I've got a cheap-ish Dell S2817Q next to my iMac - which doesn't remotely compete in terms of colour (as expected), but its nice and sharp and running in the (misleadingly titled) "looks like 2560x1440" gives the same screen real-estate as the iMac (in fact, with the larger 28" screen you can go a little higher) with only a very slight degradation in quality compared to the truly pixel-doubled 5k. Make no mistake, 5k is better than 4k and the 5k in the iMac is great to have, but it isn't "night and day" I can see why 5k isn't taking off in the PC world (all of the third party 5k displays seem to have been discontinued) given the interfacing hassle and diminishing returns.
I think Apple maybe need to start thinking about larger screens that would take better advantage of 5k - the iMac should be next in the queue for a bezel-ectomy.
...if you work in a Hollywood post-production house and can't wait for the iMac Pro or new Mac Pro, because if you spend your days doing huge video or 3D renders that take hours then doing them 10% faster will pay for it in no time. No brainer.
For other, though, the extra "snappiness" when opening programs and files around might be more valuable than saving 10 minutes once a month when you do a big processor-intensive job (and maybe you'll appreciate a quieter machine with no spinning rust and less fan noise). I'd be interested in seeing comparative timings like compiling software with XCode, building Homebrew packages or running Logic with lots of sample-based instruments - but also bearing in mind that Fusion performance will depend on what's in the cache when you start.
Of course, that assumes that you're in the unfortunate dilemma of being able to afford an i7 or a SSD but not both - but that's what the refurb store is for. Glad to hear that you extracted some concession from Apple for your memory problem.
Actually, I think Apple's speakers (in iPad, iMac etc) are better than anybody could reasonably expect for tiny, invisible speakers. For an office machine, they're all you need. Of course, if you want to use your iMac as your HiFi or Home Theatre, you'll need something, well, bigger.
If you want something better, it might be worth looking at studio monitor speakers rather than flashy plexiglass stuff from the likes of HK or paying $1000 for HiFi freak stuff. There are active monitor speakers in the $100-$200 price range. I ended up getting these:
http://www.music-group.com/Categori...r-Systems/Studio-Monitors/MEDIA-40USB/p/P0AUV
..which connect via USB (leaving the Mac headphone socket free for... headphones)
Public Service Announcement: Mice are a subjective thing - and it would be stupid of me to deride anybody who's tastes differ from mine... unless, of course, you actually like Apple mice in which case you are completely and fundamentally wrong in every respect and are a clearly terrible perverted person (I can only imagine that the suffering induces some sort of endorphin high like a really hot curry or self flagellation) ... but apart from that, yeah, different strokes etc.
However, despite making mice that should be banned by the UN as implements of torture, Apple do make excellent trackpads, so my recommendation is to take the opportunity of spending the $50 extra to get the Magic Trackpad 2 instead of the Tragic Mouse (Pro tip: turn on 3-finger drag which is now hidden in the Accessibility control panel). There are still some things that a mouse is better for (some games, precise graphics) but odds are you already own a mouse that you like: I already had a Logitech MX Master.
I got the new Magic Keyboard with number pad - its ~OK (better than the new MacBook keyboards) but, feel-wise, not as good as the old wired keyboard with number pad (I'm trying to give it a fair trial, but I may revert when I've sorted out a USB hub). However, I tend to keep the light on when I'm computing so I'm not concerned about backlighting.
I thought the feel of the old-style aluminium keyboards had the edge over Logitech keyboards - the new ones, not so much (when did progress start to mean "making stuff worse"? Am I getting old?)
