I am buying a new IMac. which is better, the 1TB Flash Drive or the 3TB fusion drive

I am looking to purchase a new IMac. Trying to figure out the best solution for storage. Considering the 1TB falsh drive plus using an external hard drive for additional storage. Alternatively I can get the fusion drive with 3tb hard drive and 128mg flash. Anyone have an opinion which is better

Go with the flash and use usb3 or thunderbolt for storage. Google flash vs fusion and you'll get plenty of articles to help with your decision.

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Buying a new iMac - can you use an external SSD drive as boot drive?

Here is the question: Can you attach an external SSD and use that as your boot drive accompanying an iMac? This way all the Apple warranties stay valid but I am not saddled with the expense of the Apple installed SSD price?
Now for some background ...
I am looking to buy a new iMac replacing my loved but woefully underpowered Mac Mini. In a perfect world I would like the following set-up based on how today's iMacs can be configured:
Processor: 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
Memory: 16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB
Hard Drive: 1TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5
Optical Drive: 8x double-layer SuperDrive
The problem is I'd rather not spend $3200+. I would imagine most people plug something similar in and then begin to ID must vs. nice to haves. So, here are my must haves:
Memory: Minimum 16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB (I was thinking of starting with minimum and then purchase the right RAM and installing myself)
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 1GB
Hard Drive: 256GB Solid State Drive
I like to work the graphics side and have a media library of almost 1TB (uploading, downloading, converting, editing, etc.). With my existing setup I have 3+TB of external storage but again, am suffering massively in the horsepower department as it takes hours for me to do what I believe a new iMac can help me accomplish in a fraction of that time. This is not my profession so while I looked at the towers I still need this computer to serve as a family computer as well. Appreciate your thoughts and feedback.
Cheers,
-Jim

Ok this is great as we are progressing through.
So yes it can be done but there's the caveat of the "pipes" once you go external. The only option for an external SSD Drive with thunderbolt that I know of is LaCie's 240 GB version ... Priced at $800.
I think what I will need to do is suck it up. The new MacBooks have the core technology I'd like but we really want the larger screen.
Last question - should I wait/when might we expect an updated line of iMacs? In a few months or not for a while? That answer may provide some direction if it is anticipated to be sooner vs later.
Thank you!

Looking to buy a new Mac, which is better Mac Air or Pro?

I currently own a 13.3inch LED-backlit widescreen notebook Mac book pro from 2011 and am looking to upgrade. I'm in my last year of high school and will be starting college next year. I'm really into photography, and use my computer for all my notes and assignments in class. SD card slot is prefreable. Really lost as to what I should get, not looking to spend over $1,500.00 (roughly, open to ideas). Is it worth buying an 11'inch basic? If so how can I connect my SD card? ANY help is very appreciated:)

