 CodyBob Vance, VRPremium
join:2002-05-28
Mukilteo, WA | Spec'ing out an iMac for my brother I just helped my brother piece together an order for a new iMac and wanted to get some feedback as to anything I may have overlooked. Luckily, there are relatively few options, and I'm pretty familiar with each, but my one main concern was the fusion drive. Here's the setup we're at:
27" iMac
3.4ghz i7
8gb ram
1tb Fusion drive
675mx video card
I'm not overly concerned because even HD aside this is a pretty nice setup. But I only have experience with HDD and SSD - not Fusion. From reading how it works, it seems like a good compromise between storage and speed, but I wanted to ask if anyone thinks it was a mistake to go that route instead of sticking with an HDD...? This will also likely influence my decision when eventually buying myself a new computer.
As a side note: This is mainly a family computer; they have children who will be using it for occasional home movies, etc. and I think the majority of its time will be surfing the internet. No graphics intensive games, CAD software, etc. Also, their first Apple computer - so I want to make sure it's a great experience  I know after putting an SSD in my desktop, I'll be hard pressed to go back to a main HDD.
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 JackarinoPremium
join:2006-12-28
Allendale, NJ
kudos:1 | If I were you, I would bump up the memory to 16GB. However, you shouldn't have any issues with 8GB.
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 skeechanAi OtsukaholicPremium
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170
kudos:2
 ·Cox HSI
 ·Clear Wireless
3 edits | reply to Cody
The 27 |
I would get the larger HDD though, like the 3TB Fusion unless you don't think you would fill it up, although you could always add USB 3.0 external disks later.
Fusion isn't a drive, it is a logical volume, combining a separate SSD and separate HDD into the single logical volume group so that they appear to be a single large drive. It is similar to a RAID concat but OS X knows which part of the single large volume is the SSD and which is the HDD and moves the most commonly used files in the array to the SSD side.
If you have a Mac with an SSD and HDD you can set up your own logical volume group and have your own 'Fusion Drive'. I did with a 2011 mini and it is working great so far. |
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CodyBob Vance, VRPremium
join:2002-05-28
Mukilteo, WA | reply to Cody
Thanks for the input guys! I doubt he's going to fully utilize even 8gb, but I had read about the easy access on the 27" so if it ends up that way I'll add more afterward. I believe he's using an external or NAS for his large music/videos so I think the 1TB will be fine, but I'll mention that. Thanks again
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Blame it on the C2H5OH |
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 not
@comcast.net | The new iMacs don't have user upgradeable RAM. Well, you can do it, but it's not as easy as the pic above. This is why the second poster suggested you upgrade at time of order. The new slim design ones are not built so you can get into them. |
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not
@comcast.net | reply to Cody
Actually, NM on that. The 27" does have user accessible RAM slots. Leave it to Apple to screw over the 21" buyers...  |
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skeechanAi OtsukaholicPremium
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Cox HSI
·Clear Wireless
| No one is screwing over anyone. Even the order site at Apple.com advises customers about the RAM upgradability of the 21" model.
said by Apple :
Important note: Every 21.5-inch iMac comes with 8GB of memory built into the computer. If you think you may need 16GB of memory in the future, it is important to upgrade at the time of purchase, because memory cannot be upgraded later in this model.
Meanwhile OS X runs great on 8GB. |
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 BuckarooBBeware Lectroids from PlanetXPremium
join:2001-10-27
Cloverdale, VA | reply to Cody
8gb is fine.. I have had that much on my mid2010 i7 iMac... just now thinking about upgrading to 16gb or more...
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not
@comcast.net | reply to skeechan
said by skeechan:No one is screwing over anyone. Even the order site at Apple.com advises customers about the RAM upgradability of the 21" model.
said by Apple :
Important note: Every 21.5-inch iMac comes with 8GB of memory built into the computer. If you think you may need 16GB of memory in the future, it is important to upgrade at the time of purchase, because memory cannot be upgraded later in this model.
Meanwhile OS X runs great on 8GB. Yes they are, you are just misunderstanding what my definitions are on this matter. They are screwing people over because the 21" cannot be upgraded, but the 27" can. Are you telling me that with all their smart design people on staff they couldn't engineer the 21" to have the same memory accessibility as the 27"? Give me a break. Apple is notorious for doing small things to keep a product from being perfect.
