Which iMac would suits architect?

Hi guys,

I'm considering buying an iMac today as it is the last day to benefit from a rebate in Australia and I would like to seek expert advice!

I have read a lot of info concerning the graphic card of the new iMac and I cannot make up my mind whether to buy the 2.66 (shared memory gcu) or 2.93 (Nvidia GT 120 or ATI 4850).

I do not intend to play games at all, this will only be used mainly by my partner who requires to run software like Auto-Cad, Maya, Vector Works, Photoshop and so on. I would really appreciate if people who have experience could tell me in the 2.66 would be more than enough for my purpose or I really need to get a better graphic card.

I've never had such a fast and powerful computer and could run the softwares mentioned previously on my machine (was slow at times but worked), hence I believe they would run properly on the 2.66, wouldn't they? Of course, a better graphic card would make it better, but to what extend?

This is a big investment for me and I'd like to get the one that suits best my need without going over the top and explode my budget.

Thanks for all your help.

vodler

I am in a similar boat but can help narrow your choices. The real question is between the GT 130 or the ATI 4850. Both have 512 mb of ram which will help make your investment future-proof for some time. The onboard graphics or gt120 do not compare. A good graphics card will make all the difference. Which manufacturer's card will support MAYA or CAD better? ATI or Nvidia? Will either manufacturers card simply not be able to run these programs, or will one have errors and incompatibilities?

If you are using Maya I wouldnt get the 2.66. While Maya can run on the 9400M it wont be overly fast and and you wont get the most out of Maya tools. But if you want it to just work and dont care about performance issues, it will work.

Sotoy: While yes the 9400M and the GT120 do not compare to the 130 and 4850, the GT120 is definitely a fairly big step up from the 9400M if you look at all the bench marks. Its also faster then the old ATI 2600.

Anyway, for what you are planning on doing the 2.93 with the 120 will be fine since the old ATI 2600 was acceptable with Maya, and the 120 is better.

If you have the extra money get the GT130 and the thing will fly, The ATI 4850 is a better card then the GT130 (which is the old 8800 card) but not sure its worth it for what you are doing.

My vote is the 2.93 with GT120.

vodler said:

Hi guys,

I'm considering buying an iMac today as it is the last day to benefit from a rebate in Australia and I would like to seek expert advice!

Click to expand...

Cutting it a little close aren't we! ;D

Good luck with the purchase...and the excitement of getting a new Mac!

- Nick

Thanks to all of you for your advices!

I finally purchased the 2.93 with the GT 120 - middle range which will be more than enough for my needs I believe.

Just need to wait 2 more weeks to pick it up

Thanks again!

vodler