13" Air with 8gig of RAM
11" Air doesnt have a SD card slot. Ive owned both 11 and 13" Air, still have a 13", and also a current pro.
If as you said you plan on much photo editing, then definitely get the 13"
The NEW macbook Pro and Air are extremely close in form factor
The newest macbook Pro is essentially a larger macbook Air with Retina display and options for speed in increasing prices up to an independent graphics and quad core processor.
both Air and new Pro now have PCIe SSD and permanent RAM.
The Air is the lightweight portable form factor, fast to boot and shut down, but with longer battery life than any of the macbook pro in 13"
Now the new macbook Pro and macbook Air are extremely close in form factor and nature.
both have 802ac wifi
both have permanent RAM, no superdrive
both are slim profiles and SSD
The only real differences now are (in the most expensive Pros) faster processors and quadcore processors and top end model autonomous graphics, also HDMI output on the new macbook Pros!. ....and of course the retina display
both are now "very good for travel"
DETAILED bench tests between the new AIR and the new PRO here:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/11/how-to-choose-13-inch-macbook-air-vs-13-i nch-retina-macbook-pro/2/
Other than features the form factor of the Air and Pro are VERY close now,....so now its merely a matter of features and price more than anything.
You need an external HD regardless of what you get for backups etc. Drop into an Apple store and handle both and make your choice based on features, such as Retina or non-retina, .... both at a distance now look like the same computer.
The Pro weighs more, ....but nowhere near what it used to just a month ago on the older macbook Pros
The NEW macbook Pro is a different creature entirely than the older macbook Pro, .....the new Pro is thicker than the Air, but id frankly call the NEWEST Pro a "macbook Air with Retina display" , or
Maybe a “macbook Air PRO with Retina display”
Instead of Air vs. Pro now,.....its really a smooth transition from Air to pro without comparing say, 2 different creatures, now its like contrasting a horse from a race horse (rough analogy)
Either one in 8gig of RAM (preferably)... the 4gig upgrade costs very little, the I7 you will notice only 15% faster on heavy applications over the I5, and NOTHING on most APPS.....I5 has longer battery life.
As you see below, the non-Retina 13" AIR is 82% of the Macbook with Retina display in resolution
there is no magical number of pixels per inch that automatically equates to Retina quality.
http://www.cultofmac.com/168509/why-you-might-be-disappointed-by-the-resolution- of-those-new-retina-display-macs-feature/
A huge internal SSD isnt a game changer for anything, you need an external HD anyway
what you WONT READ on Apple.com etc. is that the larger SSD are much faster due to SSD density
"The 512GB Samsung SSD found in our 13-inch model offers roughly a 400MB/s increase in write speeds over the 128GB SanDisk/Marvell SSD"
http://blog.macsales.com/19008-performance-testing-not-all-2013-macbook-air-ssds -are-the-same
Here is an excellent video comparison between the 11” I5 vs. I7 2013 Macbook Air.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDqJ-on03z4
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7113/2013-macbook-air-core-i5-4250u-vs-core-i7-465 0u/2
I5 vs. I7 performance 13” Macbook Air 2013
Boot performance
11.7 I5 ……11.4 I7
Cinebench
1.1 I5….1.41 I7
IMovie Import and Opt.
6.69 I5….5.35 I7
IMovie Export
10.33 I5…8.20 I7
Final Cut Pro X
21.47 I5…17.71 I7
Adobe Lightroom 3 Export
25.8 I5….31.8 I7
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Performance
27.3 I5…22.6 I7
Macbook Pro ports:
Macbook Air (13") ports:

Buying new iMac, which graphics card would be best?

I'm getting ready to buy a new iMac. I already have a 2010 27-in with a Radeon HD 5670 512 MB graphics (card? was built in as I remember). I need an additional iMac for my studio space and am deciding between the 21.5-in. w/ Intel Iris Integrated graphics and the NVIDIA GEForce graphics models. I do photography and art related video projects with music (Final Cut, Photoshop CSS, Logic Pro).
The 2010 iMac has worked fine for me. Which of the new iMacs would you recommend? Do I need extra dedicated graphics card or is the Intel Iris pretty comparable to what I've been getting with the Radeon?
I wouldn't mind saving a couple of hundred dollars to use on other things like a back up drive, but if it's going to be a big difference I could spend the extra $ for the NVIDIA.
I'm not a gamer BTW.
thanks for your input, tech-heads!
Christine

Although the processor speed is slower, the i5 is much more efficient
than the i3. In addition, the memory bus speed is faster than your
2010. The result is you will have a faster computer.
Just for some performance numbers, here are the Geekbench
scores for your current computer and the one you are considering.
(64 bit single core test score/64 bit multi core test score)
2010, i3, 3.2 GHz iMac ---> 2086/4491
late 2013, 21.5", i5, 2.7 GHz ---> 3172/10255

I am looking to buy a new iMac....help please.

I am looking to buy a new iMac, and I started a search on Craigslist for fun, and it seems as if some people have some really good deals on the model mb325ll/a. It is the 2.8 ghz version with 2 gigs of ram and a 320gb hard drive.
This is not a model sold in the Apple Retail store, so I am a little hesitant, but the guy said it is the business model. Is this true?
What kind of warranty would it come with if I am an individual user and not a business? Do I miss out on anything? Please give any advice you may have. Thanks.

There is no such thing as a "business" Mac, versus one for an individual consumers. You should look at this list, and find your model and complete specifications.
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/index-imac.html
Based on the information you provided, it sounds like this one
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/stats/imac-core-2-duo-2.8-24-inch-alu minum-early-2008-penryn-specs.html
which is last year's (early 2008) model, not the current model (early 2009).
If it is being sold as used, the standard warranty is in effect for one year after its original sale. If it is being sold as new, the standard warranty is for one year. You can check the warranty status using the iMac's serial number.
You can also compare the price to the same iMac model on Apple's +Special Deals+ (refurb) page. It happens to be available currently as a refurb, if this is the same model.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB325LL/A?mco=MjE0NDk5Mw
Apple certified refurbished Macs have the same warranty as new. From my experience, they look and operate like new.

Is it safe to buy a new iMac this fall?

