I have an early 2009 iMac (24-inch). I absolutely love it, but I'm starting to have some problems, mostly because Apple won't allow me to update it anymore. It still has El Capitan and that's all I can have they say. So I'm looking for another iMac. I see the 24" is all that's available now. I was hoping to go smaller, to save some money, but I guess that's not possible. Any advice and/or thoughts on my next purchase. It will be my "forever computer" since, like my current iMac, I'm ready to be put out to pasture. I'm on the Internet a great deal, lots of emails, Google searches, spreadsheets and L.O. documents and quite a bit of Photoshop.
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Need a new iMac
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Personally my main computer nowadays is a refurbished iMac 21.5" late 2013 (i7-4770S), 16GB, GT 750M 1GB, 128GB SSD PCIe + 1TB HDD, macOS 10.15.7 and everything works fine. For your daily routine it's perfect. You can buy it for a cheap price.
It’s a really old model. Just get the current iMac. The base model will likely do. Unless you take a lot of pictures or have some other need for a lot of storage.
I have purchased it from a trusty third party supplier located in Northern Italy.
Yeah, I know. Anyways it works amazingly well for my needs.
Currently there’s only one iMac and that’s the 24” M1 model. That’s really the only one I would consider unless you’re buying used for a really discounted price.
If you have an SSD (I wouldn't recommend any on a mechanical HD) in that iMac you could try to install up to Catalina with one of dosdude1's installer patchers. If you have a spare, external USB connectable SSD you could try one of the patchers on macOS on that…as just a test or to use…without touching your existing system.
I have Catalina running on a 2008 unibody MacBook and a lot of folks here use his software on their older Macs.
I have Catalina running on a 2008 unibody MacBook and a lot of folks here use his software on their older Macs.
Apple still sells the Intel 21" iMacs in their Refurbished Store, but they are often priced more expensive than the M1 model.
If you can source a monitor that fits your needs, the M1 Mac Mini is still the best "band for buck" deal out of any computer, PCs included. You can sometimes find open box M1 Mac Mini at Best Buy for sub-$500. It has very fast single-core performance for the price, runs really cool, and is quiet.
M1 iMacs will have about the same performance of the M1 Mac Mini, but of course at a much higher price tag. You get a really nice display with it as well, but you are paying for that display.
Performance wise, some older Intel iMacs have decent performance and the more common base models have been dropping in price. Depending on what you do with your iMac an Intel with an 3rd or 4th gen i7 (Late 2012 to Late 2013) might be about as fast as the M1 iMac. Newer Intel Macs outperform the M1 iMac for some tasks.
If you can source a monitor that fits your needs, the M1 Mac Mini is still the best "band for buck" deal out of any computer, PCs included. You can sometimes find open box M1 Mac Mini at Best Buy for sub-$500. It has very fast single-core performance for the price, runs really cool, and is quiet.
M1 iMacs will have about the same performance of the M1 Mac Mini, but of course at a much higher price tag. You get a really nice display with it as well, but you are paying for that display.
Performance wise, some older Intel iMacs have decent performance and the more common base models have been dropping in price. Depending on what you do with your iMac an Intel with an 3rd or 4th gen i7 (Late 2012 to Late 2013) might be about as fast as the M1 iMac. Newer Intel Macs outperform the M1 iMac for some tasks.
Get the 24" M1 iMac. It often goes on sale or is available refurbished at a discount. If you get an older 21.5" Intel you will be in a similar boat as you are now as I only expect Intel Macs to get 2 or 3 more OS updates before it is dropped (from what Apple has done in the past).
If you're happy with the 24" screen size, get a new m1 iMac.
BE AWARE that there may be an "m2" version of the iMac coming, but it probably won't appear until next year at the earliest.
So... depends on if you're willing to wait or not.
IMPORTANT info about buying a new (m1) iMac:
DO NOT buy "the base version" with only 2 USBc ports on the back (and no ethernet).
DO BUY "the next version up" -- it comes with FOUR ports on the back (2 USBc and 2 thunderbolt4) AND it has an ethernet connector on the power supply.
I would also recommend that you get 16gb of RAM (instead of 8).
In the years to come, the OS is going to need it, and perhaps require it.
BE AWARE that there may be an "m2" version of the iMac coming, but it probably won't appear until next year at the earliest.
So... depends on if you're willing to wait or not.
IMPORTANT info about buying a new (m1) iMac:
DO NOT buy "the base version" with only 2 USBc ports on the back (and no ethernet).
DO BUY "the next version up" -- it comes with FOUR ports on the back (2 USBc and 2 thunderbolt4) AND it has an ethernet connector on the power supply.
I would also recommend that you get 16gb of RAM (instead of 8).
In the years to come, the OS is going to need it, and perhaps require it.
Good information. Thanks so much. How do people get by without Ethernet? My router/modem requires it.
Fishrrman, Just looking at the Apple site on the 24". On your recommendation about RAM, the site says,
"8, but there's a note Configurable to 16GB unified memory" What the heck does that mean?
""8, but there's a note Configurable to 16GB unified memory" What the heck does that mean?"
That means "the base configuration" is 8gb.
You select 16gb when ordering. I think it will cost $200 more.
But again, DO NOT BUY ANY m-series Mac UNLESS it has 16gb of RAM (or more).
8gb is "just not enough" with Apple Silicon.
It will run, but... sooner or later, you're going to need or want more.
But since RAM is no longer "upgradeable", you have to buy it from the get-go.
My opinion only.
Others will disagree.
