iMac Late 2012 27” - Still Viable?

[EricHBean]

I’m looking at buying a 27” iMac (Core i5). Primarily interested in it because it’s $500, still not obsolete according to Apple - and appears it’ll still make the cut for the next couple of Years.

I would primarily use it for drafting / design (for a commercial contractor) and some graphic design (for the church I pastor).

Asking price for it is $500. I’d upgrade the ram and slap an SSD in it.

Here are my questions:

1. How long do y’all think it will still be supported by Apple? More concerned with OS support than hardware.
2. Would there a better option for that price?

 

[Fishrrman]

A 2012 iMac can still handle things like browsing, email, MS Office, etc.

But I'm thinking it might be a little slow on horsepower when handling the drafting/design apps you want to run.

I'm not saying that they "won't run", but probably won't go as well as they would on, say, a 2017 or 2019 iMac.

I could be wrong.

If you going to spend 500 and then spend more for RAM and an SSD, you might give some consideration to an Apple-refurbished 2017 iMac as well...

 

[chown33]

There's a similar thread here:

Is buying a 2012 27" imac a good idea?

I have the opportunity to buy a 2012 27" imac with 32gb ram, 1tb sdd memory, 3.4ghz, intel core i7. I know the the specs are good but im worried about buying an older computer. is buying a 2012 imac a good idea or shall i try and buy a newer one with worse specs?

forums.macrumors.com

Looks like the same model, or very close, but your price is markedly lower. Compare specs to confirm how much is relevant, but much of the discussion in that thread will likely apply to yours.