Hi folks, hoping you can help this bargain hunter out with purchasing an iMac. Currently leaning toward buying a 2015 refurb from Apple.
I'll be using it with a Universal Audio Apollo 8 Thunderbolt II interface which records up to eight analog tracks at a time.
For music production the use of plugins often dictates what kind of horsepower & RAM the computer will need to have. But I'll be using the UA plugins which run off the Apollo's internal UAD2 processor.
I don't have a handle on what kind of performance difference there might be recording audio between the 2.7, 2.9 and 3.1 processors.
Will an i5 handle live 8-track recording? Or is an i7 really necessary?
Semi-portable would be nice. I may very occasionally take it outside my place to record in bigger rooms, etc. A big screen is nice, but I'd rather haul around a 21.5" than a 27". And when I want more screen space, I was thinking a 21.5" iMac along with an external monitor might be preferable to a 27" iMac.
It looks as though the 21.5" iMacs have a maximum of 8 gig RAM. Is this a deal-breaker (compared to being able to have 16 gig of RAM) in a 27" iMac?
External SSD drives seem like the preferred way to go, though they're relatively expensive. Any love for the Fusion or other types of external hard drives?
I'd like to get something soon but it wouldn't kill me to wait a few months if major performance upgrades are around the corner.
I'll be using it with a Universal Audio Apollo 8 Thunderbolt II interface which records up to eight analog tracks at a time.
For music production the use of plugins often dictates what kind of horsepower & RAM the computer will need to have. But I'll be using the UA plugins which run off the Apollo's internal UAD2 processor.
I don't have a handle on what kind of performance difference there might be recording audio between the 2.7, 2.9 and 3.1 processors.
Will an i5 handle live 8-track recording? Or is an i7 really necessary?
Semi-portable would be nice. I may very occasionally take it outside my place to record in bigger rooms, etc. A big screen is nice, but I'd rather haul around a 21.5" than a 27". And when I want more screen space, I was thinking a 21.5" iMac along with an external monitor might be preferable to a 27" iMac.
It looks as though the 21.5" iMacs have a maximum of 8 gig RAM. Is this a deal-breaker (compared to being able to have 16 gig of RAM) in a 27" iMac?
External SSD drives seem like the preferred way to go, though they're relatively expensive. Any love for the Fusion or other types of external hard drives?
I'd like to get something soon but it wouldn't kill me to wait a few months if major performance upgrades are around the corner.