What is the best iMac setup without spending a fortune?

Okay so I am looking to purchase a new iMac. I do a little video editing and a decent amount of photo editing and music editing. I will probably do some gaming also, but I know most of the hardware upgrades don't really affect the gaming ability. So here is my question. I want to get a 27" iMac, and I'm wondering what are the best upgrades for the money? I want the best performing system possible without spending too much money. Basically, what system setup (Ghz, RAM, drive type/size, i5 vs i7, etc) will give me the most noticeable difference in performance. I don't want to invest $200 more for i7, $200 more for bigger RAM, etc if there is only going to be a very minor performance improvment. I hope this all make sense, and ANYBODY's help is MUCH appreciated!!! Thanks guys!!!!

I would say any of the 27" iMacs would be a great solution. If you tend to keep computers for 4-5 years then it's wise to invest in the most power iMac today. In 4 years you will have a 18, 16, 15 and a 11 year old and you can be sure their interests will change. In that case I'd probably opt for the i7 CTO iMac with a 2TB HD. Do not buy additional RAM from Apple, buy that from reputable vendors such as OWC (www.macsales.com) or Crucial. Upgrading RAM is incredibly simple taking less than 10 minutes to do. I would upgrade the RAM to 12 or 16GB. I would stay with the base graphics card and consider getting the SSD option which will enhance speed.
If your habits are to keep computer for 1-2 years and then recycle them then either of then I'd probably opt for the base 27" iMac with the same HD noted above and RAM recommendations.

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Try this - no harm in doing this, and you may see some instant improvement.
Open Terminal - type this in (without quotes) "sudo periodic daily weekly monthly" - put in your computer password when it asks. When it finishes running (about 5 mins or so) you'll be back at a blinking cursor.
Activity Monitor was suggested and is good advice. See if anything is consuming either huge amount of CPU cycles or RAM.
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What's the best iMac cleaning software

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ksdjaba,
Here are a couple of topics to help you answer that question.
The Safe Mac » Mac Performance Guide
The Safe Mac » The myth of the dirty Mac

What is the best iMac for a former PC movie/ music maker?

I'm researching Apple computers, and,my lord, I am out of touch. Actually, I was never really IN touch. Anyway, I am currently working on a short film, less than ten minutes, which will probably be eight or so hours of raw footage trimmed, cropped, flopped, color corrected, sped up, slowed down, etc.
I used Adobe Elements on my last project about six years ago, and am definitely using Adobe again. I also compose the soundtracks. I am planning on using an external hard drive to store my footage and music. So, I'd like to know what the best iMac is for my purposes, and also what iMac is acceptable (cost feasible).
What about ports for external hard drives and connections to the mini DV cam?
What about a connection to electric instruments (guitar, bass, microphone, etc)?
What about transferring video from my current external hard drive to a new one?
What about a disk drive for Burning CDs and DVDs?
I'm your vessel. Point me in the right direction.

Since you are just researching, I am going to make this as short and sweet as possible.
The 27 inch screen IMac is your only option. You need to have one with the fastest i7 CPU, fastest Graphics processor. Order one with the base 8 GBs of RAM and add additonal RAM through cheaper third party Mac RAM suppliers.
My preference is for the standard ATA 7200 rpm drives as the Fusion-type drives are not proven technology, yet.
If you want a really fast iMac and can afford it, consider an internal or external solid state drive (SSD) as these drives ard very,very fast.
For external drives fast drives are ones that use USB 3, Thunderbolt and/or FireWire 800 connections.
Stay away from external USB 2.0 external hard drives. They aren't fast enough.
You need an adapter adapter for your mini DV camera.
You are going to need some make of separate high speed audio interface box for instruments and vocals.
Look at interface boxes from M-Audio.
And you'll need to budget for a third party, good quality, high speed external FireWire 400/800 CD/DVD optical drive.
Plus, very seriously consider the purchase of extended 3-year AppleCare Warranty plan.
Something will go wrong with an iMac between 1-5 years.
Three years of warranty protection offers free repairs and replacement of you have hardware failures.
Good Hunting!

What's the best graphics card without upgrading PSU?

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thank you....
Message was edited by: Girl6focus

I have the same (fantastic) cam (from 2000 and use still the same batteries!) and use DV-pal DV Converter. Now it is also possible to capture direct from camera (thus no tape running!) that save time. In iMovie you can do the same but after ending the direct-capture, iMovie need a lot of time to make thumbnals. Or, when you pause for a while and want to go further you have to wait for very long if you direct recording/capturing was long too! Sometimes is that not possible!
Succes!

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" I'm currently using CS4 but would like to upgrade"
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"graphics card"
Nvidia card: GTX460, GTX470. NO NEED TO GO TO SERIES GTX5..
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B.R.
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Hi,
As you probably know, Skype to Skype calls are free, but if you wish to call phones then you would need a subscription that covers calling destination.
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If answer was helpful please mark it with Kudos and if issue is resolved mark it with solution. This will help other users find this answer more easily. Thanks in advance!

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edited 2x

What is the best Apple setup?

Hi,
I am thinking about investing apple tech, and need some help.
I am a student and need to be able to create doucments, spreadsheets and also surf the web and watch movies/telly. I have narrowed it down to a few options....
1.iMac+ iPad 2 for uni work and then taking notes, general tablet use.
2.Mac mini ( plus acessories, mouse, keyboad etc) + iPad 2 for the same again
3.Macbook Pro + iPad 2 for the same, but more portable.
4. Any other suggestions?
Any help is appreciated!
Cheers

Any other suggestions?
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(Sounding like Darth Vader.) "You don't know the POWER of the Mac Pro."

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Badunit wrote:
Mr Less,
I fully understand that many if not most or all professionals think FCPX is lacking. I am all in favor of irony but have not seen any in your posts. The addition of "lol" does not make a post ironic or funny.
If you dont find this thread ironic, then I suggest you update your dictionary and look-up Irony once more.
This time, spend a little time contemplating what it means. Just because you read the words doesn't mean you have grasped the meaning.
This thread is pure irony. Whether YOU like it or not play no role in this movie. Irony or should I say the terminology surrounding it is NOT subjective to interpretation. Like an Automobile. Just because you dont think Automobile is describing something driving with a motor and 4 wheels well, does not make it less an automobile let a lone a train or fish... Perhaps you take dislike to the automobile, perhaps because it is green, and that is your right but it is STILL an automobile...
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OK, seeing as no-one replied (presumably because a lot of this information is on the forums in bits elsewhere) here's how I've got on so far.
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Movies - New iMovies just copied across the clips and projects into their respective folders. Seems to have worked but haven't checked it all that thoroughly. Some duplicate footage here but I can trim this out at some point when I get a chance to go through here.
Documents - Just copied these across.
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<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5891>
You can use USB for the Apple trackpad.
<http://www.mobeetechnology.com/the-power-bar.html>

What is the best iMac setup without spending a fortune?

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