27" imac dileam

[Cesar R]

hi guys, its been a long time since I posted.

I have a question:

 

I have been using an Imac 27" paired with a 24" display on a dual monitor setup.

I have upgraded the ram on the imac and it runs pretty well.

 

However, I do miss the ability of upgrading the internal like you would on the tower. For instance I just bought an SSD drive but from the reading I have been doing it is not a straight forward install. This prompted me to look at other options (towers) I am contemplating a Macpro, or even a lenovo S30. (by the way my mac is a windows machine so im not attached to OSX at all)

 

I am however in love with the monitor of the imac and if I go to a tower I would need monitors. I cannot justtify spending 1,000 dollar on an apple display. Since many of you are into this, I was wondering if you would suggest some monitors that look good and work well should I decide to get a tower.

 

The main reasons for the tower are: upgradability of ram, GPU and hard drives - SSD.

[Scott Schroeder]

Just picked this one up from Asus and it's pretty damn good for the price:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236103

[Dimitris Tolios]

Both the iMac 27" and the Apple Cinema Display 27, are using the same 27" IPS 1440p LG panel that you can find in Asus, Dell and HP 1440p 27" monitors.

Pretty much all of the 1440p monitors are based on those LG panels - other than the one from Samsung I believe.

 

1440p monitors run in the 600~800 range usually.

I've grabbed my U2711 for $650.

 

Ofc if you don't need 1440p, there is no reason to go 27".

There are plenty 1200p 24" IPS around the $300 mark, and 1080p 23-24" IPS for much less.

Edited December 15, 2012 by dtolios

[Cesar R]

Interesting, I did not know that.

I while I like apple products, I am leaning towards a Lenovo S30 verus the current entry level Mac pro.

The only weird thing for me would be to have a lenovo tower with DELL monitor haha. I don't doing that with a Mac though for some reason.

[Dimitris Tolios]

Well, played lil bit with the S30 configurator, and the prices for a properly configured workstation are a bit salty.

You are looking in the $2450+ range with a single low-end Xeon, 2x8GB ECC Ram, 500GB HDD and a Quadro 2000 (they only offer quadros for options, anything less is meh).

 

Yes, they do give you a 3y warranty that is decent, but that means you won't be able to touch it in order not to void - so much for "expandability" you are after...ofc in-house upgrades are overpriced.

 

If you were to be satisfied by a iMac the 1st place - a machine that pales in comparison with anything but mobile workstations as far as hardware goes tbh - you probably don't need neither Xeons or ECC etc.

 

For $2500, you can easily build a i7 3930K machine (extremely more powerful that is), with some 32GB ram and a mid-range quadro like the 2000, and possibly throw in the single 27" 1440p, two 24" or a combination of 27+24...

 

So choose wisely - turn key lenovo and no "hands-on-hardware-tweaking", or go all the way and build it for yourself, or get someone to custom build it for you. If you search the hardware forum, you can find 3930K based configs to help you get an idea.

Edited December 17, 2012 by dtolios

[Francisco Penaloza]

Dimitris is right, apple monitor are LG based, at home my main work station is an Imac 27" but I do use OsX

now I also own an LG monitor and they do look pretty close, Apple still a little more contrast but that ca be fixed, upgrading hardware in your iMac yes it can be cumbersome but it is dupable, now the may draw back for me is heat, after rendering a few hour it does get to hot, that's why I have a custom build rendering machine, Hackingtosh

if you want to get the best bag for your buck I would recommend a custom machine, any brand PC will be twice price and yes if you do upgrades your self you'll lose the warranty.

[Wil Vaughn]

I'll build you one for a lot less than 2500$

[Cesar R]

I'll build you one for a lot less than 2500$

 

Thanks. ?