New Mac, Which one is actually worth it ?

[Lengbar]

Hi guys,

I plan on getting a new apple computer soon on finance. I'm a home producer and that's what i plan to mainly use this for. I just need a hand on choosing which one is actually worth it for the money as they all average the same price at different specs.

(Note i did have this all nicely presented and then i closed the webpage by accident just as i went to post, so this is now a rushed post)

Option 1)

21 inch imac

3.1GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X8GB
1TB Fusion Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 1GB GDDR5
Apple USB SuperDrive
Apple Magic Mouse

(Note that the processor has been upgraded from
2.9GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
and the ram has been upgraded from 8 to 16)

Total Price. £1,883.00
Total Price for i5 with 8gb: £1,563.00

option 2)

27 inch imac

3.2GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X8GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M 1 GB GDDR5
Apple USB SuperDrive
Apple Magic Mouse

total price: £1,813.00

Option 3)

27 inch imac

3.4GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
Apple USB SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M 2GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse

Total Price £1,803.00

If you have a better suggestion for what setup is actually worth the money let me know.

I just need the unit to be future proof for like 5years+ if thats even possible.

Edit: I own a macbook pro 2009 model ( The battery has currently died, i will most likely replace the battery, hdd, and ram all together in a couple months down the line for portable music operations, Hence why i haven't included a macbook pro option)

 

[pigoo3]

I just need a hand on choosing which one is actually worth it for the money as they all average the same price at different specs.

They are all actually worth it…otherwise why would Apple be selling them??

But if what you really meant was which one do we think is best…even this question is not easy to answer…since we all have different needs.

For example…I would definitely go for one of the 27" display models…since I like a large display. But someone else may prefer the smaller 21" display. Lighter weight…smaller desktop to put it on, etc.

2nd example. Two of the computers have 16gig of ram…and one has 8gig of ram. More ram may be more important to some folks.

3rd example. One of the computers have 2gig of video ram…the other 2 have 1gig of vram. More vram may be more important to some folks.

The bottom line is…you need to decide which of these differences are important to you…then choose.

- Nick

 

[Lengbar]

Thank you for your response Nick.

I mainly just need it to be future proof for a good couple of years (5 preferably), i will be mainly using it for music production (multiple plugins) maybe some video editing as this is something i wish to get involved in, as well as some photoshop.

Anything that will allow me to play games in a bonus as well!

Maybe i should ask the following quesitons though,

For sheer power, which is worth the money ?
Which one of those is likely to still perform well in 5 years time in comparsion to newer units ?
Is apple releasing a newer imac anytime soon ?

I understand i've linked 3 different models with completely different specs. I'm just trying to get the best for my money :/

 

[pigoo3]

For sheer power, which is worth the money ?

If anything…the 21" I would say is probably the least "bang for the buck" so to speak.

Which one of those is likely to still perform well in 5 years time in comparsion to newer units ?
Is apple releasing a newer imac anytime soon ?

This would require predicting the future…not an easy thing to do (just being honest). I personally own 7-8 year-old Mac's that can still do many daily tasks well.

I understand i've linked 3 different models with completely different specs. I'm just trying to get the best for my money :/

All three computers will "get the job done"…and will probably continue to get things done at least 3+ years from now. It's really hard to predict beyond that. Your needs may change…the computing world may change…who knows.

If it were me…I would go with choice #2. All three computers from a cpu and graphics perspective will be fairly close. So I'm going with #2 for the 27" display and the 16gig of ram.

HTH,

- Nick

 

[harryb2448]

Go with the 27" 3.4GHz and upgrade the memory to 16GB yourself. Can you order with a Fusion drive? That would be much faster.

 

[pigoo3]

Go with the 27" 3.4GHz and upgrade the memory to 16GB yourself. Can you order with a Fusion drive? That would be much faster.

OP didn't offer this as a possibility…so I stuck with the 3 choices mentioned.

But this is probably the best idea. Spend a little bit more for the 16gig of ram.

- Nick

 

[Lengbar]

Go with the 27" 3.4GHz and upgrade the memory to 16GB yourself. Can you order with a Fusion drive? That would be much faster.

