I'm skipping over most of the posts that were made and will just give my thoughts (largely lifted from a post I made on another thread some weeks ago), since it seems Molly didn't make a purchase yet:
If you need to upgrade in the coming weeks, get the Intel-based iMac. Here are my thoughts as to why:
1) Apple's first custom-made chipset has really impressive performance, but the Intel-based systems are not slouches.
2) Nobody knows how long Apple will continue support for the Intel-based systems. When Apple first moved to Intel from the PowerPC-based systems, they continued support for the PowerPC systems three years after completing their transition and all systems were based on Intel. As of now, the iMac and Mac Pro lines are still on Intel. Rumors are that the iMacs will possibly shift to Apple's own chipset some time this year. The Mac Pro was last updated in December 2019 and there are no rumors as to when it will be updated, but it's not out of the realm of reality that it could also be updated this year. Assuming Apple follows the same time frame as it did with the PowerPC to Intel transition, Intel systems today are likely going to be supported for another 3-6 years, if not longer (because now there are more Intel Mac users than there were PowerPC Mac users).
2a) Even if Apple's support for Intel systems is shorter than anticipated, your computer won't stop working just because it's not on the absolute latest operating system.
3) Intel systems allow you to use external GPUs, while ARM-based Macs do not - at least, not currently. Unknown if it's a feature that can be added in the future. This may mean more to you in terms of system longevity and performance than the Intel vs. ARM processor.
This is an uncomfortable time to buy an Intel-based Mac, but it's also an uncomfortable time to buy Apple's first foray into ARM-based Macs. The discomfort with buying an Intel-based Mac will increase with each day, but the worst time to buy an Intel-based Mac won't occur until right around the time that the last Mac system is switched over to Apple Silicon - probably in a year or two, although nobody can say for certain.
I'm currently on a 27" 2015 iMac. I wouldn't mind a bit more speed but it's doing well enough for my purposes. With the upcoming operating system, Intel systems will already not receive certain features that M1 Macs will, but Intel systems can also do a few things that M1 systems currently cannot (virtualization being a big one that comes to mind on the software side). If my system died tomorrow, I'd replace it with an Intel-based system. This is sort of a crummy time to have to buy a system, whether you're choosing the M1 or the remaining Intel-based models, unless either of those systems can fit your needs perfectly. I'm hoping to get another year or two out of it...
If you need to upgrade in the coming weeks, get the Intel-based iMac. Here are my thoughts as to why:
1) Apple's first custom-made chipset has really impressive performance, but the Intel-based systems are not slouches.
2) Nobody knows how long Apple will continue support for the Intel-based systems. When Apple first moved to Intel from the PowerPC-based systems, they continued support for the PowerPC systems three years after completing their transition and all systems were based on Intel. As of now, the iMac and Mac Pro lines are still on Intel. Rumors are that the iMacs will possibly shift to Apple's own chipset some time this year. The Mac Pro was last updated in December 2019 and there are no rumors as to when it will be updated, but it's not out of the realm of reality that it could also be updated this year. Assuming Apple follows the same time frame as it did with the PowerPC to Intel transition, Intel systems today are likely going to be supported for another 3-6 years, if not longer (because now there are more Intel Mac users than there were PowerPC Mac users).
2a) Even if Apple's support for Intel systems is shorter than anticipated, your computer won't stop working just because it's not on the absolute latest operating system.
3) Intel systems allow you to use external GPUs, while ARM-based Macs do not - at least, not currently. Unknown if it's a feature that can be added in the future. This may mean more to you in terms of system longevity and performance than the Intel vs. ARM processor.
This is an uncomfortable time to buy an Intel-based Mac, but it's also an uncomfortable time to buy Apple's first foray into ARM-based Macs. The discomfort with buying an Intel-based Mac will increase with each day, but the worst time to buy an Intel-based Mac won't occur until right around the time that the last Mac system is switched over to Apple Silicon - probably in a year or two, although nobody can say for certain.
I'm currently on a 27" 2015 iMac. I wouldn't mind a bit more speed but it's doing well enough for my purposes. With the upcoming operating system, Intel systems will already not receive certain features that M1 Macs will, but Intel systems can also do a few things that M1 systems currently cannot (virtualization being a big one that comes to mind on the software side). If my system died tomorrow, I'd replace it with an Intel-based system. This is sort of a crummy time to have to buy a system, whether you're choosing the M1 or the remaining Intel-based models, unless either of those systems can fit your needs perfectly. I'm hoping to get another year or two out of it...
Plus trying to argue some issues with non-coperative so-called Apple-store 'genius's can be an experience of utter frustration.
