Upgrading External Drives + Mac

[HSakols]

Hi,
I've just returned from Tuolumne Meadows and now realize that I need more storage.  Right now I am using a 1 TB Cavalry (external) with fire wire as my main drive which includes all my images.  Everything on my Cavalry drive is backed up to two other cheep 1 TB drives using just USB 1. I do not use RAID but backup regularly using SuperDuper.  I am now considering a 3 TB firewire external drive. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398863,00.asp  However before I do this I have some questions. 

Next I will be upgrading my 2007 imac.  Will I wish I had went with Thunderbolt at least on my main drive?

Is Thunderbolt an option on the new Mac Towers

Any other suggestions regarding solid yet budget storage?

Thanks
Hugh

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

I'm not a mac user but I'll definitely recommend thunderbolt drives for maximum speed of data transfer. But NOT with adapters - try to get a true thunderbolt drive.

I've always used Western Digital, so something like this should do it: WD MyBook Thunderbolt Duo 4 TB dual-drive storage

[francois]

…Is Thunderbolt an option on the new Mac Towers

Any other suggestions regarding solid yet budget storage?

…

Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until next year to have Thunderbolt Mac Pros. You might want to visit Mac Performance Guide website, there's valuable info there but remember that the author/owner is sponsored by OWC and recommends their products.

[HSakols]

Thanks for the responses.  I sure wish I could add more than 4 GB of RAM to my imac.  I've been away most of the summer so I still haven't tried working with my new larger files in lightroom 4, but I can imagine that it will be frustrating. 

[francois]

Thanks for the responses.  I sure wish I could add more than 4 GB of RAM to my imac.  I've been away most of the summer so I still haven't tried working with my new larger files in lightroom 4, but I can imagine that it will be frustrating. 

I believe that you can go up to 6GB (not officially) but the additional 2GB won't be a game changer…

OWC offers upgrades, see here.

PS: I'm just a satisfied customer and have no link with OWC.

[alanb]

If you are buying a new hard drive check with Marie Summers at Provantage.  I have been dealing with her for over 10 years and the service has been impeccable.  In addition the price tends to be about the lowest available.  Good luck,

Alan