Bang for buck Upgrade Late 2012 iMac 27"

[TimDi]

Hi,
New here. I have had a 27" iMac Late 2012 from new but it seems to be lagging these days and the Finder doesn't always work well. I use Photoshop and Lightroom for Photo work.
This machine is a 3.4 Ghz Quad Core i7 with 24GB Ram and a 1.12 TB Fusion Drive. Nvidia GTX 680 Graphics Card. I use an additional monitor - a 30" cinema display that no longer gets as bright as it should.
Wondering what some of you would upgrade to on a budget and seeking enough power to zip through things this machine no longer can. I'm open to buying monitors if something like a Mac Mini is a good fit but not sure what monitors will compare with one on an iMac. I don't need a new machine - used is fine.

Thank you for any advice!

 

[Rich B22]

When you say that "the Finder doesn't always work well", it leads me to believe that a reinstall of macOS may be helpful in removing some of the lag and Finder malfunction. Also, how full is your hard drive? Macs are happier when there is at least 25% unused space.

If this doesn't help and you go for a new machine, IMO, I'd go for the new M2 Mini and one of a Dell, LG or BenQ 27-32" monitors, depending on your budget. That said, other than a $1500 Apple display, I'm not sure that any other would match the Retina display, but a 4k one should be close. I know you said used is fine, however, from all that I read, the M2 is far better than even the M1 and future-proofs you even more than the current iMac

I'm somewhat in the same boat as you as I have a 2017 27" iMac, that I upgraded with internal SSD's, which still runs great on the lastest macOS, however, I'm looking forward to the next few years, when I'm sure Apple will drop support for it. If I had to purchase a new setup today, I'd go for the M2 Mini with 16GB memory and 512GB SSD. I'd add a 1-2 TB external drive for my home folder, Dell 32 Curved Gaming Monitor – S3222DGM. Excluding the external SSD that comes to about $1350 vs $1900 for a similar iMac. Of course with the iMac you get a keyboard and mouse, but you should already have those from you current setup and you'd not have to downsize to a 24" screen.

Good luck

 

[TimDi]

Thank you very much for the reply! What you suggest sounds good except for the $ outlay. Though I get that the Mini M2 will be good for a long time and I know that all things considered it is a good buy for what you get compared to other new options. Much to think about. Hope your upgrade or transition happens soon and that you are thrilled with it!