DO NOT buy the iMac 21.5 with 1080p display

[jerwin]

A few months ago, the University of Aberdeen published a medieval bestiary.

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/ms24/

It is gorgeous in 5K or 4K. Less so in 1080p or 1440p.

 

[redheeler]

I think Apple shouldn't even sell that Full HD model, it's like an outdated laptop in an all-in-one frame.

Nor should they be selling any iMac with a 5400 RPM HDD and no SSD. Yet they do, because their business strategy is to advertise a low starting price and upsell you a higher one, meaning anyone who decides to spend $1.1K on the base model is screwed.

Even my previous 2008 iMac had a 1080P screen. “Full HD” is just a fancy marketing term in 2008.

I have an 11-year-old Late 2006 iMac that's also Full HD. It's usable (and good for some tasks like video that maxes-out at 1080p), but going to a 4K or 5K iMac is definitely a huge step-up.

 

[jerwin]

The 1099 imac

has a 5400 rpm hard drive
has a 1080p screen
has a dual core processor
intel hd graphics (which might not matter if the buyer doesn't want the user to play games)

pay 200 bucks more and you get
a radeon pro 555
a 4k screen
a quad core processor

quite the step up.

only the top end model comes with the fusion drive tho.

You can, of course upgrade the ram and drive.

 

[alien3dx]

The 1099 imac

has a 5400 rpm hard drive
has a 1080p screen
has a dual core processor
intel hd graphics (which might not matter if the buyer doesn't want the user to play games)

pay 200 bucks more and you get
a radeon pro 555
a 4k screen
a quad core processor

quite the step up.

only the top end model comes with the fusion drive tho.

You can, of course upgrade the ram and drive.

i don't play games.. Kinda bored nowdays..

 

[potatis]

You can, of course upgrade the ram and drive.

It's a must to upgrade the drive to at least fusion. And then you will want 16GB ram to not feel obsolete in a short while. And then you will be just $1-200 from the 27" base iMac with 8GB ram where you can upgrade to more later at a cheaper price. So even if you don't need the larger screen you're screwed. Their strategy maybe. I would wait to buy until the fusion is standard for the same price, and hopefully 16gb too. Plus upgrading to SSD would be less.