Which iMac? Please help :)

[katpoole3]

Please please help me pull the trigger! I don't have money to blow, need a new computer and have never bought a MAC, but cannot wait to own one. I've read tons of posts and don't feel confident making a decision re: which iMac to get without input from others. I would truly appreciate any input.
I will be doing a lot with photos/photoshop, and basic editing of videos from iphone. I'm leaning towards 27" bc I can upgrade RAM and to Fusion/SSD in future if need be. Or, will 21.5 suit me with 16gb RAM and Fusion drive included. I'm looking at the following refurbished iMacs and am on a budget, and am open to any other suggestions:

Refurbished 27-inch iMac 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
Originally released September 2013
27-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1440 resolution
8GB memory
1TB hard drive1
NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M graphics processor with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
Built-in FaceTime HD camera
$1529.00

OR
Refurbished 21.5-inch iMac 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
Originally released October 2012

21.5-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display

16GB memory

1TB Fusion drive

NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512MB

Built-in FaceTime HD camera
$1569.

 

[MarkieMark92]

Please please help me pull the trigger! I don't have money to blow, need a new computer and have never bought a MAC, but cannot wait to own one. I've read tons of posts and don't feel confident making a decision re: which iMac to get without input from others. I would truly appreciate any input.
I will be doing a lot with photos/photoshop, and basic editing of videos from iphone. I'm leaning towards 27" bc I can upgrade RAM and to Fusion/SSD in future if need be. Or, will 21.5 suit me with 16gb RAM and Fusion drive included. I'm looking at the following refurbished iMacs and am on a budget, and am open to any other suggestions:

Refurbished 27-inch iMac 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
Originally released September 2013
27-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1440 resolution
8GB memory
1TB hard drive1
NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M graphics processor with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
Built-in FaceTime HD camera
$1529.00

OR
Refurbished 21.5-inch iMac 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
Originally released October 2012

21.5-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display

16GB memory

1TB Fusion drive

NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512MB

Built-in FaceTime HD camera
$1569.

I would recommend the 27" one because of the screen space and you can't upgrade screen space after you have brought it. Also the Graphics Card is better so will help with Photoshop and Video Editing. You shouldn't need 16GB memory straight away so you can upgrade that in the 27" when needed and also you can add an SSD to the 27" when you need it Also with the 27" you will find it much more comfortable to use for longer periods of time.

 

[CH12671]

Between those two...it's a no brainer!
27 inches

 

[dizmonk]

I just ordered a 27" Refurbished and I got the 3Tb Fusion Drive.. It really sucks that Apple is limited the 21.5" iMacs to 1TB.

If you have a LOT of photos/videos then I'd recommend the 27" and possibly a regular 3TB hard drive.

 

[Truthfulie]

You can easily upgrade RAM yourself on 27" model up to 32GB, you can't with 21" model. Go with 27".

 

[rkaufmann87]

I would recommend the 27" one because of the screen space and you can't upgrade screen space after you have brought it. Also the Graphics Card is better so will help with Photoshop and Video Editing. You shouldn't need 16GB memory straight away so you can upgrade that in the 27" when needed and also you can add an SSD to the 27" when you need it Also with the 27" you will find it much more comfortable to use for longer periods of time.

Yup, no-brainer get the 27".

 

[katpoole3]

Thank you for the responses, it was just what I needed! Ordered the 27" iMac and am so excited and relieved to finally make the decision. Thank you again for taking the time to respond!

 

[yjchua95]

I'm leaning towards 27" bc I can upgrade RAM and to Fusion/SSD in future if need be.

I don't think you can upgrade the SSD in the new Haswell iMacs because PCIe SSDs that fit the iMac don't exist in the market yet. Hopefully OWC will introduce upgrade kits for it soon (albeit at a pricey cost).