It's a good question. I had considered getting a Windows machine but my experience of them (either personal or with work) has always been negative. I like Mac OS, I like how everything just works with my other devices. For better or for worse I'm fully immersed in the Apple ecosystem. The other consideration is having one less device and monitor to manage. Working and 'playing' on one device, and utilising the iMac screen too I thing swings it for me.
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Another request for buying advice: 2020 Intel iMac
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It's a good question. I had considered getting a Windows machine but my experience of them (either personal or with work) has always been negative. I like Mac OS, I like how everything just works with my other devices. For better or for worse I'm fully immersed in the Apple ecosystem. The other consideration is having one less device and monitor to manage. Working and 'playing' on one device, and utilising the iMac screen too I thing swings it for me.
Using Time Machine?
Sorry if this is a dumb question, I've only ever had one Mac which is my current one so have never had to do anything like this before.
Sorry for bumping this again. Im almost decided on the spec I want:
Games I want to play are not hugely demanding:
- 8 core i7
- 512GB SSD
- Normal screen
- User upgrade the RAM to 16GB
Games I want to play are not hugely demanding:
- GTA V
- Planet Coaster and Planet Zoo
- Football Manager
- Euro Truck Simulator
Yes they will unfortunately. My employer (which is a private company not Govt) will probably take 3 to 6 months just to support Big Sur on Intel for remote login. They refuse to support Linux at all.
To the OP,
I'm curious just what you use the Mac OS for? You use Windows pretty much for everything you've noted... playing games, for work. You cited that you will be working from home for the indefinite future.
If playing games and your work use the Windows environment, why not get a Windows-based machine for that instead of trying to justify buying the last Intel-based iMac? Your budget will definitely go farther on a Windows machine than it will on the Mac.
I bring this up because when Apple does start the migration to ARM, your new 3-5K dollar machine will be relegated to emulation mode in future OS releases and then eventually no new releases at all. I know how this experience goes because I went through it when they first migrated to the Intel chips, you end up buying a new machine to get on the new architecture bandwagon or get left behind.
Let's say for arguments sake the new iMac was fully ARM. Would you still be buying a Mac or would you be buying a PC to meet your gaming and work from home needs? That really is the state of mind you should be working from... do I really need a Mac or do I really need a PC? Because in 2 short years, there will not be PC-anything running on a Mac except perhaps VM-ware... if and when that actually happens.
If you have a real need for the Mac OS, then that's one thing, but if most everything you do is under Windows, you have to question which platform you should be buying a new computer for.
I'm curious just what you use the Mac OS for? You use Windows pretty much for everything you've noted... playing games, for work. You cited that you will be working from home for the indefinite future.
If playing games and your work use the Windows environment, why not get a Windows-based machine for that instead of trying to justify buying the last Intel-based iMac? Your budget will definitely go farther on a Windows machine than it will on the Mac.
I bring this up because when Apple does start the migration to ARM, your new 3-5K dollar machine will be relegated to emulation mode in future OS releases and then eventually no new releases at all. I know how this experience goes because I went through it when they first migrated to the Intel chips, you end up buying a new machine to get on the new architecture bandwagon or get left behind.
Let's say for arguments sake the new iMac was fully ARM. Would you still be buying a Mac or would you be buying a PC to meet your gaming and work from home needs? That really is the state of mind you should be working from... do I really need a Mac or do I really need a PC? Because in 2 short years, there will not be PC-anything running on a Mac except perhaps VM-ware... if and when that actually happens.
If you have a real need for the Mac OS, then that's one thing, but if most everything you do is under Windows, you have to question which platform you should be buying a new computer for.
I can't believe some of the bad advice flying around in this thread. DO NOT get the 5500XT (and don't wait for ARM) if you want to enjoy gaming on this iMac in the medium - long term (beyond the next 12 months.)
