Quote:
Originally Posted by AX17609
That's the sort of creative work-around I was hoping to see in a thread like this, and it offers real direction for new users. A 3.4GB 27" iMac upgraded to 16GB RAM and a small, 256GB SSD is a relatively reasonable $2099. A Thunder3 adds another $350, but storage after that can be purchased on an as needed basis. On the other hand, if you can live with a 1TB fusion drive (which has an SSD component), the same iMac upgraded to 16GB is $1999, and you're done (until you want some extra external storage).
FWIW - Last I looked, the SSD component of the iMac 1TB Fusion drive is only 24GB, whereas the SSD component of the 2-3TB fusions is 128GB. The smallest internal SSD they sell is 256GB. So, there are a lot of possible configurations. Personally, if I had a bottomless checkbook, I'd get get as big an SSD as they'd sell me. Regrettably, I don't don't have a bottomless checkbook. Hence, trade-offs must be considered.
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One advantage the 27" iMac has over the 21" version is you can easily upgrade your RAM on the 27.
On the iMac I bought in October, I upgraded from the 3.8 to the 4.2 processor for $200, and to 32gb of RAM for $600. Those upgrades seemed somewhat reasonably priced. The storage was another matter. Apple wants $1400 to upgrade to a 2TB ssd drive. That's exorbitant. So rather than do that, I opted for the 512gb ssd drive for $200. I added the Akitio unit for $350, and three 1TB Samsung evo ssd drives at $280 apiece. That totals $1390.
So for the same money, I have 3.5TB of space compared to the 2TB Apple would have given me. Plus I still have an open slot in the Akitio unit should I need more storage. I'm very happy with how that turned out.