iMac / iMac Pro upgrade

[cwanja]

Hello,

I am in the market for updating my 2008 original unibody MacBook Pro. It has limped along the last couple of years and finally hit software (outside of the OS) limitations. It served me well through college and post-college years, but I am ready for an upgrade.

I no longer need the mobility of a laptop as I have an iPad and iPhone X that serves the needs while on the road. I am looking for a workhorse that supports my needs when I am at home that will also last long. I am a technology nerd at heart and love to tinker with new technologies, software, etc.

Some of my intended uses will be:

• Standard, day to day usage (browsing, researching, reading, email, etc.)
• Tinkering with different software
• Virtual desktops - planning to have a Windows 10, macOS beta (each year) and a Linux flavor as ready virtual desktops. I only intend on running one virtual desktops on top of the core OS at a time.
• Light video and photo editing. Recently got married with the planning of a future family, I fully expect that I will have photos and videos of our kids loaded on here and will be editing / putting them together for family members. I have a Drobo to support the longer term storage of these.

As part of this upgrade, I have been browsing the forums and reading threads on different topics. It seems:

• People are on the fence is there is going to an i9 update to the iMac that will grant it 8 cores. I do not want to rehash that thread/s, so if you have feelings on it - search the forum and dump your thoughts there. I did read today that Intel is rumored to drop the i9 on August 1st, but no clue when (or ever) they would move into the iMac line up.
• People seem to be having fan / audible complaints on the i7 iMac when under workload.

I also want to use the machine for the next 10 years. Just like I got 10 years out of my MBP today, I want the same (or more) from my iMac or iMac Pro purchase.

The specs I would be leaning towards are:

• 27" iMac, 4.2GHz i7, 64GB of RAM, 1TB SSD
• 27" iMac Pro, 3.0GHz 10-core, 128GB of RAM, 1TB SSD

My hesitation with the iMac would be that I feel it is primed for an update. But, how much of that update will make a difference. And my concern with the iMac Pro is buying too much computer and under utilizing it. I know one of the major legs up is for multithread applications / usage and I am really not sure how much I will use that benefit. But I do not want to buy the older iMac technology that is there today.

Your opinions are greatly appreciated in advance.

 

[Wysardi]

i read there were releasing 3 macs with a 6-core processor this year, two laptops and a desktop. i just saw they have the new macbook pro out with the 6-core. the desktop will likely be the mac mini. i dont see a new imac with 6 or 8 cores until 2019 at the earliest. i was waiting for their conference for 5 months hoping for a 6 core imac but they didn't announce it so i ended up buying just the 4 core 2017 model. i had a 2009 model that lasted me 9 years but it was just a 2 core processor and couldn't play the latest games. the 2017 model should be able to do all the things you mentioned, but if you really want the 6 or 8 cores youre gonna hafta wait a year or two.

 

[ggibson913]

The higher end regular 27 Inch iMac should be plenty of machine for you. Upgrade the Fusion Drive to Full SSD and upgrade the RAM yourself through a vendor such as OWC or Crucial. I have a 2015 WITH the Fusion Drive and I am confident that I have a machine that will last for years to come. I do think that a decade is a little stretch between machines, but so long as it suits your needs, you should be good.

 

[kschendel]

There doesn't seem to be complete agreement about how noisy or quiet the 4.2Ghz i7 is. However, for your usage, I think you would be fine with an i5, SSD, and 32 GB or so of memory. Price out a 3rd party memory upgrade (crucial.com or datamemorysystems.com are commonly cited here) before buying Apple memory, the user memory upgrade on the 27" is simple.

The iMac Pro would certainly be able to handle anything you throw at it, but unless you are awash in cash, I don't think you would be getting your money's worth from it.

 

[cwanja]

Thanks for the advice from all. I feel I have consciously walked away from the iMac Pro option and am now deciding between the current iMac specs versus waiting.