iMac 21.5" Base i5+SSD OR 21.5" BTO i7?

[rupnok]

I am a hobbyist/amateur photographer, and am mainly interested in Aperture 3 for RAW photo file management and post-processing. I will likely also be doing some DVD ripping & Handbrake encoding, as well as H.264 video editing (footage from a Canon T2i), however mainly the iMac will be used for Aperture 3.

I am torn between:

(1) Buy a base 21.5 iMac 2.5GHz i5 and up it to 2TB WD Black Caviar HD and add a 120GB Intel 510 SSD (a local Bay Area AASP quoted $70 for labor); add 8GB RAM aftermarket for 12GB

(2) Buy a BTO 21.5 iMac 2.8Ghz i7 with 2TB HDD; add 8GB RAM aftermarket for 12GB

What will serve my needs better - the fast SSD as main drive on the slower i5 for Aperture, or the i7 for occasional DVD ripping/Handbrake/H.264?

 

[SPBMacintosh]

I am a hobbyist/amateur photographer, and am mainly interested in Aperture 3 for RAW photo file management and post-processing. I will likely also be doing some DVD ripping & Handbrake encoding, as well as H.264 video editing (footage from a Canon T2i), however mainly the iMac will be used for Aperture 3.

I am torn between:

(1) Buy a base 21.5 iMac 2.5GHz i5 and up it to 2TB WD Black Caviar HD and add a 120GB Intel 510 SSD (a local Bay Area AASP quoted $70 for labor); add 8GB RAM aftermarket for 12GB

(2) Buy a BTO 21.5 iMac 2.8Ghz i7 with 2TB HDD; add 8GB RAM aftermarket for 12GB

What will serve my needs better - the fast SSD as main drive on the slower i5 for Aperture, or the i7 for occasional DVD ripping/Handbrake/H.264?

The only thing the i7 will boost is dvd ripping times and the exporting of your videos. The ssd would make the system act amazingly, which i why i say get the base model + SSD + external HDD for your media. Seeing as you'll be putting 12gb of ram in, video editing speeds won't be much different on either of them

 

[iSayuSay]

Wow .. $70 for SSD installation labor is quite good. I'd say go with SSD. You'd amazed how SSD increase computer performance. Look at MBA. Even Core 2 duo can do that. Imagine what SSD would do in intel i5

 

[Orlandoech]

i5+SSD for sure! Makes for processing big RAWS and opening Photoshop a breeze!

 

[rupnok]

So what I hear people are saying is that the SSD will provide more "responsiveness" to me than merely having the i7?

My question is then - how do I get the most of out the SSD - do I set upload all my RAW images, process them, and then keep the reference library on the SSD and the originals on the HDD?