Which 27 inch iMac in Apple Store??

[Mac2004]

Which 27 inch iMac model is the best to buy at the Apple Store for a good home office computer that's fast for email, word processing, using iPhoto, watching YouTube, Internet, spreadsheets, Pages, Numbers, watching movies, etc. They are as follows:

Basic 27" model monitor with basic 7200 rpm 1tb hard drive, no retina, 8gb of memory.

27" retina 5k monitor with basic 7200rpm 1tb hard drive, 8gb memory.

27" retina 5k monitor with 1tb flash drive, 8gb memory.

I want to be able to walk out of the store with the iMac so I will need one of the models above with no modifications. I also don't want to over buy if I really don't need it. I just want a good basic computer that is fast and the best desk for the money. I believe the difference is about $200 per model so the high end bottom one is about $4-500 more.

 

[ImBuz]

I bought this one--and I am a fairly heavy user--video, photos , etc.

27" retina 5k monitor with basic 7200rpm 1tb hard drive, 8gb memor

and it is sweet

Regards Buz

 

[Mac2004]

I bought this one--and I am a fairly heavy user--video, photos , etc.

27" retina 5k monitor with basic 7200rpm 1tb hard drive, 8gb memor

and it is sweet

Regards Buz

I was told you really cannot tell much of a difference between a regular display and retina 5k display unless you really zoom in. For a general user is 5k retina overkill??

 

[ImBuz]

I would say so ---Yes

Buz

 

[pjfan]

I would walk out of the store with option 3.

This is due to #1 preference - the fusion drive will make a huge differences in performance. I've sworn off normal HDD performance. #2 preference - I do care for the excellent Retina display.

To your point, the 27" display is good, but the 5k is amazing... Perhaps it's overkill for some, but If you plan to take 4K videos on an iPhone 6s or other camera, the 5k display will play it brilliantly. It's a solid investment if you plan to keep the system for years to come.

 

[merkinmuffley]

We have both the retina and non-retina 27 inch IMacs here. If you're doing a lot of work with text on the screen, retina is crisper and (for me) I get less eye strain from it. I'm a photographer and don't notice much difference when processing photos (Photoshop CC) on them. There is a difference, but it's very slight. They are both I7 machines with 32gb of memory.

 

[macs4nw]

Which 27 inch iMac model is the best to buy at the Apple Store for a good home office computer that's fast for email, word processing, using iPhoto, watching YouTube, Internet, spreadsheets, Pages, Numbers, watching movies, etc. They are as follows:

Basic 27" model monitor with basic 7200 rpm 1tb hard drive, no retina, 8gb of memory.

27" retina 5k monitor with basic 7200rpm 1tb hard drive, 8gb memory.

27" retina 5k monitor with 1tb flash drive, 8gb memory.

I want to be able to walk out of the store with the iMac so I will need one of the models above with no modifications. I also don't want to over buy if I really don't need it. I just want a good basic computer that is fast and the best desk for the money. I believe the difference is about $200 per model so the high end bottom one is about $4-500 more.

Depends a lot on whether you want to go the 'future-proofing' or 'saving money' route. Choice #1 will do what you want it to do nicely, however if you plan to keep the computer for at least 3-5 years before upgrading, I would definitely recommend to at the very least go for a Fusion drive, or if your budget allows, a minimum of 512GB Flash, before you even consider the Retina option.

I'm pretty sure most Apple stores stock certain option tiers, but if they don't have exactly what you want, what's a few days wait for a computer you are going to use for years to come?

P.S. Don't forget to check out the Refurb Store, where excellent deals (discounts of around 15-20% usually) can be had, on 'good as new' equipment that has undergone Apple's stringent refurbishment process, and comes with the same warranty and return privileges as new equipment and is also eligible for AppleCare. You'll be hard pressed to tell it apart from new or find any flaws.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

As long as you get a fusion drive or better you'll be happy, it doesn't matter too much which one but the fusion drive (or an SSD) is pretty much a must on any modern PC for me.