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Hello, just my first thread here - Buying a new iMac!?

O

Orme

macrumors member
Original poster
May 1, 2011
82
0
UK
Hello!

I have recently been looking to buy my first Mac, an iMac.
I was supposed to purchase one a year ago but was put off due to the disappointing GPU. Though recently I've decided that I want to work on a Mac and despite the GPU I will purchase one.. I have to be a little more serious career wise and not focus on whether the iMac's graphics will perform well on a game I play..

I did some research a few days ago before deciding to spend over £2000 on an iMac that does not have specs I'm fully satisfied with.. (GPU - but as you know I have decided to compromise on that), just to check there were no possibilities of a new release coming out and thankfully came across articles talking about a refresh happening in a few days, which stopped my purchase.

I have a few questions -

When on the :apple: site I see an option of an SSD - What are Solid State Drives good for? Why should I spend an extra £400 on this option? Shall I just stick with the normal option? What is better, or should I say what is best for what!?

I saw people predicting that the new iMac standard may come with an SSD, anyway?

(I know nothing about SSD and HDD and all this stuff btw, I have been researching though :()

Hmm, I could go on and ask quite a lot of questions but I have researched and found out most of the answers myself.. I'm just another new potential Mac user trying to keep up to date on this refresh rumor. :)

Thanks
 
Perfect, thanks Miles.


I did already come across the conclusion that an SSD is faster in performance but I don't quite understand half of the information given these days..
Too many technical words and so on..

I am just a 21 year old girl that would like to know what exactly it's good for in the terms of ..

"SSD will make your computer perform tasks faster such as opening a web browser or applications like photoshop, HDD is noticeably slower"

"SSD makes stuff look prettier"

"SSD will walk your dog and feed it, HDD will only walk it"

Simple stuff please, anyone? Like you're trying to sell it to a 4 year old? :p
etc!? :confused:

Thanks ♥
 
In a nutshell, SSD's are an order of magnitude faster than conventional hard drives. This manifests itself as faster boot times, quicker application loading, and all around system responsiveness.

If you're a high-end user who has a lot of applications running, and spends a bit of times opening/closing applications non-stop, basically anything that accesses the hard drive a lot, then you'll definitely benefit from an SSD.

You'll hear how people upgraded their existing PC with an SSD, and how it felt like they'd bought a new computer.

Tell us what you'll use your iMac for, perhaps we could recommend whether or not to go for one.
 
Sunday Ironfoot said:
In a nutshell, SSD's are an order of magnitude faster than conventional hard drives. This manifests itself as faster boot times, quicker application loading, and all around system responsiveness.

If you're a high-end user who has a lot of applications running, and spends a bit of times opening/closing applications non-stop, basically anything that accesses the hard drive a lot, then you'll definitely benefit from an SSD.

You'll hear how people upgraded their existing PC with an SSD, and how it felt like they'd bought a new computer.

Tell us what you'll use your iMac for, perhaps we could recommend whether or not to go for one.
Click to expand...

Thank you!

What I will use my iMac for:

+ Photoshop CS5 Extended - Would soon like to get more into 3D
+ Illustrator
+ I mess about with HTML and CSS from time to time but I am pretty much a trial and error noob and would like to go to college to become more advanced in this so I can do web aswell as graphics.
+ I love MMORPGs, although the only online game I have recently been playing and playing since 2006 is www.secondlife.com, pretty much a staple in my life so my new iMac MUST work well with it - This is the only 3D game I will be playing on it
+ I want to get into 3D Modeling with 3D Max Studio and Maya in the future
+ I would like to be able to create in flash and flash sites

.. hmm well what else?

+ Web Browsing, Music.. the basic stuff

Not much else really :p
 
Photoshop CS5 Extended - Would soon like to get more into 3D
-> Will benefit from SSD, but extra RAM is more important

Illustrator
-> Will benefit from SSD, but extra RAM is more important

I mess about with HTML and CSS from time to time but I am pretty much a trial and error noob and would like to go to college to become more advanced in this so I can do web aswell as graphics.
-> Doesn't benefit from SSD

I love MMORPGs, although the only online game I have recently been playing and playing since 2006 is www.secondlife.com, pretty much a staple in my life so my new iMac MUST work well with it - This is the only 3D game I will be playing on it
-> Doesn't benefit from SSD, and don't worry about the graphics the iMac can handle these games perfectly.

