imac: i5, i7, ram ???

[ShanPeyton]

Hello hr.com'rs!

I am looking at splurging on an imac for myself. I want to take advantage of the wifes student rebates if I can. It's only 200 to 300 bucks but it's better than nothing.

I am wondering firstly how much of a difference would I notice between an i5 processor and an i7 processor? I have read some stuff online saying that nowadays the processor isn't so much the bottle neck it used to be? Anyone care to have any first hand knowledge of that?

Secondly, in continuation of the previous bottleneck comment it was noted in one article that having an 'decent' dual or quad core like an i5 loaded with ram we'll say 16gb's, would be noticaeably more productive than an i7 machine with 4 to 8 gb of ram.

I have talked to apple and they can customize a machine for me rather than just picking out a boxed item. I am just really trying to get the most bang for my bucks without getting too wild and crazy by tricking out all my options? Not sure if that makes sense to you or not? But hopefully it does.

Any and all guidance is welcome.

 

[TimOBrien]

I have an i5 quad with 12gb of ram and have no problem and no shortage of horsepower.
What you will want is outboard hard drives to keep the data flowing smoothly.

Best setup for any daw is:
OS, apps and plugins on boot drive
Sample libraries on a second drive (I use Glyph firewire800s)
and Audio Projects and tracks on a third drive.

A 20-30 track project with moderate vsts usually takes 20-30% cpu.
Spend $50 on ram upgrade (OWC is cheap and good)
and spend money on 2 outboard 7200rpm drives and a decent audio interface (I'm using an old Motu828mkII)

 

[Steenamaroo]

Hi,
I have a two-core i5 mac book pro with 16gb ram and it does everything I need.
Like Tim I have a separate hard drive (2 internal SSDs), and a motu 828mk2.

It's very easy to replace the ram yourself and doesn't void the warranty, so I'd recommend pricing ram yourself and comparing that to what apple wants.
8gb will be plenty for the majority of home recordists.

If you're going to go crazy with sample libraries and vsts, modern imacs and macbook pros will take 2x8gb, although apple don't advertise it.

Of course, google the specific model to make certain first. Mine is early 2011. I think any later mbp/imac is good for 16gb.

 

[ShanPeyton]

Awesome guys thanks. I don't use samples at all so I guess that leaves more room for vst's I would suppose? I'm digging the votes for the i5.

I didn't think you 'mod' your own mac's? That is interesting about the ram.

Now, about the additional harddrives? With the imac how would that work? Would they be connected via usb or something? Wouldn't the usb slow the data transfer so to speak? I have often thought ove having all my recorded stuff on one hard drive and track all the live stuff to it! Or would you track the live stuff to the boot drive and then move it to a secondary hard drive after the fact?

Hmmm. So many questions. Lot's to factor in?

 

[Steenamaroo]

It's not really a mod. The apple papers describe how to replace ram.
It's incredibly easy on the imacs. One screw (the only visible screw on an imac! ) on the underside of the screen lets you remove a little cover and see the ram.

Hard drives - Yeah, you can get usb ones. You could also go firewire/thunderbolt.
I don't think I'd fancy running my sessions over usb.
If you plan to 'live' off the external drive, I'd get a 7200 speed drive in a firewire enclosure.
Firewire is compatible with thunderbolt.


Although it's against Avid's recommendations I always run current sessions from my system drive, then move them to a storage drive when I'm finished. I've never had a problem doing that and it means my backup drive doesn't need to be quick.

 

[Steenamaroo]

I have talked to apple and they can customize a machine for me rather than just picking out a boxed item.

You can build a custom machine on apple's site, if you want an idea of prices.
I've just noticed that the imacs can go up to 32gb now so that 16gb thing I mentioned isn't really relevant.

 

[TimOBrien]

Would they be connected via usb or something? Wouldn't the usb slow the data transfer so to speak?

Usb is too slow. Firewire 7200rpm drives is what you want.
If your mac has no firewire ports but thunderbolt you can get a $30 thunderbolt>Firewire adapter from Apple.

Firewire devices are designed to daisy-chain.
Here's my chain:

iMac --> Glyph firewire800 samples drive --> Glyph firewire800 projects drive ---> Motu828mkII

Zero problems.
BTW: you put firewire400 devices on the END of the chain of firewire800 devices.

 

[MrWrenchey]

Usb is too slow. Firewire 7200rpm drives is what you want.

This isn't completely true now that there are USB 3.0 drives. A USB 3.0 drive will be quicker than a FW 800 drive, but you'll never max a FW 800 drive while doing audio as far as I know, so pick up either one and you'll be fine.

Considering it's a new iMac, I'd suggest getting a USB 3.0 drive so you don't have to buy a ridiculously overpriced $30 Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Op, I must apologise.
The new 21" imacs do not have access for user ram upgrades.
Damn things go out of date so quickly.

 

[TimOBrien]

Yeah and do NOT buy your ram from Apple.
They charge a massive premium for what is a 5-minute user upgrade.

OWC, where I bought my 8gb upgrade for $45, is super and they have videos on their site showing you how to do it.
Dead easy and FAR cheaper than Apple's prices.

 

[CAlbertson]

THe bottle neck is not join to the the CPU, and i5 or good enough. But you need a bunch of RAM. Buy the RAM from a third party after you get the iMac. Apple charges to much for RAM and they only offer the 1 year warranty. You can get lifetime warranty RAM for less.

The bottle neck is going to be the disk. As the FLASH and use the fusion drive. That will speed it up where it counts. "Fusion Drive" is a great idea.