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Any former iMacers here defecting to the Studio?
- Thread starter mapleleafer
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We'd used various color iMacs for the longest time. Then, the better displays were only really available separately, so we went through a series of Minis as they evolved. That was a pretty good set-up. Then in the early teens, the best display solutions for a reasonable price was in iMacs. On to iMacs.
Now, the advances in display technologies have slowed quite a bit and you can get really good performance for a reasonable price in external displays, like the one Apple unveiled last week.
So, we'll probably purchase a Mac Studio Max and a Studio Display. That should be a definite performance upgrade over this 2015 i7 iMac. The iMac will then take the place of a 2005 vintage iMac as the only Windows computer in the house.
I personally believe that a lot of people are wanting multiple displays, which are more easily handled by the Mac Studio variants. That may be more of a user demand than higher processing performance. My own ultra cheap company isn't very understanding with regard to higher performance Windows computers, even for engineering applications. But, you want multiple displays? No problem!
Now, the advances in display technologies have slowed quite a bit and you can get really good performance for a reasonable price in external displays, like the one Apple unveiled last week.
So, we'll probably purchase a Mac Studio Max and a Studio Display. That should be a definite performance upgrade over this 2015 i7 iMac. The iMac will then take the place of a 2005 vintage iMac as the only Windows computer in the house.
I personally believe that a lot of people are wanting multiple displays, which are more easily handled by the Mac Studio variants. That may be more of a user demand than higher processing performance. My own ultra cheap company isn't very understanding with regard to higher performance Windows computers, even for engineering applications. But, you want multiple displays? No problem!
Coming from a 2020 i7 5K I would have purchased an M1 Pro 5K iMac, but since it doesn't seem like that'll ever happen I got the base Studio instead. I'll use it with a cheaper work-provided 27" 4K monitor for a little while, until the MiniLED/ProMotion stuff shakes out on Apple's standalone displays.
Pretty much the same boat as you. It's funny but I've only worked on Imacs as Apple desktop machines for over a decade. It will be interesting experience. I'm having a damn hard time finding a good monitor that's not $1000 and not a huge step down from the Imac's screen.
I'm upgrading from a 2017 27" 4.2 GHz i7 iMac. It's not necessary, but my boss is paying for it, so... I got a Mac Studio M1 Max with a 1TB SSD. Shipping says March 18-21.
Was going to cop whatever big iMac with Apple Silicon they announce, but am excited to going from 2019 5K i9 iMac to Mac Studio (20/48/32 Ultra, 64GB, 4TB) + Studio Display (height adjustable), they will take a long time to get here though.
The display should last a long time, I love this 5K iMac, would keep using it as a display if I could. We have a few Thunderbolt Displays that are still in use. Ability to upgrade the Mac (or the display) without having to upgrade the other will be nice, albeit a bit expensive lol. Honestly I only went with 5K iMac coz they didn't make a 5K display, but now I'm really digging a desktop setup.
The display should last a long time, I love this 5K iMac, would keep using it as a display if I could. We have a few Thunderbolt Displays that are still in use. Ability to upgrade the Mac (or the display) without having to upgrade the other will be nice, albeit a bit expensive lol. Honestly I only went with 5K iMac coz they didn't make a 5K display, but now I'm really digging a desktop setup.
Its fascinating how many of you keep your iMacs for long. I know a couple who also have a 2013 iMac 21 they got from a neighbor who wasn't using it. They rarely use it, its more of an appliance, one half is in their 80's and its really their only means of accessing the Internet. But they have no desire whatsoever to replace it. Its good as new too.
I got a M1 Mac mini (16gb RAM) to compare to my current iMac 27” (2014). Whilst the mini might be sufficient for my needs now, I have decided to return the mini and order the base Studio Max. From my perspective, I don’t mind paying the price difference for the newer model which I expect will last me a while if it is anything like my current 2014 iMac. ETA in early April.
I have the exactly same iMac, even kitted with Radeon 580 and 64GB aftermarket RAM. And I am my own boss so replacing this with a Max Studio or even an Ultra is supposedly an easy decision. But I still can't pull the trigger for two reasons:
1) this iMac is still more than capable 95% of the time. The 5% scenarios where it chokes I can make do with.