Take the new 13" Retina MacBook. Could have been an amazing product had they pushed the envelope enough to put a dedicated video card in it similar to the 15". But they didn't and when you couple that with the limited upgradability of the flash storage on it along with the soldered RAM that's not upgradable either, you have an overpriced product that only is expensive because of the new screen. That's not enough to warrant the high price for it. To me a regular 13" is much more usable. And that too is limited a bit on the screen aspect. Why only have a 1280x800 when the 13" Airs can be configured with 1440x900? They could have easily moved the 13" Pro product line over to that same screen to improve DPI. Like I said, Apple always makes some kind of compromise on each of their products. In my opinion, it's compromises that don't need to be there, especially when you consider the already high price on the item. |
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skeechanAi OtsukaholicPremium
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170
kudos:2 | No one is getting "screwed over" by any definition. Don't like it, don't buy it. It's really not that difficult of a concept to understand. |
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KearnstdElf WizardPremium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | reply to Cody
id go to 16gb if it is not too much extra. Never hurts to be prepared and RAM is one of your best investments in a computer.(my win7 tower has 32GB)
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not
@comcast.net | said by Kearnstd:id go to 16gb if it is not too much extra. Never hurts to be prepared and RAM is one of your best investments in a computer.(my win7 tower has 32GB)
Apple overcharges for RAM on their end. Do yourself a favor and just buy it online. Newegg had a great deal on some Corsair Vengeance about a month ago. 16GB of 1600MHz for less than $60. |
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CodyBob Vance, VRPremium
join:2002-05-28
Mukilteo, WA | said by not :Apple overcharges for RAM on their end. Do yourself a favor and just buy it online. Newegg had a great deal on some Corsair Vengeance about a month ago. 16GB of 1600MHz for less than $60.
That was my thought - if he somehow ends up needing more, I'll just newegg it.
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skeechanAi OtsukaholicPremium
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170
kudos:2
1 edit | Macs are very RAM picky so make sure that the store has a good return policy.
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In a nation of spoiled children, Santa Claus always wins. |
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 ThinkdiffPremium,MVM
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY
kudos:6 | said by skeechan:Macs are very RAM picky so many sure that the store has a good return policy.
That might've been true in the PowerPC days, but the Intel Macs are much more forgiving in my experience. Every stick of RAM I've thrown in a Mac (probably close to 100 sticks) has worked so far.
For my personal Macs, I typically buy the cheapest RAM on newegg (which is usually G.Skill) and haven't had a problem yet.
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skeechanAi OtsukaholicPremium
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Cox HSI
·Clear Wireless
3 edits | Not for me, I had to return multiple pairs of Corsairs for my 2010 and 2011 Minis and Patriots for my 2010 13" MBP. Same for my retired 2008 iMac and fermented black MacBook. Every time the sticks would post in Win notebooks and pass mem tests but my Macs barfed them up, not even posting, or would post but only 1 of the 2 installed sticks reporting present.
Now I only buy OWC. When looking at Newegg (or Amazon), there are no shortage of 1-star reviews complaining of Macs not running sticks. Even with G-Skill, G-Skill post responses at Newegg will point reviewers to buy a different part number...supposedly "Mac Certified" RAM as if there should be any difference. My sawtooth and G5s will run baked turd, but not my Intel stuff. In my experience, Intel Macs are pickier than ever.
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In a nation of spoiled children, Santa Claus always wins. |
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CodyBob Vance, VRPremium
join:2002-05-28
Mukilteo, WA | reply to Cody
Interesting... I'll have to keep that in mind if RAM comes up in discussion.
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Blame it on the C2H5OH |
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not
@comcast.net | reply to skeechan
OWC is overpriced crap. It works, but it's overpriced, plain as that. My Vengeance memory works just fine in my 2012 MBP. I've had no issues with it and plan on getting more to install in another MBP because 8GB is sometimes not enough with Parallels and a bunch of stuff left running in the background. That 8GB pie chart fills up quick. lol |
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 Teasip
join:2001-05-14
Plano, TX | reply to Cody
I concur that their prices are moderately higher versus say Crucial themselves for memory, but I've had prompt service on returned items without having to contact them other than by email. Delivery seems to be reasonable time wise. |
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 not quite rightI'm not cool enough to be a Mac person
join:2001-06-23
Puyallup, WA
kudos:1
 ·Vonage
·Comcast
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I have 16GB's of Patriot Memory that I got for a deal at Fry's in the Mac Mini that seems to run fine. I do believe that OWC is a quality act that I have had many, many good experiences with. I view them to be almost Nordstrom like, they might be a little higher in price, but always great quality merchandise with second to none service.
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Not many people know this, but I happen to be quite famous... |
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