hello, I am ready to purchase my first Apple. I know that I would like a 27" screen. I do light photo editing and dvd encoding a few times a month. I do not play any games. What direction should I go? I am not sure about what processor or video card config to purchase. Thanks T...PS I really know nothing about computers
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Looking to buy iMac for the first time
- Thread starter TofSanity
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If that's all you do, then the base 27" is sufficient for your needs. You could take a look at this refurb if you want to save some $. It's the best bang for buck IMO
the base model, as in i3. How does the i3 handle Handbrake? I use this on a pc and oh is it slow...avg 4 hrs. The pc has a pentium D 3.2ghz with 4gb of ram so its four years old and slow. all my friends that have Apples swear they are much faster than their pc counterparts. so, if i go with an i3, besides the screen, is there much difference between the 21 and 27?
The i3 should handle handbrake fine. If you don't need the 27" screen you could buy the higher end 21" which is exactly the same as the base 27 other then the screen. With the 200 bucks you save you could put that towards an i5 which is 180 bucks. So you would have the same computer but with an i5 and a 21" screen and still be 20 bucks ahead of the game.
Not according to the online store for the 16 gigs. Are you really going to need that? And judging by the fact that you said "I really know nothing about computers" a future SSD is not possible for you to install cause you have to take the whole iMac apart including the screen which will void your warranty FYI. I don't think apple does post delivery SSD installs they have to be included when you purchase it. If you want 16 gigs of ram I don't think the base 27" iMac is going to work for you. But I really don't think you'll need more then 8 gigs for what you said you will be doing you don't even really need more then 4 IMO.
Also I didn't see that when upgrading to an i5 you up it to a 3.6 over a 3.2 GHz.
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Apple refurbs are fine.
Check threads all over these boards... Apple's refurb Macs seem pretty reliable, not very many complaints. You get the same warranty as a new one. My everyday computer is a 3-year-old iMac refurb, never had a problem with it.
Check threads all over these boards... Apple's refurb Macs seem pretty reliable, not very many complaints. You get the same warranty as a new one. My everyday computer is a 3-year-old iMac refurb, never had a problem with it.