Updated Skylake 27" iMac this fall?

[qualo]

I would also be interested and appreciate any opinions on the 2TB Fusion drive Vs the 256GB SSD. I tried Youtube but didn't see more than opinions. I need the SSD for video editing and am unsure if the iMac will automatically use the SSD if I am not video editing as much as other things. The Fusion would save time copy pasting so often.

 

[ohsnaphappy]

I would also be interested and appreciate any opinions on the 2TB Fusion drive Vs the 256GB SSD. I tried Youtube but didn't see more than opinions. I need the SSD for video editing and am unsure if the iMac will automatically use the SSD if I am not video editing as much as other things. The Fusion would save time copy pasting so often.

Fusion drives are fast and they keep whatever you're using on the ssd part of the fusion drive UNTIL you start filling it up. Once things fill up you run the risk of accessing data that's stored on the crappy 5400rpm hdd. That's why I only keep one wedding at a time on my fusion drive. But this time around I'm getting the 1TB ssd.

 

[EnesM]

It is obvious that this iMac is what the "S" iPhones are. Next year's model will probably be all that people wanted in the first place...but oh well, I can't wait any longer!

 

[qualo]

Fusion drives are fast and they keep whatever you're using on the ssd part of the fusion drive UNTIL you start filling it up. Once things fill up you run the risk of accessing data that's stored on the crappy 5400rpm hdd. That's why I only keep one wedding at a time on my fusion drive. But this time around I'm getting the 1TB ssd.

I think I will play it safe and stick with the 256GB SSD, or maybe fork out for 512GB. The 2TB Fusion which I am looking at for the 3rd 27 inch option is faster than 5400rpm (7200 maybe), but still not worth it I assume.
Thanks.

 

[Brandon Ess]

I think I will play it safe and stick with the 256GB SSD, or maybe fork out for 512GB. The 2TB Fusion which I am looking at for the 3rd 27 inch option is faster than 5400rpm (7200 maybe), but still not worth it I assume.
Thanks.

I think that's a wise choice. The one I ordered yesterday I went with the 512. If only the 1 TB flash wasn't so damn expensive! Yikes.

It's 2015. Spinning hard drives should have disappeared from home PCs years ago.

 

[AdiosVista]

Lots of good HDD discussion in this thread. I'm currently running a late 2012 iMac 27" with the 3TB regular drive. I'm looking to get the 5k 27" and am considering the 512GB SSD for all system/app files, then storing my work files (videos and graphics) on an external thunderbolt drive.

The big question I have is: if I'm working on a resource-heavy project on my external drive, like a video in Final Cut Pro, would the speed of thunderbolt be fast enough? I'd like to start storing my larger project files off the iMac and onto an external but I can't sacrifice any speed during work.

 

[mosher]

Lots of good HDD discussion in this thread. I'm currently running a late 2012 iMac 27" with the 3TB regular drive. I'm looking to get the 5k 27" and am considering the 512GB SSD for all system/app files, then storing my work files (videos and graphics) on an external thunderbolt drive.

The big question I have is: if I'm working on a resource-heavy project on my external drive, like a video in Final Cut Pro, would the speed of thunderbolt be fast enough? I'd like to start storing my larger project files off the iMac and onto an external but I can't sacrifice any speed during work.

you can buy external Thunderbolt 2 drives with up to 1350MB/sec. Is it enough for you?

 

[duckwellboots]

I think that's a wise choice. The one I ordered yesterday I went with the 512. If only the 1 TB flash wasn't so damn expensive! Yikes.

It's 2015. Spinning hard drives should have disappeared from home PCs years ago.

Ah, my brother in indecision, you took the plunge! I had retreated for a couple of days to do more fretting and hand-wringing. Still can't make up my mind. I even considered perhaps upgrading my 2010 MBP with another SSD (replacing the obsolete optical drive) and bumping up the RAM, while shelling out for a decent monitor, thus fashioning a makeshift desktop to tide me over until the next iteration of iMacs. But...but...having a nice new system now would be so nice. Gah!

What configuration did you end up going with?

 

[Sirmausalot]

I think I will play it safe and stick with the 256GB SSD, or maybe fork out for 512GB. The 2TB Fusion which I am looking at for the 3rd 27 inch option is faster than 5400rpm (7200 maybe), but still not worth it I assume.
Thanks.

Fork out for the 512ssd. No question. Otherwise you'll end up working off an external drive much of the time as the 256 space will go shockingly quick!

