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iMac 5K 27" Late 2015 for $600. Buy or pass?

T

tubeexperience

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Feb 17, 2016
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Someone is selling an iMac 5K 27" Late 2015 for $600

The display shattered and need to be replace (~$400)

Specs:
Intel Core i5
8 GB DDR3
1TB HDD
AMD Radeon R9 380M

Should I buy?

Yea or nay?
 
~$400 for the part, right?

If you KNOW it's OK otherwise and you can put that display in yourself it seems like an outstanding deal. If that's not a "fusion" drive, or even if it is, you might want to consider putting in an SSD...if it's possible on that model...as you're removing the display anyway.
 
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BrianBaughn said:
~$400 for the part, right?

If you KNOW it's OK otherwise and you can put that display in yourself it seems like an outstanding deal. If that's not a "fusion" drive, or even if it is, you might want to consider putting in an SSD...if it's possible on that model...as you're removing the display anyway.
Click to expand...

willmtaylor said:
@tubeexperience , How can the seller guarantee the rest of the unit works if the display is nonfunctional?

I agree with @BrianBaughn on swapping the HDD for an SSD.
Click to expand...

To clarify, it's the glass that's shattered.

I can still see what's on the display, but since Apple (stupidly) fused the glass to the display, the entire display assembly has to be replaced.

And yes, it has a hard drive. I am not exactly keen by the Fusion Drive anyway.

1TB SSD is ~$200
 
tubeexperience said:
To clarify, it's the glass that's shattered.

I can still see what's on the display, but since Apple (stupidly) fused the glass to the display, the entire display assembly has to be replaced.

And yes, it has a hard drive. I am not exactly keen by the Fusion Drive anyway.

1TB SSD is ~$200
Click to expand...

That's good. Running Apple Diagnostics doesn't take long and would be prudent, anyway.

$200 for a 1TB SSD is a better price than I see online. At any rate, you have to determine how much you need on your boot drive and how much you can offload (such as putting media files on the existing 1TB HD in a new enclosure). I went from a 1TB to a 500GB SSD on my boot drive by doing that and still have over 100GB free. I still don't know for sure how or if you can actually swap it out on that model but if so I'm pretty sure it'll be a lot easier to do while you're changing out the display.
 
BrianBaughn said:
That's good. Running Apple Diagnostics doesn't take long and would be prudent, anyway.

$200 for a 1TB SSD is a better price than I see online. At any rate, you have to determine how much you need on your boot drive and how much you can offload (such as putting media files on the existing 1TB HD in a new enclosure). I went from a 1TB to a 500GB SSD on my boot drive by doing that and still have over 100GB free. I still don't know for sure how or if you can actually swap it out on that model but if so I'm pretty sure it'll be a lot easier to do while you're changing out the display.
Click to expand...

Replacing a hard drive with a solid state drive is fairly easy.

I am surprise that people don't do it more often since Apple charges $800 for a 1TB SSD.
 
tubeexperience said:
Replacing a hard drive with a solid state drive is fairly easy.

I am surprise that people don't do it more often since Apple charges $800 for a 1TB SSD.
Click to expand...

That particular model is a little more difficult than some. Be sure to look at the directions at iFixit.com and read the comments for potential issues.
 
tubeexperience said:
To clarify, it's the glass that's shattered.

I can still see what's on the display, but since Apple (stupidly) fused the glass to the display, the entire display assembly has to be replaced.

And yes, it has a hard drive. I am not exactly keen by the Fusion Drive anyway.

1TB SSD is ~$200
Click to expand...

Fusing the display to the glass is not stupid it stops bits getting between and provides a better brighter picture with less glare.
 
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Try to talk them down to 500-550. Repair the display since you seem more the capable and resell it for ~1400.

Refurb from Apple that iMac is $1529. So regardless, if you are capable and don't mind investing your time in repairing it's a good deal.
 
cynics said:
Try to talk them down to 500-550.
Click to expand...

That I will try. If the person refuse, should I buy regardless?

cynics said:
Repair the display since you seem more the capable and resell it for ~1400.

Refurb from Apple that iMac is $1529. So regardless, if you are capable and don't mind investing your time in repairing it's a good deal.
Click to expand...

It's selling on eBay $1382 right now. I would then have to consider all the eBay fees.

I am also considering upgrade it with an 1TB SSD (assuming I buy it) because people seem to think that it is worth a lot more if it has a 1TB SSD.
 
tubeexperience said:
I am surprise that people don't do it more often since Apple charges $800 for a 1TB SSD.
Click to expand...

tubeexperience said:
I am also considering upgrade it with an 1TB SSD (assuming I buy it) because people seem to think that it is worth a lot more if it has a 1TB SSD.
Click to expand...

The SSD has a huge effect on performance. Once you try it you won't want to go back.

However, note that Apple's SSDs are high-end PCIe ones (that go in what I believe is a proprietary SSD blade slot) so the extra cost is partly justified. Fitting a regular 2.5" format SATA SSD in place of the hard drive will be cheaper and easier, bit won't give quite the performance - although it will still be head and shoulders faster than a HD.
(You might find an Apple SSD blade on eBay)
 
tubeexperience said:
That I will try. If the person refuse, should I buy regardless?



It's selling on eBay $1382 right now. I would then have to consider all the eBay fees.

I am also considering upgrade it with an 1TB SSD (assuming I buy it) because people seem to think that it is worth a lot more if it has a 1TB SSD.
Click to expand...

Up to you, personally I don't mess with flipping stuff.

As long as you disclose its repaired and upgraded with a sata ssd I don't think it would be a problem. I wouldn't pay a premium for a sata ssd but it being aftermarket wouldn't deter my purchase either. Upgrades don't typically bring better resale on most things. Which is why if it was me I wouldn't mess with it unless I planned on using it myself then yes definitely upgrade it.
[doublepost=1486143832][/doublepost]Oh, find out how much a local shop and Apple will charge to buy and replace that screen. Use that as a bargaining chip to negotiate a lower price.

If it's more then 600ish (which it will be) then you can buy that same Mac not damaged cheaper. So essentially it's being sold as parts at this point.

Lucky you can do the repairs yourself. YOU are actually doing them a FAVOR taking it off their hands at 500 dollars!! Lol
 
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