I have an iMac G5 (PowerPC) and it still works great. But some apps are starting to be created that don't work on PowerPC processors. I'm thinking of buying a new iMac this fall, but I'm afraid that Apple will put out a new iMac with a new Processor architecture very soon after, which would render my newly purchased iMac obsolete in a few short years.
Does anyone know when the next new Processor architecture is due? If it's soon, I'd like to wait until it's introduced before I buy a new Mac. Thanks!!!

Yes, that's an excellent point. The only reason I'm thinking of it now is because I recently bought an e-reader, whose desktop app doesn't work with PowerPC Macs. I plan on using my e-reader much more in the coming months so I'm not sure what to do. I may just bite the bullet and get a new iMac when Mountain Lion is released.
Thanks for your rational thinking on this.
HalifaxMac

Will Apple discount Leopard if I buy a new iMac today??

I think with the delay of Leopard, Apple should offer some incentive for people to get off the fence that want to buy an iMac. We know that the release date for Leopard will be sometime in October. So, why would I buy an iMac today, then spend the $125-$200 price to upgrade?
Anybody have any idea how this will work? Apple store telling me I'd have to pay full price, which I think is BS.

I'm in the same boat as you, just ready to buy a new iMac but pondering waiting for Leopard. In one of these forums somewhere, though, earlier this week I read a post that made a lot of sense to me. I really don't want to have Leopard ".0" version. Historically, the first major releases have had quite a few glitches and gotchas, and who knows how third-party software compatibility will be at first.
I think I'd be much happier running the now very mature 10.4.10 for a while and let braver souls work with the initial Leopard releases. So my plan is now to go ahead and buy a 24" iMac, perhaps as early as today. And then, when I need to, I'll upgrade to Leopard once it's mature. I just want to use the apps, not experiment with them.
Good luck with your decision.

I copied all of my CD's onto my iMac's hard drive. Now I'd like to buy a new iMac and am wondering how to transfer the music I have loaded on my iMac from CD's on to my new computer w/o going through the process of loading them into my iTunes Library.

I have copied all of my CD's, probably over 100, on to my iMac, through iTunes and now am considering buying a new iMac. Would like to be able to transfer what's in my music library w/o having to recopy all of the CD's. Any thoughts? Can I do it throught the iCloud or do I need to buy and external storage device?
Thanks Brenda

When you buy your new iMac you will be able to have the installation process transfer all your applications, data (including music, pictures, documents, etc) and settings to your new computer. In the past that was done via Firewire. I'm not entirely sure of the process with the new iMacs that don't have firewire. I think it can be done via ethernet and probably via tha thunderbolt cord using a firewire adapter but you'll want to check that out.
    With the your new computer properly connected to your old computer, the initial booting of the new computer will include the ability to move everything over.
    If for some reason you don't want to do that (smart if you have some horrible software issue that is causing problems) you can connect your old computer to the new one and start it in Target Disk mode where it will be seen as a hard drive. You can then manually copy over all your music and import that into iTunes (and any other data you want).
    Somebody here will surely point you to directions for connecting an older iMac with no Thunderbolt to a newer iMac with no Firewire.

My iMac was stolen in a robbery - no files via iCloud (long story). I have a new iMac which is set up and being used - how do I recover old iMac files from what looks like back-up files showing on my Time Capsule (also being used for this new iMac)?

My iMac was stolen - but I think there's a backup on my Time Capsule (which wasn't stolen). I have a new iMac which I've been using normally; I didn't use the 'Restore from...' option at the start because I thought the Time Capsule had nothing on it. So how do I now recover files from the Time Machine? I can see various back-ups on the Time Capsule, from various machines - laptops, etc. - but it's not letting me open any of them to see what they contain. Does anyone know how I access this information?

Use migration assistant.
See http://pondini.org/OSX/MigrateLion.html
Although this is only up to Mountain Lion it is still relevant to Mavericks.. only expect Mavericks to kick and buck a lot more.

Hi, I have a brand new imac which i got today and when I open Iphoto all i get is the error message "Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable" any ideas? thanks

Hi, I have a brand new imac which i got today and when I open Iphoto all i get is the error message "Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable" any ideas? thanks

Are there photos in the Library? If not then just trash it and launch iphoto. It will make a new one.
If there are pics in it then Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.