 

[Chytin]

Wow, looks like I am going through the same SSD question.
I actually have the budget to max out the 27 inch iMac. I'll just go with the factory built Ram (32 GB), but I know I can get it cheaper from OWC. I once bought Ram from them and had compatibility issues and don't want to go through the hassle anymore. They replaced it by the way, but I am from The Netherlands and it took months to replace it and I also got in trouble with customs.

I have this dilemma of going for an 512 GB SSD (instead of 1 TB) and save money for an iPad Pro. Or just get the 1 TB SSD and keep my iPad Air 2 as my primary iPad.
I really like big screens (I own an iPhone 6s Plus too) so kind of looking forward to this big iPad Pro, but I only think he is too damn heavy. I believe as heavy as the very first iPad but otherwise it looks like a fine machine.

I work a lot with large video files, 1080p60 for the moment but planning to shoot in 4K soon.
What I would like to do is to get the 512 GB SSD, do my video work (with FCPX) on the SSD and when finished offload it to my FireWire 800 HDD (4TB in Raid). I only need to buy an FireWire to Thunderbolt adapter for it since we do not have FireWire ports on the iMac anymore.

I have cancelled my iMac order at the very last moment to buy me some time to think all over again. I am planning to use my iMac for the next 5-7 years. I don't use my iPad Air 2 very often since I have the iPhone 6s Plus (and before the 6 Plus) but I think I would do my web surfing on the iPad Pro once I got one. I am not planning to use its pro features.

Help me out guys, what is the best option?

 

[Melodeath]

Are you guys typically working OFF of external drives, or do you work on the internal SSD, and then transfer the files to an external spinner for storage? I'm wondering because with my externals, they take quite a while (relatively speaking) to spin up (they stop spinning when not being accessed), and it's actually kind of frustrating compared to my internal 7200 RPM, and would surely be infuriating compared to an internal SSD. Thunderbolt 2 unfortunately isn't going to make the drive spin up faster haha

 

[Sirmausalot]

Here's what I think. For sure. Since you have the budget for it and you are working with that kind of video get the 1TB SSD no question. Prioritize your work (it sounds like you might even get paid for it). I'm not sure how FCP X works, but Premiere creates a media cache database and if it could be on an internal SSD (and you could put renders and the like there) it would be screamingly fast. And although media can live on an external happily, I like my major projects (8 feature films) to actually live on my internal drive if possible. At HD resolutions, as you know, these are upwards of 20GB files. Coupled with the extras, it adds up quick (Shameless self promotion www.grandfatherfilms.com)

Wait on the iPad Pro. That is the luxury item here, especially since you have two other iDevices. Also, this is the first iteration of the iPad Pro. Wait for the second if you can hold out another 12 months (and I think you can).

And you really, really should install the memory yourself! Get it from Amazon.nl I couldn't justify the 1TB SSD given my cashflow, but in your position, it isn't even a question.

Wow, looks like I am going through the same SSD question.
I actually have the budget to max out the 27 inch iMac. I'll just go with the factory built Ram (32 GB), but I know I can get it cheaper from OWC. I once bought Ram from them and had compatibility issues and don't want to go through the hassle anymore. They replaced it by the way, but I am from The Netherlands and it took months to replace it and I also got in trouble with customs.

I have this dilemma of going for an 512 GB SSD (instead of 1 TB) and save money for an iPad Pro. Or just get the 1 TB SSD and keep my iPad Air 2 as my primary iPad.
I really like big screens (I own an iPhone 6s Plus too) so kind of looking forward to this big iPad Pro, but I only think he is too damn heavy. I believe as heavy as the very first iPad but otherwise it looks like a fine machine.

I work a lot with large video files, 1080p60 for the moment but planning to shoot in 4K soon.
What I would like to do is to get the 512 GB SSD, do my video work (with FCPX) on the SSD and when finished offload it to my FireWire 800 HDD (4TB in Raid). I only need to buy an FireWire to Thunderbolt adapter for it since we do not have FireWire ports on the iMac anymore.

I have cancelled my iMac order at the very last moment to buy me some time to think all over again. I am planning to use my iMac for the next 5-7 years. I don't use my iPad Air 2 very often since I have the iPhone 6s Plus (and before the 6 Plus) but I think I would do my web surfing on the iPad Pro once I got one. I am not planning to use its pro features.

Help me out guys, what is the best option?

 

[ohsnaphappy]

A fast external thunderbolt drive will be $1000+ end of story.

