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Karvel

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 27, 2007
229
0
England
I've been partly looking at the iMac - tossing up between that and the Mac mini basically - and the all-in-on aspect of the iMac has always appealed to me for many years, but when I look at the design of the iMac nowadays and how fixed-in the RAM, HDD etc. is (and how much Apple charges for these separate BTO upgrades), I wonder how much I really would need to upgrade to 16GB RAM along with a Fusion Drive. I've been used to upgrading the RAM to its maximum capacity in all the Macs I've had (current is a 2006 17" 1.83 Core Duo), so to be stuck with the amount of RAM that I buy at purchase doesn't fit right with me in terms of future use - case in point that I'm using my white iMac quite a few years on!

If I upgraded the base mode iMac with a Fusion Drive and 16GB RAM it would cost £1468, versus 'only' £1309 just with the Fusion Drive upgrade. Would I be mad to try and save the £160 of the 16GB RAM upgrade and go just for the FD, or should I go for the RAM as well in the name of how many years I usually use these machines for?

(NB: This is all predicated on me valuing a Fusion Drive upgrade more than a RAM upgrade to 16GB - maybe this is wrong?)
 

Bear

macrumors G3
Jul 23, 2002
8,088
5
Sol III - Terra
Fusion Drive definitely.

If you're talking about a 21.5" imac: With how long you keep your computer and how sloppy programmers are getting in memory usage, it might be good to go with the 16GB and this is what I would do if I were getting a 21.5" iMac.

If you're talking about a 27" iMac: Memory is currently user upgradeable and you can buy it later when you need it or you have money for it.
 

Karvel

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 27, 2007
229
0
England
Thank you for the reply. Yeah I'm looking at the 21.5" - I have a 17" iMac currently so any upgrade is good as far as I'm concerned. :)
 

benjai

macrumors member
Oct 1, 2009
87
20
I got the 27" iMac a couple weeks ago and had exactly the same dilemma. The fusion drive is basically a must. The decision was then whether to go for a 27" and save on the ram, or go for the 21" which had to have a ram upgrade since you can't do it later.

In the end I went for the 27" since after saving on the ram, the price increase over the 21" was well worth it since you get a much bigger screen and also better spec.

I can then upgrade the ram whenver I need it and when it gets cheaper.
 

tomtendo

Suspended
Aug 29, 2009
813
933
Florida
Fusion is a must, unless you can dish out the big bucks for SSD. I would never buy upgraded RAM from Apple unless you can't do it yourself. Sites like Amazon sell RAM $100s of dollars cheaper than Apples RAM.
 

quagmire

macrumors 604
Apr 19, 2004
6,870
2,292
Fusion is a must, unless you can dish out the big bucks for SSD. I would never buy upgraded RAM from Apple unless you can't do it yourself. Sites like Amazon sell RAM $100s of dollars cheaper than Apples RAM.

I did some research before ordering my iMac yesterday. Getting a 16 GB kit( 2 x 8 GB) from Crucial is $140( can be had from Amazon for $139) or OWC for $183. I get the EDU discount from Apple so the same kit is $180 from Apple. I will gladly pay that $40 more to have it come preinstalled, not having to deal with the 4 GB sticks that come with the iMac if I went third party, and is ready for the bump to 32 GB if the need ever arises.
 

tomtendo

Suspended
Aug 29, 2009
813
933
Florida
I did some research before ordering my iMac yesterday. Getting a 16 GB kit( 2 x 8 GB) from Crucial is $140( can be had from Amazon for $139) or OWC for $183. I get the EDU discount from Apple so the same kit is $180 from Apple. I will gladly pay that $40 more to have it come preinstalled, not having to deal with the 4 GB sticks that come with the iMac if I went third party, and is ready for the bump to 32 GB if the need ever arises.

Well congrats. I too ordered an iMac 27 Monday. Store pickup Jan 10th... hopefully sooner!
 

JustMartin

macrumors 6502a
Feb 28, 2012
787
271
UK
I faced the same dilemma. As my previous Mac was a 2007 and I'd upgraded the memory in that before I stopped using it, I decided that I would probably need the 16gb before it stops being useful for other reasons than memory. So, I got a fusion, 15gb,21.5" Mac in 2012.
 

quagmire

macrumors 604
Apr 19, 2004
6,870
2,292
Well congrats. I too ordered an iMac 27 Monday. Store pickup Jan 10th... hopefully sooner!

Mine is delivery between Jan 15 and 17. Darn 780M being the hold up. :(

----------

I faced the same dilemma. As my previous Mac was a 2007 and I'd upgraded the memory in that before I stopped using it, I decided that I would probably need the 16gb before it stops being useful for other reasons than memory. So, I got a fusion, 15gb,21.5" Mac in 2012.

For the 21.5" iMac, it isn't user replaceable so it makes sense to bump the ram at purchase from Apple. On the 27" iMac ram is user replaceable so it is a matter of how much cheaper you can get it from third-party companies.
 

quagmire

macrumors 604
Apr 19, 2004
6,870
2,292
Mine was available for store pickup today, but no fusion drive... So I have to wait at least another week.

If I kept everything else the same( i5, 16 GB of ram, 512 GB SSD), but stayed with the 775M, it would have shipped within 2-4 days. The 780M pushes it to 4-6 days. :( It's torture. I want my new toy. :D
 

tomtendo

Suspended
Aug 29, 2009
813
933
Florida
If I kept everything else the same( i5, 16 GB of ram, 512 GB SSD), but stayed with the 775M, it would have shipped within 2-4 days. The 780M pushes it to 4-6 days. :( It's torture. I want my new toy. :D

I understand, ha . However, mine is paid by work. So that helps the wait!
 
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