21.5 imac for music production

[redri]

Hi, I am going to buy my very first mac and I've decided it's going to be an imac. I'm completely new to mac and don't know which one of the two 21.5 inches (i3 3.06 or i3 3.2) to buy and thought that maybe you guys can help me.

Like the title says the main usage is going to be for music production and Logic or logic express is going to be used with lots of midi plug-ins.
I'm also going to work with some photo and video (nothing serious yet), some web browsing and mailing (the regular things to do on a pc). And maybe some WoW.

No heavy gaming on the mac, I have a nice windows pc for that

I have a discount when buying that makes it harder to choose:

21,5" 3,06GHz - 1079$
21,5" 3,2GHz - 1349$

Which imac is for me and which one is most future proof?

 

[Hellhammer]

Since you are not going to game, get the base model and use the saved money for more RAM from aftermarket for example. The CPU bump is negligible so the only reason to get the higher-end would be the better GPU but you won't need that as you aren't gaming on it.

 

[Fishrrman]

"Which imac is for me and which one is most future proof?"

For music production, I think the -27"- iMac would be better.

Music apps like a LOT of screen space, especially for horizontal scrolling.

I think you would find any of the 27" iMacs more useful for this than the 21".

 

[redri]

"Which imac is for me and which one is most future proof?"

For music production, I think the -27"- iMac would be better.

Music apps like a LOT of screen space, especially for horizontal scrolling.

I think you would find any of the 27" iMacs more useful for this than the 21".

Forgot to mention, but I have got a 23,5" monitor for my gaming rig that i'm planning to use with the imac for bigger horizontal view.

 

[redri]

Since you are not going to game, get the base model and use the saved money for more RAM from aftermarket for example. The CPU bump is negligible so the only reason to get the higher-end would be the better GPU but you won't need that as you aren't gaming on it.

My thoughts are the same about the cpu, its just not worth the money. But in what possible situations may I need the 5670 except when gaming?
Is the 4670 powerful enough to handle some photo- and video-editing in 3-4 years from now (thats when im planning to buy a new one).
For my needs when it comes to the music im only gonna need some more RAM in the future then its totally fine.

 

[Hellhammer]

My thoughts are the same about the cpu, its just not worth the money. But in what possible situations may I need the 5670 except when gaming?
Is the 4670 powerful enough to handle some photo- and video-editing in 3-4 years from now (thats when im planning to buy a new one).
For my needs when it comes to the music im only gonna need some more RAM in the future then its totally fine.

Only if you do heavy video editing (with Final Cut Suite including apps like Motion) or animation/3D stuff. Even then 4670 is sufficient and 5670 would provide only a marginal speed increase

 

[redri]

Today I placed an order for the higher end 21.5" iMac. It felt more future proof and I think I'm going to enjoy WoW a little bit more because of the better gpu. And it's going to be worth more when I'm going to sell it in the future.

This is my first mac so I'm VERY exited!

Cheers.

 

[EnzoAmata]

Today I placed an order for the higher end 21.5" iMac. It felt more future proof...

I myself am going to be doing music editing on the iMac I've ordered and I've went for the base 27" for the screen real estate. The GPU might come in handy when I have the urge to play a game or two but the screen was my main focus. The bump in the 4Gb running at 1333Mhz, if I want to upgrade the RAM I only need to buy more 1333Mhz to add...

Enjoy it, I'm getting mine tomorrow hopefully if weather allows.