imac vs. tower-any thoughts?

after the new year, I'm planning on upgrading my computer set up. currently I have a mac g4 tower with dual 1 gig processors and 1 gig of ram. It's served me well for the last few years, but the latest photo software and the larger raw files generated from my Canon T1i are proving a little too cumbersome for my computer. For instance, when I use Canon's Digital Photo Professional software to convert my raw files to tiffs, it can take up to a minute or more per file, which is way too time consuming.

I'm basically wondering if I need to upgrade to the $2400 mac pro tower (which I'll be hard pressed to afford) to notice a significant improvement in speed, or if I can get away with a 3.x ghz imac fully loaded with ram. Is there that much of an improvement in graphics work with the quad core, or is the speed of the processing more a function of large amounts of ram? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

I'm running the base model 27" iMac and have never ever had an issue with speed or room. Tons of Ram, Runs CS5 like it's nothing *while* streaming video and / or running a few other applications. The screen real estate is just awesome and hooks up flawlessly with a second display if your other monitor is still up to snuff. Could not be happier!

Tim, check out diglloyd.com. Here's the link. http://macperformanceguide.com/index.html There is a wealth of information buying & choosing the Mac that fits you. If you have any questions let me know. I bought my Mac Pro, set it up with his information. Conrad

thanks guys! btw luke, what do you have under the hood on your imac as far as processor/ram go?

Tim, I to have the iMac 27'" computer. It's a duo core, 3.06 GHz, 4 gig ram and 1 TB hard drive. I absolutely love it and haven't had any issues. I work on 125 meg and up 4x5 files with no problems. We use the monitor for a second tv some of the time. When they first came out they had problems with the screen flickering but have fixed that problem for good. Runs CS4, Bridge and other programs easily all at once. It's a beauty of a machine.

The only thing I don't like about the iMacs is the gloss screen, I find the added reflections and glare a bit annoying as compared to Apples older matte displays. Anybody else feel this way?

Tim: I switched from a G5 in April, 2009 to an iMac 24" (no 27" at that time), 3.06 GHz, 4 GB Ram, qT hard drive. Like Dean, above, I love it and haven't had any big issues. Occasionally I get the beach ball, but I think it's because I have way too much going on at once. I use CS5 and Lightroom 3.2. I also use the 20" screen I had with my G5 as a second screen, and hence, I have ons of real estate. I had the same concerns as you had about switching to an iMac, but I'm sold on it and will get another one in April, 2012 (I get a new one every three years).

I'm running a 2 year old iMac 24" w/ 8 GB of RAM and it screams. I imagine the new 27" is even speedier. If you need some advice on calibrating the iMac screen you might consider reading my blog post, The iMac Calibration Conundrum.