I decided several months ago (after my particularly frustrating experience upgrading to W7) that I want to switch back to Apple & Mac after over a decade of Windows and various hardware.
As a part of this switch, I'm purposefully planning to change the way I use my computer somewhat: the last desktop machine I owned was my last Mac (Performa something-or-other) almost 14 years ago. Since then I've strictly had a laptop of some ilk. While my computer has over the last several years served duty as my sole tool for information, video entertainment and all else, today I find I use my machine 80% for browsing etc., 20% for work related tasks.
Where I land will either be with an iMac + iPad, or iMac + MBA (I'm not sure I can completely give up the full keyboard on the portable, given that most of my web time is on forums like this and a blog, which demand a great deal of typing, and I touch-type well enough on a proper keyboard.)
My question regards the iMac: while what I do today wouldn't challenge even a base-model machine, in the next year I plan to expand my horizons somewhat into CAD-based architecture. I'm a home builder by profession, and feel I could add value to what I do and drastically simplify the design side of my workflow by sketching/editing our building plans, and possibly drawing/rendering them myself.
This will likely involve running one of the architecture-focused CAD programs in Boot Camp (at least for now, until more make their way to OS X natively.)
And so, my request for advice:
Is now the right time to pull the trigger on the iMac purchase? (Yes, I know "Apple will release it when they release it".) Given the recent update to the MBP line, and that the MBP and iMac share somewhat the same architecture, is the next iteration likely to be dramatically more capable of doing what I want to do, or not really? And further, is an update likely imminent?
Secondly, for my specific use above, is my money better spend on the i7 processor upgrade (as I'd buy the i5 in any case), or the i5 with SSD? It seems to me that the CAD rendering would be more processor intensive, rather than challenging the drive speed?
I do have the budget to order the full i7/SSD/HDD package should I choose, but I'm not one to spend a significant amount of money without a compelling intrinsic value proposition to back up the purchase.
Thanks in advance!
As a part of this switch, I'm purposefully planning to change the way I use my computer somewhat: the last desktop machine I owned was my last Mac (Performa something-or-other) almost 14 years ago. Since then I've strictly had a laptop of some ilk. While my computer has over the last several years served duty as my sole tool for information, video entertainment and all else, today I find I use my machine 80% for browsing etc., 20% for work related tasks.
Where I land will either be with an iMac + iPad, or iMac + MBA (I'm not sure I can completely give up the full keyboard on the portable, given that most of my web time is on forums like this and a blog, which demand a great deal of typing, and I touch-type well enough on a proper keyboard.)
My question regards the iMac: while what I do today wouldn't challenge even a base-model machine, in the next year I plan to expand my horizons somewhat into CAD-based architecture. I'm a home builder by profession, and feel I could add value to what I do and drastically simplify the design side of my workflow by sketching/editing our building plans, and possibly drawing/rendering them myself.
This will likely involve running one of the architecture-focused CAD programs in Boot Camp (at least for now, until more make their way to OS X natively.)
And so, my request for advice:
Is now the right time to pull the trigger on the iMac purchase? (Yes, I know "Apple will release it when they release it".) Given the recent update to the MBP line, and that the MBP and iMac share somewhat the same architecture, is the next iteration likely to be dramatically more capable of doing what I want to do, or not really? And further, is an update likely imminent?
Secondly, for my specific use above, is my money better spend on the i7 processor upgrade (as I'd buy the i5 in any case), or the i5 with SSD? It seems to me that the CAD rendering would be more processor intensive, rather than challenging the drive speed?
I do have the budget to order the full i7/SSD/HDD package should I choose, but I'm not one to spend a significant amount of money without a compelling intrinsic value proposition to back up the purchase.
Thanks in advance!