I bought my first iMac 27" i5 in November 2011 last year. Do you think there would be a update that will Features a Retina Display, Siri etc ?? So my iMac will be the same as the new one that will be released this year, Or will I have to buy a new iMac t

I bought my first iMac 27" i5 in November 2011 last year.
Do you think there would be a update that will Features a Retina Display, Siri etc ??
So my iMac will be the same as the new one that will be released this year,
Or will I have to buy a new iMac to get all these new updates ??
It would be a shame if I did because my iMac is only 6months old if that ..
Kind regards Simon Trott Apple user and proud of it

We're not allowed to speculate on future or rumoured Apple products, but we all know there'll always be newer tech coming along.
The iMac you have is an excellent machine, be happy with it and get a good few years use out of it. By the time your machine is slowing down, whatever comes next will have been updated numerous times.
I had the 2011 i5 27" delivered about 3 weeks ago. It's a cracking machine

I have an iMac running version OS 10.6.8. I bought the desktop in               2009. Short of buying a new iMac, how can I upgrade to Lion?

I have an iMac running OS 10.6.8. I bought the iMac in 2009. Short of buying a new iMac, is there any other way to upgrade to Lion? Thanks.

I don't believe anything prevents you from upgrading to Lion or Mountain Lion. See:
Upgrading to Lion
If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mountain Lion, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.
You can purchase Lion by contacting Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service - this includes international calling numbers. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.
     Lion System Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,
           or Xeon processor
       2. 2GB of memory
       3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
       4. 7GB of available space
       5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Upgrading to Mountain Lion
To upgrade to Mountain Lion you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Purchase and download Mountain Lion from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Mountain Lion is $19.99 plus tax. The file is quite large, over 4 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
     OS X Mountain Lion - System Requirements
       Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion
         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
     Are my applications compatible?
         See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.
     For a complete How-To introduction from Apple see Upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion.

Help buying a new iMac

Hello,
As the subject points out I'm looking to buy a new iMac but even after over a month of debating what iMac to buy I'm still puzzled. This machine will be a gaming machine, spec:
iMac 27-inch
2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive
VS
iMac 27-inch
2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive
VS
iMac 27-inch
2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
256GB Solid State Drive
VS
iMac 27-inch
2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB
256GB Solid State Drive
The SSD adds a lot more to the final price and I don't know if it is worth it... Me and my wife play World of Warcraft (aka WoW) so the i7 is a must and the I know for a fact that WoW is RAM hungry as well, hence why I'm thinking 8GB of RAM(I know I can upgrade later ... ). But still the SSD...? I have upgraded my MacBook Pro 5.5 (mid 2009) to a crucial SSD and I am very pleased with it, but will it make the same difference on the iMac? The i7, 8GB RAM, SSD is affordable but ... the price makes me think twice.
I am really stuck, I want to order it but don't quite know what to do...

As you know a SSD is great for startup and opening Apps and files beyond that that there isn't major advantage. Where you benefit from a SSD is by installing the OS, Apps and critical files onto the SSD and use the internal HD only for storage. If you are in the habit of turning off your computer nightly (Apple recommends you leave it on 24/7 in the manual) then the SSD would be nice. Also if you are in the habit of opening files and apps very frequently then again the SSD would be a nice asset. IMHO though SSD's are nice but a luxury and not necessary due to their costs. My opinion mirrors my financial status, however once they are considered more mainstream and less expensive I will probably jump in myself.
So my recommendations would be to get option #2:
iMac 27-inch
2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive
however DO NOT purchase the RAM from Apple. RAM is user upgradeable and won't affect your warranty. It takes 5 minutes to do. SImply purchase RAM from a reputable source like Crucial or OWC.
Roger

I'm looking to buy a new iMac 27 in is it worth upgrading the ram to 8 gig from 4 gig thank you

im looking to buy a new imac 27 in is it worth upgrading the ram to 8 gig from 4 gig thank you

Yes, but it's much cheaper to buy RAM from a reliable supplier like Crucial or OWC.
Crucial Memory Upgrades for Macs - Apple Memory
Upgrade Apple iMac Memory & more – Easy Guide, Free Installation Videos.

"Error code 0xc000035a Attempting to load a 64-bit application, however this cpu is not compatible with 64-bit mode" when I load Windows 7 [64bit] on an older iMac(with Parallels 6)? Any solutions that don't mean buying a new iMac?

"Error code 0xc000035a Attempting to load a 64-bit application, however this cpu is not compatible with 64-bit mode"
when I load Windows 7 [64bit] on an older iMac(with Parallels 6)? Any solutions that don't mean buying a new iMac?

You should probably post your question on the Parallels forums: http://forums.parallels.com

I am buying a new IMac. which is better, the 1TB Flash Drive or the 3TB fusion drive

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