Some final RiMac questions

[wrz0170]

Getting ready to order. It will be replacing two older Macbook/Pro. My Wife being the photographer should really benefit. Plan on dual accounts. All pics will reside on our Netgear ReadyNas which will most likely be directly plugged in. To further the plan, i'm replacing our older Airport Extreme with the newer TM/AE combo. This is what I have so far with the rig;

i7, 4.0 ghz
8 gb RAM
M295x 4gb
512gb SSD
Wired, numeric keyboard
Track Pad

Couple of questions;
1. Adding more RAM. No issues with adding the Crucial 16gb DDR3, 1.3v for a total of 24gb? Seems cheaper than what would charge.

2. For the Photographers out there. The Wacom Bamboo Pad, any insight for it's use with PSE (what she uses). Beneficial?

3. Any other items, etc that would help the cause? Greatly appreciated.

It's going to be kinda of a surprise for her

 

[andy9l]

1. Adding more RAM. No issues with adding the Crucial 16gb DDR3, 1.3v for a total of 24gb? Seems cheaper than what would charge.

Mixed reports, but I had absolutely no problems when I added mine for the three weeks I had the iMac. Some people are getting kernel panics, but you can get replacement RAM from Crucial if you have problems.

 

[driftless]

Sounds like a nice system. The Wacom products are nice additions for photographers.

 

[seroposi]

Getting ready to order. It will be replacing two older Macbook/Pro. My Wife being the photographer should really benefit. Plan on dual accounts. All pics will reside on our Netgear ReadyNas which will most likely be directly plugged in. To further the plan, i'm replacing our older Airport Extreme with the newer TM/AE combo. This is what I have so far with the rig;

i7, 4.0 ghz
8 gb RAM
M295x 4gb
512gb SSD
Wired, numeric keyboard
Track Pad

Couple of questions;
1. Adding more RAM. No issues with adding the Crucial 16gb DDR3, 1.3v for a total of 24gb? Seems cheaper than what would charge.

2. For the Photographers out there. The Wacom Bamboo Pad, any insight for it's use with PSE (what she uses). Beneficial?

3. Any other items, etc that would help the cause? Greatly appreciated.

It's going to be kinda of a surprise for her

Using Wacom Bamboo with PSE on riMac and no problems. Takes a bit of getting used to but better control than a mouse.

 

[wrz0170]

Thanks! System ordered as described! Now the wait.....

 

[aevan]

Thanks! System ordered as described! Now the wait.....

Just for information, Wacom rebranded the Bamboo-class tablets into the Intuos line. What was once known as Intuos (the top-of the line tablets) is now Intuos Pro.

And any Wacom pen based tablet greatly enhances precision in Photoshop and similar programs (all graphical apps support Wacom)

Now, you mentioned she ordered a "Wacom Bamboo Pad". Please note that there was a Bamboo tablet model without a pen, called "Bamboo Touch". It isn't sold any more by Wacom (but then again, neither are "Bamboo" branded tablets, so just in case, I'm mentioning this). The non-pen tablet is something that will NOT benefit her work. It is similar to the Apple Trackpad and is, in fact, inferior to it, and I wouldn't recommend it. Make sure she orders a Wacom tablet with a pen (a.k.a. stylus). Both the "pen" and "pen and touch" models are fine - since they both come with pens.

Wacom tablets are mostly used by illustrators and digital sculptors, but they are really great for photo work as well. Just playing around with sliders, color balance, hue, etc. can easily be done with a mouse, but for any precise work on the photo itself - retouching, masking, etc, no other input device comes even close to a tablet.

The Intuos Pro line offers double pressure sensitivity and double the resolution, but that will benefit illustrators more than photo editors. So the 'regular' Intuos/Bamboo will be great and is a good entry point for new tablet users. For certain tasks a tablet doesn't become a mere boost in productivity, it becomes a necessity, really.

 

[wrz0170]

Just for information, Wacom rebranded the Bamboo-class tablets into the Intuos line. What was once known as Intuos (the top-of the line tablets) is now Intuos Pro.

