OntheRez Offline Upload & Sell: On
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J4644 wrote:
Robert,
Thanks for the information. It is looking like the newer unit is not as bad as I had been led to believe.
Jim,
As the designated "IT guy" for my family and friends (longevity implies competence, I suppose I've - over the last 3 months - helped purchase and install four 27" iMacs. They had varying degrees of power (most had the i5 processor). Still all are running 10.9.4 and the biggest problem I've faced is helping people deal with iCloud which - IMHO - after four years from .mac to .icloud is still a kludge. As for the machines themselves and the user experience it has all been 5 star. I have to admit that while I miss my 30" CinemaHD display from my old Mac Pro the actual quality of the image on this new 27" is superior. I've noticed it particularly when carefully examining pix for critical sharpness. This machine is also clearly faster with Lr and Ps than my old dual quad Mac Pro.
I expect to go to a new Mac Pro perhaps at their next iteration, but for the next 3 years this seems to be a perfectly competent solution. I'm not familiar with the negative reviews you've encountered, but I do suggest
Macintouch as a superb resource for emerging Mac technology and generally intelligent commentary/discussion on trends and issues with OS X.
From what you've identified as your needs, I think you would be more than satisfied with the i7 27" model. Get a decent sized SSD (.5 TB) but buy your extra RAM from either OWC or Crucial. Installation is a snap. You will need to find an external backup device, but USB-3 is robust and certainly quick enough for back up. You don't need a fast external disk. I use the time capsule for general backup and a two tiered storage system for photos only. Bit of a hassle but with SuperDuper (Carbon Copy Copy is just as good), it's all automated and gives a reasonable degree of protection.
Good luck, you'll enjoy the new iMacs. They actually are quite nice. (This coming from a person who swore he'd never own one
Robert
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