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I'm looking to buy an iMac soon. But I find myself confused with which size, processor, RAM, graphics card, and to get either a Fusion drive or just an HDD. I like the 21.5 inch due to it being light, but I don't like that I wont be able to upgrade the RAM myself. I like the 27 inch because of the ability to upgrade the RAM myself. I would use this new iMac for Web browsing, Outlook, word processing, and Adobe Photoshop CS6. I would like to get a powerful iMac that can handle my everyday needs for under 1600 dollars or I would get a refurbished iMac from apple if I couldn't afford a new one . Thank you. |
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if needed, you can focus purely on the screen size you want and also the fastest CPU you can get while ignoring every other spec. After that, you can install a proper SSD your self for cheaper by your self. (the fusion drive that apple uses is pretty slow for an SSD when compared to a true dedicated SSD and apple charges an insane amount of money for it. (while it does add some SSD acceleration while allowing you to keep a HDD for bulk storage and it will auto transfer apps to the SSD (kinda like intel smart response) that process does not beat having a dedicated SSD (and if you need additional bulk storage, you can get an external drive (with USB 3 or thunderbolt, both will make an external HDD perform pretty much the same as an internal drive. http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac+Intel+21.5-Inch+EMC+2544+Teardown/11936/1 On the apple site, they seem to not be going below $1800 for the 27 inch imac, so if you need to stay under $1600, you can try the shopping cart trick where you create an account and add an item to the shopping cart then wait 2 weeks with it in there and they will e-mail you a reminder + a discount for the item |
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All I tell you that for performance get the fusion drive, that way you get the best of both the hard drive world lol |
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I say a 21.5" iMac is perfect for what you do. as for RAM and such. a 1tb drive HDD is sufficient (but thats if you dont mind HDD speeds) , if you need more you can get another 1tb external drive (USB 3.0) you can use. as for RAM, why would you like to switch it out yourself? 8gb in my iMac is sufficient. For the processor the stock is enough to handle what you do without paying for overkill. In summary, a 21.5" iMac (baseline) is perfect for your needs. |
