New Mac (Page 2): You may want to consider a Solid State hard drive if you upgrade to an iMac instead of the conventional rotating drives that will fail eventually. I had an iMac...

FiddleMaker Loc: Merrimac, MA

pappleg wrote:

Hello all, getting some conflicting info and would... (show quote)

You may want to consider a Solid State hard drive if you upgrade to an iMac instead of the conventional rotating drives that will fail eventually.
I had an iMac 27-inch back in 2010. Had to give it up for this crappy Dell. Would love to return to an iMac 27-inch. Apple hardware far superior to this Dell junk.

twice_shooter

PhilipPeake wrote:

If Apple made it easy/possible to upgrade the memory after purchase I might agree. However, if you end up wanting 32GB its throw away the device and buy a new one.

As a general principle, you can't have too much memory. if you can afford it, go for 32.

You can upgrade memory on iMacs.

Jeffcs Loc: Myrtle Beach South Carolina

With computers iMac get the most possible even if it seems out of reach. What if 3 years from now you find your self dealing with 80 meg files

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

pappleg wrote:

Hello all, getting some conflicting info and would... (show quote)

The new 27" iMac's are user friendly, the RAM is plug and play and easy to install yourself. I have read they have an access panel on the back. You can save a bit doing it yourself, but if leery just pay the price and let Apple do it. I have been using Crucial.com for ram in my Macs starting with a G5 power Mac up to my 21.5 iMac (OS X 10.7.5,2.5 GHz core i5 RAM up graded to 32 32 GB 1333 MHz ddr3 updated by me without a hitch) No longer a speed demon but does just fine using D810 raw file with as many as 7 exp hdr never have experienced more than 5 min. wait, You are not able to replace the RAM in the new 21.5 without taking the computer apart.
Frank

inspector158

Just as an FYI, if you can wait it looks like iMac will be getting a refresh in early 2019. As of today it’s been 547 days since there last upgrade. Rumors have been the new models will offer 8k screens, faster processors etc. they typically don’t go up in price much compared to the upgrades they put into there machines.

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

Absolutely 32 and th i7 processor. Also SSD. Wait until you do a pano with 6 50 MLB pictures. 16 will give you fits. Heck my pics are 25 my and I have to wait.

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

I believe the 27" iMac IS upgradeable to 32MB.

PhilipPeake wrote:

If Apple made it easy/possible to upgrade the memory after purchase I might agree. However, if you end up wanting 32GB its throw away the device and buy a new one.

As a general principle, you can't have too much memory. if you can afford it, go for 32.

Mark7S

am using 2015 late iMac 27" upgraded Ram to 32GB myself (lot less than Apple) - no issues. Would definitely fo with 2GB SSD not fusion. I have external 3GB drive and iCloud back ups + time machine (more backup the better). Plus most pix are on SmugMug. what software are you using - I use Lightroom Classic, Nikon NX-D and Affinity - looking at adding ON1 raw Photo. Not seeing any speed issues at all. Success

Chops Loc: Long Beach, CA

pappleg wrote:

Hello all, getting some conflicting info and would... (show quote)

1. You can upgrade the RAM on 27" iMacs. I wouldn't pay Apple's outrageous RAM prices.
2. I'd get an i7 CPU. In addition to better performance in general, it is a factor in extending the useful life of the computer.
3. Does LR take advantage of Radeon GPUs? If so, then the Radeon 580 would likely be worth the extra $$.
4. If you're going to spend extra on internal storage don't bother with the 3TB FD. Go all the way to the 500GB SSD.

My pick for the iMac: i7 CPU, Radeon 580 (if supported by LR), 8GB RAM, 500GB SSD.
3rd party add-ons: 32 GB RAM, and maybe an external SSD for your LR library.

I never locate my LR libraries on the internal drive, so that why I selected a 500GB for the internal.

Enjoy your new iMac!

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

PhilipPeake wrote:

If Apple made it easy/possible to upgrade the memory after purchase I might agree. However, if you end up wanting 32GB its throw away the device and buy a new one.

As a general principle, you can't have too much memory. if you can afford it, go for 32.

Wrong info here, a 27” imac IS easily upgradeable. There is a memory door on the back that allows the user access to the memory.

Grey Ghost

You can easily add ram at any time to the 27” iMac. Cannot be easily done with the 21” iMac

suntouched Loc: Sierra Vista AZ

I have the 27 inch iMac and it is upgradable. My husband bought it for me with 16 G Ram and we easily upgraded to 32 G ourselves for about 100.00. I don't think 16 G of Ram is enough. Cheaper to do it yourself.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

suntouched wrote:

I have the 27 inch iMac and it is upgradable. My husband bought it for me with 16 G Ram and we easily upgraded to 32 G ourselves for about 100.00. I don't think 16 G of Ram is enough. Cheaper to do it yourself.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

pappleg wrote:

Thanks to all. Hoggers are great! I opened a for... (show quote)

Someone mentioned Apple employee's don't know anything about LR and PS. More than likely he's right. Why should they? They know their product and what it can do. They may offer some glancing knowledge about those programs but not in-depth responses. Same thing with Adobe. I am a retired Pharmaceutical analyst for a hedge fund. If you asked me if Apple is a buy or should I short it? My answer would be; don't know.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It looks like you can't add memory to the 2018 iMac 27. What a shame. If the Apple people aren't forcing 32GB down your throat, I'd take them at their word.

Looking online, I see that the 3.5 processor in right in the middle, so that's a good choice. For the price of the memory, I'd be satisfied with 16GB.
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac/27-inch

Two of my three Macs (2011) were bought as refurbished models - something to consider.

Memory -
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-much-ram-does-your-p
c-need-probably-less-than-you-think/
http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-much-ram-does-your-pc-need/