Buying new iMac

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20164 posts

Uber Geek

#687714 18-Sep-2012 13:39

myopinion: Just go for 128GB SSD as this is plenty to run all your programs and will be a bit cheaper. Store all the big stuff like music, video and pictures on the external drive.

Storing all the big stuff on another drive maybe easier said that done. WIth itunes, it seems to store iphone/ipad apps on the main drive, even though it will store music/video on another. I haven't worked out a way to prevent this from happening yet.

myopinion

938 posts

Ultimate Geek

#687726 18-Sep-2012 14:02

I dont store/synch apps anymore as they are stored in iCloud, along with all the user settings.

geocom

594 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#687730 18-Sep-2012 14:06

myopinion: I dont store/synch apps anymore as they are stored in iCloud, along with all the user settings.

I don't think that's how iCloud works your apps are stored on you computer and they can talk to iCloud to store there documents. Some apps will store you settings but only a small amount.

Geoff E

myopinion

938 posts

Ultimate Geek

#687733 18-Sep-2012 14:11

No. They are only stored on your computer if you synch your i device with iTunes or download them. Otherwise they are only on the i device and if you need to restore your i device you just are downloading them again, along with all your user settings from iCloud. If you have iOS 5 check out the usage Settings-General-Usage-iCould-Manage Storage to see what is backed up. You do need to turn this on though to get it working. It is a great backup service.

geocom

594 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#687735 18-Sep-2012 14:13

myopinion: No. They are only stored on your computer if you synch your i device with iTunes or download them. Otherwise they are only on the i device and if you need to restore your i device you just are downloading them again, along with all your user settings from iCloud. If you have iOS 5 check out the usage Settings-General-Usage-iCould-Manage Storage to see what is backed up. You do need to turn this on though to get it working. It is a great backup service.

Oh i get what you mean now. I though you where talking about the computer applications.

Geoff E

myopinion

938 posts

Ultimate Geek

#687739 18-Sep-2012 14:17

iCloud backup is off topic but its one that in my opinion is way too hard for most users. iCloud doesn't just work and requires too much user input to setup correctly. Once setup though it is awesome.

littleheaven

2130 posts

Uber Geek

#689708 21-Sep-2012 21:42

I use Upgradeable.co.nz for all my RAM. They have excellent prices, and the RAM is sourced from the same companies that the computer manufacturers use. Just click on the link for whichever Mac you have, and they select the right RAM for you. I've upgraded an iMac and a Mac Pro with RAM from there, as well as two PC laptops and a netbook.

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

cza

27 posts

Geek

#689780 22-Sep-2012 07:51

Thanks for that littleheaven I will take a look into it.

Looking very much like we will wait till the next gen is announced since it seems to be imminent. I read somewhere that there was some supply issues with the 27 inch screens for them has anyone got any further Intel on that? Also will the next gen be moving to ivy bridge?

einsteinsboi

49 posts

Geek

#691217 25-Sep-2012 15:52

I would strongly recommend that you check that changing your RAM yourself will not void your warranty. I have a macbook with upgraded RAM (had it done a few years ago) and everytime I've needed any repairs done to it under AppleCare I have to bring the original RAM with me to the shop and they always look under their service records to verify that the RAM swap was done by a "certified" provider... argh. So I would recommend you talk to a certified provider before jumping in. You may be able to source the RAM cheaper elsewhere but they may need to do the installation for you to avoid voiding your warranty. A broken mac out of warranty is a painful problem.

wellygary

8328 posts

Uber Geek

#691227 25-Sep-2012 16:18

einsteinsboi: I would strongly recommend that you check that changing your RAM yourself will not void your warranty.

The act of changing RAM in an Imac will it self not void the warranty, (any damage you do while changing the RAM could void the warranty) See P 38 manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/imac_mid2011_ug.pdf

Although it is always useful to keep the original Apple RAM, and replace it if you do need to send it away to be repaired under warranty as Apple have been known to blame things on installed 3rd party RAM

einsteinsboi

49 posts

Geek

#691269 25-Sep-2012 18:04

wellygary:

The act of changing RAM in an Imac will it self not void the warranty, (any damage you do while changing the RAM could void the warranty) See P 38 manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/imac_mid2011_ug.pdf

Although it is always useful to keep the original Apple RAM, and replace it if you do need to send it away to be repaired under warranty as Apple have been known to blame things on installed 3rd party RAM

Makes sense. I always bring the original RAM with me to the repair guys.

geocom

594 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#708724 29-Oct-2012 21:14

Though I would bring up this topic seeing as the new iMac was announced last week.

I think it's a really nice looking build. The lack of DVD drive is not really a down side for me but I could see this being an issue for some. A strange change is the move of the SD Card slot to the back given how hard it can be at the moment to plug in cables to the back, and giving the way it is placed which is horizontal rather than vertical I could see some one braking the card.

It looks like the hard drives are still just as difficult if not more difficult to replace. Interesting note is that the 21" iMac no longer has user replaceable RAM. The 27" iMac does have user replaceable RAM. So if you want to replace your RAM you will need to get the 27" iMac although it looks like the ram slots have moved to the back unlike the bottom on the old model. So I don't quite know how you access the slots and all the images I have seen don't show any doors on the back.

If anything above is a deal breaker or you only want a 21" iMac with user replaceable RAM then there are now refurbished iMacs on the Apple store right now.

Geoff E

cza

27 posts

Geek

#708749 29-Oct-2012 21:41

Have any dates been mentioned for when the 27inch variety will be avaliable here?

Did I read somewhere that there was a bit of a delay on the panels so the 21inch models will be dropping first?

***edit***

I see it is on the apple NZ stie now - November for the 21inch model and December for the 27inch model

geocom

594 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#708751 29-Oct-2012 21:43

cza: Have any dates been mentioned for when the 27inch variety will be avaliable here?

Did I read somewhere that there was a bit of a delay on the panels so the 21inch models will be dropping first?

Only details from apple are some time in nov for the 21" and sometime in dec for the 27"

Geoff E

Peppery

919 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#708765 29-Oct-2012 21:58

I'm a bit late to the party, but I'll throw in my 2c.

- If you want to buy retail/finance it, Ubertec. Don't bother with YooBee, they're a bag of ____.

- If you want it faster, order from store.apple.com/nz. They come from Sydney or China (depending on if it's custom or if they have stock) whereas the local retailers all go through a different supply chain. I was quoted 8 weeks for a custom MacBook Pro from Yoobee, or 3 days from Apple online.

- I'd configure it with an SSD and do the RAM yourself. I had my (now last gen) iMac upgraded with an SSD after I had it for about a year - sourced it on Amazon along with 32GB of RAM, beastly! Not an easy task though. Alternatively a cheaper and easier solution would be to find a thunderbolt SSD elsewhere and just boot from that.

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