Most Mac users only restart their Macs once in a blue moon and for everything else (app launching...) there will be 0 difference after that app has been opened once to allow contents of it to stay in RAM as fast caching.
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Is there any reason to wait for the new iMacs besides price?
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Most Mac users only restart their Macs once in a blue moon and for everything else (app launching...) there will be 0 difference after that app has been opened once to allow contents of it to stay in RAM as fast caching.
Is the fusion drive worth a look in this case? A friend just raved about saving so much time in photo editing with the SDD (or flash I guess in our case) that its worth the spend. Unfortunately, it's a fortune in the iMacs.
I stopped using anything HD (including Fusion) in laptops and desktop computers (iMac) about 5+ years ago. Huge difference: less heat, less noise, no data corruption/crash, MUCH quicker response - and always quick). Bare minimum get a Fusion drive, but SSD is easily the superior choice (if you have the cash it's a no-brainer IMO). For external storage HD is still the way to go obviously...
I would say Fusion is the superior choice if you do extensive video/photo editing, and would like a lot of space (several TBs) available as internal storage. Otherwise, SSD is the way to go IMO.
Would I see a benefit from this SSD if I'm storing all of my video and photo projects on external drives? My SO also uses iPhoto quite a bit - maybe the SSD component of the fusion or the SSD would speed up editing in iPhoto?
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I have had people mistaken my iMac (with a HDD) for a Fusion Drive iMac so on that basis I would say no.
Well, with Thunderbolt and USB3 external drives these days are pretty quick. I don't do video and photo editing, so I think others can help you more with this question. One thing I do know, after five and half years with multiple machines using SSD I haven't had a single data crash. HDs have a far worse track record in my experience. The SSD also generates a lot less heat than the HD, which is also important considering hot AIO systems like the iMac. The HD is pretty much the most temperature sensitive component in your machine, and when the temp regularly goes up to 60C (and beyond) that's bad news. At the end of the day, you have to decide what your needs are. Personally I would have gone with the largest SSD option, but it is expensive. Anyways, good luck with your purchase, and make sure you hold out for the new iMac models that come out in a few weeks.
Well, with Thunderbolt and USB3 external drives these days are pretty quick. I don't do video and photo editing, so I think others can help you more with this question. One thing I do know, after five and half years with multiple machines using SSD I haven't had a single data crash. HDs have a far worse track record in my experience. The SSD also generates a lot less heat than the HD, which is also important considering hot AIO systems like the iMac. The HD is pretty much the most temperature sensitive component in your machine, and when the temp regularly goes up to 60C (and beyond) that's bad news. At the end of the day, you have to decide what your needs are. Personally I would have gone with the largest SSD option, but it is expensive. Anyways, good luck with your purchase, and make sure you hold out for the new iMac models that come out in a few weeks.
I've made the decision to wait for the new ones. 1TB of flash is basically $1K in the imac. Crazy money for that option. I'll figure out what I'm going to do once the new ones launch. Anything I get will be much faster than my 7 year old MBP.
Hopefully you will find out in a week.
I did something similar to you, but opposite, in the last year. I went from a 7 year old iMac to a rMBP. I would have stuck with an iMac if a Retina version was available.
Are the new models typically available right after the announcements? I'm still considering a MBP. I do want 1TB in my machine though so that increases the price significantly. I need iPhoto (and my families pics) on the machine b/c my SO doesn't work well with external drives etc.....
I'm pretty sure I'm getting the 27". I just wanted to see if the processor or video card will change.
Spec bumps generally are available immediately, but more major changes vary. The new Mac Pro was announced months in advance.
In this case, the presentation timing is probably to suit the latest iPad. Macs will be announced ready or not.
With so much potentially announced, there might be some silent minor updates, much like we had for the rMBP (slight speed bump) and iMac (new low end model) in the last few months.
