I am seeking to replace my 4.5 year old iMac as soon as the new model is released. I am an amateur photographer, but have perhaps 25-30,000 photos in two libraries. I do this just for fun but want to be able to use Aperture and the Nik plug-ins effectively. My question is I5 or I7 (perhaps to be replaced by something new), minimum RAM, and what else would you believe essential for a new computer. At my age, it may be my last. And I expect to live a significant time yet.
Aperture will run fine on either an i5 or i7 with 4gigs of RAM. But…I’d really suggest increasing the RAM to 8gigs. Both Aperture and the Nik plugins will definitely benefit from it.
I just purchased a new iMac 21.5 a few weeks ago with the i5 2.5 Ghz processor … came with 4GB RAM, I added 8GB more for about $60 from OWC (that included shipping) … very easy to install and much less cost than buying from Apple … VERy easy to install …
The new unit replaced my old 24” Late 2006 2.16 Ghz that was maxed out with 3GB RAM … it’s like I’m working with jpegs now when I process my RAW files … :-)
If you want the Mac to last the longest, don’t buy the lowest end model. Although you’ll pay less up front, you’ll feel the need to upgrade it sooner in the future.
Thomas
Thomas …That’s true to a point … though maybe not universal …
By buying under the curve slightly … you reduce your initial expenditure without giving up too much in terms of performance … which could facilitate upgrading more often while maintaining your investment level.
For example, the biggest difference between the base levels of iMacs to moving up a step or two is a slight boost in processor horse power … a marginal improvement in graphics card … and larger HD size … the balance of the hardware is identical …
I purchased my iMac 2.5 Ghz, 500GB, AMD Radeon HD 6750M for $999 from the Apple online store refurb department … I could have opted for the $1,449 i7 2.8Ghz, 1TB, AMD Radeon HD 6770M. The difference in benchmarks between the two, for myself, seemed very marginal for the difference in investment.
So … in theory … Using the less expensive model for two years vs going for broke with the more expensive offering for three years is the same annual investment … plus … if there are more incremental advancements in the iMac hardware, sooner rather than later, it wouldn’t hurt to update sooner … especially considering we are likely to see huge price reductions in SSD’s and other hardware in the not too distant future …
I had to update out of necessity, I wanted to wait until Apple offered a version with USB3 … but couldn’t wait as I didn’t want to invest in a new power supply for a six year-old unit …