1TB or more?
1000 mb/s
$1000+

That's why I'm getting the MUCH faster 1TB SSD. Apple has the best price on 1TB that runs at 2000mb/s.

 

[xgman]

Wow, looks like I am going through the same SSD question.
I actually have the budget to max out the 27 inch iMac. I'll just go with the factory built Ram (32 GB), but I know I can get it cheaper from OWC. I once bought Ram from them and had compatibility issues and don't want to go through the hassle anymore. They replaced it by the way, but I am from The Netherlands and it took months to replace it and I also got in trouble with customs.

I have this dilemma of going for an 512 GB SSD (instead of 1 TB) and save money for an iPad Pro. Or just get the 1 TB SSD and keep my iPad Air 2 as my primary iPad.
I really like big screens (I own an iPhone 6s Plus too) so kind of looking forward to this big iPad Pro, but I only think he is too damn heavy. I believe as heavy as the very first iPad but otherwise it looks like a fine machine.

I work a lot with large video files, 1080p60 for the moment but planning to shoot in 4K soon.
What I would like to do is to get the 512 GB SSD, do my video work (with FCPX) on the SSD and when finished offload it to my FireWire 800 HDD (4TB in Raid). I only need to buy an FireWire to Thunderbolt adapter for it since we do not have FireWire ports on the iMac anymore.

I have cancelled my iMac order at the very last moment to buy me some time to think all over again. I am planning to use my iMac for the next 5-7 years. I don't use my iPad Air 2 very often since I have the iPhone 6s Plus (and before the 6 Plus) but I think I would do my web surfing on the iPad Pro once I got one. I am not planning to use its pro features.

Help me out guys, what is the best option?

The weak point in your setup is the firewire. You really need to get off that old slow, unreliable (in comparison) technology and move at least to usb 3.0 if not to TB enclosures, raid or no raid.

 

[richpjr]

I'd prefer a 512GB SSD drive, but I have a lot of credit at Amazon and they only offer stock configurations for preorder at the present time, so I guess I'll go for the TB FD.

 

[762999]

Ah I knew there was a reason. I also do web design but I work in OSX with windows running in a VM for that.

I just wiped my bootcamp partition as I have ordered a new retina iMac which will serve solely as a bootcamp machine (selling my windows workstation and don't want to keep rebooting the iMac as I am often running an amp stack which I do not want to shut down. The new iMac arrives Friday, I will install bootcamp and test 1440p and 1080p and let you know.

Did you try Mamp instead of Wamp? it works well on the Mac.

 

[Sirmausalot]

I'd prefer a 512GB SSD drive, but I have a lot of credit at Amazon and they only offer stock configurations for preorder at the present time, so I guess I'll go for the TB FD.

Make sure you get the 2TB Fusion (that has the 128SSD) rather than the 1TB (which only has 24Gb SSD)

 

[xgman]

I think I will play it safe and stick with the 256GB SSD, or maybe fork out for 512GB. The 2TB Fusion which I am looking at for the 3rd 27 inch option is faster than 5400rpm (7200 maybe), but still not worth it I assume.
Thanks.

I go by the rule that you should always go for one step up from what you can safely afford since your options for after the sale are rather limited and you don't want to have to be on edge about storage space or storage speed for that matter. And not to forget that you need a generous amount of "free" space on any drive in order to operate well. For what it's worth, I personally would never consider buying any computing device (aside from a budget one) that didn't have solid state storage as the OS drive no matter what the saving were. Just not worth it.

 

[Brandon Ess]

Ah, my brother in indecision, you took the plunge! I had retreated for a couple of days to do more fretting and hand-wringing. Still can't make up my mind. I even considered perhaps upgrading my 2010 MBP with another SSD (replacing the obsolete optical drive) and bumping up the RAM, while shelling out for a decent monitor, thus fashioning a makeshift desktop to tide me over until the next iteration of iMacs. But...but...having a nice new system now would be so nice. Gah!

What configuration did you end up going with?

LOL Funny you call me out on making the purchase! I did in fact place an order yesterday, but canceled it this morning. (Long story short, I need to wait until payday to be sure I've got the spare cash, I had to replace my washer/dryer this week.)

I had ordered, and will probably reorder again later, the top end 27" and only changed the storage to 512 SSD. Since a majority of my computer use is: web browsing, homework, typing reports for school, occasionally running 1-2 VM's of Windows/Server 2012, and maybe once every 6 months playing World of Warcraft, I decided that the default i5 and default M395 GPU would well serve my needs. I'd love to go maxed out, but the nearly $500 extra just isn't justifiable to me based on what my needs are.

