A little confused with the 2 available 21.5 iMacs, buying tomorrow

[nickosbad]

Hiya everyone, sorry if this is maybe repeating some of the other threads but I could do with a bit of help.

I have the opportunity to get a 21.5 iMac tomorrow for £800 for the 3.06 and £1000 for the 3.2 both brand new

Now I know that the faster the processor the better but for the average user, what difference will the upgraded graphics card offer

My main usage will be lots of handbrake encodes (DVD rips for apple TV and converting 1080 mkv to 720 apple tv versions) occasional Photoshop and iMovie use. The only game I have at the moment is Command & Conquer 3 but I may be tempted to get some newer games if the iMac will handle them ok.

My DVD rips currently happen real time, will I see a big improvement??

The 3.2 has the bigger HDD but I can get a 500GB portable drive for £50 that I could store all my movies and music on so that I could use it in my MBP when needed

So given my situation, will I notice any benefit with the upgraded graphics and processor or am I better off using the cash saved to double the ram etc??

My old machine is a 2.16 C2D MBP and it's on it's last legs

 

[pcfarrar]

I would pay the extra £200 and go for the 3.2GHz model ( I did) . The ATI 5670 is a little faster than the 4670, but has twice the video ram, runs cooler and has full DirectX11 support. It's a bit more future proof and will have a better re-sale value in the future.

 

[rkaufmann87]

Because video encoding is extremely processor intensive get the fastest machine you can afford. If using Handbrake is your primary application then that's a no brainer.

Because you say you are a gamer then get the best graphics card you can afford, it's really that simple. Anything that will tax a graphics card such as gaming, 3D rendering, CAD/CAM etc.. you should get the best graphics card you can afford for the best experience.

 

[biggd]

Because video encoding is extremely processor intensive get the fastest machine you can afford. If using Handbrake is your primary application then that's a no brainer.

Because you say you are a gamer then get the best graphics card you can afford, it's really that simple. Anything that will tax a graphics card such as gaming, 3D rendering, CAD/CAM etc.. you should get the best graphics card you can afford for the best experience.

Haha. Aka. SPEND YOUR MAX

 

[nickosbad]

Well the 3.06 is gonna cost me £850 now whereas the 3.2 is still £1000 which makes me lean towards the 3.2, I just hope that the extra cash shows itself as I really liked the idea of a sub £900 iMac!!!

 

[John T]

Well the 3.06 is gonna cost me £850 now whereas the 3.2 is still £1000 which makes me lean towards the 3.2, I just hope that the extra cash shows itself as I really liked the idea of a sub £900 iMac!!!

I was in exactly the same situation as you. I have a friendly Apple Service Provider and borrowed both machines to try out for about a week prior to purchasing. I do a fair bit of intensive work on Aperture plus some video editing.

In practice, I found hardly any difference between the two. I decided (and the people at the Service Centre concurred) to go for the 3.06 and, should the necessity arise, use the cash saved on additional RAM.

I appreciate that to some people, to have the biggest always means the best. However, I prefer to tailor items such as this to my personal requirements and not waste money on facilities that most likely, will never be used.