iMac impending purchase

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I intend to purchase an iMac within the next few months, definitely before the end of the year.

currently i am considering the following:

3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5

In addition to the normal things Macs are used for, i want to burn DVDs and in particular Blue Ray (i appreciate this needs more hardware) photo editing, playing high res games, surfing multiple sites etc, etc.

I have up spec'ed from the standard iMac to allow for future proofing. i do not intend to buy another one for a few years to come

Questions: is future proofing and good idea and is the up spec value for money give the perceived use of the computer

Thanks in advance
 
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The upgraders rule of thumb is get the best you can afford, that's as much as you can do in the futureproofing game.

I would say leave the ram as standard and buy it from newegg/crucial/owc etc as it'll be much cheaper.
 
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I would say leave the ram as standard and buy it from newegg/crucial/owc etc as it'll be much cheaper.

Crikey, I have just searched on 'newegg' and the price of 16Gb is $105, where as Apple charge $600 to upgrade from 4-16. Thanks for the heads up.

Is it easy to install? i live in Qatar and whilst buying the memory over the web is painful, but possible, the Apple reps here are next to useless. In fact that's being fair.

So would probably look to install myself.

thanks in advance
 
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j0nb0y32
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Genius - thank you
 

RavingMac

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Questions: is future proofing and good idea and is the up spec value for money give the perceived use of the computer

Thanks in advance

in my opinion "future proofing" is both impossible and a waste of time and money.
The future moves way too quickly (and in unexpected directions) to be truly proofed against. Better, I believe is buy what you want/need from what is currently available and worry about upgrading when the time comes.
 

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in my opinion "future proofing" is both impossible and a waste of time and money.
The future moves way too quickly (and in unexpected directions) to be truly proofed against. Better, I believe is buy what you want/need from what is currently available and worry about upgrading when the time comes.

Well said!:)

In my opinion...the term "future-proofing" shouldn't even exist in the computing lexicon! In fact using the term "future-proofing" in an industry that moves as fast as the computing industry...is very likely the worst possible place to even use the term.

Actually when you think about what the term "future-proofing" means...it's a pretty pointless term (no offense meant to the OP). Nothing is really "future-proofable". Unfortunately everything naturally ages...and eventually wears out, gets old, or becomes obsolete.

- Nick
 
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yep, i appreciate my phrase future proof will have irked some of the more technical people in this forum.

My logic though was if I can by an average spec computer, (the standard iMac) which will run everything i may need now or do i get a higher spec which may be cognisant of future programs or operating systems etc released next year or two.. that will / may require higher specs to run for example - lion will not run on anything else that 4gb memory as i have found out last week. As i said at the beginning, i will not buy another for a few years.

anyway thanks for your comments and efforts
 

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yep, i appreciate my phrase future proof will have irked some of the more technical people in this forum.

My logic though was if I can by an average spec computer, (the standard iMac) which will run everything i may need now or do i get a higher spec which may be cognisant of future programs or operating systems etc released next year or two.. that will / may require higher specs to run for example - lion will not run on anything else that 4gb memory as i have found out last week. As i said at the beginning, i will not buy another for a few years.

anyway thanks for your comments and efforts

Not at all irked by the phrase, just don't agree with the logic.
My four year old MBP is still easily capable of handling anything I throw at it. Memory is a cheap and easy upgrade so go for it.
Again, in my opinion it is better to buy what you need to support your current and (near) future usage and save your upgrade money for when the time comes.
 
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mrplow: don't suppose you know the make of the RAM in the iMac do you? i have ready some info on the memory as advertised on Newegg and it seems that not all memory works for all computers, rather, it is specific for your use, for example 2 or 4 cores - one type, 6 or 12 cores another type etc...

Thanks in advance
 

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yep, i appreciate my phrase future proof will have irked some of the more technical people in this forum.

Don't take too much credit for using the term "future-proof"...many many many folks have used it before you!;)

- Nick
 

pigoo3

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mrplow: don't suppose you know the make of the RAM in the iMac do you? i have ready some info on the memory as advertised on Newegg and it seems that not all memory works for all computers, rather, it is specific for your use, for example 2 or 4 cores - one type, 6 or 12 cores another type etc...

Seems to me that for someone who hasn't even purchased the iMac yet (going to buy in the next few months or by the end of the year)...that you're really over-thinking things!;)

When you FINALLY buy your computer...and WHEN you decide to upgrade the ram...just buy the ram from one of these guys (see below)...and everything will be fine.:)

OWC
Crucial.com

- Nick
 
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Seems to me that for someone who hasn't even purchased the iMac yet (going to buy in the next few months or by the end of the year)...that you're really over-thinking things!;)

When you FINALLY buy your computer...and WHEN you decide to upgrade the ram...just buy the ram from one of these guys (see below)...and everything will be fine.:)

OWC
Crucial.com

- Nick

hahah, you are not the first person to say that i over think things - you're right. I need to get it sorted in my head first what to buy where to buy it how long it will take and how much....

thanks for the advice Nick, speak soon
 

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hahah, you are not the first person to say that i over think things - you're right. I need to get it sorted in my head first what to buy where to buy it how long it will take and how much....

thanks for the advice Nick, speak soon

Just in case...if I sounded harsh...I didn't intend to.:)

Rereading your 1st post in this thread...you mentioned what you're going to be doing with this computer...and that initially you were going to get 16gig of ram (but then you were informed that Apple charges too much for ram upgrades).

Let me mention that for the things that you intend on doing with this computer (from post #1):

- burn DVDs
- photo editing
- playing high res games
- surfing multiple sites
- etc.

...the 4 gig of ram that this computer comes with will be just fine. And if you decide later on that you need more than 4gig of ram (8 gig, etc.)...then do it then via one of the vendors I linked earlier.

Again...I think that you will be fine with the 4 gig that comes "stock" with the computer. And if you need to upgrade the ram later...then do it later! Focus right now on actually purchasing the computer!;)

- Nick
 
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Thanks again Nick, will do
 

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