Which is best for me?

[BrandinoMino]

Alright so, I'm purchasing a new iMac 27" next month and have a few ideas/options im pondering over. I want to get the best machine i can afford, but not one that is way too much power that I simply will never seen come to its full potential in a 4-5 year span.

My daily uses are, Web, iTunes, Watch HD movies & tv episodes, Parallels Desktop, iPhoto, burning dvds, handbreak, and torrenting. In the near future i will add photoshop to those.

I have a iMac 21.5 Core 2 Duo 3.06ghz 4gb ram and am not satisfied with the screen size, how slow the applications open, and how sluggish it feels at times when i have numerous applications open.

Now for my options:

iMac 27" Core i3
4gb ram[will upgrade to 8 gb or 12gb from owc]
1TB HD + 256 SSD
ATI 5670

Price = $2449.00

iMac 27" Core i5 2.8ghz
4gb ram[will upgrade to 8gb or 12gb from owc]
1TB HD
ATI 5750

Price = $1999.00

iMac 27" Core i5 2.8ghz
4gb ram[will upgrade to 8gb or 12gb from owc]
1TB HD + 256 SSD
ATI 5750

Price = $2749.00

I can afford all of these machines as I've been saving up and will be selling my current iMac. The 3rd option will just take about 3 weeks longer to get, but I dont mind waiting.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Hellhammer]

If I was you, I would wait for the update, you have a fairly recent iMac already so I doubt you need a new one right now. There should be an update in Q2 2011 so not that faraway. The current ones would satisfy your needs perfectly but since you want fast app launch times, you must get an SSD and the current SSD option is rather expensive. The update should bring the price down noticeably. You will also get faster CPU which will help with HandBrake at least.

 

[0007776]

I'd probably try to wait and buy right after the next update since you do have a decent iMac already. If you really want one now, and can afford it I would go for the quad core iMac since you were complaining about how slow it was with a lot of apps open. also any of those computers you mentioned would fit your needs, just make sure you have the cash left over to max the RAM.

 

[BrandinoMino]

If I was you, I would wait for the update, you have a fairly recent iMac already so I doubt you need a new one right now. There should be an update in Q2 2011 so not that faraway. The current ones would satisfy your needs perfectly but since you want fast app launch times, you must get an SSD and the current SSD option is rather expensive. The update should bring the price down noticeably. You will also get faster CPU which will help with HandBrake at least.

I would wait, but I have to act now. The person im selling mine to is using their tax refund and basically doing me a favor and buying mine used for $1100. No one around me likes macs, so I would have to take the ebay route...and frankly dont really want to.

If I had more time, I honestly would wait.

Can you give me your recommendation based on the ones i listed anyways?
I'd really appreciate it.