[gm4life]

Go with your option #4 and max out the RAM. This is my current setup. Zero problems. Zero complaints.

Thanks - that helped a lot! I pulled the trigger on the mid 2017 Apple iMac 27inch with 3.4GHZ Kaby Lake Intel Core i5, 8gb of ram and 1TB Fusion Drive. It also has the 4gb graphics card. I did order two 16GB sticks to bump it up to 32GB. Not bad for under 2K! It will have my 5K screen plus a kick butt quad core processor. Should be the cherry on top for all my editing needs after the photos has been taken with my Pentax crop kit.

---------- Post added 10-23-17 at 07:56 PM ----------

Next you'll be buying a Ford!

Doubt that but I have soften over the years. Refused to used an iOS device that is now all I have for mobile. Refused to do a Mac opps that is ended too!

---------- Post added 10-23-17 at 07:57 PM ----------

I am hoping another retailer does. But I would pull the trigger eventually before the holidays likely. Thanks for the advice!

I took the 100 bucks off and ran with it! So hopefully they don’t get a ton cheaper on Black Friday!

---------- Post added 10-23-17 at 07:59 PM ----------

Last winter I looked very hard at a 27” iMac. You really need to avoid small Fusion Drives and just use the biggest flash drive you can afford, plus 2xx Tb external drives. It gets up to $3,400 with AppleCare, software and sales tax (local Apple Store) very fast.

I bought a Dell XPS 3910 Tower custom built w/ 3.4 GHz i7, 16Gb, 512Gb flash drive, 2Tb SATA; 2Tb external backup, very nice nVidia GeForce 2Gb graphics card, wireless keyboard / mouse / 3.1 channel speakers, WIN10 64 Pro, MS Office Pro and more connections than I can count. 2x USB 3.0 + 2x USB 2.0 on the front + 4x USB 3.0 on the back (Apple has none on the front - try sticking your SD card in the back of your monitor -you’ll hate it)), multi-card slot reader on the front. Bluetooth, WiFi a/c and a 27” LG 4K monitor for $2,199 shipped, no tax. Blazing fast, my existing software all installed, my printers, scanners and other peripherals all installed, wired network server connected perfectly and the OS is familiar. There was a three evening learning curve to tweak settings and it just runs.

Well I just couldn’t bring myself to spend nearly 1,400 bucks on JUST a display. Instead I spent the extra 300 got the entry level mid 2017 27inch iMac another 300 to blow the ram out of the water to 32GB. For an extra 600 I got an entire computer that will RUN circles around my HP for editing.

---------- Post added 10-23-17 at 08:01 PM ----------

LG makes the displays for Apple. Just buy the LG version for your PC and you will be happy.

The 5K display is like a tad under 1,400 so I just said screw it and bought the entire computer!

---------- Post added 10-23-17 at 08:03 PM ----------

Well, I think my 27" iMac is superb. It is incredibly fast, has a great display, and does everything well. There is an elegance to both the hardware and the operating system. But I won't get into any Mac vs PC silliness as both systems get the job done. I have been using a Mac for years and am very comfortable with them. If you are changing, then I would strongly urge you to visit an Apple store or a friend with an iMac and play with it for a while. There are differences, and you may decide to stay with a Windows-based system.

Mac or PC, a 27" screen makes an incredible difference. On my main desktop I keep three windows open - mail, calendar and browser, with the browser occupying about 60% of the screen and the other two stacked in the remainder of the space. Another desktop has photo editing while yet another has some other stuff open. The 5k Retina display is fantastic with the exception of one problem - it exposes my lack of photo-taking talents.

If you are all in on buying an iMac, then it is all about configuration. I personally chose to go with a 3TB fusion drive for less money than a 512GB SSD. The fusion drive has 128GB of SSD combined with the mechanical hard drive. It is more than fast enough for me and allows me to keep one copy of my photos on the computer.

Thanks... Glad to hear it I might need a Macs for Dummies book now!

---------- Post added 10-23-17 at 08:06 PM ----------

First off. No reason to switch TO or FROM a Mac or PC.
Stick with what you're used to.

But, if you do choose Mac.....
FYI,

MacSales.com will allow you to max out a new 2017 iMac's RAM to 64GB.
I did this, but have yet to approach using a full 32GB with both Lightroom and Photoshop in use at the same time, and with some pretty large files and projects.
I would not suggest wasting money on more than 32GB of RAM for PS/LR work.
Maybe more useful if you do large video productions??? But not so much just for PS/LR.
Either way, get the minimum RAM from Apple, and go through MacSales.com for an upgrade. It will save you HUNDREDS of $$$.

