Processor, GFX or Ram upgrade for Photo/Print/Web Design

[ae212060]

Hi guys,

I'm just about to buy a iMac 5K with another comparable display in the next few months, My work is primarily for print and brand collateral, so it doesn't need to handle 3D or video editing too often.

Here's what I'm looking at:

- 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
- 256GB SSD (and have a bigger external HDD for design files and backup)
- AMD Radeon R9 M290X 2GB GDDR5
- 32GB Ram

My budget is quite tight, so would it be preferable to upgrade the CPU to '4.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz' and just have 16GB Ram?
Also would I really benefit from the M295X graphics card upgrade when running two displays?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Dubadai]

Hi guys,

I'm just about to buy a iMac 5K with another comparable display in the next few months, My work is primarily for print and brand collateral, so it doesn't need to handle 3D or video editing too often.

Here's what I'm looking at:

- 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
- 256GB SSD (and have a bigger external HDD for design files and backup)
- AMD Radeon R9 M290X 2GB GDDR5
- 32GB Ram

My budget is quite tight, so would it be preferable to upgrade the CPU to '4.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz' and just have 16GB Ram?
Also would I really benefit from the M295X graphics card upgrade when running two displays?

Thanks for your help!

I would say stick with the base model, and then upgrade the CPU and RAM. I dont think that you would need the better GPU for another monitor if youre just doing print etc most of the time!

I would say 16GB RAM and the i7! Especially since its for work.

 

[JonnyBlaze]

I can't comment on your other upgrades, but if you're on a budget this especially applies, don't buy RAM from apple. Get the base spec RAM, and then buy additional from elsewhere, it's much cheaper that way.

 

[Dubadai]

I can't comment on your other upgrades, but if you're on a budget this especially applies, don't buy RAM from apple. Get the base spec RAM, and then buy additional from elsewhere, it's much cheaper that way.

Sorry, forgot to write that! Dont get the RAM from Apple... Buy it separately and install yourself, just like JonnyBlaze said!

 

[ae212060]

Sorry, forgot to write that! Dont get the RAM from Apple... Buy it separately and install yourself, just like JonnyBlaze said!

Hi, Sorry for the slow reply!

Thanks for your answers.. Good point about the Ram, I've swapped out the RAM and HDD on my Macbook, but only outside the warranty period. Assuming it's the same for the iMac, it would void my warranty, right?

 

[pjfan]

You can slap your own ram into the iMac without voiding the warranty, but that's not true for HDD.

Are you comfortable with refurbished? The U.S. Refurb store had some great retina iMac options that seem to have fit your desired machine. If you're only interested in new, it seems to me that the higher tier retina iMac is the best bang for the buck when using 256 SSD. A small bump in processor (you might not see) and the small bump in Graphics (you might not see) is a measly $100. If I weren't going refurb, I think I would go for that config.

 

[ae212060]

Ah, that's awesome, I'm fine to swap out the ram myself and keen to pump the savings into the other components, thanks for the money saving tip!