2) I am refusing to spend $1000+ for the Studio Display
Can't say I would have pulled the trigger if an M1 Max iMac Pro was released instead, since the AIO path was never one I wanted to walk into anyway. The biggest problem now is a display, I hope WWDC will bring us the rumored Studio Display Pro with 120Hz or at least miniLED. Otherwise I would just spend it on an EIZO CS2740 or sit on my iMac for another year or two.
Upgrading my 2019 iMac 5k i9 to a Mac Studio M1 Ultra base model + Studio Display.
I only wished the display was mini led but according to the leaks a new mini led display is coming to replace the xdr and it will cost a fortune.
I went for the ultra since I don’t think there is a huge difference with what I already have (i9 8-core, 64GB Ram, 1TB SSD, Vega 48 8GB).
I also have a 14” MBP M1 Pro so I needed something more powerful for my desktop.
I only wished the display was mini led but according to the leaks a new mini led display is coming to replace the xdr and it will cost a fortune.
I went for the ultra since I don’t think there is a huge difference with what I already have (i9 8-core, 64GB Ram, 1TB SSD, Vega 48 8GB).
I also have a 14” MBP M1 Pro so I needed something more powerful for my desktop.
I think of it as the "buy once, cry once" philosophy. A good display can last years - decades, even. Display technology does not change quite as rapidly as general computing technology. And even if you retire a monitor as your primary, it can become a secondary (or tertiary, or primary for an alternate system). Heck, I still have a 21" Apple Cinema Display probably from the early 2000's (bought second-hand many years ago) in use as a secondary monitor for a workstation in my house... the connectors are largely useless and it needs an adapter to be used, but it does what it's supposed to.
That was the big thing I hated about the all-in-one design. Sure, based on cost the display was cheaper compared with a stand-alone display based on a single purchase. But over time... I'm not so sure. And while the older iMacs with target display mode arguably still allowed you to use the monitor as a stand-alone monitor, we haven't had that capability for a while now. So you pay less up front, but you can do less with that monitor, and you pay for the monitor again every single time you upgrade.
Yes, my studio's setup also has a variety of displays, some color critical ones are 1440p or even FHD which is unacceptable by retina standard, but they get their job done. My current iMac setup has a 43" secondary mounted on a wall next, then for the 5k internal screen I am actually happy with its pixel density but not so much in its color accuracy (difficulty to calibrate). I got active studio monitors with internal DAC for audio anyway, so Apple charging that much for a pseudo-iMac-screen replacement has a lot of mismatch against my use especially since I don't need the speakers and the camera I can do without.
I just checked the Eizo CS2740 price with our local dealer, turns out it cost almost the exact same as Apple Studio Display stock, comes with fully articulate stand, free hood, matte coating as good if not better than Apple's. I think I am going this route, the iMac will need to go to another employee's desk.
The good thing I can say about Apple's current offering is that the Mac Studio finally does not force me to use the included display.
from a 2013 iMac that I had to replace after there were no more Nvidia updates to my current 2019 i9 Vega model I am going to wait and see how reviews are. More importantly I am going to wait to see if and when more companies start porting to the new processor.
I use my iMac for both light work and while most of that involves java based apps to support my dba job I also like to use it to play games and will bootcamp to windows if needed. Basically I am loathe to have to return to a setup that involves having two machines so I may just keep trucking with my i9 a long time.
I suspect rosetta2 will be around longer than rosetta1 was. the presentation with the Mac Studio was oddly absent any highlighting of major software makers coming to Mac, they only pointed towards the idea you can run iOS apps which if that is all they have to crow about they better damn well consider paying companies to develop for their new system else we are back to powerpc days
I use my iMac for both light work and while most of that involves java based apps to support my dba job I also like to use it to play games and will bootcamp to windows if needed. Basically I am loathe to have to return to a setup that involves having two machines so I may just keep trucking with my i9 a long time.
I suspect rosetta2 will be around longer than rosetta1 was. the presentation with the Mac Studio was oddly absent any highlighting of major software makers coming to Mac, they only pointed towards the idea you can run iOS apps which if that is all they have to crow about they better damn well consider paying companies to develop for their new system else we are back to powerpc days
I've been using an Eizo CS2740 for the last year. Very happy with it. A couple of weeks ago, Eizo also announced two new monitors for release over the next few months.
My first iMac was the the round G4 with the screen on the polished swivel arm. I eventually migrated to a G5 iMac in the white polycarbonate case, and eventually to a 27" mid-2010 iMac with the i7 chip - which is where I sit today.
