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How to Select and Configure an iMac
Please first read How To Choose a Mac for overall tips and ideas on selecting and buying a Mac.
This page speaks to the iMac prior to the October 19, 2009 iMac. The new model is much improved, see the diglloyd October 19, 2009 blog.
The iMac is sleek-looking, great eye candy with a super nice form factor— a superb machine for storefront sales purposes, and initially very satisfying, but a dead-end machine for serious work. Expansion options and performance all have hard limits with the iMac, so consider that carefully versus a Mac Pro.
To repeat: the iMac is a fantastic machine that is a lousy investment compare to a Mac Pro, a headache when you need more memory, storage, or speed. And with two CPU cores, it’s a wimpy machine for serious work.
Compared to Mac Pro, Macbook Pro
A Mac Pro offers top-flight performance and expansion with 8 or 16 CPU cores, and a MacBook Pro offers portability, but an iMac offers neither of those— the all-in-one form factor is its only appealing characteristic (aside from price).
An iMac makes it extremely difficult to change the internal hard drive, and the built-in screen can’t be used on another Mac. With one Firewire 800 port, storage options are mediocre.
A client’s iMac
I set up a 2009 iMac for a consulting client who wanted performance and reliability in a compact form factor (this particular client had space limitations that precluded a Mac Pro).
In the end, the 3.06GHz iMac system with 8GB memory and required backup drives cost more than a Mac Pro with a 24" screen — over $4000. And the cable mess of multiple external hard drives rather dimmed the appeal of the all-in-one form factor.
Best value in an iMac
The best value (June 2009) in an iMac is the mid-range 2.66GHz model (see below). Ramping up the processor speed comes at a high cost, and will barely be noticeable (only 15% for 3.06GHz vs 2.66GHz).
Going to 8GB memory is costly, though you can save $300 or so at OWC. The problem is that a 3.06GHz iMac with 8GB costs more than a 2.66GHz Mac Pro (you do need a display with the Mac Pro). And for about the same price, you can get a 2.93GHz Mac Pro! Add in backup hard drives, AppleCare and accessories, and the price gap percentage narrows further.
That’s why it makes no sense to “soup up” an iMac, which will still under-perform in a variety of ways: 2 CPU cores instead of 4 CPUs each with 2 virtual cores, no fast RAID, fewer ports, 8GB memory limit, no expansion cards, etc. A dead end Mac, and Macs aren’t cheap, so run the numbers and think about two years ahead.
Because the internal iMac hard drive is a Big Deal to change (though it can be done at some cost), be sure to get the largest, fastest hard drive available. Changing the hard drive also risks getting dust inside the screen glass, ultra-annoying to say the least, let alone warranty concerns. Swapping the hard drive out for an SSD is thus also a headache.
Recommended configuration
Tempted to upgrade this configuration? If so, you should be considering a Mac Pro, especially a refurbished one, including the 2008 model.
Consider refurbished models
Please see the Refurbished page for details on why a certified refurbished Mac is a superior choice.
External drives for iMac
There is only one choice here: Firewire 800 (USB can be used, but it’s much slower).
With only a single Firewire 800 port, you’ll have to “daisy chain” drives to add more than one, a messy solution with all the cables. Consider various OWC dual-drive units to minimize this problem.
Conclusions
As long as you accept all the limitations, the iMac might be for you. Head over to OWC for upgrades like external Firewire 800 hard drives and memory.
Contact Lloyd Chambers.
But think carefully about your actual needs. While its form factor is appealing, the iMac is not designed as a serious workstation. By the time you add external drives (for Time Machine and other backups), it’s not an elegant solution, and performance won’t be inspiring. A year later, will it still meet your needs? What if that expensive 8GB still isn’t enough? What to do when the single internal hard drive fills up?
Snow Leopard
The potential performance gains of Apple’s upcoming Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) are also squandered on an iMac: Snow Leopard allegedly makes superior use of available CPU cores— think of it as a hardware upgrade. But with only 2 CPU cores the iMac has limited upside potential. The same will be true for software upgrades from vendors like Adobe.
