I've noticed that some users have larger processors than the 2GHz that I'm currently using. I have a bunch of old vcr tapes that I am uploading and converting to DVD. Is a larger processor really necessary and can I upgrade to a larger processor without needing to buy a new Mac?
Also, what is the difference between RAM and a processor?
Haven't heard of any1 changing their processor on an iMac, but 2Gigs is actually pretty good, I don't think you would see all that big of a difference switching maybe to 2.4 ... what you can do is monitor how much you use the CPU(=central processing unit=processor
) using either iStat Pro (a widget) or Activity Monitor, if you permanently have your cpu at 90, 100% then you would notice a difference in upgrading
as for RAM x CPU
the cpu is where all the calculations take place, the main computing power ... the ram (or memory) is something like temporary storage, think of it as the computers short-term memory, while the hard drive is long-term memory
the RAM is extremely fast (at least compared to a hard drive), so you will notice a significant boos in performance by upgrading your RAM (again, only if you use up your current memory)
so if you want to increase your iMacs performance, maybe upgrading your RAM (very easy to do) might help you out a bit, although video encoding is more of a cpu demanding process