6 tower

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9b013wk2nr8ovgd/Screen%20Shot%202013-11-04%20at%208.03.40%20PM.png

 

[mmomega]

You're never going to future proof any computer which is why we always buy new ones, some within 2-3 years, so the irony in that term.

Personally if it is for business use only, then you buy thinking about your business, I won't buy more than is needed or what will not actually help, if I'm not going to use 1TB of internal space then I won't buy it, especially if I already have external storage.

I'd get the 256SSD instead of Fusion but I rely more on externals than internal space.
I would personally sell the older iMac on Craigslist or eBay rather than Gazelle, I've ALWAYS made more money using those two than an online "here's what I'll give you site" because they are going to turn around and resale it for more, which means tells you it is worth more.

Since you will be performing graphic heavy programs then upgrading the CPU and GPU makes sense.

 

[bimmerboii]

I just received my late 2013 imac 27".

I went for 3tb fusion hard drive and the gtx780m.

The ram is unchanged at 8gb and I will upgrade this myself to 16gb as its a lot cheaper.

One thing bothering me is I did not upgrade the cpu to an i7. I hope I will not regret this decision.

 

[Confusius]

I just received my late 2013 imac 27".

I went for 3tb fusion hard drive and the gtx780m.

The ram is unchanged at 8gb and I will upgrade this myself to 16gb as its a lot cheaper.

One thing bothering me is I did not upgrade the cpu to an i7. I hope I will not regret this decision.

I'm going to order one with the exact same specs in a couple of weeks. Afaik, the i7 really only makes a difference when you use pro video editing apps. In the past iMacs, i5s held their own against i7s in gaming also because they didn't get so hot.

 

[push/pull]

... the 2011 27" 3.4Ghz is not performing well since the Maverick update

That's too bad. I have had great luck with it. So far a MP 2008 and white MB 2009 have had performance increase unlike lion and Mountain Lion. I always do a fresh install. Maybe that would help?

Also. I would keep your 2011 as an external monitor/server. It can run while the screen is being used by your new iMac. To access it with out reaching behind the iMac and unplugging thunderbolt (Im lazy) just use screen sharing.

You also may be able to use that thunderbolt connection to access the internal storage on the 2011 iMac!! Not sure about that.

Since you run graphic intensive programs go for the top of your price range. Always go for the best system you can. The difference between the base line and the top could add a year or more to usability. You save in the long run.

 

[aznboi91]

I just received my late 2013 imac 27".

I went for 3tb fusion hard drive and the gtx780m.

The ram is unchanged at 8gb and I will upgrade this myself to 16gb as its a lot cheaper.

One thing bothering me is I did not upgrade the cpu to an i7. I hope I will not regret this decision.

Are you serious? Why no hyper threading?

----------

I'm going to order one with the exact same specs in a couple of weeks. Afaik, the i7 really only makes a difference when you use pro video editing apps. In the past iMacs, i5s held their own against i7s in gaming also because they didn't get so hot.

Not true, if you run automated tasks when developing. Like rabbitMQ or celery tasks... it eats up enough that you'll question why you're system isn't responding as it should...

----------

You're never going to future proof any computer which is why we always buy new ones, some within 2-3 years, so the irony in that term.

Personally if it is for business use only, then you buy thinking about your business, I won't buy more than is needed or what will not actually help, if I'm not going to use 1TB of internal space then I won't buy it, especially if I already have external storage.

I'd get the 256SSD instead of Fusion but I rely more on externals than internal space.
I would personally sell the older iMac on Craigslist or eBay rather than Gazelle, I've ALWAYS made more money using those two than an online "here's what I'll give you site" because they are going to turn around and resale it for more, which means tells you it is worth more.

Since you will be performing graphic heavy programs then upgrading the CPU and GPU makes sense.

Fusion is already SSD spead dude.... Once files are loaded... it really doesn't matter if you're on SSD or HDD ... CPU and RAM is what matters because thats when you're really processing..

 

[MacOG728893]

I just placed an order for a new 27 iMac today!

- i7 3.5GHz
- 512GB SSD
- GTX 680m
- 8GB RAM (upgrade myself to 32GB)

I was sitting there contemplating what I should do and it went like this.

CPU: I do lots of video editing and have longed for the power of an i7 with my current i5 iMac. This can't be upgraded and needed to be chosen before the purchase.

Storage: I've had so many failed hard disks, no moving parts was necessary this time around. I then had to decide between the 256 and 512 options. After contemplating I knew the 512 was absolutely necessary for my needs, especially splitting that with a Windows partition with lots of games.

GPU: This was a no brainer. Better performance for the latest titles at the native resolution. This can't be upgraded and needed to be chosen before the purchase as well.

RAM: This was a no brainer. Cheaper after market and can be upgraded easily by the user.

Obviously this will range from person to person, but this is how I came to my decision.

 

[B.A.T]

OP: I would seriously look into why the 2011 isn't working quite right before I bought a new machine. I have a maxed out 2010 with Mavericks installed, use Lightroom everyday and edit video with Final Cut. Seems like your machine should still perform.

 

[andy9l]

OP: I would seriously look into why the 2011 isn't working quite right before I bought a new machine. I have a maxed out 2010 with Mavericks installed, use Lightroom everyday and edit video with Final Cut. Seems like your machine should still perform.

I'd second this.

My 2010 iMac – admittedly with an SSD shoved inside it – is performing perfectly well under Mavericks. I've noticed no difference in performance from Mountain Lion. Still boots in ~12 sec, and runs my apps instantly.

I too was a freelance web developer until recently. Besides Dreamweaver (ditched that years ago), I'd imagine you're doing very similar tasks to me.

If you just want a new machine, though, go for it!

 

[appstate]

Thanks for everyone's input!

I was planning on getting a new iMac in the first of 2014, but decided to go ahead since this Maverick update really screwed up my 2011 iMac.

I've searched online to fix the problem, but I just don't have the time to mess w/ it.

We're also moving this week and my home office will be smaller, so I'm going to downsize from 3 displays to 2. Instead of having a 27" w/ 2 24" displays, I'm going to have 2 27" displays.

I ended up ordering this setup:

• 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
• 1TB Fusion Drive
• NVIDIAGeForceGTX780M 4GB GDDR5
• 32GB RAM (from Amazon)
  Crucial CT2C8G3S160BM, 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
• WD Ultra 1TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E83X9P8/)

I plan to sell my Mid 2011 27" 3.4 GHz i7 iMac on gazelle or may try the ebay route since Paskell is guilting me.

 

[wickerman1893]

Thanks Paskell,

Do you recommend selling on ebay or craigslist? I'm VERY hesitant about craigslist... I've sold some furniture recently on CL and 95% of the replies were scammers and bots.

If I can get $900 for my 2011 iMac on gazelle vs $1100 on ebay, I'm going w/ gazelle. $200 isn't worth the headache.

You would have about $110 of fees on eBay anyways. And that is JUST eBay fees. There are then Paypal and sometimes Shipping fees. Sell it through Gazelle or a local friend/family member.

 

[appstate]

Great point wickerman.