New IMac Advice

I currently own the following:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 2 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz

I just upgraded cameras and and now shooting at 15.1mp. To say the least my computer speed had died. I have a budget of $4,000 for a new IMAC and Laptop if I have enough cash. I am looking at the 27" i7 core and upgrading to 8 gigs of ram. Please tell me if the upgraded of ram if a waste of money and if I need a Mac Laptop. I have a PC now. I will also be getting $400 for my trade in so my budget is actually $4,400. I am looking to do this Monday so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Tgoldutah

Welcome to the Mac Forums.

You have to decide whether you want portability or a desktop. Once you make that decision, your choice of machines is easy. As for purchasing a memory upgrade from Apple, I would advise against it as you can do the upgrade yourself for much less.

chscag said:

Welcome to the Mac Forums.

You have to decide whether you want portability or a desktop. Once you make that decision, your choice of machines is easy. As for purchasing a memory upgrade from Apple, I would advise against it as you can do the upgrade yourself for much less.

Click to expand...

Good advice about extra ram. Thanks. I do have enough for both a IMac and laptop, I do not know much about MAC latops.

Let's start off by teaching you this:
A Mac is short for "Macintosh." It's not an acronym, thus it should not be capitalised.

To put it another way:
mac: a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
MAC: a data communication protocol sub-layer, also known as the Media Access Control
Mac: a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc.

Ditto for iPod.

Right, now that that's out of the way:

If you're shooting in RAW on a DSLR as it sounds like you are, here's some thoughts on that:

1. A current iMac will probably do just fine with that. You'll want to invest in fast external storage (Firewire 800) and lots of RAM. You might also want to look at the Mac Pros if you're doing this for a living, but otherwise the iMac is more than capable and utterly gorgeous to work on.

2. For a portable, MacBook Pro. That's basically your only option for more than casual photographic use.

3. You'll probably want to move on from iPhoto into something a bit more high-end, like Aperture, Lightroom or (my favourite) ACDSee Pro for Mac (currently in beta). All three of these handle RAW files with great aplomb. I'm not a big fan of Bridge but I do also like Photoshop CS5 (or PS Elements 8 if you don't feel ready to invest in full Photoshop). Be sure to factor in the cost of these programs and external drives (yes, drives plural -- you need to make backups of your important work!) into your budget.