New imac owner advice please

Hi...great forum. Long time windows user/owner now switching to Mac. Just about to purchase a Imac 21.5 1 gig gforce vid card, 16 gig ram 2.9 ghz i5 quad. 1tb standard hd drive.

Plan to use for music, organize and loading family pics, ripping in home hd home videos, maybe some games, multimedia streaming to apple tvs (using apple extreme). Will likely connect two external hard drives (will purchase powered usb hub).

Questions...
- much performance difference between 2.7 and 2.9 ghz i5?
- any good blue/ray DVD imac drive recommendations?
- any good recommendations for hd home video rip in software and burn DVDs? (I.e. Native imac programs good enough to use?)
- any other advice for a new imac owner? (Have had iPads and iPod and iPhones for years)

ckmerc said:

Questions...
- much performance difference between 2.7 and 2.9 ghz i5?
- any good blue/ray DVD imac drive recommendations?
- any good recommendations for hd home video rip in software and burn DVDs? (I.e. Native imac programs good enough to use?)
- any other advice for a new imac owner? (Have had iPads and iPod and iPhones for years)

Click to expand...

You won't notice the difference between 2.7 and 2.9 GHZ, it's not worth the extra cost.

Blue Ray drives can be purchased from Other World Computing: LINK

Most folks use the free Handbrake to rip home recordings.

Other advice: Buy the maximum amount of memory that you can afford and as large a SSD or hard drive. The 21.5" iMac is not user upgradeable. And add Apple Care.

Should I take the money savings from the 2.7 vs 2.9 and put towards a fusion drive or upgrade the RAM to more than 16 gig?


- just checked on apple.com and I am not sure I can get the 1 gig video memory in the 2.7ghz processor config?

Upgrade the memory. Fusion drives do increase speed but in my opinion, the extra money should be put toward more memory. More memory is going to future proof your new iMac more so than a Fusion drive. Of course if you can afford both....

Thanks so much for the responses....Looks like I can only go up to 16 gig ram....that is what I planned on getting. My question is that is if I get the 2.7ghz config 1.5 imac I don't (appear) to have option to select 1 gig video card....only have option for iris pro graphics card.

Thus it seems I need to go with the 2.9ghz config so I can get the 1 gig vid card nvidia. What am I missing?

Thanks in advance

You're not missing anything. Only the more expensive 21.5" iMac comes with the discrete graphics card. However the Benchmark score for the iMac with Iris Pro Graphics is 179 while the score for the machine with the nVidia card is 189. The Iris Pro will borrow up to 1 GB of system memory for graphics. The Intel Iris Pro is an excellent integrated GPU. Unless you need the discrete graphics for games or photo editing, the Intel Iris Pro should suffice. However, it's up to you. If you can afford the higher end 21.5" iMac with the extra memory, then that's the way to go.

Great advice and appreciate replys....so assuming I go with the top 21.5 imac.....is it worth extra money for fusion drive? In terms of "future proofing"....with this help significantly vs standard hard drive?

I'm kind of neutral when it comes to paying extra for a fusion drive. Yes, it does speed things up but there have also been some problems with them. Do some googling on fusion drives before you make up your mind. Personally I would rather have a large SSD instead but right now that's too expensive when ordering from Apple.

Best advice imho is to step up to the 27" model. And as chscag states SSD Yes Fusion No.

Heartfelt thanks for advice...I changed my order to standard drive vs fusion. Can't get 27" as it would be way too big for the table hutch in kitchen.. So saved 200 with downgrading drive....so I am gonna get a fee perhiphals....optical drive and usb powered hub for network drive connection to apple extreme.

Sounds like a great plan. Let us know how you like it when it arrives and as you begin to use it.

Thanks for link to DVD blue ray reader burner drives....anyone in particular stand out that others here have had luck with?.....I.e. Plug and play and work well...reliable

Give a call to OWC on their 800 line and speak to one of their sales techs. Those guys and gals that work there are real knowledgeable and should be able to recommend the best one for your new iMac.

Will do...thx. Must say.. I have purchased a lot of electronics over the years... Been on a lot of forums and worked with tech support..... This has really been a great experience so far all around...many thx

The best tech support would have been .. get the saw out and use on the hutch (joke)!!!

Enjoy your iMac and keep coming back please.

good stuff harryb2448....will definitely be back. currently reading stickees to become more acclimated with operating in Mac environment.... sure this will my first of many Macs to come...