I want to get into 3D Modeling with 3D Max Studio and Maya in the future
-> Will benefit from SSD, especially with bigger projects or large textures, but extra RAM is more important

I would like to be able to create in flash and flash sites
-> Doesn't benefit from SSD

Web Browsing, Music.. the basic stuff
-> Will benefit from SSD


So You don't really need an SSD for these tasks, but think of the whole picture: Computer will start in seconds (if you want to install Windows the SSD will even make a bigger difference), starting programs (like your Adobe programs) almost instantly,...
 
Chris5488 said:
Photoshop CS5 Extended - Would soon like to get more into 3D
-> Will benefit from SSD, but extra RAM is more important

Illustrator
-> Will benefit from SSD, but extra RAM is more important

I mess about with HTML and CSS from time to time but I am pretty much a trial and error noob and would like to go to college to become more advanced in this so I can do web aswell as graphics.
-> Doesn't benefit from SSD

I love MMORPGs, although the only online game I have recently been playing and playing since 2006 is www.secondlife.com, pretty much a staple in my life so my new iMac MUST work well with it - This is the only 3D game I will be playing on it
-> Doesn't benefit from SSD, and don't worry about the graphics the iMac can handle these games perfectly.

I want to get into 3D Modeling with 3D Max Studio and Maya in the future
-> Will benefit from SSD, especially with bigger projects or large textures, but extra RAM is more important

I would like to be able to create in flash and flash sites
-> Doesn't benefit from SSD

Web Browsing, Music.. the basic stuff
-> Will benefit from SSD


So You don't really need an SSD for these tasks, but think of the whole picture: Computer will start in seconds (if you want to install Windows the SSD will even make a bigger difference), starting programs (like your Adobe programs) almost instantly,...
Click to expand...

Thank you Chris!! Beaming at your helpful response :D:D

Well maybe I will consider an SSD then, just waiting on the refresh so I can see what specs it will have.

p.s. Chris, I was going for the 8GB RAM option, is this good or do I need more?
 
I put an ssd in my work laptop (win xp pro) after searching my outlook email archives for some old documents one night - takes forever when your archive is like 10 gig.

I did a test before and after, my search with the hdd took just under 10 minutes.

With the ssd it took 16 seconds.

I've since replaced the boot drive with an ssd on my wife's laptop, my MacBook pro, and my PC desktop...





Sent from my iPad 2 using Tapatalk
 
shady28 said:
I put an ssd in my work laptop (win xp pro) after searching my outlook email archives for some old documents one night - takes forever when your archive is like 10 gig.

I did a test before and after, my search with the hdd took just under 10 minutes.

With the ssd it took 16 seconds.

I've since replaced the boot drive with an ssd on my wife's laptop, my MacBook pro, and my PC desktop...

Sent from my iPad 2 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Sounds awesome..

How much does it cost to do it yourself?
I wish SSD wasn't so pricey :(
 
For your needs get:

1. SSD - makes the whole system faster and smoother - trust me on this even though SSD's are very expensive, they are also the best upgrade to any computer that you can do to make it feel snappy and fast from loading the OS to loading the programs and editing photos.

Use the SSD for OSx and all your programs for faster loading times.
Use the 2 TB normal HDD for all your music, movies and regular data.

2. Get at least 8 GB ram - just get it :)
4 GB Ram is OK for photoshop, but it really does need 8 Gb for serious work, 16 Gb ram even better ;)

3. Get the 27" for your needs. Also just nicer for Photoshop :)
 
Orme said:
Sounds awesome..

How much does it cost to do it yourself?
I wish SSD wasn't so pricey :(
Click to expand...

To replace SSD and HDD in an iMac you unfortunately have to remove the glass front and then the LED panel inside. A pretty advanced operation for a 21 year old girl (no offense) - but not impossible to do.

Better if you have a friend who's into computers - but probably the most sound solution is to get the BTO SSD option, even though it's pricey :apple:
 
CHSeifert said:
A pretty advanced operation for a 21 year old girl (no offense) - but not impossible to do.
Click to expand...
It's a pretty advanced operation for someone who hasn't built/upgraded computers a lot. Being 21 years old and a girl has nothing to do with it.

I have an iMac with a standard HDD. Then I got an MB Air with the blade SSD and now the iMac feels painfully slow. I'm waiting for the refresh too and really hoping for an affordable SSD option.
 
Ilari said:
It's a pretty advanced operation for someone who hasn't built/upgraded computers a lot. Being 21 years old and a girl has nothing to do with it.

I have an iMac with a standard HDD. Then I got an MB Air with the blade SSD and now the iMac feels painfully slow. I'm waiting for the refresh too and really hoping for an affordable SSD option.
Click to expand...

