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iMac 2012 vs new iMac

1

1nky1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 3, 2015
4
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Hi all,

I currently have a 2012 iMac (2.9 i5, 16gb, 1TB Fusion) and I'm debating on getting a new iMac. I love this iMac but recently it has been slowing down, and it seems it is not a perking as it once was. I did a fresh install of OS X, but it seemed to remain at about the same level.

Is the new generation (3.4 i5 or i7, w/ 16 gb and the SSD) going to give me a significant change in speed and performance as opposed to the 2012 that I have, or is it not worth the cost of the upgrade?

I mainly use the computer for email, Word, and some light Adobe Creative Suite work.

Thanks for your input!
 
do you know if your version of adobe creative suite is compatible with retina screens?
 
jerwin said:
do you know if your version of adobe creative suite is compatible with retina screens?
Click to expand...

Fortunately (perhaps unfortunately lol) I’m on the Creative Suite plan, so I have the newest version... stuck paying for it for the rest of my life...
 
1nky1 said:
Hi all,

I currently have a 2012 iMac (2.9 i5, 16gb, 1TB Fusion) and I'm debating on getting a new iMac. I love this iMac but recently it has been slowing down, and it seems it is not a perking as it once was. I did a fresh install of OS X, but it seemed to remain at about the same level.

Is the new generation (3.4 i5 or i7, w/ 16 gb and the SSD) going to give me a significant change in speed and performance as opposed to the 2012 that I have, or is it not worth the cost of the upgrade?

I mainly use the computer for email, Word, and some light Adobe Creative Suite work.

Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...

At 5 years old it could be the HDD in your fusion getting a bit old and glitchy it ma be worth having it replaced, if you use an ssd you can make an all ssd fusion drive for a speed boost. As others say if you can wait for next years machines it may be worth the wait.
 
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1nky1 said:
Hi all,

I currently have a 2012 iMac (2.9 i5, 16gb, 1TB Fusion) and I'm debating on getting a new iMac. I love this iMac but recently it has been slowing down, and it seems it is not a perking as it once was. I did a fresh install of OS X, but it seemed to remain at about the same level.

Is the new generation (3.4 i5 or i7, w/ 16 gb and the SSD) going to give me a significant change in speed and performance as opposed to the 2012 that I have, or is it not worth the cost of the upgrade?

I mainly use the computer for email, Word, and some light Adobe Creative Suite work.

Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...

I would suggest that if you don't need a retina screen, your best bet is replacing the HD (which may well explain the falloff in performance) with an SSD.

I am still running a 2010 iMac that has an SSD in it, and it runs faster than my 3 year old work laptop that has a spinner. For most any computer that has an Intel Core processor in it, an SSD will breathe new life into it, making it feel new again. That was my experience. And, it's a very cost effective way to extend the life of the machine a couple of years. Besides, your machine (and mine too) can run High Sierra just fine. Since yours is a little newer, you've probably got another 2 or 3 years before you won't be able to run Apple's newest macOS.
 
Samuelsan2001 said:
At 5 years old it could be the HDD in your fusion getting a bit old and glitchy it ma be worth having it replaced, if you use an ssd you can make an all ssd fusion drive for a speed boost. As others say if you can wait for next years machines it may be worth the wait.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Just because it is fusion doesn't mean that the HDD part of it isn't starting to have issues affecting overall performance. Get a external USB 3.0 enclosure and a SSD drive and see if that improves performance. If it does then you can always swap out the drives.

I have a 2012 2.9Ghz as well although mine was originally a 8/1TB non fusion. I upgraded it myself a few years ago to 16gb and 512gb SSD and it runs great. While I'd kinda like a retina screen, I really can't justify spending $1800+ (to get same 16/512gb config) with my 2012 running so well.
 
I have a late 2012 iMac w/SSD, i7 CPU and 680MX GPU. Except for casual gaming in Bootcamp/Windows, it still a fine machine that could continue to work very well for several more years. Both the CPU and GPU works great thermally, better than the newer models AFAIK. The fan never revs up during normal usage (Internet, Office, music programs, movies etc).

I'm waiting for the 2018 model, ie. 6 core Coffe Lake CPUs and a GPU upgrade (another AMD GPU I'm afraid - Vega). However, imagine getting a Nvidia 1070M/1080M or 1170M/1180M GPU in the 2018 iMac, instead of the lacklustre Vega... Come on, Apple!
 
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I have a 2013 late model iMac. It has the fusion drive (7200 RPM), i7 CPU, 3tb fusion, Nvidia 780 (4gb) and 16gb of ram. I know I upgraded everything possible when I ordered it and the total was a bit over 4k bucks. I can honestly say, I never hear the fan unless I do a clean installation.

I know I'm not as heavy a user as some, but I frequently run ACAD and Photoshop and it seems nearly impossible to make this thing slow down. I've not had a single issue with anything breaking, etc... Four years in on my old Dell and I was upgrading RAM and replacing the power supply three times. I wear my computers into the ground. Average life span for me for an upgrade is about 6 years. Then I graduate them to a second computer that I normally only use for downloading until they die.

I'm sure you'd get a performance increase that would be noticeable, however, you may look into doing some less expensive upgrades like the ram, or a faster hd (You didn't mention what speed your drive is). You'd be amazed at how minor things like that can make your computer feel new again. It might give you another year or two and if need be, you can save for top of the line next time.
 
I've decided to add an SSD to my iMac, and replace the spinner. I agree with all of the observations above. Thanks everyone for your input.

I ordered a kit from OWC, so we will see how the install goes!
 
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