Running on iMac Pro 2017 27" - print design only - but when End of Life, and what to upgrade to? Feeling lost!

[eclipse]

Hi all,
my wife boosted up her iMac Pro years ago.
She's a print designer only - not doing any fancy video or 3d or AI stuff that might need some real grunt.

But we love the 27" screen - is not too big, not too little, but just right.

End of life

Any ideas how long it will last before it becomes incompatible with Adobe etc?
iMacPro 2017 - 3.2 Ghz 8-Core Intel Xeon W

Some googling that made me nervous that EOL might be sooner than I thought:

That iMac can run Ventura. Ventura isn't the current version of macOS, but it will be (roughly) two years before it falls out of "the most recent three."​

You could keep using the iMac even after then – though once Ventura is no longer one of the "most recent three", there won't be any security updates from Apple, and you may get cut off from applications from the likes of Adobe and Microsoft.​

Hardware recommendations?
What would be good to replace iMacPro 2017 - 3.2 Ghz 8-Core Intel Xeon W - and give a little future-proofing but not too much overkill or overspend for a print designer?

Graphics: Radeon Pro Vega 56 8GB
RAM: 64 BG 2666 MHz DDR4
OS: Sonoma 14.5


A mini?
Studio?

Do we stick with Apple monitors?
Love some advice!

 

[Bigwaff]

Any ideas how long it will last before it becomes incompatible with Adobe etc?

A very long time. You will always be able to run the version Adobe software compatible with your iMac Pro, i.e. the version you use now.

And what kind of grunt should we be heading for?

What are the specs of your iMac Pro?

 

[Regulus67]

If she has been happy with the iMac Pro all this time, why change a setup that works well for her?

One advantage is that it can run older macOS versions. But if it has been updated to Sonoma, that point is moot.
Even if AS macs are faster, the upgrades are still very expensive for memory and storage.

 

[wonderings]

I think it will be a while. I have the original 5K iMac I was using up till 2 years ago. Only stopped using it for work as I was briefly used to a Windows laptop. Thankfully on an M1 Max now. So my iMac was from 2014 I believe and still had the latest Adobe updates and could not go beyond Big Sur. Your iMac Pro can stills support the latest Mac OS version and with that is still supported for a long time.

 

[eclipse]

Thanks guys for your questions. You're right - I should have included her current specs so I updated the opening post for ease of reference for any new readers. Thanks again!

 

[avro707]

What would be good to replace iMacPro 2017 - 3.2 Ghz 8-Core Intel Xeon W - and give a little future-proofing but not too much overkill or overspend for a print designer?

Graphics: Radeon Pro Vega 56 8GB
RAM: 64 BG 2666 MHz DDR4
OS: Sonoma 14.5

You can probably go for Mac Studio new but iPowerresale has them available at nice prices:

Apple Mac Studio | iPowerResale

Browse the Apple Mac Studio and more refurbished Apple products available online from iPowerResale. Start shopping today.

ipowerresale.com

But then you need to buy a screen, so that's $$$ extra:

Apple Studio Display | iPowerResale

Browse the Apple Studio Display and more refurbished Apple products available online from iPowerResale. Start shopping today.

ipowerresale.com

You can still run Sequoia on your iMac Pro as well according to this:

MacOS 15 Compatibility: Can Your Current Mac Run Sequoia?

Most recent Mac models will be able to run Sequoia, but the cutoff is higher for the ability to use Apple Intelligence.

www.cnet.com

So you have some time left to decide. I wouldn't recommend MacOS 15 right at the moment, still lots of things not working. Some of them like screen sharing is really annoying. I also had problems with the compress/convert images from the Quick Actions not working properly, something that's fairly minor but means I have to do extra steps to get around it.

 

[erihp]

get an m3 imac from a big box store. test it out, run the workflows and see how it performs.

then gut the inside of the 5k imac, replace its guts with an LCD controller, and now you can still use the old imac as a great 5k display!

 

[Regulus67]

then gut the inside of the 5k imac, replace its guts with an LCD controller, and now you can still use the old imac as a great 5k display!

Why would anyone do that if the machine is in perfect working order?

A weaker iMac 27" 5k is a good candidate for a DIY 5k Display, but not the iMac Pro.
I built one myself, when my iMac from late 2025 died.
Better to sell the machine, and purchase a very cheap iMac 27" 5k. Especially one with a slow fusion drive. For a DIY project.

 

[erihp]

Why would anyone do that if the machine is in perfect working order?

A weaker iMac 27" 5k is a good candidate for a DIY 5k Display, but not the iMac Pro.
I built one myself, when my iMac from late 2025 died.
Better to sell the machine, and purchase a very cheap iMac 27" 5k. Especially one with a slow fusion drive. For a DIY project.

Yeah I meant after it’s useful life of course. I imagine it will run Sequoia just fine.