Which 27" iMac
Discussion
Hi Guys,
On the basis I don't do any heavy lifting with my iMac is there any reason not to get the lower spec? I will upgrade the RAM via third party +16(24 total) and get an OEM 1T SSD.
I have a few PDF documents which run 3-400 pages and are photo rich so my current old iMac really struggles but it's an old POS. Im assuming even the lowest spec MY2019 model is crazy fast.
TIA
On the basis I don't do any heavy lifting with my iMac is there any reason not to get the lower spec? I will upgrade the RAM via third party +16(24 total) and get an OEM 1T SSD.
I have a few PDF documents which run 3-400 pages and are photo rich so my current old iMac really struggles but it's an old POS. Im assuming even the lowest spec MY2019 model is crazy fast.
TIA
Going to be in the same boat soon but always worked on maxing out with macs to increase keeping it time. iMac I have now is 2013 but with the top of the shop processor at the time. Really struggling to justify a new one at the moment hence the hold, still quick and snappy.
I will wait till after September event anyway.
I will wait till after September event anyway.
Zirconia said:
Going to be in the same boat soon but always worked on maxing out with macs to increase keeping it time. iMac I have now is 2013 but with the top of the shop processor at the time. Really struggling to justify a new one at the moment hence the hold, still quick and snappy.
I will wait till after September event anyway.
I'm still running my top of the range 2009 iMac, it's still as good as it was back then. I'll be running it for a good few years yet I hope, until Apple decide the OS will no longer be supported I expect. I did swap out the HDD for an SHDD hybrid drive. I will wait till after September event anyway.
Edited by megaphone on Thursday 29th August 08:04
Wonder what the OP has now and intent on future upgrade. I use Affiniti Photo a lot and that still flies on RAW files.
Memory on the 27 is the only one that can be user updated. Crucial has a section giving far better prices than Apple. OP, Apple also have a trade in deal, you enter the serial number and they give you an offer.
Big update last year wasn't it? September might have a few tweeks perhaps.
Storage wise, personally I would be in for the 2tb Fusion drive. The SSD portion is (wrong figure deleted) I think and that would free up some loot for the processor and with the fast connections, external SSD can be added later? Depends on the OP needs. Don't forget that what you have and want to keep, you need to back up.
Also
https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/imac/
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#iMac
Forgot to ask what the OP is using for OS at the moment.
Memory on the 27 is the only one that can be user updated. Crucial has a section giving far better prices than Apple. OP, Apple also have a trade in deal, you enter the serial number and they give you an offer.
Big update last year wasn't it? September might have a few tweeks perhaps.
Storage wise, personally I would be in for the 2tb Fusion drive. The SSD portion is (wrong figure deleted) I think and that would free up some loot for the processor and with the fast connections, external SSD can be added later? Depends on the OP needs. Don't forget that what you have and want to keep, you need to back up.
Also
https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/imac/
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#iMac
Forgot to ask what the OP is using for OS at the moment.
Edited by Zirconia on Thursday 29th August 08:34
Edited by Zirconia on Thursday 29th August 14:20
Zirconia said:
Wonder what the OP has now and intent on future upgrade. I use Affiniti Photo a lot and that still flies on RAW files.
Memory on the 27 is the only one that can be user updated. Crucial has a section giving far better prices than Apple. OP, Apple also have a trade in deal, you enter the serial number and they give you an offer.
Big update last year wasn't it? September might have a few tweeks perhaps.
Storage wise, personally I would be in for the 2tb Fusion drive. The SSD portion is 512gb I think and that would free up some loot for the processor and with the fast connections, external SSD can be added later? Depends on the OP needs. Don't forget that what you have and want to keep, you need to back up.
Also
https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/imac/
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#iMac
Forgot to ask what the OP is using for OS at the moment.
I have a Mid 2010 iMac which is on its second HDD (a hybrid). The screen is getting burn marks around the edges but otherwise it's ok. Yes September.Memory on the 27 is the only one that can be user updated. Crucial has a section giving far better prices than Apple. OP, Apple also have a trade in deal, you enter the serial number and they give you an offer.
