Help spec'ing out a new Imac 27

[Cajun_Mike]

i'm ready to buy and havent kept up with what's the do's and don'ts?

Which of the 5k models to buy, which hard drive. which version to save money and install more memory yourself, etc.?

my current imac 27 was purchased is iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) so if that doesnt create brand loyalty for longevity nothing else does. Before that i was buying a new tricked out PC every two years for 2,200 a pop each time.

I want to be able to edit 4k video without hiccup but want to get a new one at the best price point possible without overspending for stuff i dont need or can upgrade myself.

Thanks!

 

[jerwin]

umm--
don't buy more than 8GB of RAM from Apple before checking out the prices/availability of third party RAM
if you must buy a Fusion drive, the 1GB version has a really small SSD. But a pure SSD is quite a bit faster.

others can probably add more.

 

[Fishrrman]

"I want to be able to edit 4k video without hiccup but want to get a new one at the best price point possible without overspending for stuff i dont need or can upgrade myself."

Then you want either an i7 iMac or an iMac Pro of some sort. It's that simple.

BUT... you might consider "holding off" until the 2018 iMacs come out (July? August?).
I sense they will have significant improvements over the 2017 models in respect to 4k video performance...

 

[Cajun_Mike]

"I want to be able to edit 4k video without hiccup but want to get a new one at the best price point possible without overspending for stuff i dont need or can upgrade myself."

Then you want either an i7 iMac or an iMac Pro of some sort. It's that simple.

BUT... you might consider "holding off" until the 2018 iMacs come out (July? August?).
I sense they will have significant improvements over the 2017 models in respect to 4k video performance...

I can probably wait a bit longer. I got tired of waiting for the new macbook pro and bought a Dell XPS15 last spring and i'm loving it. Especially since it was over a thousand dollars less and i have SD card slot and more. The new Dell all in one Dell Inspiron 7775. Ryzen 7 1700 + RX 580 has me wondering if i shouldnt go that route on desktop but this imac has been very good to me and i kind of like having both a P.C. option and an Apple option.

 

[Juicy Box]

which hard drive.

Do yourself a favor, and pass on the Fusion drive and just get SSD.

The 1TB Fusion Drive has a pathetic 32GB SSD, and even with the larger 2 and 3 GB Fusion Drives, the 128GB SSD is not big enough imo.

I bought a 27" Late 2012 iMac, with all the upgrades except RAM, and I went for the 1TB Fusion Drive that came with the 128GB SSD at the time. I wished I would have spent the money and just gotten the SSD instead.

If you get the cheapest SSD upgrade, the 500GB one, and you find yourself needing more space, you can always get an external drive.
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BUT... you might consider "holding off" until the 2018 iMacs come out (July? August?).

This is assuming there will be 2018 iMacs...
The 2017 iMacs took 601 days to come, and we are only on the 228th day so far.

 

[Cajun_Mike]

any other recommendations. i feel this mac i'm using is about to five out any day now. I need to make a move.

 

[Juicy Box]

any other recommendations. i feel this mac i'm using is about to five out any day now. I need to make a move.

If you think your current computer isn't going to last long, then waiting for the next model doesn't sound realistic. It isn't like they were just announced, and new iMac might not come out until mid 2019 or later.


As for more recommendations, you really didn't give too much info about what you need/want, so i can give a general guide to buying Macs.

Priorities according to me:

1. Graphics - upgrade as high as you can afford, as this is usually the weak link for a Macs as they age (or even new). I would get the iMac the had the best video card BTO option. This cannot be upgraded later, so you might as well do it now.

2. SSD over Fusion or HDD- Don't gimp your new iMac by sticking with the base HDD. It is ridiculous that Apple is still using HDD boot drives. The 1 TB Fusion drive is a tiny step up from just a HDD, due to Apple gimping it with a small SSD. The 2TB Fusion is better, but just pay the extra amount and get an SSD. If you can't afford this you can use an external SSD boot drive. I think it is possible to upgrade the internal drive, but it is not as easy as older iMacs.

3. Base RAM- stick with the base RAM, and upgrade later if you find that you need more. It is really easy to upgrade the RAM on the 27", so there is no reason to overpay for RAM from Apple.



Again, the video card would be the highest priority, as you are stuck with the graphics capability that ships with your new iMac. There are people using external GPUs, so that might be an option in the future, but I think it is an expensive one.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

any other recommendations. i feel this mac i'm using is about to five out any day now. I need to make a move.

What type of 4K video will you be editing? (From what camera?)

 

[magbarn]

DDR4 is so overpriced right now due to memory cartel pricing, that's its almost worth it to pay the Apple Tax on the memory...

 

[haruhiko]

DDR4 is so overpriced right now due to memory cartel pricing, that's its almost worth it to pay the Apple Tax on the memory...

The 16GB upgrade is priced near the market (arguably upgrading oneself still has better value since you also get a pair of extra 4GB sticks) but 32GB upgrade is still way overpriced.

 

[Fishrrman]

If you need it now, BUY IT NOW.

That said, if you really want the best experience editing 4k, you should buy the i7 (top level) iMac.
Get an internal SSD -- 512gb or even 256gb.
Then -- add external USB3 storage as required (either SSD or HDD).

I'm not a 4k video editor, but from what I've read, the best experience can be had by using Final Cut Pro X in "proxy media editing mode"...