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Specs for the iMac I am seconds away from purchasing. THOUGHTS?

A

Amnesiac1

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 11, 2010
412
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  • imac-thunderbolt.jpg

  • 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
  • 4GB of RAM
  • 2TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
  • AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5
  • Magic Trackpad
  • Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
  • AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac- Auto-enroll
  • Apple Remote
  • Apple Battery Charger


    ...Here are the specs for my current 2007 MBP:

    Apple-MacBook-Pro-2007-Edition1.jpg

  • 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
  • 2 GB 667 MHz DDR SDRAM
  • 320 GB HD
  • GeForce 8600M GT

What do you think?
 
It won't get any better, so chances are you don't even need those high-specs. What are you planning to do with the iMac? I personally wouldn't spend my money on the charger and the remote, but those are just a fraction of the total price :D
 
That is a lot of money for an all-in-one computer. I went a little lighter in the $2,000 range. But if you want the best, drop the extra grand.
 
I will be using it for word processing, gaming, recreational tasks like listening to music and watching HD content from iTunes, watching DVDs, etc. However, I am an inordinate multi-tasker and often have A LOT of windows, tabs, programs, etc. open at once.

I am also trying to 'future proof' this machine. Although, a cantankerous reply from someone like Badger will likely inform me that 'future proofing' is impossible.
 
Amnesiac1 said:
I will be using it for word processing, gaming, recreational tasks like listening to music and watching HD content from iTunes, watching DVDs, etc. However, I am an inordinate multi-tasker and often have A LOT of windows, tabs, programs, etc. open at once.

I am also trying to 'future proof' this machine. Although, a cantankerous reply from someone like Badger will likely inform me that 'future proofing' is impossible.
Click to expand...

lol you definitely don't need the cores i7..i have a core i5 and can do all of that plus a hell of a lot more plus run handbrake in the background
 
I was considering just getting a 1TB but I don't want to regret it in the future, especially since an HD is one of the hardest parts to replace/upgrade in an iMac.
 
Don't do the SSD upgrade,
instead find an authorized apple repair center to install an OWC Mercury Extreme 6g or an OCZ Vertex III.

I haven't found confirmation of what SSD is in the new iMacs, but I somehow doubt it compares to the two I mentioned.
 
Fried Chicken said:
Don't do the SSD upgrade,
instead find an authorized apple repair center to install an OWC Mercury Extreme 6g or an OCZ Vertex III.

I haven't found confirmation of what SSD is in the new iMacs, but I somehow doubt it compares to the two I mentioned.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the advice, but many people are very happy with the SSDs that Apple puts into these iMacs.
 
If you are trying to save cash, go with the i5. If cash is not a matter, go i7.

The i5 is plenty for what you do, heck, plenty for pretty much anyone. I understand that you want to leave the video editing option open but it's not like you are going to become a full time video editor. It's not like a night and day thing either, the i5 is very competent.

I bought the i7 last year and use my iMac for AutoCAD, general use and some gaming. If I had to buy a new iMac this year, without hesitation, I would buy the i5.
 
drop down to the 1TB + 256GB. 2TB for $150 more is extremely expensive, and its not worth the price. everything else looks fine (3.4ghz core i7, 4GB, radeon 6970m 2GB).

i would upgrade the ram from newegg or owc as well. :)
 
STOP! You should wait until the next version of iMac to order.

The next generation processor is going to be leaps and bounds faster -- while using less power.

Video cards are getting the same treatment. 4 GB cards will come standard. And all iMacs will get larger screens, 32" is what I read. 3000 X 1900 -- you dont want to miss that.

And since SSDs are dropping in cost and improving in speed/size so fast , they will most likely some stock with a 1TB SSD boot and 1TB SSD for storage. And those will be 12 Gbps SSDs, not the slow 3 Gbps SSDs in the current iMac.

Ram is the same way -- it was $100 just a month or so ago -- now its like $65 for the same amount. Then next iMac will surely ship with 16 gigs stock since ram will be less than $20 for 8 gigs.

I also read theres a pretty significant price drop coming with all this new tech.

You should wait, you will just regret ordering this iMac in less than 6 months once the details start to come out on the new ones.
 
Badger^2 said:
STOP! You should wait until the next version of iMac to order.

The next generation processor is going to be leaps and bounds faster -- while using less power.

Video cards are getting the same treatment. 4 GB cards will come standard. And all iMacs will get larger screens, 32" is what I read. 3000 X 1900 -- you dont want to miss that.

And since SSDs are dropping in cost and improving in speed/size so fast , they will most likely some stock with a 1TB SSD boot and 1TB SSD for storage. And those will be 12 Gbps SSDs, not the slow 3 Gbps SSDs in the current iMac.

Ram is the same way -- it was $100 just a month or so ago -- now its like $65 for the same amount. Then next iMac will surely ship with 16 gigs stock since ram will be less than $20 for 8 gigs.

I also read theres a pretty significant price drop coming with all this new tech.

You should wait, you will just regret ordering this iMac in less than 6 months once the details start to come out on the new ones.
Click to expand...

wwhat? the iMacs were just refreshed...you going to tell him to wait when the iMac is refreshed again?
 
Amnesiac1 said:
I appreciate the advice, but many people are very happy with the SSDs that Apple puts into these iMacs.
Click to expand...

I think you are doing the right thing. It is a major pain to upgrade the hard drives in the iMacs. You might as well go all out. I did the 1 TB iMac for 2010 and regret not getting the SSD and the 2 TB drive.
 
A change in plan. I'm thinking about sticking to 4GB for a while before upgrading to 12GB. I imagine that I will only run into trouble when it comes to games and video editing, and even then, 4GB should suffice for both of those tasks, right?
 
Amnesiac1 said:
A change in plan. I'm thinking about sticking to 4GB for a while before upgrading to 12GB. I imagine that I will only run into trouble when it comes to games and video editing, and even then, 4GB should suffice for both of those tasks, right?
Click to expand...

Why wait?

You are about to drop $3000 on an iMac, whats another $75 at this point?

RAM prices fluctuate wildly -- in 3 months 8 gigs could be $200...
 
Amnesiac1 said:
A change in plan. I'm thinking about sticking to 4GB for a while before upgrading to 12GB. I imagine that I will only run into trouble when it comes to games and video editing, and even then, 4GB should suffice for both of those tasks, right?
Click to expand...

i ordered 16GB for just under $150 from newegg. that alone was enough for me to go ahead and buy!
 
Maybe I'll purchase this. Anyone have any success with this type of RAM?

Does Newegg even ship to Canada?
 
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