iMac Replacement

[gldngal]

OP:

If you'd like to keep what you have going a while longer, as others have mentioned, just add RAM (2 8gb DIMMs would probably be a big help), and get an external SSD from which to boot and run.

Since you already use SuperDuper, setting up the external SSD is ... well... it's "child's play" on a Mac.

For RAM, I've had good results here:

Apple iMac Intel Core i5 Quad-Core 3.2GHz 27" MK462LL/A (Retina 5K, Late 2015) Memory Upgrades

Shop

www.datamemorysystems.com

(looks like 2x8gb is on sale)

For an external SSD, I'd recommend the new Samsung t9:

http://tinyurl.com/bdeskzep

(shortened amazon link)
1tb size should be "all you need" -- you never told us what size your current drive is, it's a fusion drive, right?

So an outlay of about $160 or so should get you fixed up and good for at least another year or two (or perhaps even longer).

Thank you. Yes, it's a fusion drive.

 

[gldngal]

OP, since you stated you’re looking for your next computer. It feels silly to put $100-$200 into a $400 computer when you could just put that money on a new one. Even the time investment alone. You’re delaying the inevitable. If you’re not trying to blow the budget, a Mac Mini M2 Pro with 32GB of RAM is a great option. External storage is easy for desktops if you need more.

But I still stand on getting the M2 entry Mac Studio and that monitor I linked. It’s less than one year old and will get you that next nine years . The monitor will go until it dies, it doesn’t become lesser with time. Modern screens are great.

Thank you. This makes sense.

 

[gldngal]

I do agree, if you have the budget upgrading is a better option.

Going to 16 gigs of ram is not what I would do if I had to stick to that solution. I would max it out to 32 gigs. 16 gigs is sort of on the low end these days, or at least at the base level.

I gave 2 options that would have him with a Mac Studio, or MacBook Pro with a pro level chip + a 27" 5K screen. That is going to really change the way you work with the speed. A mix of speed from the flash drives has everything open lightening quick, to just the full on CPU power of the pro chips in the M series.

So option 1 is adding more RAM for some improvement, but not earth shattering improvement.

Option 2 is stick to your budget and get a HUGE bump in performance as well as keeping a 5K screen as that is hard to move away from when you have been using one for so long.

Thank you. You make good points.

 

[gldngal]

The OP is using a ten year-old iMac and is generally happy with it. Literally any M-series Mac is going to be massively faster than that thing. She also says nothing about video editing, which is a much more demanding use case.

I don't do any video editing. I mainly use Photoshop and Illustrator CS6 and CodeRunner.

 

[YoitsTmac]

I don't do any video editing. I mainly use Photoshop and Illustrator CS6 and CodeRunner.

Any new Mac will not be able to run CS6 software. You will have to get a new license.

 

[gldngal]

Any new Mac will not be able to run CS6 software. You will have to get a new license.

Yes, I will need to go to Adobe's Creative Cloud. I wish I could keep CS6 and just buy a new license. Part of the reason I haven't updated my OS is because CS6 won't work.

 

[gldngal]

Thank you all for your input and advice. It's been helpful. I still am not sure what direction I am going to go, but at least at this point I know I have options.

 

[ignatius345]

I don't do any video editing. I mainly use Photoshop and Illustrator CS6 and CodeRunner.

Any M1, M2 or M3 Mac will handle that easily. I'm using heavily the 2024 versions of Illustrator and InDesign on M1 Macs (a Mini and an iMac) and the programs fly on both machines, which have 16 GB of RAM on each of them. I've also had totally reasonable performance in the same apps on my previous MacBook Air that had only 8 GB of RAM.