Cheapest Mac to replace (now obsoleted) Late 2009 iMac w/i7 & 512MB GPU

[DracoDWS]

I got this to play games and I've since moved on to a PS4 for that. Since it looks like Apple has no immediate plans to put any real graphics cards in any machine in the near future, I'm just looking of feel like "wow, this things feels so fast!" No more waiting 20-30 seconds for a Spotlight Search - Application opening (Cmd+Space, S for Safari, Return) wait wait wait...

No heavy computing power needed, but I do like to watch movies on this 27: screen, but I have an Apple TV too. At least with a new one, I could AirPlay from Mac to Apple TV.

No big games, minus the typical Blizzard ones, Diablo & Hearthstone.

How low can I go and still feel that "ooh, now THIS is an upgrade" feeling?

 

[chrfr]

How low can I go and still feel that "ooh, now THIS is an upgrade" feeling?

Anything with an SSD will offer that impression. You would even see a huge speedup on your existing computer with an SSD upgrade.

 

[MadDane]

I have the same machine as you, though I have upgraded it with a 128GB SSD in addition to a 2TB HDD. Mine also has 20GB RAM. And it performs pretty well still, especially with the tasks you are mentioning. So my suggestion would be to install an SSD and set it up as a fresh install. That will give you most bang for the buck. However, if you want that beautiful new 5k screen...