iMac for photo + video editing

[shahn78]

I'm a photographer and looking to upgrade from my Macbook Pro to a 27" imac.

I do quite a bit of photo editing and the macbook pro (2.66 core 2 duo w/ 4GB ram) isn't able to keep up. Besides the photo softwares, I like to have a few other apps open while working and they can use a lot of "real ram" -- like Safari will use up to 1.5GB (i use ClicktoFlash but often force quite Flash). Then other apps will take up more space like Pages @ ~50MB, iTunes @ ~40MB, iCal @ 20MB, Preview @ 60MB, etc etc

For photos, Photoshop alone can take up between 1-2GB. So when I use Lightroom 3 (which is a real hog), having it open plus Photoshop is out of the question. And now, I'm slowing getting into video so Final Cut with it's supporting softwares will def. require more performance.

FYI - I wouldn't simultaneously run the photo and video software.

So which 27" iMac would best suit me? I'm thinking the i7 2.93 Quad with either 8GB or 16GB ram.
Would the 2.93 really make a difference from the 2.8?
Do i need the 16GB ram?
What else should i be looking at besides memory?

cheers!

 

[Hellhammer]

Definitely go for the i7 if you can. Get 2x4GB from aftermarket to bump the RAM to 12GB. That should be good to start with and if you need more, just get another 2x4GB to make it 16GB.

 

[sjfwhite]

I agree - I went with the i7 and the extra 8GB of ram and am completely happy. I am doing video editing and some other graphics work. Love it!

By the way, I got 2 Kingston KTA-MB1333/4G DIMMS and they are working great.

 

[shahn78]

good, i'm pretty settled on the i7...
i think for now i'll go with 2x4GB and add more later if i need it.

 

[RuggedPro]

I'm the farthest thing from a professional and it certainly isn't my career but I was just running garageband, imovie, itunes, safari, ichat, and xcode(forgot to shut it down), and I didn't notice even a hiccup.

2010 27" i3 4gb RAM.

Garage Band: I was putting together 2 songs. One with 2 tracks and one with 5.

iMovie: I was screwing around with trailers feature and importing video/music from itunes.

iTunes: had on just for some music in between working.

ichat: idle the entire time.

xcode: idle the entire time.

Safari: was using it a lot googleing all my questions I had with imovie and garageband.

Only time I beachballed was when writing large files the HDD (i think) and converting/formatting a few files.

Not meaning to have this construed as advice to buy the i3 but I was impressed it was able to handle what I through at it and with only 4gb ram. Pretty powerful machines.

 

[andalusia]

I think you'll be perfectly safe with 8GB, as you've mentioned you won't be running image editing and video editing software simultaneously. However the option to upgrade further down the line will be brilliant for you, and as RAM gets cheaper, you'll save money by waiting to upgrade it too.

 

[shahn78]

thanks for the reply guys.
gives me a good sense of where to start...

 

[sugarboylovemac]

I agree - I went with the i7 and the extra 8GB of ram and am completely happy. I am doing video editing and some other graphics work. Love it!

By the way, I got 2 Kingston KTA-MB1333/4G DIMMS and they are working great.

Great, I am planning to buy Kingston KTA-MB1333/4G DIMMS too, but do u know does it work properly in 15" I7-MBP 2011 Early ?