How to: make iMac faster

[Muncher]

I have been told that SSD are really fast at reading but not so fast in the writting which is what rending is intensive on.

The newer SSD drives I think are better; besides, I wouldn't buy one now anyway, they'll be at half the price a year from now.

 

[grantrobarts]

I have a 24" iMac Core Duo right now and just upgraded my RAM to 4GB. I heavily use Photoshop CS3 and I didn't really notice a great improvement. Maybe I have other hardware issues I don't know about. But I may never figure that one out.

I hate to upgrade to a Mac Pro because of all the $$$ but it is almost definitely in the future.

 

[Muncher]

I have a 24" iMac Core Duo right now and just upgraded my RAM to 4GB. I heavily use Photoshop CS3 and I didn't really notice a great improvement. Maybe I have other hardware issues I don't know about. But I may never figure that one out.

I hate to upgrade to a Mac Pro because of all the $$$ but it is almost definitely in the future.

I used Mac Pros for a graphic design class I took over the summer. They really fly with Illustrator, let me tell you. And those ones were old, with 2GB of 667Mhz ram. I can only drool about what the upcoming Mac Pros will be like.

 

[iMacoo7]

I can always depend on this forum for information.I have a new 2009 iMac even though 4GB seemed suffice, by adding more ram in the unit , it has greatly improved my overall experience using FCS as well as Adobe Master collection CS4

 

[WizardHunt]

I do photo and video work.
Need more speed with Final Cut Express and PS3.
I use my ext. FW drive for a scratch disc.
The 500 gig ext. is just storage fo music, movies etc.

Am I better off using a different ext. drive?
Should I use a FW800 drive? What's the story with the FW sata drives?

And I know that a MACPRO would have been a better choice, but this was Free.

I would say get a FW800 Drive for sure and add more Ram would also help.