iMac - upgrade CPU or graphics?

[gwelmarten]

Hi
I'm ordering the 27Inch iMac later today with the 3.1Ghz i5 processor by default. I will be buying with 8gb RAM and upgrading to 16 as soon as I get it. I was wondering, I would like to upgrade either the Processor to the 3.4Ghz i7 or the Graphics from 1GB to 2GB. Which should I choose?

I will mostly use the computer for Xcode making apps and don't play games very often on it (if ever). I will run Windows in parallels and bootcamp and will be using After Effects as well as iMovie and iPhoto regularly. I do graphics with things like Photoshop and Flash, but also websites with Dreamweaver. I often have loads of stuff open in lots of desktops (like 4 desktops/spaces with maybe 20 tabs in Safari and 2 Adobe CS5 programs open). Which would be the most beneficial upgrade for me?

Thanks in advanced.

Sam

 

[nOw2]

CPU. You will not stress the graphics at all but Xcode, Photoshop and of course Flash will see some benefit from a faster and Hyperthreaded CPU.

 

[Sackvillenb]

I second that notion. While some of your apps (like photoshop) can benefit from a good graphics card, you've already got a good graphics card in there (and going from 1 to 2 gb won't make much difference for what you're doing), but but a CPU upgrade will give you a variety of benefits for many programs.

 

[jmpnop]

Going from 1GB to 2GB will not make any difference, go with better CPU.

 

[Hirakata]

I agree with the others to go with the i7, but I would suggest just getting the iMac with the default 4 GBs of RAM. To get 8 GB from Apple, you'll be paying $200 extra. You can get 16GB for under $150 from other parties these days.

 

[JonasDK]

I agree with the others to go with the i7, but I would suggest just getting the iMac with the default 4 GBs of RAM. To get 8 GB from Apple, you'll be paying $200 extra. You can get 16GB for under $150 from other parties these days.

This. Go with the better CPU and buy RAM elsewhere - save yourself some money.

 

[Asclepio]

Ssd

 

[Young Spade]

Ssd

The SSD would also provide performance increases across the board.

The CPU increase with the SSD (you can't install it yourself I don't think....) will make the iMac a usable computer for many years to come.