Buying a new iMac

[Rebel Heart]

Hi,

I’m thinking of buying a 27” iMac this year.
My MacBook Air is still working great but it’s almost 5 years old now, and I’m starting to dislike the low-res screen since I’m used to retina displays now. It’ll still be my go-to for Uni and on the road but at home I’d prefer a fast, sleek computer with a big screen.

I’m wondering if I should wait for WWDC, to see if there will be updates to the current model, or buy one now. I’m kind of expecting Apple to stop letting us easily add or replace RAM in a new model.

Also, if there won’t be an update, would you guys recommend the 3.4GHz or 3.5GHz i5? I have no need for an i7, because I’ll only occasionally be working on photographs or 4K video, the rest would be your basic daily work.

What would you recommend? Buying one now or waiting for WWDC?

Thanks

 

[klatox]

Wait for WWDC. It's only next month. At the worst you only lost a month without your new iMac. The jump from 3.4 to 3.5 probably isn't worth whatever Apple is charging.

 

[bluecoast]

When a WWDC is around the corner, its always worth holding off regarding the Mac as you never know what they’ll announce, so I’d wait.

The latest intel desktop coffee lake chips are widely available, so I suspect we’ll see an update at WWDC. One is definitely due.

 

[Fishrrman]

New iMacs should be out by late summer 2018.
Don't fret if there's no mention of them at the WWDC -- I'd consider that normal.

If you MUST buy now, I'd suggest a 3.5ghz "midrange model" iMac with an upgrade to either the 256gb or 512gb SSD. (the midrange has a 7600 CPU instead of 7500 and better graphics at a cost of $200 more).

Don't get an iMac with a 1tb fusion drive -- the SSD portion is only 32gb in size, too small to remain effective over the life of the computer.

 

[Rebel Heart]

Alright, thanks guys. I'll wait and see what WWDC brings us.
I'll definitely order it with an SSD as well, hopefully they'll become standard this time around.

 

[Wysardi]

Don't get an iMac with a 1tb fusion drive -- the SSD portion is only 32gb in size, too small to remain effective over the life of the computer.

Does anybody know the size of the operating system? The 256GB SSD seems kinda small. I have a 2009 imac which already holds 386GB. My current machine can't play the most recent video games and that is the reason i'm looking to upgrade. I'd like to buy 3-4 new games once I get a new imac so that might raise it close to the 512GB limit of the 512GB SSD and I heard the closer you are to the maximum storage the more likely it is you'll have problems. I can't really afford the 1TB SSD as that adds on another $700 and I'd only be able to buy the 512GB.

 

[Glmnet1]

Go to -> About this Mac -> Storage. What is taking up most of the 386GB?

For most people 256/512gb is enough if you move large files such as movies and pictures to an external drive. My OS and apps take 105GB for example.

 

[Juicy Box]

Alright, thanks guys. I'll wait and see what WWDC brings us.
I'll definitely order it with an SSD as well, hopefully they'll become standard this time around.

I think the posts on this thread are being overly optimistic about new iMacs being announced anytime soon.

There has not been too many rumors about iMacs lately, and none of the rumors really give a timeline other than they might be announced by the end of the year.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was not any new iMacs until next year. The time since last new iMacs is still below the average, and the average is going up on most Macs lately.

To answer your question on whether you should wait, I would say the following:
If you need it, get it now.
If you want it, but don't need it, and don't mind waiting, then wait.
If you might end up needing one sometime soon, start shopping for the current or older model, and you could find a great deal on one.

As for the Fusion Drive that someone already mentioned, I agree with them, do not get the 1TB Fusion Drive, as Apple has gimped it a few years back and reduced the SSD part of it to a ridiculous size. I would recommend going with a SSD if you can afford it.

 

[Wysardi]

Go to -> About this Mac -> Storage. What is taking up most of the 386GB?

For most people 256/512gb is enough if you move large files such as movies and pictures to an external drive. My OS and apps take 105GB for example.

Its saying the system takes up 267.98GB. I opened my Macintosh HD in the finder and under the Users folder its saying 227.55GB but when I open the Users folder and i add up all the folders inside it only comes to about 10GB. Is it possible I could have hidden folders somewhere thats taking up that much space?
[doublepost=1525197355][/doublepost]

Its saying the system takes up 267.98GB. I opened my Macintosh HD in the finder and under the Users folder its saying 227.55GB but when I open the Users folder and i add up all the folders inside it only comes to about 10GB. Is it possible I could have hidden folders somewhere thats taking up that much space?

