04-04-2011, 11:13 AM

I had made my mind up I was going to get a new iMac with the 2.9 Quad core processer, 2-T plus 256 SDD drive, 8 GB ram until Apple in Malaysia just told me I would have to wait 4 to 6 weeks………….and I don’t want to wait, so now I am thinking I will just go with a stock iMac (biggest in store model) and get a 11” MB Air as well…….my question is will the stock iMac be fast enough for my usage and could I upgrade the HD and Ram at a later date if need be??
I need the computer for the items below;
Email
Surfing web
Running Parallels (to check company mail)
Analyzing my golf swing (same program as I have on my iPhone V1)
Downloading movies
Thanks in advance

04-04-2011, 11:27 AM

The base (i3) iMac can do what you want with absolutely no problems..there's nothing there that's so demanding that you absolutely need the i7 Quad Core for..

Regards

04-04-2011, 11:33 AM

Any iMac should be great for what you stated. I have a 2006 iMac 2.o GHz Core Duo, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB HDD which is still running beautifully. I run iPhoto as well as Photoshop Essentials, Ofiice 2011. I have also used Parallels to run Windows programs, including MS Office (full version), and haven't experienced any slowdowns, lockups, etc. If you want to future-proof your new iMac, order the i5 processor and get more RAM. Buy the RAM elsewhere, as Apple really charges too much for their RAM. OWC or Crucial are good choices. Hope this helps!

04-04-2011, 11:33 AM

You don't need a top of the line machine for anything in that list. If you're going to be running Parallels, I'd suggest at least 4GB of RAM which they all come with now anyway.

04-04-2011, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by Raz0rEdge

The base (i3) iMac can do what you want with absolutely no problems..there's nothing there that's so demanding that you absolutely need the i7 Quad Core for..

Regards

Any idea what you can get in a "on the shelf iMac" if you walk into an Apple store............I am on a Oil Rig in Angola so cant just pop into the local Apple store. I tried looking online but whenever I go to the iMac page it takes me to the configure page so not sure what is stock or what options you can get from a high street Apple store

04-04-2011, 12:02 PM

The base model you are selecting in order to get to the configure page is what you will find in stock in most Apple stores.

You change any of those items from the default on the configure page - you just extended the time it will take for them to ship your machine.

04-04-2011, 12:19 PM

Here you are - specific details on each of the four models available.

The lowest end iMac gives you a Core i3 (3.06Ghz), 4GB RAM, 500GB HD and an ATI Radeon HD 4670 (256MB).

04-04-2011, 01:01 PM

Originally Posted by vansmith

Here you are - specific details on each of the four models available.

The lowest end iMac gives you a Core i3 (3.06Ghz), 4GB RAM, 500GB HD and an ATI Radeon HD 4670 (256MB).

Thanks for the link, I hope that I can get the quad core........no idea what it is but just guessing that if it is more expensive then it must be better. I will also get the 11" MB Air, hopefully with the 128 GB and 4 GB ram and off the shelf??

04-04-2011, 01:08 PM

Just because something is more expensive doesn't make it better.

The question you need to ask yourself is the following: do you need all that power? If not, and money is an issue, don't go for the most expensive simply because it has higher specs (which you don't seem to need). If money is no issue, there is something to be said for buying the best machine possible. Ultimately, it's your call but make sure you know what you're purchasing given your needs (or lack thereof).

04-04-2011, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by vansmith

Just because something is more expensive doesn't make it better.

The question you need to ask yourself is the following: do you need all that power? If not, and money is an issue, don't go for the most expensive simply because it has higher specs (which you don't seem to need). If money is no issue, there is something to be said for buying the best machine possible. Ultimately, it's your call but make sure you know what you're purchasing given your needs (or lack thereof).

Thanks for the comments and I appreciate you being up front.......money is not an issue, I just don’t want to buy something and two weeks later be saying I wish I had done this or that.
From what everyone else is saying I now believe that the off the shelf is plenty big enough for anything that I need.
If at a later date I wanted to add say a SDD drive or more ram would that be possible??

Thanks again
Neil

04-04-2011, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by ndwgolf

Thanks for the comments and I appreciate you being up front.......money is not an issue, I just don’t want to buy something and two weeks later be saying I wish I had done this or that.
From what everyone else is saying I now believe that the off the shelf is plenty big enough for anything that I need.
If at a later date I wanted to add say a SDD drive or more ram would that be possible??

Thanks again
Neil

Completely possible ( well depending on how computer savvy you are ) r 27" iMac comes with a HDD bay and a SSD bay to put a SSD in it's the same as if ou were just switching out your HDD and for the RAM a monkey could change the RAM blindfolded and a little intoxicated but I agree with everyone else the base i3 will jot disappoint you at all for what you'll be doing

04-06-2011, 09:39 AM

Looks like I have some luck with getting the 11" MBA off the shelf with 128 GB HD but it only has 2 GB Ram...............is that going to be OK
emails
internet
pictures
wathch movies while traveling
Could I take it to a local computer shop and have another 2 GB installed at a later date??

04-06-2011, 09:50 AM

Originally Posted by ndwgolf

Looks like I have some luck with getting the 11" MBA off the shelf with 128 GB HD but it only has 2 GB Ram...............is that going to be OK
emails
internet
pictures
wathch movies while traveling
Could I take it to a local computer shop and have another 2 GB installed at a later date??

I'm pretty sure samesung now sell's the new Macbook Air's type of RAM but that doesn't mean a respectable computer shop will change that part ( Just for the fact apple kinda doesn't want DIY ) but possible Yes. But for email, internet watching movies you might need 4GB of RAM if you were doing all of them at once . But in the scheme of things you will love your new computer's ( Apple specializes in computers for email, Web and watching movies)

04-06-2011, 01:23 PM

@TheAmazingApple

Memory is not upgradeable in the MacBook Air. If you buy the machine with 2 GB, that's what you have to live with. The flash storage, however, can be upgraded - but it's expensive.

04-06-2011, 01:28 PM

Originally Posted by chscag

@TheAmazingApple

Memory is not upgradeable in the MacBook Air. If you buy the machine with 2 GB, that's what you have to live with. The flash storage, however, can be upgraded - but it's expensive.

Got mixed up :/ sorry I was wrong