What do you think the best config for the new iMac?

[scofal]

I have a macbook and I'm planning to buy my first imac soon.

What do you think is best cost vs performance ratio for the new imacs?

Or how are you configuring your new imac?
Curious. Thanks.

 

[photoz]

Max everything out except the SSD drive, go with Fusion.
Over time, this is the better bang for the buck, IMO.

 

[pukingpixels]

It depends on which model. On the 21.5" I'd max out everything except for the SSD and go for the fusion drive. For the 27" I think the best BTO is i7, 8GB ram (max it to 32 GB by yourself for like $150 from crucial.com), 680MX and 1TB fusion drive.

 

[msg362]

Max everything out except the SSD drive, go with Fusion.
Over time, this is the better bang for the buck, IMO.

Agree no need for 786 GB SSD at some amazing price,I've gone for the 3TB fusion and everything else max

 

[jclardy]

For me it would be the low-end 27", upgraded with 1TB Fusion drive and RAM (But maybe just aftermarket...are the RAM slots still accessible?)

Mainly I want a fusion drive, and to get that on the 21.5" you have to go with the high end model, which puts the price very close to the 27". So I would rather have the larger, higher res display.

 

[The DRis]

Still can't decide whether to drop an extra $200 on the i7 upgrade.

Main use will be home computer, but it will be Handbraking every night. I had a quarter of my library done and lost the external drive while on vacation. Also have a bunch of Blu-Ray I haven't even touched yet.

If I get the i7 should I also get the graphics card upgrade as well?

 

[Jingleballz]

It depends on which model. On the 21.5" I'd max out everything except for the SSD and go for the fusion drive. For the 27" I think the best BTO is i7, 8GB ram (max it to 32 GB by yourself for like $150 from crucial.com), 680MX and 1TB fusion drive.

I agree...

Here's my order I placed today:

3.4GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
1TB Fusion Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) & User's Guide
AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac - Auto-enroll

Delivers Dec 24 - Dec 31 by Standard Shipping

Order Total: $2,941.00

 

[torana355]

If you want bang for your buck get the top end 27" with 8 gig ram (upgrade much cheaper later) standard cpu (i7 only has a VERY small increase over the i5 in the benchmarks that have been done) 1 or 3TB fusion depending on your storage needs. Upgraded GPU, small price to pay for the best mobile GPU available!!!
I got this setup but i got the i7 cpu to future proof as much as possible. The 21.5" iMacs are not as good value this time round imo.

 

[scofal]

That's true I forgot about that, that the users can upgrade memory in the 27" still.

I'm definitelty going for the fusion drive the ssd is out of my price range.

Is it worth 200 to upgrade from geforce 675 to 680?

I use my computers for a lot of office work (excel, word, access) (via bootcamp or maybe I'll buy parellels or VM ware with the new imac.

I use adobe products like photoshop a lot and right now I do a lot of video editing with premiere elements, but I like imovie and may pick up FCPX on the app store when I get a new imac (my macbook is from 09 so I just stay with imovie on that)

I think the i5 processor would be fine for my needs, but I'm the type of buyer that gets worried that in a year or two i'd kick myself for not buying the i7.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Galatian]

As I like tinkering with my Mac myself I'm going to order the High-End 27" model but just bump the graphic card to the 680M. With Apple on Campus rebate this is just 1940€. I will get an OWC 480 GB SSD stick to create my own fusion drive with a much bigger SSD part. 8GB is plenty of RAM for most users, but I can always cheaply upgrade that myself.