
- #Imac fusion drive vs ssd for audio recording pro
- #Imac fusion drive vs ssd for audio recording plus
- #Imac fusion drive vs ssd for audio recording mac
Processors available for the 21.5-inch are the 2.7GHz quad-core Intel i5 and 2.9GHz quad-core Intel i5 (configurable to 3.1GHz quad-core i7). OptionsĪs before, the new iMac is available in both 21.5-inch and 27-inch screen sizes. The potential of USB 3 for up to 5Gbps of throughput makes it over six times as fast as the Firewire 800 protocol, and half the speed of Thunderbolt. The inclusion of USB 3 (backwards compatible with USB 2) is, of course, only to be expected, and should be seen as significant by data-hungry musicians who won't be using Thunderbolt peripherals. The inclusion of a second Thunderbolt socket (on all models) will be very useful for those using devices without Thunderbolt pass-through, which will include legacy Firewire devices connected using adaptor cables.
#Imac fusion drive vs ssd for audio recording plus
On the plus side, this new rendition of the iMac sports a gigabit Ethernet socket, two Thunderbolt sockets, four USB 3 sockets, an SDXC card slot and a headphone jack. It is perhaps a sign of the age of this venerable technology that this need not be an expensive purchase, in some cases costing less than Apple charge for a Thunderbolt cable! If you still need to play or burn CDs or DVDs, you will need to obtain an external optical drive. The first major casualty of this redesign - and, to be honest, it has been on the cards for a while - is the loss of the optical drive, as there really is nowhere to put it. As you can see, the iMac drive is doing rather better.
#Imac fusion drive vs ssd for audio recording pro
The results for Black Magic Design's Disk Speed Test on a MacBook Pro (left) and the new iMac. I was certainly impressed by the fact that I could no longer see a ghostly outline of my head when using an iMac on my desk! In & Out At 2mm, this wasn't large to start with, but its removal reduces glare significantly (by up to 75 percent if you need a number) and allows for a wider viewing angle. A process called 'full lamination', similar to that used in smartphones, has been employed to eliminate the gap between the LCD and the cover glass. The other area in which the new iMac has adopted ground-breaking technology is the display. To you and me, this means that you can't see the join.

This redesign has partly been achieved using a technique borrowed from aeroplane technology called 'friction stir welding', which allows aluminium components to be joined 'at a molecular level'. Eventually you'll have to tether your iMac to the desk in case a gust of wind blows it over when you open the studio door! Although this makes little difference to the user once it's on the desktop, it certainly is an indication of the direction in which technology is headed, perhaps signalled by the introduction of the positively wafer-like iPad Mini. The model I reviewed, with 21.5-inch-screen, weighs in at only 5.7kg (12.5 pounds), while the previous model (released in May 2011) with the same screen size tipped the scales at a positively obese 9.3kg (20.5 pounds). To be fair, however, you really need to look at it from the side to appreciate this! Even the stand, although basically unchanged in design, has been tapered towards the front to increase the aerodynamic feel.

Overall, the volume (of the enclosure, not the speakers) is down by 40 percent, and this helps to give the iMac a much slimmer look. The new enclosure has been designed with bulky items moved to the centre, allowing the edges to have their thickness shaved down to just 5mm. Two things struck me as I removed the iMac from its box, and one of them wasn't back pain.
#Imac fusion drive vs ssd for audio recording mac
But now, apart from a rather clever refresh of the iMac's shape, what's inside has also been significantly updated, making the iMac an even more worthy contender to replace the ageing Mac Pro as the desktop machine of choice for recording studios. Apart from that, little has changed, aside from incremental performance increases and connectivity options. 'So what?' I hear you cry! Since the introduction of the aluminium-bodied, all-in-one iMac enclosure in August 2007, the biggest cosmetic change has been to the aspect ratio of the screen, changed to 16:9 in October 2009. Apple have dramatically revamped the iMac - and have made it a tempting choice for the studio.Īpple have updated their iMac range.