It seems like every year I sit and wait for the update to the iMac and it never happens. Last year I was excited with the 24" iMac and figured (prob like everyone else) that the larger version was just around the corner. It kept getting pushed down the road until last week when it was killed off.
After the Studio event last week, it was pretty clear that this was the replacement for me. M1Ultra, 20/48, 4TB, Studio display. ("buy once, cry once" - pretty on point)
It seems like every year I sit and wait for the update to the iMac and it never happens. Last year I was excited with the 24" iMac and figured (prob like everyone else) that the larger version was just around the corner. It kept getting pushed down the road until last week when it was killed off.
After the Studio event last week, it was pretty clear that this was the replacement for me. M1Ultra, 20/48, 4TB, Studio display. ("buy once, cry once" - pretty on point)
I like the 'buy once, cry once'...I'll remember that.
I probably don't have as much expendable income as some folks here, certainly I could not justify the price of the Ultra version because i'm a hobbyist, this gear isn't going to pay for itself in extra paid productivity. Even having pressed the trigger on a 10/32 Max I was hit with the most overwhelming 'post-nut clarity' and nearly cancelled the day after, but a week later I'm over the shock now. But it's still more than a month til I'm expected to take delivery
I probably don't have as much expendable income as some folks here, certainly I could not justify the price of the Ultra version because i'm a hobbyist, this gear isn't going to pay for itself in extra paid productivity. Even having pressed the trigger on a 10/32 Max I was hit with the most overwhelming 'post-nut clarity' and nearly cancelled the day after, but a week later I'm over the shock now. But it's still more than a month til I'm expected to take delivery
I have a 2014 27” 5k iMac. Worked great until two days ago when it kernel panicked and now can’t find the startup drive. I guess it got jealous because I ordered the Studio. Got the Max with a 1TB hard drive. Actually my iMac was silent most of the time except when it wasn’t. Encoding video always ramped up the fan. Hopefully the Studio will breeze through it.
Yeah those CG models seem to be aimed for HLG grading? Gonna be out of our scope. We have been eyeing on the CS2740 since forever but never see a real chance to get it, the Mac Studio will be an excuse for sure, lol. (we are a music related production and promotion firm with print/web focus, only sometimes video)
I currently have a late 2015 iMac 27in and I looked at the Studio but I'm going to go with Studio Display with the Mac Mini with 16GB or RAM and 1 TB SSD. I don't need the Studio as I do no photo/video editing or gaming and use my Mac to web browse, do some doc editing, and watching content. The Mini is over €1K cheaper than the Studio.
If I don't like the Mini, I can always buy the Studio or a MBP as the Display should last me years.
If I don't like the Mini, I can always buy the Studio or a MBP as the Display should last me years.
Just for fun, I repurposed the iMac my daughter got when she was a freshman in high school. She's now 30...
It's got a Core 2 Duo processor in it. I pulled it apart, cleaned out the dust, replaced the battery, and replaced the hard drive with an SSD. It already had max memory. It now runs Snow Leopard and Windows 7 in a Boot Camp partition - our only Windows computer.
It actually works great. It boots almost instantly. Of course, it's not as fast as newer computers and the display isn't 5K. But, it does a very credible job. The Apple app that aged the worst was Safari - really slow and bad. But, a new version of Firefox works pretty well.
This is a 2005 model. It probably has several more years in it, and will continue to be used on the workbench until it dies. Or, I do.
I've been waiting for a new 27 iMac since the Mac M processors were announced, and have been disappointed over and over again to not see it announced, and now it sounds like it's never coming, so I'm reluctantly considering the Mac Studio. Very annoyed Apple is killing the 27 iMac. The price point of the studio Mac & display & mouse/keyboard is a lot more than I expected a 27 M1 iMac to cost, and I really liked the lack of clutter on my desk of having a separate Mac. My original 27" 5K iMac was $2750 vs $4,139.50 for the most entry level Studio Mac/Display/Mouse&Keyboard. I know the studio has better specs than a new iMac would probably have, and a more fair comparison would be a Mac-mini with the studio display, but then you're still at $3100 and using a Mac that's nearly 2 years old, in which case I'd rather just spend an extra 1k to get the latest and greatest. I wish Apple released the new Mini along with the studio so we'd have a less pricey option to consider. It's too bad we can't use our iMac's in target mode just for their monitor anymore, in which case I would have just bought a Mini a while ago and used my iMac as the display.
