Which iMac 27"?

[jazz girl]

I want to buy my very first iMac! (iPhone user since 3GS, currently on 5. iPad user since 1, currently on 3).

I currently have a Dell XPS, (Vista Home Premium) 2.4 Ghz Quad core (Intel). It came with 1TB hard drives - 2 x 500GB hard drives with (I think) a RAID array.

The thing has been the worst PC I've ever had (reliability, not performance) & is on its third hard drive. The RAID no longer works and I can only use 1 x 500GB hard drive. I have 2TB of external hard drives which I use to store audio, photos and video.

I'm looking to buy an iMac 27" and would appreciate some advice as to the configuration.

I use Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint & Publisher a lot. I also make short videos for Youtube (and to embed into Powerpoint) using Windows Movie Maker and Live Movie Maker. I got Adobe Premiere Elements too but it's too much for my old Dell which is on its knees, although when it works it's still fast. I use my iPhone 5 and iPad 3 for recording and I'm going to get a Blue Yeti mic.

I haven't got loads of cash to spare but I'd like to get a machine that will last a few years. I've managed to keep the Dell going for about 6-7 years, mainly because of the external HDs. I am happy to continue to store videos etc on external HDs.

I will be using the internet, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Audacity and iMovie / Adobe Premiere Elements the most. I'm looking at:

* 3.2 Ghz i5 or 3.5 Ghz i7
* Happy with 8GB RAM - will update later as necessary
* Not sure about the Fusion drive after bad experience of the RAID drives failing repeatedly
* 1TB or 3TB SATA HD
* NVIDIA Geforce 2GB or 4GB

I can't afford the i7 / 3TB HD with NVIDIA 4GB so it's really what compromise to make with the above to get the best system for my needs. I will also need to add a Superdrive at £65 and Apple care at £139.

I can't decide whether to get a magic mouse or trackpad?


2. Also, if I wanted to use Microsoft Office on the Mac, would I need to install Windows as well? If I need to install Windows, I wouldn't use office on the Mac. (I'm going to reinstall the OS on the Dell to try and get it working better and then run both PCs side by side until I feel able to rely solely on the Mac). I'll have two large screens side by side as well.

I know you must get asked this question a lot so I appreciate your time in replying. Thank you

 

[maflynn]

I can't decide whether to get a magic mouse or trackpad?

Get the mouse and then later on if you want to try the trackpad get that. I don't like trackpads so its not something I'd recommend

2. Also, if I wanted to use Microsoft Office on the Mac, would I need to install Windows as well? If I need to install Windows, I wouldn't use office on the Mac. (I'm going to reinstall the OS on the Dell to try and get it working better and then run both PCs side by side until I feel able to rely solely on the Mac). I'll have two large screens side by side as well.

If you want to use your existing office, then yes you'll need to run windows either in a virtual environment, VMWare Fusion, Parallels or VirtualBox, the latter is free being open source. In a virtual environment you don't need to boot out of OSX. You can also install bootcamp (the App is in Applications>Utiltiies) but like the VM option you'll need to have a copy of windows but unlike the VM option you boot out of OSX and run windows natively.

You can also buy a copy of MS office for the Mac as well, though it may not have all the apps you need, check out what's available.