Just to confirm, you are saying I should get the following:

3.4GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB
1TB Fusion Drive
Apple USB SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M 2GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Wireless Keyboard (British) & User's Guide (English)
AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac
Accessory Kit


And then change out the 2 4gb rams my self ?

I read that on imac this is difficult ? or is that just the 21 inch units?

Is AppleCare worth it ?
Does anyone have any experience with apple finance?
Would that setup dominate the previous setup (as its costing me another £200-300)

 

[Lengbar]

Also please advise generally what is the best unit I can get for the £2000 I'm likely to spending here?

Sorry for all the questions but I'm 21 and I'm trying to make a sound choice.

 

[nickyr]

go for one of the 27" models

upgrading the RAM is simple - 2 minutes.

I don't think it's even a DIY job on the 21.5" models as these are sealed

 

[Lengbar]

Okay so I reckon I will go for one of these 27 inch models.

What would people suggest for additions to add into the package? ( superdrive, the 1tb fusion drive so on...)

 

[chas_m]

You asked which of these options will still be performing well compared to brand new units five years from now?

The answer is: none of them. Five years is a LONG time in the computer world and the computers of 2019 will make your computer today (no matter which one you get) seem like a horse and buggy by comparison. All that can be said is that your computer will to do the same tasks it does today in the same way it does them five years from now, but your needs and sophistication of the software may have changed a lot.

This is not to imply that your purchase today will be a worthless scrap heap in 2019 -- I'm writing this to you literally on a five-year-old MacBook Pro that does nearly everything I ask of it well. But I am increasingly coming up against the limits of what is possible today versus what was possible/important five years ago.

The iMac 27" is the better choice both because it is easily RAM-upgradable and because of a larger, beautiful display. The Core i7 is going to go "out of date" slower than a Core i5 or i3 (for example), and clearly quad-core is better than dual-core.

Of the three you listed, you'd be happiest for the longest time with #3, particularly if you later bump up the RAM to a much higher level (16GB at least for your needs). Given the increasing emphasis on graphics cards/chipsets, the 2GB video card provides the most "bang for your buck" in that area and while it may not seem like a priority for music production, it will help future-proof the machine.

Plan on getting much more external storage in the future as well. 1TB may seem like a lot now but what you're going to produce on that machine will fill up that hard drive within months.

 

[Lengbar]

Cheers guy's for the responses I think I'm pretty set on what I plan to get now

Does anyone have an experience with AppleCare? Just because I understand you get a year warrenty with the units ? If so surely before the year goes out I could buy apple care later down the line ?

Just thinking of ways to reduce this monthly cost as so far it works out to be about £180 a month. Over the 12months.

 

[ibrhmymn]

hi I am planing renew my computer and I am really uncertain about option to choose. I generally use computer for photshop and photo editing and regular internet access (movie download etc.). Actually I have never used a iMac before. And I have two options; first build a new pc (with oem parts) or second buying a 27" iMac. What do you suggest me to do. Actually I care two thing in my new pc, it should be silent and if possible produce little heat for the environment. When we come to the price point, if I build my pc with recent oem parts which have top configuration + minimum 24" monitor it will close to the price of 27" iMac.
Is there any body which have used both systems (pc and Macs) that can help me to solve this dilemma.
Thank you in advance.

 

[pigoo3]

hi I am planing renew my computer and I am really uncertain about option to choose. I generally use computer for photshop and photo editing and regular internet access (movie download etc.). Actually I have never used a iMac before. And I have two options; first build a new pc (with oem parts) or second buying a 27" iMac. What do you suggest me to do. Actually I care two thing in my new pc, it should be silent and if possible produce little heat for the environment. When we come to the price point, if I build my pc with recent oem parts which have top configuration + minimum 24" monitor it will close to the price of 27" iMac.
Is there any body which have used both systems (pc and Macs) that can help me to solve this dilemma.
Thank you in advance.

You're talking an almost completely different situation than the OP of this thread. It would probably be a better idea to start your own thread…and not hijack this one.

- Nick

 

[ibrhmymn]

You're talking an almost completely different situation than the OP of this thread. It would probably be a better idea to start your own thread…and not hijack this one.

- Nick

ok thank you for your advice then I am starting a new topics.

 

[pigoo3]

ok thank you for your advice then I am starting a new topics.

Yes…I already saw it & responded to it.

Thanks,

- Nick