I'm buying a new 27" iMac tomorrow. I'm going with the 2.93ghz i7 processor upgrade and leaving everything else the way it comes. I'm sending it to OWC to have them put in their 60gb ssd, 2tb western digital caviar black hdd with 64mb cache, and 8gb ram. All in all its going to cost a little over 3k. Good build? I'm open to suggestions. Thanks in advance.
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What do you guys (girls?) think? Is it worth it?
- Thread starter CGillFrogman
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i guess so. i mean, a 60 gig ssd might run you short in the coming years if you plan to install a ton of stuff on there that you want loaded onto the ssd.
if anything, you're probably overpurchasing unless you're a graphic artist, filmmaker, musician, web developer, etc who needs the space and speed to make $ with the machine. but in any case, it's going to be fast and you probably won't run out of storage anytime soon.
if anything, you're probably overpurchasing unless you're a graphic artist, filmmaker, musician, web developer, etc who needs the space and speed to make $ with the machine. but in any case, it's going to be fast and you probably won't run out of storage anytime soon.
I am using the SSD as a boot drive only. Maybe a few select apps if I feel they need it. Everything else goes on the HDD. Also, I am a gamer, so I have to have the high specs to be satisfied 
I am using the SSD as a boot drive only. Maybe a few select apps if I feel they need it. Everything else goes on the HDD. Also, I am a gamer, so I have to have the high specs to be satisfied
Why don't you buy a Mac Pro? I think it will be better for gaming.
Because I fell in love with the iMac and its sheer beauty! No, but seriously, I just think the 27" iMac is perfect. Awesome specs, and a beautiful screen, all for a (I think) reasonable price. Besides, the iMac takes up less space than a tower and a monitor.
Bear in mind.. Sending it to OWC to install an SSD completely voids your warranty, as Apple will refer to this as the machine being tampered with.. Not the best of ideas, you'd be better off just buying the 256GB SSD from Apple and the 2TB setup from Apple if you're already gonna be spending that much.. Play it safe dude.
Also, how is the read speed on the superdrive? I don't care too much about write. I just hate waiting forever to install something. I'm very impatient lol
You're really sending your new iMac to OWC and allowing them to non-skillfully rip it open and stuff in their hard drives that weren't designed to go in there in first place?
Yikes No thanks.
Yikes
No thanks.Yea, but I like the better performance of both drives that I am getting from OWC, and I am not entirely comfortable tearing my iMac apart myself. I'd much rather have a "professional" do it. Thanks for the info though. I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope nothing goes wrong.
I'm sure OWC will do a fine job however before shipping it off for major surgery I would ask, "How does this affect my warranty can you give that to me in writing please?" But then again if you don't care about your warranty this is simply moot.
Good idea. Its not that I don't care about my warranty, I just have my heart set on this machine, and if I have to void my warranty, so be it. But thanks for the advice, I'm sure it will help me out in the long run if anything goes wrong.
How are you sure they'll do a fine job? Do they work for Apple? No. Are they fluent in iMac design? No.
To each his own, but no SSD drive is worth allowing strangers to rip open my new $3,000 machine. The iMac isn't a configurable tower PC and isn't meant to be opened up.
If you do have warranty problems and you have to pay to get it fixed, your costs would probably be way more than just having Apple install an SSD.
On Apple Store, with education discount :
$3,069.00
# 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
# 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB
# 2TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
# 8x double-layer SuperDrive
# ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
# Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
# Magic Mouse
As you say, it would cost a little over 3K sendind to OWC.
Are you sure of that? How much will you save with OWC? $50?
$3,069.00
# 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
# 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB
# 2TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
# 8x double-layer SuperDrive
# ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
# Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
# Magic Mouse
As you say, it would cost a little over 3K sendind to OWC.
Are you sure of that? How much will you save with OWC? $50?
You're assuming I'm buying all the parts from Apple and their overpriced upgrades. The only upgrade coming from Apple is the processor. The ram, and the ssd and hdd will come from OWC.
iMac 27" i5 =$1,999 + 200 for the 2.93ghz i7=$2,199
From OWC:
60gb ssd, 2tb hdd, and 2x4gb ram + cost of installation and shipping both ways=$865
2,199+865=3,064+tax.
So yes, a little over 3k. Sorry to be blunt. I apologize if I come off as an a**.
Ok, I'm going to take it as you are not being sarcastic. So thank you
. Very reassuring.I am using the SSD as a boot drive only. Maybe a few select apps if I feel they need it. Everything else goes on the HDD. Also, I am a gamer, so I have to have the high specs to be satisfied
I would not go with the hard drive, simply because mine (and a lot of other people's) make a rattling noise. I would go with the 512gb SSD.
Did you get the hdd from WD or OWC? Because the hdd I'm getting is different from the models that Apple is shipping with iMacs.
EDIT:
This is the hdd (or something very similar to) that I am getting: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136456
not to be a d-bag (well, kind of), but it doesn't seem like you're so open to suggestions. it seems that you've made up your mind about what you want and you want us to say, "that sounds SO AWESOME!"
i mean, it does sound like an awesome machine but i say just buy it and use the crap out of it. it'll be awesome for gaming and plenty fast for basically anything else you want to use it for.
First, remember to multi-quote, it's against forum rules to double post as this is considered bumping.
Now onto my advice, OP, obviously you could care less about voiding your warranty for a little old SSD and a hard drive but I'll leave you with this. If your screen starts failing or your logic board fails or GPU fries or if the iMac starts overheating you're own your own and your $3000 iMac will be very expensive to repair and Apple won't be sympathetic about it. One other thing, when and if your hard drive fails you'll have to keep shipping your iMac back to OWC for repairs rather than just taking to Apple.
You can say that Apple's prices are inflated but at least the iMac and the upgrade components are fully covered under warranty which is worth the upgrade through Apple rather than losing your warranty getting the upgrade through OWC. So with that, NO, the upgrade you have in mind is NOT worth it.
I said I'm open to suggestions, not that I'll jump on the first boat someone pushes my way. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
First, remember to multi-quote, it's against forum rules to double post as this is considered bumping.
Now onto my advice, OP, obviously you could care less about voiding your warranty for a little old SSD and a hard drive but I'll leave you with this. If your screen starts failing or your logic board fails or GPU fries or if the iMac starts overheating you're own your own and your $3000 iMac will be very expensive to repair and Apple won't be sympathetic about it. One other thing, when and if your hard drive fails you'll have to keep shipping your iMac back to OWC for repairs rather than just taking to Apple.
You can say that Apple's prices are inflated but at least the iMac and the upgrade components are fully covered under warranty which is worth the upgrade through Apple rather than losing your warranty getting the upgrade through OWC. So with that, NO, the upgrade you have in mind is NOT worth it.
I guess thats true. I didn't think about that. I guess I have more thinking to do. Also, thanks for informing me of forum rules. I know ignorance is no excuse, but I didn't know.
I thought I read that if you don't have Apple install the second HD then it does not come with the appropriate connections on the inside? I would pay for the processor upgrade, pay for them to install the corresponding SSD and then buy your RAM from OWC. Then you get to use your machine as soon as you get it. You can coordinate delivery of the RAM and have it ready to go instead of taking the risk of sending it out and back. Think of how hard it will be to take your new iMac and then have to wait for it to be shipped, upgraded, and shipped back when you could have been using it the entire time!