Which iMac for me?

[James Godfrey]

Hi all,

I am currently deciding which iMac to save up for and buy in the new year... However, I am not sure which of the iMac's on offer will suit my needs.

I would use it for the following:

-Typing up documents
-Editing movies
-Editing/mixing music
-Surfing the web (e.g. You Tube, Facebook, odd bingo room/poker room etc)
-iTunes

I like the idea of the 27 inch iMac's for the sole reason of the bigger display, but I am not sure which one.

There currently is the 27 Inch 2.7GHz and the 27 Inch 3.1GHz, will there be much difference between the two and should I just opt for the cheapest of the two?

Also, is it advisable to get AppleCare?

Thanks

James

 

[maflynn]

You get more vram for the GPU and you have a slightly faster cpu. I don't edit movies so I cannot answer whether that's worth the increase 300 bucks.

Personally, I'd get the 2.7Ghz model, mostly because I'll not see that much difference in the performance and I won't really take advantage of the extra vram.

 

[James Godfrey]

Thanks for the advice, I would like to clarify I will probably never use it for gaming at all.

As for music editing this will probably be done about once a week, so not that often, and video editing will probably be done about once every 3 months or so. So very rarely.

I am leaning more towards the 2.7ghz model, but having the beter one (3.1 ghz) is still interesting me, but I am not sure if I will really see any benefits in getting the 3.1ghz model or not and whether or not it will be a waste of £££.

I would also like to add this is going to be my first ever Mac as I have been a PC user for about 12 years now.

Any other tips and help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[alust2013]

Sounds like the 2.7 is a good fit for you. It still is a seriously powerful computer, so you'll have no issues for what you need it for.

Applecare certainly isn't a bad idea, but I personally did without it.

 

[James Godfrey]

Shoudl I just keep the factry specs the same?

And also, should I get the trackpad and magic mouse or just one or the other? Which is best?

Thanks

 

[maflynn]

I prefer a mouse over a trackpad but that decision is really personal preference.

 

[James Godfrey]

This is my current PC:

http://www.mediacroc.co.uk/magento/hp-pavilion-slim-line-s5111-uk-p-desktop-system.html

After looking at the specs of my current PC and that of the 2.7GHz 27 Inch iMac, it looks as though it is quite a big upgrade am I correct?

Thanks

James

 

[Corrosive vinyl]

you will be going to ddr3 from ddr2 RAM (with the ability to have more than 4 GB RAM total)
going to 802.11n from 802.11g wireless
going to a 4 core L3 cache processor from a 2 core L2 cache processor.
You will also get a much bigger faster HDD, etc.

yes, that is quite a big upgrade.