Will the 5500XT play GTA5 today on moderate settings? Sure, its actually an older, albeit semi-demanding game after all. But if you want to play a new game 8-14 months from now? Or play GTA5 at higher settings at 60FPS? You'll probably have to make some pretty serious compromises, and trust me when you've spent a lot of money that never feels good.
We're on the verge of a paradigm shift in gaming. Minimum system requirements have been held down by the need to support (base) PS4 and Xbox One, essentially 8+ year old GPU tech (tied to extremely anemic CPUs). Once the new consoles role out later this year, expect system requirements (just to run games at low-medium settings at 30FPS) to go up SIGNIFICANTLY for new games.
Let me just say, as someone who used to be heavily invested in doing so, Mac's can be pretty cost inefficient as gaming machines. Looking at the current line up, with the price difference between, say, a refurb of the base config 27" iMac, and the model you're considering you could build in a gaming PC on the side (maybe reuse some of the parts from your broken PC) that would perform better than an iMac (and would be upgradable.)
That said, it sounds like you want one machine and I get that. However if its something you really want to do you're already spending a lot of money, don't cheap out on the GPU. If gaming's the most demanding thing you'll be doing, do yourself a favor and get AT LEAST the 5700 (you probably don't really need the XT) so that you can enjoy the games you want to play today to the fullest and not be kicking yourself tomorrow for paying top dollar for a system that's relatively speaking, woefully outdated.
It's a fair question, with a few answers.
I like Mac OS, and don't like Windows. I've had great experiences with my MacBook which has lasted for nearly a decade, and had terrible ones with PCs. I'm also fully in the Apple ecosystem, for better or for worse.
I do work with Windows (via VMWare connecting to my work server) but do all home computing and hobby stuff on the Mac.
As for gaming, it's not the primary motivation for getting a machine. I have two small children and a full time job so gaming is a casual thing I do on the odd evening I have some spare time.
Also, the iMac screen - 27 inches at 5K is infinitely better than the 24 inch HD monitor I'm currently running.
With all that in mind I'd rather get one machine for everything. Sure I could get a cheaper iMac or even a Windows PC and a gaming rig but I'm not sure I'd save money in the long run, especially if I wanted to get a really good monitor.
Thanks for your response.
I had been thinking that the 5700 is the right GPU to go for, but was hoping to save money!
Building a gaming PC (even with some of the old parts I have) and getting a screen half as good as the iMac would end up quite expensive, as I will still want a Mac of some description to work from.
The GPU in my broken PC is a Ge-Force GTX-970, which from what I've been able to see online is roughly equivalent to the 5500XT (I'm no expert in GPUs though, so might be wrong...)
I understand the desire to save money I really do. But then I think back to when I bought my first iMac in 2011. I wanted to save some money so I stuck with the base 6770M GPU instead of the BTO 6970M. It was fine at first, even the lower end GPU was far faster than the MacBook I'd been using up to that point. But less than 12 months in I found myself... disappointed. The GPU was serviceable yes, but the 6970M was far faster, and considering what I'd spent on the machine, I wanted more performance. At the time, you could still physically crack them open and upgrade the GPU if you could find a module (if you want to go on a trip go check out the GPU upgrade thread for 2011 iMacs, it's STILL going), but it was more than I was up for, would void the warranty, and was expensive. In the end I upgraded in 2014 when the Retina iMac came out, maxed the GPU and never looked back. But honestly, if I'd had the 6970M, I think the machine would've lasted me a whole lot longer.
Anyway, you're not wrong, the 5500 is faster than the 970 in your PC (when I said build a new PC with the money save I meant, in part get a new GPU), and it isn't a slow GPU by iMac standards... but the 5700 is just a far better choice in the long run. You'll never be in the position of wishing you'd just spent a bit more when you already spent $2200.
At the end of the day, you have to make the decision for yourself. If you can't afford the 5700, you can't afford it ( you can't BTO on the 6 core models unfortunately). But if you can afford it, with the information you've provided I really can't see a reason not to get it. It's a 10% in increase in cost but you will notice the difference, the 5700 can be more than 50% faster.