05-06-2011, 12:27 PM

So now that the refreshed iMacs are out, I'm interested in pulling the trigger and getting one and have most likely decided to not wait for Lion since it's a software update that can be done later (at an additonal cost of course.)

My question is about a recommended configuration. I primarily will be using it to browse, edit and manage photos, and edit and manage HD camorder material of the family. I'm thinking of getting the 21.5" with 2 tb and 8 gb ram. I'm thinking of just sticking with the 2.7 GHz i5 chip instead of upgrading to 2.8 GHz i7 chip.

Please provide your thoughts on this config.

On a side note, I'm not sure yet if I will also buy Aperture 3 and Final Cut Express 4 or buy Adobe Premiere and Element. If anybody has any experience of opinion on this, I would certianly appreciate yopur feedback as well.

Thanks in advance all.

05-06-2011, 02:19 PM

The i5 will do your bidding perfect fine, there's no compelling need to go to the i7..if you really need have the upgraded 2TB HDD then do so, but avoid upgrading the stock 4GB of memory, you can upgrade to 8GB yourself by purchasing RAM from either OWC or Cricual (it'll be cheaper and is a 5 min install)..

Regards

05-06-2011, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by Raz0rEdge

The i5 will do your bidding perfect fine, there's no compelling need to go to the i7..if you really need have the upgraded 2TB HDD then do so, but avoid upgrading the stock 4GB of memory, you can upgrade to 8GB yourself by purchasing RAM from either OWC or Cricual (it'll be cheaper and is a 5 min install)..

Regards

I will use the 2 tr because of the large files from the HD camcorder and I'm sure having 8gb of ram will help with rendering and all. I've heard of people saying how easy it is to replace the ram and how overpriced the apple stores charge for the upgrade but frankly, i'm new to the iMac and am not comfortable opening it up. I can replace it on a pc but considering that the brain and heart of the computer is a all in one chasis with the monitor, i'm a little worried about open it up. The apple store is asking for $200 to upgrade to 8gb. Does that sound really overpriced?

05-06-2011, 03:30 PM

Can you use a screwdriver to remove 2 or 3 philips screws? Then you can upgrade the memory in the iMac.

There is a slot at the bottom of the iMac and one you remove the screws, the plate comes out and you'll see the 2 memory slots readily available, plug in the memory stick and you're in business..you are NOT taking apart the iMac.

See for yourself: iMac (2009) Memory (High Quality) Installation Video at OtherWorldComputing.com

Regards

05-06-2011, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by Raz0rEdge

Can you use a screwdriver to remove 2 or 3 philips screws? Then you can upgrade the memory in the iMac.

There is a slot at the bottom of the iMac and one you remove the screws, the plate comes out and you'll see the 2 memory slots readily available, plug in the memory stick and you're in business..you are NOT taking apart the iMac.

See for yourself: iMac (2009) Memory (High Quality) Installation Video at OtherWorldComputing.com

Regards

Wow! That is easy. I didn't realize that the ram was located on the bottom of the screen like that. I always thought you had to completely take aprt the computer and get at the internals to upgrade the RAM. That is easy. Now to figure out what kind of memory card it takes.

05-06-2011, 05:13 PM

Hi halfmonkey

In respect of the second part of your question, the iMac as proposed by Rax0rEdge can easily handle Aperture 3 and indeed Final Cut Pro let alone the Express versions.

I have used both without difficulty on my older 21.5 iMac (8GB) with core duo processors and on the 2010 i7 iMac (16GB) and SSD.

On each, video editing is handled fine (faster on the newer machine) and I also use both as an OsiriX Diagnostic Workstation. Again no problem handling this.

You will have no problem. I cannot speak for Adobe Premiere or Element; but cannot imagine a difficulty there.

Hope this helps.

Good fortune.

Ian

05-06-2011, 05:28 PM

Originally Posted by halfmonkey

Wow! That is easy. I didn't realize that the ram was located on the bottom of the screen like that. I always thought you had to completely take aprt the computer and get at the internals to upgrade the RAM. That is easy. Now to figure out what kind of memory card it takes.

As to memory type itself, visit crucial.com and use their very excellent configuration tool and it will tell you exactly which memory to get..

Regards

05-16-2011, 01:24 PM

So how much of a difference would you say getting either the 21.5 or 27" 2.7ghz i5 chip is vs getting the 27" 3.1 ghz i5 chip with the upgraded video card as well?

Again, please keep in mind that I'll be using this mainly for photo editing and hd camcorder footage of the family and I'll be updating the RAM to 8gb. Thanks.