Or maybe invest in a NAS or other external expandable storage solution instead of spending more on a hard drive. PS, the hard drive in the 27 iMac appears to be very easy to replace if someone chooses to do so.
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Help me pick my next Mac
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Or maybe invest in a NAS or other external expandable storage solution instead of spending more on a hard drive. PS, the hard drive in the 27 iMac appears to be very easy to replace if someone chooses to do so.
Anyways, I noticed that the imac already comes with 8GB, so no need to max memory now. 8GB is enough. I would not go over the trouble of upgrading for simply adding 16GB, If I were to upgrade the imac memory, I would go directly to 32GB. HAving said that, you don need to do that today, as 8gb is great amount already. You can wait till end of the year when price for 32Gb will have droped significantly.
BTW, you have to research to see if the imac 27 does have a replaceble drive. If so, have fun...
http://www.macworld.com/article/1159956/imacharddriveupgrade.html
Ermm..
The iMac case opens somewhat easily. You just need to know how to do it. I think even iFixit would up their repairability score once they've done it a few times and gotten the hang of it.
The first thing you see when you pull the glass off is the HDD. It's the second-easiest thing to upgrade, after the RAM.
The weird chip/fan sensor thing that they used to do on the iMacs isn't there on the 2012s. You can put it whatever you want. Someone else in here replaced it with a standard SSD.
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That's the 2011. It can be defeated. The 2012 doesn't have that problem.'
I've seen the iFixit teardown. It requires irreversible damage to the glue holding the screen. You have to use a heat gun to soften the glue then guitar picks to pry it open and eventually pull it off. Once off, yes everything is visible but now you have to painstakingly remove all the glue and find your own solution to hold the display in place (new glue?).
There are threads here of actual Apple repair techs breaking the glass while attempting to repair an iMac. This isn't something I'd want to have to do with my $3,000 computer. I'm getting the HDD I think I'll need for the next 4 or 5 years and hopefully it lasts me that long. If it doesn't, I'd rather pay the Apple store to do it for me when the time comes. I'm getting Apple Care for 3 years and will go the other 2 on my own.
There are threads here of actual Apple repair techs breaking the glass while attempting to repair an iMac. This isn't something I'd want to have to do with my $3,000 computer. I'm getting the HDD I think I'll need for the next 4 or 5 years and hopefully it lasts me that long. If it doesn't, I'd rather pay the Apple store to do it for me when the time comes. I'm getting Apple Care for 3 years and will go the other 2 on my own.
Read this thread from the beginning:https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1507713/
It's not glue (like the rMBP). It's double-sided tape. The thread tells you where to buy more.
Great thread! Thanks for that. After seeing the OWC kit for the 21" iMac, I'm confident that I'll be able to upgrade the iMac in 3 years when AppleCare runs out. For now, I'll BTO my iMac with all the features I need to work on it immediately and satisfy my needs knowing that I'll have at least one upgrade path with a new SSD and surprisingly an unused Blade SSD slot.
Question about that btw: is the Fusion drive's SSD attached to the HDD or does Apple use that Blade SSD slot in combination with a standard HDD?
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I've made up my mind. Thanks for the help guys.
The Apple store has a 3.4Ghz + 8GB + 2GB Graphics + 1TB Fusion drive configuration. I'm picking that one up in an hour. I would have considered upping the Fusion drive to 3TB but like the RAM, it's a ripoff.
My rationing goes that if I include my entire Aperture and video library, 1TB is not enough. But neither is 3TB. If I exclude my Aperture archives and video files, 1TB is way more than enough. So either with the 1TB or 3TB, I'm still going to have to get external storage.
One day when I gather up the courage and when you can get a 10TB 2.5" drive, I might put it in the iMac. For now, I think I'm going to be looking at a Drobo or a Thunderbolt RAID drive.
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Thank you. I thought so. So I'll have 128GB on the motherboard and an expendable* 1TB HDD.
*I say expendable because it's not some magical special Apple HDD that has built in SSD. If I replace the 1TB drive, I can put in a standard HDD. I feel better for not getting the 3TB which was a serious ripoff in this case.
The Apple store has a 3.4Ghz + 8GB + 2GB Graphics + 1TB Fusion drive configuration. I'm picking that one up in an hour. I would have considered upping the Fusion drive to 3TB but like the RAM, it's a ripoff.
My rationing goes that if I include my entire Aperture and video library, 1TB is not enough. But neither is 3TB. If I exclude my Aperture archives and video files, 1TB is way more than enough. So either with the 1TB or 3TB, I'm still going to have to get external storage.
One day when I gather up the courage and when you can get a 10TB 2.5" drive, I might put it in the iMac. For now, I think I'm going to be looking at a Drobo or a Thunderbolt RAID drive.
