Going back to a desktop

[Marty80]

Hey Guys

It’s been awhile since I had a 2013 27” iMac, I now use a 2021 16” MacBook Pro which is used for all my heavy taxing tasks.

I am now considering buying a iMac primarily for streaming iTunes content via Ext HDD, web surfing, and playing strategy games like company of heroes.

Should I buy a base model mid tier without no upgrades or should i spend some money and upgrade the ram.

When I come to update mac os in the future, does Mac OS go by the iMac’s year or by the systems specs?

 

[MandiMac]

primarily for streaming iTunes content via Ext HDD, web surfing, and playing strategy games like company of heroes.

Should I buy a base model mid tier without no upgrades or should i spend some money and upgrade the ram.

When I come to update mac os in the future, does Mac OS go by the iMac’s year or by the systems specs?

Based on your usage (streaming iTunes, surfing the web) the base model will do just fine. About games: You need to make sure that your machine can run the games well that you want it to run well. In the future, better hardware will serve you better - but for iTunes and web surfing every Mac is plenty fast. No need for upgrading IMHO.

About macOS updates: It's always about the iMac's model/year. Even if you max a machine out, it will get the axe.

 

[George Dawes]

Last laptop I had was an iBook from 2001 , the keyboard broke rendering the entire thing useless . From then onwards I’ve used either Mac mini’s or iMacs . Integrated Mac is one thing but an integrated keyboard.. never again

If I go portable I use my iPad Pro .

 

[MandiMac]

Integrated Mac is one thing but an integrated keyboard.. never again

Alternatively: Bluetooth keyboard + duct tape = 😍

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Personally I would treat 16gb ram as standard these days and I'm a super light user but you just never know where your interest will take you. I would caution you though, as a previous 24" iMac owner, and that's unless you keep your stuff around for a long time the resell value of the iMac is terrible and trying to sell it on sites like Craigslist were a pain even though I had the safe silver color. My iMac was less than a year old and I sold it for roughly 50% of what I paid for. Apple was only offering like $400 when I spent $1600.

Additionally, the Magic Trackpad always had a slight delay compared the keyboard & mouse unless it was plugged in. I went through 3 trackpads and all the same. I eventually went to a MBP 16" as a desktop replacement as it would be easier to sell and move versatile. Now if Apple makes an iMac Pro then I might be tempted back but as of now I'll pass.

 

[rm5]

I'm a mostly "light user" but very occasionally I push the machine to its limits (with 4K video editing, Blender, 40-50 Logic tracks, etc.) 16 GB of RAM will be fine, 8 will work but if you open too many Chrome tabs or run demanding apps (which you aren't going to be doing per your first post), it'll slow down.

By the way, right now I have 23 Chrome tabs open and I'm using 11/16 GB of RAM. So no way that is going to work on 8 GB.

 

[Fishrrman]

16gb should be "your minimum" for RAM.

DO NOT buy just 8gb of RAM.

 

[MandiMac]

By the way, right now I have 23 Chrome tabs open and I'm using 11/16 GB of RAM. So no way that is going to work on 8 GB.

That's not how RAM or swap works. Of course the machine will use as much RAM as possible that is available - that's why some machines with 64 GB RAM have over 50 GB of RAM used. To say "that is not going to work on a lesser machine" is just plain wrong. Swap is there for you, and it works miraculously. Source: Am using a 8 GB M1 Mac mini for work, and not always in the lightest of ways. I restart that machine every other week or so, and never ran into a problem even when the swap rose up to 10-20 GB. No worries there.

 

[MandiMac]

16gb should be "your minimum" for RAM.

DO NOT buy just 8gb of RAM.

For my personal use, I would say the same. For their use, however, 8 GB would be enough and they can save up to 200,- which is nice.

 

[rm5]

@MandiMac Ok, you have a point, swap is there for a reason. But it is still not good for a machine to use swap. I've watched countless videos on the topic. Mainly, the reasons are:

1. Degrade in SSD performance over time (because of swap consuming "write cycles")
2. Lost storage because of swap (not that big a deal unless you're low on storage space)

I am well aware that it will be "fine" when having 23 tabs open - I've known that for years (because I too had a Mac with only 8 GB of RAM until I upgraded to the M1). All I'm saying is, the less swap used, the better. 10-20 GB of swap used is not good.

I very much agree with @Fishrrman - you need AT LEAST 16 GB OF RAM unless you want to use a bunch of swap.

 

[MandiMac]

All I'm saying is, the less swap used, the better. 10-20 GB of swap used is not good.

