Would it possible to exchange 27" imac i7 3.4

[JSmoove05]

With a 256 SSD +1tb HD I only picked the 1gb video card now im having 2nd thoughts about not upgrading to 2gb video ram.Would it be possible to pay the extra 100 bucks and have them send me one with the 2gb video card anyone know if this is possible?

 

[azax456]

You would need to do a full return and send it back, then buy a new one with the new specs you want.

 

[iSayuSay]

Why bother with 2GB VRAM upgrade? You did the right thing by pick up 1GB VRAM since you'll never gain advantage from extra VRAM. Your machine has 256 GB SSD, which real fast already. Yeah VRAM upgrade only cost $100 .. but I wouldn't return iMac just to get extra VRAM. Too much hassle and not worth the effort, time and money

 

[Georgio]

I did exactly this with my first iMac; the machine was a stinker anyways as it was constantly accessing the HD and locking up, so I just gave back to the shop and did a BTO with the 2GB card; ordered on the Friday and the machine arrived the following Wednesday. Simple.

For all the knockers, the 2GB is better; I don't care about theorycrafting, not using the extra 1GB extra RAM etc., in the real world with a direct comparison between cards the 2GB card feels a lot faster and I can crank up the eye candy in games and it seems to run cooler as well.

With a 256 SSD +1tb HD I only picked the 1gb video card now im having 2nd thoughts about not upgrading to 2gb video ram.Would it be possible to pay the extra 100 bucks and have them send me one with the 2gb video card anyone know if this is possible?

 

[JSmoove05]

ahhh i just called them the process is they send me a fed ex express labels they receive it in 2-3 days. Then they credit back my cards and I can place the order then with the 2gb ram. When I got my BTO I did not get lion pre-installed even though I installed it from apple store nor did i get lion on the box either. Im sure if I did a new BTO I would get lion pre-installed and on the box also with the new Lion keyboard. Also Im wondering if a clean install of Lion would take up less space on the SSD then having SL preinstalled on the SSD anyone know this??? Im really debating if the 2gb video memory is worth it would only cost me 90+ tax with edu. discount. What to do anyone got any advice??

 

[Texran]

ahhh i just called them the process is they send me a fed ex express labels they receive it in 2-3 days. Then they credit back my cards and I can place the order then with the 2gb ram. When I got my BTO I did not get lion pre-installed even though I installed it from apple store nor did i get lion on the box either. Im sure if I did a new BTO I would get lion pre-installed and on the box also with the new Lion keyboard. Also Im wondering if a clean install of Lion would take up less space on the SSD then having SL preinstalled on the SSD anyone know this??? Im really debating if the 2gb video memory is worth it would only cost me 90+ tax with edu. discount. What to do anyone got any advice??

Just from your indecision, I'd opt for the new one. You can't change your mind later, but you could keep kicking yourself.

 

[JSmoove05]

I shipped the new imac back fed ex came to pick it up in literally 5 mins lol. Once they get it back they will refund my card and I can reorder with the 2gb video card and lion pre-installed. Worked out fine i believe. =)

 

[tempusfugit]

you'll never gain advantage from extra VRAM

I stopped reading your reply after this.


OP went the right route IMO. Almost silly not to max out the VRAM if you're going all out. My big moment of indecision was whether or not to go for the SSD right off the bat. I opted out because I will put one in place of my 7200 rpm one eventually, and expand storage through thunderbolt raid when I get my 2011 tax return (yes I have a personal data storage roadmap haha).

In my case, I can change things down the road. I definitely didn't want to get stuck with something I could never upgrade on my own, like the lower VRAM. I slapped 16 gb of regular ram into it before I ever hit the power button once, and this thing freaking screams. It's so fast and brilliant I want to jump for joy. There's also some satisfaction knowing that down the road I'll be booting from SSD and getting insanely fast I/o through thunderbolt storage, so the experience will keep improving. It would have been very annoying to wonder in the future if the video im editing or game I'm playing could have run a little better with some more VRAM.

 

[iSayuSay]

I stopped reading your reply after this.


OP went the right route IMO. Almost silly not to max out the VRAM if you're going all out. My big moment of indecision was whether or not to go for the SSD right off the bat. I opted out because I will put one in place of my 7200 rpm one eventually, and expand storage through thunderbolt raid when I get my 2011 tax return (yes I have a personal data storage roadmap haha).

In my case, I can change things down the road. I definitely didn't want to get stuck with something I could never upgrade on my own, like the lower VRAM. I slapped 16 gb of regular ram into it before I ever hit the power button once, and this thing freaking screams. It's so fast and brilliant I want to jump for joy. There's also some satisfaction knowing that down the road I'll be booting from SSD and getting insanely fast I/o through thunderbolt storage, so the experience will keep improving. It would have been very annoying to wonder in the future if the video im editing or game I'm playing could have run a little better with some more VRAM.

Stop reading if you wish.. boo 😛 ... But really, how great do you think a 6970M is? .. You think I'm being ignorant and smartypant here, do you? I have an iMac with 2GB VRAM, but I was sorry for choosing it. It barely able to play ANY Cryis on 1440p with Ultra/Enthusiast setting, even 1080p is not that smooth !! And I did it with 2GB VRAM!! No different from 1GB, not exactly smoother, not loaded more quickly (I have 12GB RAM BTW)

So, what games do you think in the future that could be handled better on a 6970M chip just by having 2GB VRAM instead of 1GB?? That's why I said it was the most useless BTO option made for iMac, albeit it "only" cost $100.

EDIT: In short .. It's better to have 6990M 512MB (let's pretend it exist) than have 6790M 2GB if you know what I mean, and I would pay extra $100 for that alternative. RAM amount on GPU isn't as important as it is in system. Core amount & clock, memory clock and bandwidth play much more important role.

 

[Georgio]

Aside from the differences in settings that are possible from having the 2GB 6970 you also have to weigh up the resale value in x years when it's time to upgrade.
Having a fully specced machine makes it a lot easier to shift and certainly a 2GB GPU will hold more quodos to a potential buyer than a 512MB GPU as you're suggesting, no? 🙄

Stop reading if you wish.. boo 😛 ... But really, how great do you think a 6970M is? .. You think I'm being ignorant and smartypant here, do you? I have an iMac with 2GB VRAM, but I was sorry for choosing it. It barely able to play ANY Cryis on 1440p with Ultra/Enthusiast setting, even 1080p is not that smooth !! And I did it with 2GB VRAM!! No different from 1GB, not exactly smoother, not loaded more quickly (I have 12GB RAM BTW)

So, what games do you think in the future that could be handled better on a 6970M chip just by having 2GB VRAM instead of 1GB?? That's why I said it was the most useless BTO option made for iMac, albeit it "only" cost $100.

EDIT: In short .. It's better to have 6990M 512MB (let's pretend it exist) than have 6790M 2GB if you know what I mean, and I would pay extra $100 for that alternative. RAM amount on GPU isn't as important as it is in system. Core amount & clock, memory clock and bandwidth play much more important role.