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Thank you. I thought so. So I'll have 128GB on the motherboard and an expendable* 1TB HDD.
*I say expendable because it's not some magical special Apple HDD that has built in SSD. If I replace the 1TB drive, I can put in a standard HDD. I feel better for not getting the 3TB which was a serious ripoff in this case.
I'm sure you'll be very happy with the solution you are proposing. A Drobo or similar enclosure would be a great option. Another good option is to put a NAS on gigabit ethernet because then it serves files not only to your Mac but also to every other networked device in your home.
Yes, if you opted to replace the hard drive (and I imagine OWC will soon have a kit that includes the adhesive strips you need to re-glue the screen) then the 128GB SSD on the logic board would get melded with the new 2.5" hard drive during OS reinstallation as a Fusion drive. OS X does this automatically now if both the SSD and hard disk are present.
Yes, if you opted to replace the hard drive (and I imagine OWC will soon have a kit that includes the adhesive strips you need to re-glue the screen) then the 128GB SSD on the logic board would get melded with the new 2.5" hard drive during OS reinstallation as a Fusion drive. OS X does this automatically now if both the SSD and hard disk are present.
I bought the iMac. Really happy with the purchase. The guy at the Apple store (real Apple head, had the Apple logo tattooed on his wrist) couldn't believe how fast the purchase was. I walked in, told him what Mac I wanted, handed him the cash and my email and out I went. 
I'm going to use my MacBookPro in tandem with the new iMac as I move stuff over since I'm sure there are a ton of files just collecting dust. So I'm starting fresh.
I have a lot of huge files for which I was about to pick up a Thunderbolt cable, then remembered that my 2009 MBP doesn't have Thunderbolt but a DisplayPort instead. What's the fastest way to move files? FireWire800 to ThunderBolt or just an Ethernet cable direct between the two?
Also, for you iMac owners... wow, I didn't even get a chance to turn the thing on and it was already full of finger prints despite my careful handling. What's the best way to keep it clean? My sun glasses cleaner didn't do a really good job.
I'm going to use my MacBookPro in tandem with the new iMac as I move stuff over since I'm sure there are a ton of files just collecting dust. So I'm starting fresh.
I have a lot of huge files for which I was about to pick up a Thunderbolt cable, then remembered that my 2009 MBP doesn't have Thunderbolt but a DisplayPort instead. What's the fastest way to move files? FireWire800 to ThunderBolt or just an Ethernet cable direct between the two?
Also, for you iMac owners... wow, I didn't even get a chance to turn the thing on and it was already full of finger prints despite my careful handling. What's the best way to keep it clean? My sun glasses cleaner didn't do a really good job.
Congrats on the new baby
Considering that realistically you're only moving the files once, the question should not be what's faster but what's fast enough that you already own. I would do the transfer over Wireless-N speed if I ran out of other options, unless you need the Tbolt cable & adapter anyway. (Ethernet is probably faster, particularly if the 2009 MBP has 1000BaseT (not sure) ).
Considering that realistically you're only moving the files once, the question should not be what's faster but what's fast enough that you already own. I would do the transfer over Wireless-N speed if I ran out of other options, unless you need the Tbolt cable & adapter anyway. (Ethernet is probably faster, particularly if the 2009 MBP has 1000BaseT (not sure) ).
maxed out iMac 27" should keep you going for the next 3/4 years
Lol I knew I would see this sort of comment here. I know when the retina iMac comes out Its going to be hard to turn down.
I'm a bit late to the party here but the pedant within me feels that I must point out that Haswell is a new processor architecture design. Just like Sandy Bridge was before. They're part of the Core generation of chips, yes, but every couple of years Intel brings out a new architecture design.
Also, this last point. Good luck with pulling off the screen to replace the hard drive and then glueing it all back together again. That will be a huge PITA.
1. The screen is double sided foam tape.... and the adhesive is designed to be removed (without even using heat).
2. "gluing it all back together" consists, mainly, of having the proper adhesive strips, lining them up and putting the screen back.
It does not look hard at all. OWC has a video in which a technician takes the screen off of a 21.5" with a guitar pick in about 30 seconds. If it was "hard" then they wouldn't be selling memory upgrade kits for the 21.5" which include new screen adhesive.
If you had the skills to take the screen off of the previous generation mac this one should not be any harder, it's probably easier.
It does look easier than the previous iMac since most of the components are in one layer, not the complex jigsaw that were the iMac's internals before. Also, from what I can tell, there aren't any wires snaking around that one might accidentally clip off (i.e. FaceTime camera).
The 1TB Fusion Drive should serve me well for quite some time though. I'd need to install a 10TB HDD in there to make it worth opening because that's how much storage I need. If I'm still going to need an external drive, there's no point to opening the iMac. Maybe in 3 years when the AppleCare is done and much larger drives are available.