iMac Config Question

[Coop-48]

Good afternoon. I'm new to the "Mac World" and I wanted some feedback about my iMac purchase to-be.

I'm planning on getting an iMac next month. I plan on doing a lot of photo editing via photoshop and some iOs programming. The former is my main concern as it will require a lot of power/memory/space to run efficiently. I'm planning on picking up the high-end model w/ the following specs:

27-inch: 3.1GHz
3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 - (I'm going w/ the 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 upgrade)
2560 x 1440 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory - (I'm going w/ the 8GB RAM upgrade. I want 16 GB but I hear it's cheaper to upgrade the memory myself. I'll decide later if I need it.
1TB hard drive - (I have a 1TB External HD as well. I figure HD space won't be an issue)
AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 1GB

I really want the 1TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive but that $500+ price increase is killing me.

There's also a slim chance that I'll be doing some video and/or music editing later down the road, so I'm trying to take that into consideration as well.

Any thoughts/suggestions on the above configuration? Thanks.

 

[philipma1957]

Good afternoon. I'm new to the "Mac World" and I wanted some feedback about my iMac purchase to-be.

I'm planning on getting an iMac next month. I plan on doing a lot of photo editing via photoshop and some iOs programming. The former is my main concern as it will require a lot of power/memory/space to run efficiently. I'm planning on picking up the high-end model w/ the following specs:

27-inch: 3.1GHz
3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 - (I'm going w/ the 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 upgrade)
2560 x 1440 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory - (I'm going w/ the 8GB RAM upgrade. I want 16 GB but I hear it's cheaper to upgrade the memory myself. I'll decide later if I need it.
1TB hard drive - (I have a 1TB External HD as well. I figure HD space won't be an issue)
AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 1GB

I really want the 1TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive but that $500+ price increase is killing me.

There's also a slim chance that I'll be doing some video and/or music editing later down the road, so I'm trying to take that into consideration as well.

Any thoughts/suggestions on the above configuration? Thanks.

does this link lower the price for you.


http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC814LL/A

 

[Sandman1969]

That will work for what you need no problem. That is what we just bought. Well the i5 version.

I wouldn't buy ANY Apple memory upgrade. It simply isn't worth it.
The 8GB upgrade with Apple is $200.

You can get a 16GB (4 x 4GB) Upgrade at macsales.com for $98.

If you want, maybe it would help justify the SSD upgrade. But that is a tough bullet. And for what you are talking about doing what youu ahve listed should be able to be accomplished without a problem with that system.

The refurb link above is for the i5.

Here is the refurb i7.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD063LL/A

It sells quick. Wasn't there when we bought our 2 i5s. Which were the refurbished as well.

 

[the finster]

The Brass Ring took 11 round trips to Apple store

2 years ago I bought the 20" imac and coming from the PC world the mac changed my life, in a great way. Then the HD failed a month ago. The Apple stores that I took it to turned it into a lemon. When I got it back last there were greasy fingerprints on the monitor face, under the glass (as well as several other insane new problems). 11 trips to 2 different Apple stores. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT??? I was, emmm, "upset". I called Apple at 877-388-0879 and gave Charles the info to look up my history. He was reading then would say "wow", as the last month unfolded to him. Again and again he would say "wow". I guess I raised my voice because he said that he believed me and was on my side AND this is what he was going to do... to replace it with the new 21", thunderbolt, ram upgrade for free. I honestly did get screwed at the Canoga Park, CA. store and the Thousand Oaks, CA store but I would regret for the rest of my life if I didn't ask him if I could make some upgrades (I wanted the Mac Pro but it doesn't have Thunderbolt). He said that upgrades were no problem.
I ASK YOU... What would you order if you were in my shoes? I'd really like to know!!! I film 60fps in high def. So far I'm going with the 27", 8 gigs of ram and a 1TB HD. I'm a new videographer and I don't fully understand the difference between i5 Quad Core or should I upgrade to the i7 Quad Core?????? I also need a new exterior Thunderbolt storage device. 4TB is over $1,000.00 OUCH!

Should I Upgrade to i7? And I NEED ADVICE for an inexpensive Thunderbolt external storage device.

Thanks!

 

[jertronic]

A simple suggestion would be to get the largest HDD that you can afford. I wish that I had ordered an iMac with a larger HDD as mine is at 70% capacity. Unlike my girlfriend, who won't put any of her media data on her computer, I like to have it all at my finger tips. Thunder Bolt externals should help once they become available.

You will be psyched with your iMac

 

[robgendreau]

Should I Upgrade to i7? And I NEED ADVICE for an inexpensive Thunderbolt external storage device.

Thanks!

"inexpensive Thunderbolt"? That's pretty funny.

I'd take a look at what hardware best runs the software you're using; I7s do seem to give FCP a bump that might be significant for you, especially with the need to convert the video you're using.

And I gotta wonder, given your prior experience, if it's good idea to go with a machine that has a drive you can't replace…..