imac 27 base modèle with ssd or high end with fusion drive ?

[pookitoo]

hello everyone,

Again, another thread about buying advice, sorry

Very hard for me to decide, I’ve tried so many configuration ! My needs : i’m a web designer / web développer (sketch app, affinity designer and photo, light video editing, Xcode ...)
-need a beautiful screen with color accuracy
-need sometimes portability

I’ve received a full BTO iMac 2017 (i7 512 ssd and 580) =>light bleeding ..... so disappointed for a computer at this price i’ve return it... (in France : 3079 €)

I think the full BTO iMac is an overkill choice for me ?

It’s a good move to go with a base model iMac (with 570) but add an ssd ? (2459 €)
or high end modèle with Fusion drive ? (2599 €)
Or high end modèle with ssd ? (2839 €)

(I don’t want to spend my money for something I don’t need and I replace my Mac every 2 years to have a good resale value)

 

[BuCkDoG]

I personally would go with an SSD. Not only will it last longer and less noise, but you can easily get more external storage if need be. One internal storage is a one time buy. I bought 512 SSD in my config.

 

[pookitoo]

Thanks but I’ll’see big difference between base model with SSD and high modèle i5 with ssd for my usages ? Worst the 400 € difference ?

 

[CWallace]

If a full SSD is either too expensive or too limiting in storage space, then go with the larger (2TB / 3TB) Fusion Drive as the SSD is 128GB in size (compared to 32GB on the 1TB) so you have a much better chance for the data and applications you are working with being on the SSD.

 

[ImBuz]

i have the fusion drive on my first gen 27 iMac--more than enough

 

[propower]

I am demoing the bas model 27". Good machine - nice and quiet even at 100% CPU load. The 1TB fusion drive slows many operations up IMO. Boot, program launch in particular. I have used only SSDs for 5 years - the 1TB fusion is not a good choice IMO. The 2TB with 128G SSD is probably a lot better.

 

[pookitoo]

Ok ! Very good advice ! I don’t need a lot of storage but i’m Looking for good performances for my usage (and I assume it’s not very heavy task ) but between a base modèle with the Radeon 570 vs the high end with the 580 and slightly better processor, (both with ssd) I don’t know if I would feel the differences in performances for web design / web dev for 400 € more ?

 

[Packers1958]

I got the base 27 with 512 SSD. Check how much space have you used up on your current iMac. I checked mine, and I have a 2011 iMac 500 GB and discovered I had 300 GB still available. So I went with the 512 SSD instead of the slower 1TB fusion drive.

 

[pookitoo]

Ok i’ll Go with the ssd !but with which one ? Base modèle or high modèle ?

 

[Trahearne]

Mid-tier has a 256GB option. Top-tier is 512GB min.

Do remember that your iMac gonna sit on a desk, and you have the option to use external HDDs and SSDs at a better byte/dollar rate. An extra pro is that they are independent from your machine, except the USB/TB connection cable. So these storage can stay while your machine is swapped for whatever reason.

Unless you really need blazing fast storage for everything you work on AND a slightly more powerful GPU, mid-tier 256GB might be a reasonable choice for you (and for me ).

575 is a slight step-down from 580, but it is more than enough for all the things you use. 2D graphics is not expensive at all these days, and hardly a burden on any GPUs TBH. Even 13" MacBook Pro can handle these reasonably well. There are exceptions of demanding filters or tools or so, but apparently they would be rarely a prominent part of your workflow.

 

[pookitoo]

Thanks for your reply ! I’ve ordered the base modèle with 512 ssd to save some cash, but I’m little bit afraid of the performances of the base i5 and base 570 Radeon

 

[morphodone]

Thanks for your reply ! I’ve ordered the base modèle with 512 ssd to save some cash, but I’m little bit afraid of the performances of the base i5 and base 570 Radeon

That's the same configuration I went with. Should be here in two more days.