Yep, there's no denying that. Then again, a normal SSD will outlast the lifetime of such a machine, regardless if it's using swap or not - we can't forget that there are several mechanisms like TRIM at work when it comes to optimizing the life of a SSD. If money is a concern, OP can save there, but if not, I'd personally go with 16 GB, too.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Hey Guys

It’s been awhile since I had a 2013 27” iMac, I now use a 2021 16” MacBook Pro which is used for all my heavy taxing tasks.

I am now considering buying a iMac primarily for streaming iTunes content via Ext HDD, web surfing, and playing strategy games like company of heroes.

Should I buy a base model mid tier without no upgrades or should i spend some money and upgrade the ram.

When I come to update mac os in the future, does Mac OS go by the iMac’s year or by the systems specs?

You don't need another Mac for all this. You can get a docking station and connect the MacBook Pro to it.

But if you truly want a desktop computer, especially one for games, for the love of god don't buy an iMac or you're just handicapping yourself. Get a prebuilt gaming PC from iBuyPower or Micro Center. Hell for the price of a base spec iMac, there's a really good one on sale right now: An ASUS ROG Strix. Has 32 gbs of RAM, a 1TB SSD and 1 TB HDD with room for expansion, an RTX 3070, and a 5th gen Ryzen 5. That baby will handle any game you throw at it at max settings. https://www.microcenter.com/product/648319/asus-rog-strix-ga15dk-gaming-pc-platinum-collection

 

[Breaking Good]

I'm not an expert on this. But it seems like you may just want access to MacOS. It might make more sense just to get a Mac mini, maybe even a refurbished one from Apple's refurbished site. Then you have the freedom to choose whatever peripherals that you want.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Not what you asked but just curious. If you're happy with the last years MBP, why not just an external screen, KB and use it in clamshell mode? I'm assuming the current set up is too taxing with the games side of things?

 

[Lioness~]

Hey Guys

It’s been awhile since I had a 2013 27” iMac, I now use a 2021 16” MacBook Pro which is used for all my heavy taxing tasks.

I am now considering buying a iMac primarily for streaming iTunes content via Ext HDD, web surfing, and playing strategy games like company of heroes.

Should I buy a base model mid tier without no upgrades or should i spend some money and upgrade the ram.

When I come to update mac os in the future, does Mac OS go by the iMac’s year or by the systems specs?

Computing change when you have both a desktop and a portable. It's so good, you can never go back to just one computer after that. But-as you had an iMac earlier you know.

You have great spec on your portable. Only you know how much you will need on the desktop. Just consider that you probably will use it to more than what you think now.

I would't go below 16GB.. You can"t change the ram, but you can always add external storage.

You can also buy an ASD (or other cheaper monitor) and use with your MBP too.

Edit: I would’ve with your setup, bought an ASD now.
If you want the advantage with 2 workplaces, then added a Mini later when the new ones come.

 

[HDFan]

1. Degrade in SSD performance over time (because of swap consuming "write cycles")

There have been countless posts about SSD's wearing out, theoretically. Don't remember a single post of this actually happening. Apple SSD's have very large TBW values. My SSD lifetime is at 99% with a 321 TBW value. That gives it a projected 32.1 Petabyte TBW.

 

[VivienM]

Crazy thought, what about a refurbished Intel 27"? I picked one up earlier this year for less than the price of a Studio display, and they are quite nice to complement my M1 Max 16" MBP. Upgraded it to 64GB of RAM too for a very reasonable price (I am actually a bit grumpy about that - I bought a 16GB model because, well, that was what was in the refurb store, thinking that I would add 64GB and would get 80, but then I read that those memory controllers really don't like mismatched RAM so the 16GB is sitting in a box. If I could go back, I would buy a 8/512/10GbE config instead of my 16/256/10GbE config, but there wasn't an 8/512/10GbE in the refurb store when I ordered mine - they showed up a few hours later...)

They won't have the longevity of an ARM Mac, but my guess would be that the mid-2020 iMac will get major macOS releases until 2026 (i.e. macOS 16 in 2025 will be the last). Maybe less.

Not sure what the requirements for your games are and whether they support ARM or not - if they do, that would be fabulous, but if they don't, Intel may be the way to go there as well.

 

[Pakaku]

Your Macbook will handle all of the heavy lifting (games), so if you want the desktop experience, just get an external monitor. A dock/hub will also be useful for plugging in other stuff like mouse and keyboard.

If you still need something separate for your iTunes, just pick up a cheapo Mac, doesn't need that much power just for music streaming. I use a 2008 MBP for my music, so it really doesn't take that much. I would opt in for more power if you expect to be using it for server stuff, maybe hosting a game server or something.