And any Wacom pen based tablet greatly enhances precision in Photoshop and similar programs (all graphical apps support Wacom)

Now, you mentioned she ordered a "Wacom Bamboo Pad". Please note that there was a Bamboo tablet model without a pen, called "Bamboo Touch". It isn't sold any more by Wacom (but then again, neither are "Bamboo" branded tablets, so just in case, I'm mentioning this). The non-pen tablet is something that will NOT benefit her work. It is similar to the Apple Trackpad and is, in fact, inferior to it, and I wouldn't recommend it. Make sure she orders a Wacom tablet with a pen (a.k.a. stylus). Both the "pen" and "pen and touch" models are fine - since they both come with pens.


Wacom tablets are mostly used by illustrators and digital sculptors, but they are really great for photo work as well. Just playing around with sliders, color balance, hue, etc. can easily be done with a mouse, but for any precise work on the photo itself - retouching, masking, etc, no other input device comes even close to a tablet.

The Intuos Pro line offers double pressure sensitivity and double the resolution, but that will benefit illustrators more than photo editors. So the 'regular' Intuos/Bamboo will be great and is a good entry point for new tablet users. For certain tasks a tablet doesn't become a mere boost in productivity, it becomes a necessity, really.

Thank you for the clarification! I did not order the tablet yet. I just want to be sure I was on the righ track with it. She has been into photography for several years but post processing has been the weak link because of the older Macbook. Looking into the entry level tablets; I am hoping to enhance this area for her. As you mentioned, it's got to be better than the trackpad or mouse.

 

[Alesc]

[...]
1. Adding more RAM. No issues with adding the Crucial 16gb DDR3, 1.3v for a total of 24gb? Seems cheaper than what would charge.
[...]

Hi! I add 16GB Crucial RAM to the 8GB Apple RAM 3 mounths ago, it works perfectly

 

[Rass]

Almost identical to the system I bought. I got the mouse, as I already have a track pad from my last iMac

Only other suggestion I have is applecare!

 

[wrz0170]

Almost identical to the system I bought. I got the mouse, as I already have a track pad from my last iMac

Only other suggestion I have is applecare!

Thanks! I am strongly considering Applecare with it. For us it was the other way around. We have the mouse, just not the trackpad.

Oh. Any recommendations on speakers? It will most definitely be used to watch Netflix/iTunes movies.

 

[aevan]

Thanks! I am strongly considering Applecare with it. For us it was the other way around. We have the mouse, just not the trackpad.

Oh. Any recommendations on speakers? It will most definitely be used to watch Netflix/iTunes movies.

It depends on your taste, but for movies, I'd say iMac built-in speakers are quite good (and quite loud enough). They are not suitable for audiophiles - and on these forums everyone seems to be an enthusiast for buying the most expensive options for everything - but my advice would be to hear the built-in speakers first and then decide if you need something more powerful

 

[andy9l]

Some final RiMac questions

I bought these at the same time as getting my 5K iMac.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/M5-Multimedia-Speaker-desktop-computers/dp/B00C0SGBS0

I was so impressed that I immediately bought another set for my other 2010 27" iMac. £80 when I bought them, and they're great. They look absolutely brilliant on the desk when coupled with an iMac. Same design. I can get a photo tonight if you want.

 

[richard371]

I added the 16GB crucial for 24 and after 5 days got the famous wake from sleep crash. I'm not 100% sure this is because of bad memory since many have the error. Its really hard to test because it is so intermittent. It may happen today or a week from now or not at all. I am hoping this is something Apple can fix in an update. If it is bad memory I would think the computer would crash during normal use also but this seems to be limited to sleep only. I'm tempted to turn off the "put computer to sleep when display is asleep" but this will run the CPU, fan etc and put more wear and tear on the computer not to mention suck in more dust which is almost impossible to clean out from these sealed machines.

 

[robgendreau]

That machine is essentially like mine and it's the bomb.

I even have the Wacom. Nice. Takes a while to get used to though.

One thing I am not a fan of, however, is the TM/AE plan. I hate the proprietary software needed to use a AEBS, and its performance is decidedly meh for wifi. I'm not sure how well TM performs with other routers, if at all (some Netgears do but it may depend on the storage attached); some, like the WRT, offer pretty fast speeds with USB 3 ports. Using them for photos, which don't necessarily need TM backup, is nice with those speeds.