Base model 21.5" iMac (mid-2010) vs. Aperture 3.x

[rashdown_online]

Hi.

Can I ask if anyone is using the base model of the new iMac 21.5" i3 (with the standard video card, and i3 CPU) with Aperture 3?

If so, I'd appreciate any preformance comments. I'm a light general user (e-mail, surfing, encoding ATV files, etc.) I'm not a pro-photographer by any stretch, but I use Aperture with Nik & Portrature plug-ins, and like to play with the parameters, etc, then publish to me.com/e-mails or export for printing. I don't use Photoshop, and I don't do gaming.

I do have an OLD Rev.A 2Ghz Core Duo white iMac with 2Gb RAM, and it is still going OK. But I have a Canon 7D and I only shoot RAW, which means each file size is >20Mb. The net result is that after waiting for some 4 hours for Aperture to "process" the imports of say 300 shots, I have to watch the grass grow for about 5 minutes after each step-edit on the RAW files.

Before I get blasted, I know that 2Gb RAM is a BIG problem. But that's the limit on my current iMac. And the base-build 4Gb RAM may show some improvement but I'm likely to add a further 8Gb in time to take it to 12Gb.

But bearing in mind my basic needs, balanced with a desire to stop watching the grass grow between file edits, I'd like to know if the base-build (read: is the video card and CPU upto the job) will be "reasonable" for moderate Aperture use.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[meat popsicle]

I am in a very similar situation. Same older iMac. I just don't have a 7d. Everything is working fine and if it wasn't for these large raw files in Aperture, I wouldn't even think of upgrading.

As such, I am very interested in any feedback regarding Aperture on the base iMac also.

I have most of my media on an external hard drive, so the smaller hard drive on the base model doesn't bother me. If I had to decide right now I would buy the base iMac and add another 8gbs of ram and look at using this for a year or 2 and upgrading. I figure the lower cost of the iMac will make selling/upgrading easier.

 

[TypeMRT]

I made the switch from a 13" MacBook Pro to 21.5" iMac and love it. Before I was connected to a 24" external monitor but I'm not really missing those couple of inches. The combination of going from 4 to 8GB RAM and the 2.26 C2D to 3.06 i3 processor has been very noticeable. The "processing" of 150 12 MB RAW files took about 10-12 minutes. Applying presets & edits results in previews in about 0.25-0.5 seconds instead of 1-5 seconds or longer.
It's crazy to open Activity Monitor to see almost 400% CPU utilization. Go for it!