Time to upgrade. What should I buy?

Question

Time to upgrade. What should I buy?

Hi there,

I currently own an iMac (27 inch, mid 2011) 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with 16GB (4x4GB) of memory with a 2TD hard-drive. I currently back up to an external 2TB hard drive.

I've nearly filled my hard-drive and I'm now considering what to buy next. I'm a graphic designer working from home, so portability isn't really necessary. Occasionally I might take my old laptop with me to a photo-shoot, but usually I work on my iMac.

So what I'm wondering:

1. Can I use my current iMac as a monitor? If so could I buy a Mac mini or a Macbook Pro and connect it to my iMac. I'd obviously like more than 2TB or storage, but the Mac mini only has a maximum of 2TB and the Macbook Pro 1TB. Therefore I'm wondering about sticking all my 2TB work on an external hard drive - but how fast would it be if I was accessing work from it all the time? I mostly use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for packaging design work. Also with regard to the flash storage (if used with an external hard drive) does it make a difference if I choose 1TB over 256GB? If I have all of my work on an external hard drive am I right in thinking that I don't need more than 256GB? So If I opted for a Macbook Pro, with 256GB flash storage, what is the best way of connecting to an external hard drive ? USB3, Thunderbolt or 3TB time capsule? Wired or wireless? What would be the fastest, most efficient way of working?

2. Do I just buy a brand new 27 inch iMac? Again what is the best storage option? A 3TB Fusion drive or flash storage with an external hard drive (2TB or above)? Is internal flash storage used in conjunction with an external hard drive (or 3TB time capsule) option, faster than an internal fusion drive? Finally if I did get a new iMac would I be able to use my current iMac as a second monitor?

Any help, helping me through this minefield of options would be greatly appreciated.

Richard

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Nov 18, 2015 4:28 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Nov 18, 2015 6:41 AM in response to richardesigner

Personally, I would get an SSD for the internal drive for apps and OS and put all other storage on

large external drives. If you don't like the thought of multiple drives on your table top, there

are a wide variety of multi drive enclosures available in USB3 and Thunderbolt. Since the external

will be large HDDs, I would opt for USB3 as the HDD will limit data transfer speed and not the connection

method.

As for your 2011 iMac as an external display, get your self a Thunderbolt cable and you will be good

to go.

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Answer 2

dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

Nov 18, 2015 6:57 AM in response to richardesigner

No matter which computer you choose, definitely do not choose the default mechanical drive option. Given the recent change to a smaller SSD with Fusion drives, I really need to spend some quality time with one to see what the impact is so I’m not comfortable recommending it. I agree that a 256GB internal for applications and either an external USB 3 or Thunderbolt drive for data is the best choice. (I’ve been very pleased with the speed of USB 3 vs Thunderbolt, btw.) I built a nice external using an OWC external case and a WD Green drive - 3TB. It is fast and quiet.

For my personal use I’ve been satisfied with the recently much improved Intel integrated graphics but as a graphics professional you may want to sit down at an Apple store and compare the performance difference between machines with integrated graphics and discrete graphics cards.

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Answer 3

dialabrain

Level 10

122,549 points

Nov 18, 2015 7:02 AM in response to woodmeister50

FWIW, I believe Target Display Mode was removed in OSX 10.11 so if you want to use your iMac display you would have to stick with OSX 10.10.

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Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,550 points

Nov 18, 2015 7:06 AM in response to dialabrain

pissnaround wrote:

FWIW, I believe Target Display Mode was removed in OSX 10.11 so if you want to use your iMac display you would have to stick with OSX 10.10.

That is not correct, please read Use your iMac as a display with Target Display Mode - Apple Support

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Answer 5

dialabrain

Level 10

122,549 points

Nov 18, 2015 7:26 AM in response to rkaufmann87

I was actually thinking of the fact that you can't use the Late 2015 Retina iMac displays. However, there were numerous posts in the Developers forum where users testing OSX 10.11 said they could no longer use Target Mode. But of course there could be other reasons.

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