NO pun intended ;)
Girls/women are normally NOT so much into computer building and fiddling with the inside of a computer - just sayin' :)

----
Vh/Regards
Claus - TapaTalk on my Ip4
 
I'm sure there are many members on this site in the UK who would gladly install an SSD for a 21 year-old girl. It might cost her a dinner date or drinks at the pub, though. :)
 
Thanks for the replies @CHSeifert

You are right, I wouldn't know where to start on one of those things. The only thing I have ever been able to fiddle with are towers and only as far as upgrading RAM..

@ Ilary .. Yes, I hope there will be a cheaper SSD option!

Haha @ OptyCT .. that sounds scary :p
 
You should install your own ram. My 7 year old daughter could do it.

Just get it with the stock 4 gigs, then spend 100 pounds on an additional 8 gigs to bring you to 12.

Based on your usage, I would skip the SSD premium.
 
Badger^2 said:
You should install your own ram. My 7 year old daughter could do it.

Just get it with the stock 4 gigs, then spend 100 pounds on an additional 8 gigs to bring you to 12.

Based on your usage, I would skip the SSD premium.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the suggestion, how do you install RAM into an iMac?
 
Orme said:
Thanks for the suggestion, how do you install RAM into an iMac?
Click to expand...

It's very easy.
I would get the iMac with 4 gb ram and then buy 8 or 16 gb ram in a computer store and install them myself. The money you save on that I would spend on getting the BTO SSD+HDD option for your iMac !!

Watch the instruction videos on YouTube on how to change ram.
Takes 5 minutes to watch and 5 minutes to change the ram :)
 
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CHSeifert said:
It's very easy.
I would get the iMac with 4 gb ram and then buy 8 or 16 gb ram in a computer store and install them myself. The money you save on that I would spend on getting the BTO SSD+HDD option for your iMac !!

Watch the instruction videos on YouTube on how to change ram.
Takes 5 minutes to watch and 5 minutes to change the ram :)
Click to expand...

Ok cool, and you are totally confident that I won't stuff it up whilst doing this? lol

Btw, where would I buy the RAM from and are there certain brands and stuff? I saw some pictures and that iMac RAM looks wider than the RAM I have seen before, like it's two sticks stuck together kinda size :confused:
 
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Orme said:
Thanks, that looks sorta easy.. will installing more RAM interrupt with warranty and apple care stuff?
Click to expand...

Installing RAM will not have any effect on your warranty or Apple Care.

Also what is the exact name of the RAM I should be using or is there all different kinds? I wouldn't know where to go to buy RAM.. (UK) is that stuff at PC world? lol
Click to expand...

The memory for this is: 1333MHz DDR3 SO-DIMM PC10600 204 Pin and these are available in 2GB all the way up to 8GB sizes.

I know it's not in the UK, but check out OWC for memory needs.
 
Orme said:
Thanks, that looks sorta easy.. will installing more RAM interrupt with warranty and apple care stuff?

Also what is the exact name of the RAM I should be using or is there all different kinds? I wouldn't know where to go to buy RAM.. (UK) is that stuff at PC world? lol
Click to expand...

No it won't effect your warranty - it's perfectly legal to change ram in your iMac.
The ram you need is DDR3 204 DIMM ram. (mind you it's NOT 240 DIMM ram)

Get the 1333 MHz edition - but 1600 MHz and 1066 MHz will work as well. But might as well get the 1333 MHz.

Get 2 blocks of 4 gb if you want a total of 8 and get 4 blocks of 4 gb if you want 16 gb ram.

In fact I think you could let the 4 gb ram your iMac comes with stay and then install the other 2 blocks and get a total of 12 gb ram.

You're welcome :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
CHSeifert said:
No it won't effect your warranty - it's perfectly legal to change ram in your iMac.
The ram you need is DDR3 204 DIMM ram. (mind you it's NOT 240 DIMM ram)

Get the 1333 MHz edition - but 1600 MHz and 1066 MHz will work as well. But might as well get the 1333 MHz.

Get 2 blocks of 4 gb if you want a total of 8 and get 4 blocks of 4 gb if you want 16 gb ram.

In fact I think you could let the 4 gb ram your iMac comes with stay and then install the other 2 blocks and get a total of 12 gb ram.

You're welcome :)
Click to expand...

This?? Perfect to buy or not?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/corsa...emory-module-kit-8gb-2x-4gb-07843251-pdt.html
 
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