Big update last year wasn't it? September might have a few tweeks perhaps.
Storage wise, personally I would be in for the 2tb Fusion drive. The SSD portion is 512gb I think and that would free up some loot for the processor and with the fast connections, external SSD can be added later? Depends on the OP needs. Don't forget that what you have and want to keep, you need to back up.
Also
https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/imac/
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#iMac
Forgot to ask what the OP is using for OS at the moment.
Edited by Zirconia on Thursday 29th August 08:34
My local IT shop is good with Ram upgrades and to be fair even I could do it but i'll give them my old and new mac and get them to copy it all across, set up a new time machine/drive etc.
Last imac update was March 2019.
Edited by Burwood on Thursday 29th August 09:35
Burwood said:
I have a Mid 2010 iMac which is on its second HDD (a hybrid). The screen is getting burn marks around the edges but otherwise it's ok. Yes September.
My local IT shop is good with Ram upgrades and to be fair even I could do it but i'll give them my old and new mac and get them to copy it all across, set up a new time machine/drive etc.
Last imac update was March 2019.
Cannot run the newer OS? Not that bad a run then. I had an emac that run for 10 years and missed the last few updates in its life but a G4 processor (old hat stuff). It was getting difficult even to get a browser to work.My local IT shop is good with Ram upgrades and to be fair even I could do it but i'll give them my old and new mac and get them to copy it all across, set up a new time machine/drive etc.
Last imac update was March 2019.
Edited by Burwood on Thursday 29th August 09:35
New OS (Catalina) due out shortly as well, Mojave the current version, new file formats for the hard drives already in use (APFS) supposedly means a faster this that and the other (I think copying and deleting etc). My non Apple back up software had to be updated to work with it, but I think Time Machine must still run on the old format?
You should notice a tad increase in speed then.....
https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks
Going to guess trade in will not be much. Just checked mine and I get £220 for a late 2013 21"
I suppose the only question is how much do you want to spend to future proof vs just using vs shiny me want. Certainly the base model looks good in comparison to mine.
Thinking about it, the brick wall I am hitting now is the graphics card, not processor. My 21" iMac graphics card is a lap top version (27 is a desk top version) and not enough memory to run a few of the games I would like, that is the graphics card memory not the main memory. Not a heavy gamer myself, just that time moves on.
Edited by Zirconia on Thursday 29th August 10:09
Edited by Zirconia on Thursday 29th August 10:18
The iMac I have has been very reliable. It's less so now. It's slow, some applications, wifi/bluetooth randomly disconnect now and again which I put down to simple old age. The heat these things generate is significant and I think it's just like an OAP who has been in the sun for too many decades 
. Ive put it off waiting for the more recent updates.
Id like the 9th gen top spec chip but in reality it's like buying a Lambo to take to the shops. I just don't need the power. Im sure if I boost the RAM to 40GB it will fly.
. Ive put it off waiting for the more recent updates.Id like the 9th gen top spec chip but in reality it's like buying a Lambo to take to the shops. I just don't need the power. Im sure if I boost the RAM to 40GB it will fly.
There was a lot of angst at the apparent lack of hardware updates then like buses a load came along at the same time last time. Not sure what September (and October?) event will bring, more iPhone oriented perhaps. Slightly shiny bezel on the iMac?
Your choice on the chip then, seems you will gain a large boost just for that base version?
Storage would be where I would be looking at then. I have 1tb fusion at the moment and that is full of junk that I am not worried about, I use an external hard drive for keeping and editing pics and videos etc. attached via the USB3 ports. over 700gb in pics and vids.
Thunderbolt or whatever the fast connection is called adds a stupid premium to external drives unless you need the speed. If my internal HD fails then I would get a Thunderbolt SSD to run the OS. But I have my external hard drives with the OS on and it will run from USB 3 though a tad clunky.
