Did I give him the right advice?

A friend reached out to me asking for some advice. He’s working as a designer over in Vienna and needs help putting together a new hardware configuration.
Everyone at the office works on Macs, so Windows just isn't really an option for us. I guess we'll have to go that route too.

My day-to-day usually revolves around design and multimedia work—mostly spending my time in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, After Effects, and Lightroom.
We've started incorporating Blender, 3D modeling, and animation into our workflow here at the firm this year. It looks like we might be adding 3ds Max and Maya to the mix soon as well, though I suspect the workload won't become overly demanding anytime soon.

I suppose he should be the one covering the hardware costs, while the company handles the software side of things.

I guess you could make the purchase right here.
I think you can find the configuration options for that Mac right here on Apple's website: http://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/

I’m looking at a base 27" configuration. Since my work requires a decent amount of screen real estate, I figured a 27-inch display was probably the best way to go.
It features a 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5, with Turbo Boost reaching up to 3.9 GHz, I believe.
It looks like we have 8 GB of DDR3 SDRAM running at 1867 MHz—that would be two 4 GB sticks.
I think a 2 TB Fusion Drive might be a decent option, though I guess it depends on your specific needs.
The AMD Radeon R9 M395 comes equipped with 2 GB of video memory.
I've been using the Magic Mouse 2 lately, and I guess it's a decent little device, though it might depend on what you're used to.
Magic Keyboard (German) & User Manual (German)
Accessory kit.
That brings the total to about $2,800, I believe.

So, here’s the thing—is it actually worth it? Given that an iMac is a non-negotiable requirement and budget is pretty tight, I guess we have to figure out what the smartest move would be for this specific setup. Maybe there's a better way to balance the cost.

I suppose it might be worth dropping an extra $300 to get that Quad-Core Intel Core i7 with the 4.2 GHz Turbo Boost.

You could also go for the 16 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1867 MHz upgrade—that would be two 8 GB sticks—for an additional $260, I guess.

Is it worth upgrading the graphics memory on an AMD Radeon R9 M395X to 4 GB if it adds another $300 to the base price? I guess I'm wondering if that's a wise move.

Where can one find some room to cut back on expenses—specifically regarding these types of jobs—and conversely, where should we avoid cutting corners, even if it means spending a little more now, just to ensure some long-term peace of mind?

Is this for home use or are you setting up an office?

If it's for home, there's really only one answer: Hackintosh.

wiredotter14 said:Is this for home use, or is it being picked up for an office?

If it's for a home setup, there's really only one word: Hackintosh.

I suppose there might also be a bit of a bias where people look at a price list and assume that because something costs more, it must be better for them.

Any future upgrades would likely have to go through an authorized iMac service center somewhere in Vienna, and that's pretty much that.

Jonathan Jackson3 said:So, what’s the smartest move here? I have to get an iMac, but my budget is tight.

1- Spend an extra $300 on the 4.0 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo boost 4,2 GHz

2- Or upgrade to 16 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1867 MHz (2x 8 GB) for an additional $240

3- Or bump up the graphics to the AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4 GB for an extra $300 over the base price?

Where should I save money, and where should I definitely splurge so I don't regret it later?

If you have $300, go for the faster processor or the better GPU (I’d personally pick the processor). You can always upgrade the RAM yourself later for way less—on these iMacs, there's actually a little door on the back to access the RAM modules).