Now my options are waiting for the next Mac mini and adding on a 3rd party 4k display to keep the cost in the $1500-1800 range or splurging the Studio display, but who knows how much longer we'll be waiting for a new Mac mini. Buying the Mac studio with a 4k 3rd party display. Or going all in and getting the Mac Studio and Studio display, which is the nicest option, but $4,139.50 for the most entry level configuration is pretty hefty. I don't need the web cam, speakers, or stand, and would mainly be buying the studio display for the aesthetics. On the plus side I'm pretty confident that this setup would likely last me 8-10 years. I've had my current iMac for 8 years and could probably keep using it for a few more years if I had to.
Now my options are waiting for the next Mac mini and adding on a 3rd party 4k display to keep the cost in the $1500-1800 range or splurging the Studio display, but who knows how much longer we'll be waiting for a new Mac mini. Buying the Mac studio with a 4k 3rd party display. Or going all in and getting the Mac Studio and Studio display, which is the nicest option, but $4,139.50 for the most entry level configuration is pretty hefty. I don't need the web cam, speakers, or stand, and would mainly be buying the studio display for the aesthetics. On the plus side I'm pretty confident that this setup would likely last me 8-10 years. I've had my current iMac for 8 years and could probably keep using it for a few more years if I had to.
Was getting the ultra with 4T but now they have the 1T ones in stores. So picking that and the display up in a few hours, have to go to 2 different stores though. I guess I’ll sell the iMac, it really is a nice machine.
I'm surprised Apple didn't add an M1 Pro option for the Mac mini when they killed the 27" iMac. There's a pretty big gap in price and performance between the M1 and M1 Max, and that gap is right where the performance of most iMac 27" models was. Apple already has a chip that fills that gap, but they aren't offering it in either of their desktop computers for some reason.
After lot of years Apple making us to believe that the future of home desktop computer was a screen with all electronics attached behind, except for specific cases which require “upgrade ability ” and max power (mac pro) or connect to external monitor (mac mini), now invents this hybrid that has the advantages of anything. In fact, is not an hybrid between both concepts, it’s only a mac mini with steroids.
It’s incredible how apple has killed its desktop computer more purchased in the last decade. I’m really annoyed for this apple step. I’m talking of course about 27” iMac.
It was the perfect computer for home, in the vast majority of cases. Some families or students had to struggle to afford it because it was near to 2000$, but with educational discount or taking advantage of refurbished offers was possible to do it. A great mac with great 27” 5k display and their peripherals included…
Of course you have 24” m1 imac option, but why they don’t release a 27-30” model increasing in 300-500$ de price?? Apple is clearly not thinking about their consumers here… now, if I look the Apple Store and I want a 27”-30” computer, I have to spend 4000-5000$ (including peripherals).
I would like to see how many peoples would buy an m1/m2 27-30” imac instead of anything available at apple store right now. What do you think about?
It’s incredible how apple has killed its desktop computer more purchased in the last decade. I’m really annoyed for this apple step. I’m talking of course about 27” iMac.
It was the perfect computer for home, in the vast majority of cases. Some families or students had to struggle to afford it because it was near to 2000$, but with educational discount or taking advantage of refurbished offers was possible to do it. A great mac with great 27” 5k display and their peripherals included…
Of course you have 24” m1 imac option, but why they don’t release a 27-30” model increasing in 300-500$ de price?? Apple is clearly not thinking about their consumers here… now, if I look the Apple Store and I want a 27”-30” computer, I have to spend 4000-5000$ (including peripherals).
I would like to see how many peoples would buy an m1/m2 27-30” imac instead of anything available at apple store right now. What do you think about?
Exactly. I've been buying a new Mac every few years since my Mac SE, and this is the first time in years I don't see a compelling solution in my budget.
Totally agree. I used to hate the iMac. I loved being able to mix and match, upgrade, etc. But once the iMac 27" came along, that changed everything. It already had the best of everything from the start and I never needed to upgrade anything. I used to love keeping my desk very techie looking, with tons of peripherals, cables, etc. but now I have my computer out of the office, so having it be as minimalistic and stylish as possible is very important, and the iMac 27 looks so nice. The new iMac 24 is too small a screen for me and really FUGLY. The iMac 27 really was the perfect computer and very fairly priced from day 1. I really hope Apple still plans to launch this, and I hope it will look very similar to a thicker Studio Display, but I hope they don't wait too long because there will be a ton of angry customers who bought the Studio because they thought there would be no iMac 27.