One more reason is there is some crazy rumour going around that iMacs are going to have coloured bodies again, maybe this is why the slogan says its been a long time and seems a logical path Apple may take given the colour presence in all their newest devices i.e. the 5c.
johnnyturbouk
macrumors 68000
I know of many users who would recommend a FD but all of those users have not tried the same Mac with a HDD. Most compare their FD iMac to a much older HDD iMac so it's not exactly a fair comparison. I have the 2013 21.5" iMac with a HDD and find it great
As for an update to the iMacs, I don't see any changes to the 21.5" iMacs, just a 5K 27" iMac.
I had a very different experience. When i updated my HDD (7200rpm apple) to ssd i noticed a a huge difference on my 2011 17"MBP, i then changed the ssd for a sata-3 ocz vertex 3 max iops, again noticed a marginal improvement. When i got my new rMBP, with PCI-E the difference was again quite noticeable - everthing was a lot snappier and my mbp boots up in 15-20secs. I agree this could be somewhat due to the improved CPU of the 13rMBP c.f 17mbp - i then re-installed my old hdd to my cMBP and boy was it slow in comparison to the pci-e of my rMBP. I have been using ssd since 2010, and would find it very difficult going back to spinning platter hdd. I have played around with fusion drives with different friend's imac's. For my needs I only need a 256ish GB boot drive, for everything else i use USB3/TB external storage drives (e.g 500g smasung ssd, WD 3tb balck, in a sata dock).
I think the most plausible guess* at the meaning of "its been way too long" is that the rumoured new "retina iMac" might be renamed just "Mac" or "Macintosh".
Totally inconsequential, but neatens up product naming a bit (i.e. 'why doesn't the iMac run iOS?' and 'what is the Mac Pro a "Pro" version of?')
(*I did check that Pink Floyd are already on iTunes... otherwise We'd Have A Winner).
I believe the slogan "its been way too long" does not refer to a retina iMac at all , but rather to the updates to the Mac Mini.The Retina iMac will just be a highlight of the evening with more focus towards the updated iPads and Mini's and the release announcement of the new OSX Software.
You must have some kind of magical HHD that no one else has.
Just upgraded to a SSD and it isn't even close. It was such a chore waiting 20 seconds for iMovie to boot or over a minute to boot the machine.
I doubt that "its been way too long" refers to any product not having been updated recently: As a salesman, all your products are all perfect until the millisecond you release the more-perfect new version. You don't open a press conference by admitting that you let one of your current products fall out of date.
Much more likely that this is some sort of nostalgic re-branding exercise - or some other gimmick that nobody has guessed yet.
Also, much as the world needs an updated Mini, I don't think it would be headline material, any update is probably waiting for Broadwell, and there haven't really been any rumours. I remain healthily sceptical about the 5k display iMac (a UHD in the 21-24" range seems more practical), but that would definitely be more headline-worthy.
The announcement has come and gone and I think I'm passing on the retina model.
I now just have to decide on the 21 vs 27. I was leaning towards the 21 with the upgraded i7 but then realized I can't go above 16GB. I'm working on 8GB today and everything is fine.
How much RAM is my new iMac capable of actually utilizing with the current OS?
I now just have to decide on the 21 vs 27. I was leaning towards the 21 with the upgraded i7 but then realized I can't go above 16GB. I'm working on 8GB today and everything is fine.
How much RAM is my new iMac capable of actually utilizing with the current OS?
I finally placed my order. In spite of the awesomeness of the retina iMac, I decided against it due to cost vs. my practical uses.
I went with the 21.5" iMac; 3.1 GHz Quad-core i7, 16GB, 1TB fusion drive, Nvidia GeForceGT 750M 1GB
It should be here by October 29th....I'll be sure to be working from home on the day it's estimated to be delivered.
I went with the 21.5" iMac; 3.1 GHz Quad-core i7, 16GB, 1TB fusion drive, Nvidia GeForceGT 750M 1GB
It should be here by October 29th....I'll be sure to be working from home on the day it's estimated to be delivered.