Is iMac 21" enough for residential projects ?

[Anonymous]

Can anyone tell me how well the iMac 21" will perform on AC16 ? I was planning on maxing out all the options and get the 21". I know there has been a lot of talk about the 27" but I can't find any discussion for 21". The 21" seems like a nice size for me. Its good for desktop and still small enough to take home occasionally.

I plan to take it home once in a while using a carrying case called the iLugger. It takes 15 seconds to put the thing in. This is the spec for it for $2,397:

3.1GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x8GB
1TB Fusion Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 512MB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac - Auto-enroll
Apple USB SuperDrive
Accessory Kit

[Anonymous]

I have imac 21" couple of years old running AC17 and it works great. The one you have spec'd out will be a rocketship. Screen size is ample

[Karl Ottenstein]

the 21" would be fine - although the 512 video will be a problem in the long run. Need 27" to get better options - 2gb or 4gb.

Personally, I cannot imagine NOT working on the 27" though and recommend it instead. The 27 has easy user installable memory, so cheaper to up the memory via macsales.com, crucial, etc. I added 16 GB to our late 2013 27" imac to give it 24 GB total.

Refurbished is essentially new at a good discount - and still eligble for AppleCare:

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

inventory chnges daily. Took me a week or two before the loaded iMac I wanted appeared.

[aahatimo]

karl is quite correct, refurb is the way to go. i have purchased my last 3 macbook pros that way.
here is a refurbished 27" iMac that has great specs except needs a ram upgrade:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/G0PG4LL/A/refurbished-27-inch-imac-35ghz-quad-core-intel-core-i7
$400 savings!

[Stress Co_]

+1
With what I saved, I was able to upgrade to the Fusion drive
(27" model).