Your choice on the chip then, seems you will gain a large boost just for that base version?
Storage would be where I would be looking at then. I have 1tb fusion at the moment and that is full of junk that I am not worried about, I use an external hard drive for keeping and editing pics and videos etc. attached via the USB3 ports. over 700gb in pics and vids.
Thunderbolt or whatever the fast connection is called adds a stupid premium to external drives unless you need the speed. If my internal HD fails then I would get a Thunderbolt SSD to run the OS. But I have my external hard drives with the OS on and it will run from USB 3 though a tad clunky.
I'm on my third iMac, last upgrade in 2017.
Despite my tendency to tick all of the boxes I resisted this time and bought the base 27" machine with a 512GB SSD. I added a 16GB stick of RAM myself to take it to 24GB total and it flies through everything I want it to. The lastest model will be faster still.
If you have real intensive uses (4K video editing, gaming etc) then it might be worth going higher up the range, otherwise probably not. I think Apple still give a 14 day return option, so you could torture test it a bit and send it back if you find it struggles with anything.
The RAM upgrade is key for me. Even just scrolling through RAW files in the Photos app struggles with 8GB and everything seems fine with 24GB.
The SSD made a real difference to me as well. I had a Fusion drive on my last one, straight HDD on the one before that. Both HDDs failed, which is a real pain on an all-in-one. The speed was noticabely better with the straight SSD as well, although someone noted above that the Fusion has got a bigger SSD portion now. I prefer external storage for files anyway.
Despite my tendency to tick all of the boxes I resisted this time and bought the base 27" machine with a 512GB SSD. I added a 16GB stick of RAM myself to take it to 24GB total and it flies through everything I want it to. The lastest model will be faster still.
If you have real intensive uses (4K video editing, gaming etc) then it might be worth going higher up the range, otherwise probably not. I think Apple still give a 14 day return option, so you could torture test it a bit and send it back if you find it struggles with anything.
The RAM upgrade is key for me. Even just scrolling through RAW files in the Photos app struggles with 8GB and everything seems fine with 24GB.
The SSD made a real difference to me as well. I had a Fusion drive on my last one, straight HDD on the one before that. Both HDDs failed, which is a real pain on an all-in-one. The speed was noticabely better with the straight SSD as well, although someone noted above that the Fusion has got a bigger SSD portion now. I prefer external storage for files anyway.
Just an idea, but rather than spec-up the low end model with an expensive 1TB SSD, you could go for the high end model which includes a 2TB fusion and that way you spend around the same but also get the better 9th gen CPU and 8GB graphics card. Then I would up the memory to at least 24GB which you can buy cheaply and you should have a fairly future proof machine.
Good point Jon. My HDD was bursting at the seams then i found the culprit. My Photo library is 300GB and it's mirrored to Drop Box which means adding it again on the HDD+ another 100GB from iPhone uploads which save automatically. Then Dropbox released a 'smart sync' option which allows you to see the files on your local drive but actually save them only in the cloud. Saved 400GB! Im terrible. My work backup is dropbox for now.
How bad can a Fushion Drive be. Im sure it's perfectly adequate. Thanks all
How bad can a Fushion Drive be. Im sure it's perfectly adequate. Thanks all
My ploy a few posts up. One I will pursue as it gives more storage for buck.
Fusion for me has been great. It keeps the most used applications and files on the SSD part of the combination (SSD and standard hard drive combination). Least used are stored in the back room somewhere on the spinning head drive. Usually if you are using certain apps all the while they are coming off the SSD.
Run something the first time and it can seem like an age to get going but close it and run it the second time and it flys. Thing with fusion is think of it as a single drive and forget about it. It manages it all for you.
I would never rely on a single backup option either. I have a few external hard drives synced using Carbon Copy Cloner and Time Machine (which is very clever) and two cloud backups. Up to you what you feel safe doing and how important you think your files are. For me my pictures are pretty much not wanting to lose. Ever.
