Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

New iMac

A

alexgarbz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 21, 2012
3
0
Hey guys, I'm trying to decide between these few iMac's, and what would be best for me. Can i get your opinions? :D
OK, so here they are.

Model 1
Click Me for Model 1
Total Cost = $1519.00 AUD
121.5-inch: 2.5GHz

2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
1920 x 1080 resolution
8GB (two 4GB) memory
500GB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB


Model 2
Click Me for Model 2
Total Cost = $1399.00 AUD
-21.5-inch: 2.5GHz

2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
1920 x 1080 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory
500GB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB


Model 3
Click Me for Model 3
Total Cost = $1818.00 AUD
-21.5-inch: 2.7GHz

2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
1920 x 1080 resolution
8GB (two 4GB) memory
1TB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB


Model 4
Click Me for Model 4
Total Cost = $1698.00 AUD
-21.5-inch: 2.7GHz

2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
1920 x 1080 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory
1TB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB

I want to use this computer mainly for editing movies/videos, music, and mild gaming such as some of the older CoD's, Racing Games, Minecraft stuff like that. I have a $1800 limit, but if i could get a cheaper model and extra software that would be awesome. I just dont know what is enough, or what is too much. If you guys could give me only POSITIVE feedback please, no Apple haters, because i dont want windows or Linux.
Thanks again.
-Alex
 
Last edited:
Model 2 will suffice for your stated needs, you can get an extra 8 GB RAM kit for less than 120 AUD and have 12 GB instead of 8 GB.

Amazon might get you good deals on that.
 
simsaladimbamba said:
Model 2 will suffice for your stated needs, you can get an extra 8 GB RAM kit for less than 120 AUD and have 12 GB instead of 8 GB.

Amazon might get you good deals on that.
Click to expand...
Ok :) but i dont want to do anything myslef, i want it all legit! :)
 
simsaladimbamba said:
Doing it yourself is legit and easy, unless a screwdriver is something you hate.
Page 33 and following show you how easy it is: http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/imac_21.5inch_late_2011_ug.pdf

But if you don't mind spending more money for less RAM, take the model 2 with 8 GB.

Examples for 8 GB RAM at less than 64 AUD: 1, 2, 3, 4
Click to expand...

Wait. I can change the amount of RAM later down the track? Sweet! Thanks foir that guys, ill take that in and choose wisely! :D
 
Litany said:
None. They are all obsolete.
Click to expand...

They are not obsolete. For the stated needs of the OP they are perfectly fine, even a 2009 iMac or 2007 iMac (I have that, and does the stated computational requirements just fine) would suffice.

Just because Apple hasn't updated their iMac line yet, it does not mean, that the current offerings are obsolete, unless you value always having the latest, even if you don't really need it. Most users don't even push their current Macs to their limits.
 
simsaladimbamba said:
They are not obsolete. For the stated needs of the OP they are perfectly fine, even a 2009 iMac or 2007 iMac (I have that, and does the stated computational requirements just fine) would suffice.

Just because Apple hasn't updated their iMac line yet, it does not mean, that the current offerings are obsolete, unless you value always having the latest, even if you don't really need it. Most users don't even push their current Macs to their limits.
Click to expand...

The other poster's choice of terms was not good, but the reality is that the current iMac is a terrible value and severely overpriced. That's not obsolescence so much as it is (or should be) a dealbreaker for anyone trying to make an economical decision on a new computer.
 
alexgarbz said:
Hey guys, I'm trying to decide between these few iMac's, and what would be best for me. Can i get your opinions? :D
OK, so here they are.

Model 1
Click Me for Model 1
Total Cost = $1519.00 AUD
121.5-inch: 2.5GHz

2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
1920 x 1080 resolution
8GB (two 4GB) memory
500GB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB


Model 2
Click Me for Model 2
Total Cost = $1399.00 AUD
-21.5-inch: 2.5GHz

2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
1920 x 1080 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory
500GB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB


Model 3
Click Me for Model 3
Total Cost = $1818.00 AUD
-21.5-inch: 2.7GHz

2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
1920 x 1080 resolution
8GB (two 4GB) memory
1TB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB


Model 4
Click Me for Model 4
Total Cost = $1698.00 AUD
-21.5-inch: 2.7GHz

2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
1920 x 1080 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory
1TB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB

I want to use this computer mainly for editing movies/videos, music, and mild gaming such as some of the older CoD's, Racing Games, Minecraft stuff like that. I have a $1800 limit, but if i could get a cheaper model and extra software that would be awesome. I just dont know what is enough, or what is too much. If you guys could give me only POSITIVE feedback please, no Apple haters, because i dont want windows or Linux.
Thanks again.
-Alex
Click to expand...

That computer's Geekbench score is 7811. It can be improved 30%, by adding the $200 option of the i7 processor, which will then attain a speed score of 10104. Note that for video encoding, the i7 will further increase speeds, possibly two times greater than an i5.

You need an i7 for video encoding.

You'll also need disk space.

By the way, where will you get the video from?

Consider this price:
SSD 256k HD and i7 processor: Apple price for 4GB machine: A$ 2,538.00. The SSD drive adds $600.

Now, consider a 15.4 inch Retina Macbook Pro:
256GB SSD Drive, 8GB RAM, i7 Processor: A$ 2,499.00

The macbook pro is cheaper. While its screen is smaller, it is much higher resolution. It has a port for memory cards, and will accept a video card from a video player or camera, if they save their data that way. That saves time.

It also has USB-3, so you can move your finished movie quickly to an external drive. Plus USB drives are cheap, compared to Firewire ones. The iMac only supports USB-2.

You can buy any monitor to sit alongside the Macbook - it will support three extra monitors, plus its own.

Its graphics are faster than the iMac's are too.

Its speed is faster too: 10829 Geekbench speed.

for Games, iMacs have notebook GPUs, and they are much slower than desktop PCs which have big gaming card capabilities.

However the GT 650M is faster than the 67770m, which in the iMac has only 512 of Video Ram, while the macbook Pro Retinas all have 1024 of video Ram, and the fast type (which is expensive), which the the GT 650M really needs.

Game GPU speeds:
Retina's GT 650m 1024 card:

PCMark Vantage - Gaming Score 1024x768
min: 5514 avg: 11731 max: 17880 Points

3DMark Vantage - P Result no PhysX 1280x1024
min: 7712 avg: 9338.2 (29%) max: 10243 Points

6770M Card used in iMac 21.5":

PCMark Vantage - Gaming Score 1024x768
min: 5811 avg: 8571.8 max: 14158 Points

3DMark Vantage - P Result no PhysX 1280x1024
min: 5531 avg: 6072.3 max: 6495 Points


Really, you are better off with a Macbook at the moment IMO. There's a cheaper macbook pro too, but IMO the extra money is worth it, for the SSD and video ram and Ram, plus the Retina screen. Check out tertiary student discounts too.

for the iMac, at least get the i7, its well worth the extra $200.

Refs for the card comparisons are (which can be confusing and make sure you look at cards which have the "M" for mobile after them:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6770M.43955.0.html
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back