iMac Developer Note

The new Apple iMacs look interesting, though I’d recommend sticking to a Mac Pro for serious digital photographers (for expandability and better performance). Maximum memory of 2GB is a very, very serious limitation. Of course you can read all the marketing stuff, but as a consummate nerd, I prefer the iMac Developer Note.

Apple’s tech note is self-contradictory; the iMac can be ordered with 3GB of memory, consisting of a 1GB module and a 2GB module, but the tech note states:

Additional RAM must be installed in pairs of equal sizes.

But following links to a more detailed Tech Note on memory states that the RAM slots can be 2GB—doesn’t that mean 4GB is possible? It also states:

However, because the memory in the two slots is configured as a contiguous array of memory, both SO-DIMMs must be the same size and type for the interleaving function to be used to improve performance.

In other words, you can order your iMac with 3GB, but it might be a little slower than with 2GB (and Apple will charge you an arm and a leg for it). I’ll find out if 2 X 2GB is possible. As usual, you might want to order the minimum, and buy 3rd-party memory, such as from satech.com. Please see the Recommended Products and Vendors page.

With a Mac Pro , not only do you get 4 cores instead of twice (twice the processing power), you get up to 4 internal hard drives (if nothing else for a fast backup or RAID mirror), more flexible RAM expansion up to 16GB.

See also diglloyd Mac Pro and MacBook Pro Experience Report.

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