Some may disagree vehemently.
That means "the base configuration" is 8gb.
You select 16gb when ordering. I think it will cost $200 more.
But again, DO NOT BUY ANY m-series Mac UNLESS it has 16gb of RAM (or more).
8gb is "just not enough" with Apple Silicon.
It will run, but... sooner or later, you're going to need or want more.
But since RAM is no longer "upgradeable", you have to buy it from the get-go.
My opinion only.
Others will disagree.
Some may disagree vehemently.
It sounds like you're looking to run the same machine for a long time, so I'd recommend spending a little more now on things you can't upgrade later. At the very least, get more RAM, and consider the step-up in processor.
Why? Because software tends to get more demanding over time. Today's blazing fast Mac will be just keeping up in five years as the OS gets more demanding. If you get the bare minimum now, you're just increasing your chances of seeing beachballs when you install MacOS Sonoma or whatever in 2025. There was a time when you could pop in another stick of RAM or put in a new hard drive, but that ship has sailed. Pay now or pay later.
Why? Because software tends to get more demanding over time. Today's blazing fast Mac will be just keeping up in five years as the OS gets more demanding. If you get the bare minimum now, you're just increasing your chances of seeing beachballs when you install MacOS Sonoma or whatever in 2025. There was a time when you could pop in another stick of RAM or put in a new hard drive, but that ship has sailed. Pay now or pay later.
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I have a MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM and it runs beautifully. Obviously more RAM is better and will give the machine a longer lifespan, but 8GB is usable for many people today.
Main points:
• As you probably know, the transition away from Intel to Apple Silicon (starting with "M1" chips) is major, permanent, and forward-looking. I bet you can save a lot of money by shopping carefully for a used Intel model, but you'll be trading that for years off of the desired "forever" as future versions of macOS eventually stop supporting Intel, along with new versions of software. You can still save some money by shopping carefully for refurbished or not-so-used iMac M1 models and still get the longevity.
• Mac-related announcements are expected this month, and some Macs are being refreshed with M2; a good boost. The M1 iMacs were released 16 months ago and have seemed popular, so they might be upgraded. If so, refurbished and used prices on M1 might drop, so waiting even a month might make a difference there.
Miscellaneous points:
• 16GB memory versus 8GB? My own Mac is my livelihood and I've discovered it's using about 10 to 12 gigabytes most of the time, so I'm going with 16 for my next upgrade, given that choice. A Mac won't explode if there isn't enough memory – it just means the system will take the extra moment now and then to shift data around so that the foremost task will stay responsive, and that's something that annoys the snippy pros when they're working like hackers in the movies. It's not a huge deal, but it makes a little difference, and it's a good idea for people who want to use their systems for years to think over.
• How do people get by without Ethernet? By using Wi-Fi, naturally. Just about everything supports Wi-Fi today – certainly every Mac, as well as most routers… unless your router isn't a wireless router…?
(Good luck!)
• As you probably know, the transition away from Intel to Apple Silicon (starting with "M1" chips) is major, permanent, and forward-looking. I bet you can save a lot of money by shopping carefully for a used Intel model, but you'll be trading that for years off of the desired "forever" as future versions of macOS eventually stop supporting Intel, along with new versions of software. You can still save some money by shopping carefully for refurbished or not-so-used iMac M1 models and still get the longevity.
• Mac-related announcements are expected this month, and some Macs are being refreshed with M2; a good boost. The M1 iMacs were released 16 months ago and have seemed popular, so they might be upgraded. If so, refurbished and used prices on M1 might drop, so waiting even a month might make a difference there.
Miscellaneous points:
• 16GB memory versus 8GB? My own Mac is my livelihood and I've discovered it's using about 10 to 12 gigabytes most of the time, so I'm going with 16 for my next upgrade, given that choice. A Mac won't explode if there isn't enough memory – it just means the system will take the extra moment now and then to shift data around so that the foremost task will stay responsive, and that's something that annoys the snippy pros when they're working like hackers in the movies. It's not a huge deal, but it makes a little difference, and it's a good idea for people who want to use their systems for years to think over.
• How do people get by without Ethernet? By using Wi-Fi, naturally. Just about everything supports Wi-Fi today – certainly every Mac, as well as most routers… unless your router isn't a wireless router…?
(Good luck!)
If you're going to keep a Mac for the longest time possible its best to buy shortly after release.
It's logical for the M1 iMac to get an M2 spec bump soon and you'd get more software support from a newly launched M2 model, especially if the M1 model is discontinued which it's highly likely will be the case. A discontinued Mac would draw a line in the sand as far as supported versions of MacOS are concerned.
I'm not sure what 'quite a bit of Photoshop' equates to but it sounds to me like a 16Gb RAM upgrade might be worth springing for.
And if the M2 SoC is anything to go by I think 512Gb of storage minimum both for the sake of storage to work with for Photoshop and the likelihood that a 256Gb model may also be affected with the single NAND CPU issue which virtually halves the speed of storage.
Sadly that's not a cheap proposition.
Could Apple, however, try and keep costs down by continuing to sell a base model M1 iMac while allowing an M2 model to start with 512Gb storage and the 4 ports from mid-range and up?
Thanks to everyone for sharing your knowledge. I didn’t realize this was going to be so involved and complicated. I will save all your comments and print them out for when I’m ready to take the plunge. Again, thanks for your help
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I upgraded to High Sierra from El Capitan using this patcher. It works fine on the early 2009 iMac and is easy to do. You might want to up the RAM to 8gb