I just did a search for hidden files and found one with bitcoin in the name. It took up 190GB. I think I've been hacked and they were using my computer to mine bitcoin. I deleted the file and now have 173GB of used space. I did notice one of the files in the folder said bitcoin wallet. I should have looked at it before deleting it. I could have found some bitcoin in it and transfered it to another wallet.

 

[Fishrrman]

"The System" -- that is, the OS install -- does NOT take hundreds of gigabytes of space.

On my Mac (running Low Sierra) the following folders/files consume:
System - 7.8gb
Library - 8.2gb
Private - 7.4gb
usr - 1.1gb
Applications folder size will vary depending on what you have installed.

The above numbers were obtained using "DiskWave".

 

[Wysardi]

"The System" -- that is, the OS install -- does NOT take hundreds of gigabytes of space.

On my Mac (running Low Sierra) the following folders/files consume:
System - 7.8gb
Library - 8.2gb
Private - 7.4gb
usr - 1.1gb
Applications folder size will vary depending on what you have installed.

The above numbers were obtained using "DiskWave".

I was talking about the part that said system under about this mac. it's now saying 71GB

 

[mlody]

I am hoping that this year will be a turning point for all iMacs when it comes to the storage. Apple has to stop equipping them with a crappy 5400 or 7200 spinners. The prices for basic SSDs are so low that it makes sense to use those instead of HDDs. Fusion is also not a solution!

 

[Wysardi]

I am hoping that this year will be a turning point for all iMacs when it comes to the storage. Apple has to stop equipping them with a crappy 5400 or 7200 spinners. The prices for basic SSDs are so low that it makes sense to use those instead of HDDs. Fusion is also not a solution!

How do you get the prices are low? They average about $0.20 per GB compared to the HDD of $0.03 per GB. Thats over 6 times as much.

 

[theluggage]

I think the posts on this thread are being overly optimistic about new iMacs being announced anytime soon.

I'm inclined to agree (really, nobody knows) - with a side-order of "be careful what you wish for".

However, that said, unless you desperately need to replace a broken/stolen machine, I think we've reached that time of year where its worth waiting a few weeks just to be sure, especially since the new 6-core chips that any new iMac would hopefully use sound like the most worthwhile upgrade to come along for a while. I suspect that the 6 core i5 is going to hit the sweet-spot for small-form-factor/all-in-one PCs.

Or, if you like the current models (I think they're pretty good, all considered) then why not? It won't crumble to dust the moment a new version is released - and if Apple comes out with new dumbed-down iMacs at a dumbed-up price, you won't be singing "if you liked it you should have put a ring on it...".

 

[mlody]

How do you get the prices are low? They average about $0.20 per GB compared to the HDD of $0.03 per GB. Thats over 6 times as much.

A typical internal 1 TB HDD costs between $40-50 (depends on the cache and rotation speed etc). A 500-512GB SSD can be had for $100-110 on the low end. Even the crappy, low end SSD will outperform and provide an overall better experience when using macOS for a insignificant cost different.

Given that scenario, I would bet that most people would have picked up smaller SSD vs bigger HDD for a nominal cost increase. Heck, because the cost is so small, Apple should eat it and that is why I was saying that I am hoping that at this point Apple starts offering the iMac's with SSD in the base form, or at least in 27" size and stick Fusion as the standard setup for 21.5" models. This should not hurt their bottom $ and yet it would provide 10x better user experience.

 

[Rebel Heart]

I'm inclined to agree (really, nobody knows) - with a side-order of "be careful what you wish for".

-snip-

Or, if you like the current models (I think they're pretty good, all considered) then why not? It won't crumble to dust the moment a new version is released - and if Apple comes out with new dumbed-down iMacs at a dumbed-up price, you won't be singing "if you liked it you should have put a ring on it...".

I agree on that, but I don't NEED it just yet. I'll wait and see what June brings us; if there's an update to the range without a sudden price bump, I'll go for that. If there isn't an update, I'll go for the current model. Because, like you said, it'll still be a great computer and it'll certainly be a big improvement for me over my MBA.

 

[DQ11]

I agree on that, but I don't NEED it just yet. I'll wait and see what June brings us; if there's an update to the range without a sudden price bump, I'll go for that. If there isn't an update, I'll go for the current model. Because, like you said, it'll still be a great computer and it'll certainly be a big improvement for me over my MBA.

I was also wondering but I'll be waiting until WWDC in June. It would suck to wait and then have apple remove the ability to change out ram and lose that option.

I'm using mine for Logic Pro X though so my needs would be different probably. Hopefully there are new cpu's and a new way to cool the imac better.