I target iCloud to look at the external hard drive with photos on it. Time Machine can also target external hard drives to back up. I use another cloud service to back up my pics and I can target anything I want. No idea with drop box.
Edit. Made a mistake earlier, the fusion is 128gb SSD on 2tb+? Not 512 as I initially said.
Fusion for me has been great. It keeps the most used applications and files on the SSD part of the combination (SSD and standard hard drive combination). Least used are stored in the back room somewhere on the spinning head drive. Usually if you are using certain apps all the while they are coming off the SSD.
Run something the first time and it can seem like an age to get going but close it and run it the second time and it flys. Thing with fusion is think of it as a single drive and forget about it. It manages it all for you.
I would never rely on a single backup option either. I have a few external hard drives synced using Carbon Copy Cloner and Time Machine (which is very clever) and two cloud backups. Up to you what you feel safe doing and how important you think your files are. For me my pictures are pretty much not wanting to lose. Ever.
I target iCloud to look at the external hard drive with photos on it. Time Machine can also target external hard drives to back up. I use another cloud service to back up my pics and I can target anything I want. No idea with drop box.
Edit. Made a mistake earlier, the fusion is 128gb SSD on 2tb+? Not 512 as I initially said.
Edited by Zirconia on Thursday 29th August 14:23
I bought my second iMac 27" probably late 2017 after my 2013 iMac 27" 3TB Fusion drive failed, took an age to get resolved but got is replaced via Stormfront reseller FOC (even out of warranty).
On my new one i only specc'd 8Gb Ram knowing full well I'll buy some aftermarket Ram for a fraction of the price of Apple.
On my new one i only specc'd 8Gb Ram knowing full well I'll buy some aftermarket Ram for a fraction of the price of Apple.
I recently purchased the mid point 27inch iMac with 1 tb fusion drive from John Lewis on offer, £1700. Immediately chucked in a 16gb ram upgrade from crucial. Allied to a 1tb Samsung T5 external ssd I feel I have a cost effective pretty fast machine.
Compared to my late 2013 21inch Mac, it’s incredibly fast, especially when converting video using Handbrake for example.
I feel pretty future proofed as I’m not a ‘power user’ particularly, but use it for work, so thought preventative replacement a sensible ploy. Sold my old 21” for £325, so pretty good depreciation on the kit.
Compared to my late 2013 21inch Mac, it’s incredibly fast, especially when converting video using Handbrake for example.
I feel pretty future proofed as I’m not a ‘power user’ particularly, but use it for work, so thought preventative replacement a sensible ploy. Sold my old 21” for £325, so pretty good depreciation on the kit.
Just had a thought, all stuff will be 64 bit from next OS (Catalina), no 32 bit apps will run if I understand correctly. Just something to be aware of. I have quite a few that are not at the moment, hopefully some will get upgraded by the makers. Probably help me clear out some crud if they do not.
Zirconia said:
Just had a thought, all stuff will be 64 bit from next OS (Catalina), no 32 bit apps will run if I understand correctly. Just something to be aware of. I have quite a few that are not at the moment, hopefully some will get upgraded by the makers. Probably help me clear out some crud if they do not.
4 Cores+ will be ok for 64 bit. My current Mac is 2 Core.Nah, what I meant is if you have any 32 only bit apps now, just be aware in case they are not upgraded when Catalina comes out in a few months time. OS at the moment, Mojave, is the last one that will run 32 bit apps I have read.
I have a few apps that may well disappear as they might not get upgraded by the software owners to run on 64bit capable machines.
I have a few apps that may well disappear as they might not get upgraded by the software owners to run on 64bit capable machines.
Zirconia said:
Nah, what I meant is if you have any 32 only bit apps now, just be aware in case they are not upgraded when Catalina comes out in a few months time. OS at the moment, Mojave, is the last one that will run 32 bit apps I have read.
I have a few apps that may well disappear as they might not get upgraded by the software owners to run on 64bit capable machines.
Ok got you.I have a few apps that may well disappear as they might not get upgraded by the software owners to run on 64bit capable machines.
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