Late 2012 iMac faster than 2019 iMac - WTF

[Bowcaps]

I recently purchased a 2019 iMac, i9 processor, 128Gb Ram, 2TB SSD, Upgraded video, basically as top spec customisable as Apple online ordering allowed.

However since using it in place of my 2012 iMac with only 32Gb Ram and a 3TB fusion HDD, i’m Not impressed with the speed.

When upgrading to Catalina or updating a beta, the 2012 iMac is around 20-30% faster from clicking the install button to being ready to login???

I primarily use the 2012 iMac in TDM, so apart from the lack of audio in TDM its not a great problem, but i’m Just a little disappointed.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Cheers

Bowcaps

 

[bpeeps]

If you think your 2019 iMac is faster than a seven year old computer with a fusion drive, return it. Don’t waste people's time with this absolute nonsense. I guarantee you at tasks that actually matter, the 2019 will be faster 100% of the time.

 

[alisalem]

When upgrading to Catalina or updating a beta, the 2012 iMac is around 20-30% faster from clicking the install button to being ready to login???
Bowcaps

That is really not how you should be comparing their speeds. There are so many variables that can affect the time it takes for an update to be completed. Do some proper benchmarks.

 

[Bowcaps]

If you think your 2019 iMac is faster than a seven year old computer with a fusion drive, return it. Don’t waste people's time with this absolute nonsense. I guarantee you at tasks that actually matter, the 2019 will be faster 100% of the time.

bpeeps, agreed, i’m Along time apple user, and this comparison is a Suprise to me. 3D rendering is faster, by far as is 4K video rendering, it just surprised me that updating software/apps is slower, given the processor power.
[doublepost=1564895971][/doublepost]

That is really not how you should be comparing their speeds. There are so many variables that can affect the time it takes for an update to be completed. Do some proper benchmarks.

Alisalem, the ‘proper benchmarks’ agree with your and my perception that the 2019 iMac should be and is better that the 2012 model. However given the similar installed Apps / software, I am surprised that the 2012 is faster updating, my query / question was to see if others experienced a similar result?

 

[Larvas]

Are you sure that an app for a 2012 machine is the same size off the version for the 2019 machine? And that the 2019 version is loading the same set of settings, software and everything else as the 2012 machine?

 

[joema2]

...since using it in place of my 2012 iMac with only 32Gb Ram and a 3TB fusion HDD, i’m Not impressed with the speed....When upgrading to Catalina or updating a beta, the 2012 iMac is around 20-30% faster from clicking the install button to being ready to login???...

I wonder if it's related to the 2019 APFS local snapshots during the update process. A few things might be slower such as running Disk Utility First Aid on the system volume of the 2012 vs the 2019 due to APFS checking all the local snapshots. In general APFS is fast but a few things like that might be slower.

Unfortunately you cannot disable APFS local snapshots to test this. You can only convert APFS back to HFS+, which might involve reloading from backups. Paragon has a utility that does this allegedly without data loss, but I have not tried it: https://www.paragon-software.com/home/apfs-hfs-converter/

 

[Bowcaps]

Are you sure that an app for a 2012 machine is the same size off the version for the 2019 machine? And that the 2019 version is loading the same set of settings, software and everything else as the 2012 machine?

It’s not exact, however 20 minutes vs 30 minutes for Catalina beta 5 update, seems a little excessive? But I take your point.

 

[mikehalloran]

I wonder if it's related to the 2019 APFS local snapshots during the update process.

No. snapshots are created by Time Machine.
[doublepost=1564945077][/doublepost]

It’s not exact, however 20 minutes vs 30 minutes for Catalina beta 5 update, seems a little excessive? But I take your point.

You’re running beta?

Everything you’ve posted points a network issue. Since you’ve given no clues about that, I’ve no reason to assume anything else.

 

[kohlson]

Maybe we need a new benchmark that can test how fast Mac OS X betas install.

Kidding aside, there can be a few reasons why one updates faster than the other. As it is, that's a curiosity. Now if the 2012 Fusion iMac actually beat the 2019 SSD in real work - that's a story!

 

[Fried Chicken]

I continue to be impressed with the performance of my 2012 iMac.
Maybe it’s the 1440p display, maybe it’s the Ivy Bridge CPU, maybe it’s the NVidia GPU, but something there maeks this thing amazing.

 

[idktbh]

I agree , it's the nvidia gpu and even more the non retina screen

 

[mikehalloran]

The 2012 is a good machine if the HDD is pulled out and running SSD only. Since both busses are SATA III, there’s no reason to replace the blade if it has one or install one if it doesn’t. Fusion drives gain nothing once the HDD is pulled.

If you haven’t experienced GPU issues, get that HDD outa there. Its heat is the cause of the problems in the 2009–2012. Apple went to a slower, cooler drive in 2013 and an even slower, cooler drive in 2015. It’s time to replace the NV RAM battery (takes an extra minute if replacing the HDD). If installing an SSD, you do not need the high-heat BR2032 battery that Apple uses since a CR2032 is identical electrically.

As for the beta install speeds, very easy to explain. The installer knows what machine it’s working with and does not install the libraries required by features unsupported in a 2012. That will make it faster.