Which iMac for me?

[Koi Dragon]

I am the happy owner of a Macbook Core2Duo from the end of 2006. It's a great tool and I enjoy it really much, but it start to have some issues after 4,5 years of intensive use and I also saw that I use computer 90% of the time at home, so I'm thinking about getting something more powerful, with better ergonomics and with a wide screen to avoid to kill my eyes.

I will use the iMac for browsing Internet, work with Logic Pro and play Football Manager, my doubts are:

- 21,5" or 27"? The 21,5" seems to be enough but here I read of many people who regretted the purchase afterwards. I am looking for a new job and this also is important to consider, since maybe I'll need to relocate by plane (I'm from Italy but at the moment looking for jobs in Japan and North America) and I wouldn't know how to carry a 27" (indeed the 21,5" would be problematic too).

- 2,5 - 2,7 - 3,1 GHz? i5 or i7? For Internet is the same, which improvements could I expect with Logic? And with Football Manager?

- which graphic card? which is the difference in performance of these cards?

For the RAM I don't care, anyway I will buy (if I need it) aftermarket, so at the moment is not an issue.

 

[Dresevski]

If you can afford the 27" I would get it. I was paying a bunch of money to get the computer and didn't want to have a regret later that I could've gotten the extra 6" but didn't then think about it all of the time. I got the top of the line because I have been waiting to get this computer since a few months after purchasing my 07 15" MBP.

i5 vs i7 probably won't make much of a difference now but the i7 may help you out a little more later since it can hyperthread and is just a faster processor. Depends on money situation. This and the screen size are the two things you cannot change later.

Graphics card...just don't bother with the 2GB addition.

Good idea with the RAM, however now might be the time to buy. Prices are probably not going much lower.

 

[ddarden]

iMac

I would think the 21.5 iMac is large enough. Upping it to 27" will cost you 10 pounds of weight and difficult travels when moving it to Japan (or wherever).

The Core i7 upgrade isn't that expensive and it would surely help with Logic Pro. I have the 21.5 with i7 upgrade and it's faster than my older core i7 PC.

Upgrading to the SSD is pricey. It gains you superfast startups/restarts. The apps open instantly. The machine is completely quiet.

Hope that helps.

 

[xkmxkmxlmx]

I would go for the 27" for the sole reason you could b living in Japan.

You can either ship it to yourself or check it as a bag when flying. It won't be cheap, but the 21" will have to go the same way and will also probably cost you money.

If you're shipping a lot of stuff over, you can look into freight by boat. It will take longer, but it is cheaper.

Anyway, the reason I say to get the larger screen is because I used the 24" while I lived there a few years ago and it worked out perfectly. Not sure what type of job you're going for, but even if you're moderately successful, you may still end up living in a very tight space. The 24" served as my computer AND my TV. I always wished it was a bit bigger for the TV, and the 27" would have been perfect.

 

[mac-ho]

My guess is that you could buy a New iMac in Japan and North America. They are pretty modern these days. If you do find someone that sells iMacs, I would get the 27".

 

[Koi Dragon]

My guess is that you could buy a New iMac in Japan and North America. They are pretty modern these days. If you do find someone that sells iMacs, I would get the 27".

If I could I would wait, but first of all I don't exactly know where and when I'm gonna relocate, it could be next month but could be also after 4-5 months and second I need the iMac now.

I'm thinking about buying:

iMac 21,5" - i7 2,8GHz
4GB Ram (will upgrade later if I'll need)
HD ATA 1TB

Do you think is a good choiche? Or I will regret thinking that with 500€ more I could had the 27" - i7 3,4GHz?

I would love to have also SSD, but 600€ are too much...