I also upgraded to the 1TB SSD. I used to have the 1TB Fusion drive with my last desktop.
I honestly see very little performance difference between the two.
Benchmarks scream Sith an SSD... but real life usage with PS/LR does not show much (i.e. no noticeable) improvement.
I would not suggest overpricing the new box with an SSD. Go with the Fusion, as it is still a *huge* step up from standard spinning drive.

PS and LR are making more use of GPU, but most of their features are still tied to main CPU processor.
I would spend the extra on the faster processor.

I got the 5K display. AMAZING!
But, I have to zoom to 200% for a lot of work, simply because the resolution is just too high to do a lot of work.
Sounds odd, but I would probably choose the 4K if money is a concern.
Although if you did video, the extra work space on the 5K could probably let you work on 4K full res with extra space for tools.
If you do not have plans for video, 5K is probably overkill.

Looks like I went the overkill route! I couldn’t spend that much on a desktop that I couldn’t swap ram out on. If I want to max her out at 64GB down the road I still can! The 4K wasn’t the issue for me it was the 21.5 inch size of the smaller one that held me back. Do it right and go big or go home! Looks like I went big. I expect four good years out of it.

---------- Post added 10-23-17 at 08:09 PM ----------

Does you HP laptop support an external display? Buy a nice, wide gamut 4k display and see if that works. If you are still not satisfied, wait for Apple to revise the Mac Mini and hook that up to the 4k display.

Good advice. For the work I plan on doing and with what I would have in a 5K 27 inch LG display I pulled the trigger. Plus it will run the new Adobe Elements and Premiere much better and the boxed copy of Lightroom 6 I got before Adobe goes subscription only!

I do the yearly thing for Office so I can use it on my iOS devices but will NOT pay that kind of money for Adobe CC!

[pentaxfall]

I think the color depth is more important than resolution. HP's Dream Color displays have 10-bit color depth.
Laptop will not say Dream Color, but there will be a sticker of color-wheel on right-hand corner. HP charges around 500$ extra for Dream Color displays.
I have couple, purchased used from Craigslist. They came cheap because sellers did not even knew that laptop had such good display :-)

My suggestion is work horse hardware like Lenovo P50 or Zbook G3. They both support 32GB ram. These are heavy laptops.

[gm4life]

I think the color depth is more important than resolution. HP's Dream Color displays have 10-bit color depth.
Laptop will not say Dream Color, but there will be a sticker of color-wheel on right-hand corner. HP charges around 500$ extra for Dream Color displays.
I have couple, purchased used from Craigslist. They came cheap because sellers did not even knew that laptop had such good display :-)

My suggestion is work horse hardware like Lenovo P50 or Zbook G3. They both support 32GB ram. These are heavy laptops.

No, all good suggestions. I wasn’t interested in yet another laptop and then buying another high end display. The iMac should do the trick.

[johnmflores]

No, all good suggestions. I wasn’t interested in yet another laptop and then buying another high end display. The iMac should do the trick.

The iMac should be great. I know pros photogs that use them. In the past, I've typically recommended a nice monitor + computer because the monitor could typically last through two computer upgrade cycles, i.e., upgrade computer every 3 years, monitor every 6. But the evolution of digital still photography has leveled off. A well-specced computer should last 5+ years unless your needs change dramatically, i.e., 4K video, 360 video, etc...

Enjoy the iMac!

[gm4life]

The iMac should be great. I know pros photogs that use them. In the past, I've typically recommended a nice monitor + computer because the monitor could typically last through two computer upgrade cycles, i.e., upgrade computer every 3 years, monitor every 6. But the evolution of digital still photography has leveled off. A well-specced computer should last 5+ years unless your needs change dramatically, i.e., 4K video, 360 video, etc...

Enjoy the iMac!

Thanks! I am looking forward to it. I am sticking the extra 32 gigs of ram in right off the bat. Should move along nicely with 40 gigs of ram I think.

[gm4life]

Quick update. The iMac is in and I really like it. The screen is nearly perfect - sure does show how "good" my photos are. The colors are amazing the speed is pretty awesome too. Before I even powered it on and took off all the wrapping I was dumping in two additional sticks of DDR4 16GB's of ram. The performance from the Fusion Drive doesn't disappoint either. I am going to start editing some images tomorrow in LR6 and Elements 2018 and see how it does.

I have a feeling I will be spending more time in front of my desk! Less in front of my other Windows laptops, and less in front of my iPhone and iPad as well.