I'll probably wish I had spent the money later, but from a price vs value perspective, that configuration is the most economical.

 

[antman2x2]

LOL Funny you call me out on making the purchase! I did in fact place an order yesterday, but canceled it this morning. (Long story short, I need to wait until payday to be sure I've got the spare cash, I had to replace my washer/dryer this week.)

I had ordered, and will probably reorder again later, the top end 27" and only changed the storage to 512 SSD. Since a majority of my computer use is: web browsing, homework, typing reports for school, occasionally running 1-2 VM's of Windows/Server 2012, and maybe once every 6 months playing World of Warcraft, I decided that the default i5 and default M395 GPU would well serve my needs. I'd love to go maxed out, but the nearly $500 extra just isn't justifiable to me based on what my needs are.

I'll probably wish I had spent the money later, but from a price vs value perspective, that configuration is the most economical.

Hahahaha I'm on the 6-month cycle with WoW as well.

 

[Brandon Ess]

Hahahaha I'm on the 6-month cycle with WoW as well.

LOL. Yeah, a long time ago (2007 or so) I played heavily. Quit around 2009. Built a massive Windows gaming PC last year and started playing for about a month, then decided to go back to college to finish my BS Degree. Now that school occupies my time, I rarely get on WoW anymore.

Considering that WoW is the only game I'd probably ever pick back up, I'm fairly confident that the default 2GB M395 should handle WoW just fine. I have no proof to base that on, only that WoW isn't that much of a resource hog, and my 4.0 GHz i7/16 GB RAM/2 GB GTX 770 GPU would run WoW at over 120 FPS. I can't imagine a 2 GB GPU/i5 CPU/8 GB RAM machine not being able to at least meek out a consistent 60 FPS on WoW. But I could be wrong.

 

[duckwellboots]

LOL Funny you call me out on making the purchase! I did in fact place an order yesterday, but canceled it this morning. (Long story short, I need to wait until payday to be sure I've got the spare cash, I had to replace my washer/dryer this week.)

I had ordered, and will probably reorder again later, the top end 27" and only changed the storage to 512 SSD. Since a majority of my computer use is: web browsing, homework, typing reports for school, occasionally running 1-2 VM's of Windows/Server 2012, and maybe once every 6 months playing World of Warcraft, I decided that the default i5 and default M395 GPU would well serve my needs. I'd love to go maxed out, but the nearly $500 extra just isn't justifiable to me based on what my needs are.

I'll probably wish I had spent the money later, but from a price vs value perspective, that configuration is the most economical.

Cool, glad to know you got over that fence of indecision. Was there any reasoning in particular that prompted you to make the purchase in the end? Just curious, as I know we shared some similar concerns the other day.

Your iMac configuration is essentially what I'll go for, should I ever decide to leap off the fence and join you on that side.

 

[Brandon Ess]

Cool, glad to know you got over that fence of indecision. Was there any reasoning in particular that prompted you to make the purchase in the end? Just curious, as I know we shared some similar concerns the other day.

Your iMac configuration is essentially what I'll go for, should I ever decide to leap off the fence and join you on that side.

Honestly, the two things that drove me to consider making the switch was Windows 10 and all that privacy issues that go along with it, and that as I've migrated my mobile devices over to iOS it just makes sense to be in the same ecosystem. I'm still running Windows 8.1 but get pissed every time I boot up and get the pop-up message to upgrade to Windows 10

 

[atlatnesiti]

You're not believe it, but I'm still using 2009 iMac 27", i7, 16gb ram.
I was hoping for upgrade this year, but Apple decided to introduce crap macs
Maybe next year

 

[duckwellboots]

Honestly, the two things that drove me to consider making the switch was Windows 10 and all that privacy issues that go along with it, and that as I've migrated my mobile devices over to iOS it just makes sense to be in the same ecosystem. I'm still running Windows 8.1 but get pissed every time I boot up and get the pop-up message to upgrade to Windows 10

Makes sense. I haven't used Windows in almost a decade at this point, but I do plan on running Parallels with any new machine, so it's good you mentioned the issues with Windows 10. Would you recommend Windows 8.1 then?

I did originally have parallels on this MBP, but eventually jettisoned it in favour of more disk space. With some of my current work requiring Windows-only programs, however, I'll be going back to parallels whether I get a new system or not.