Should I upgrade? my iMacs?

[zalle]

Hi guys, I own a small photography business, and I need 2 iMacs for 2 different locations.

I now own 2 x 2013 27" iMacs, with SSD upgrade and 16GB memory, they work fine, as I manage their resources very well, and are pretty fast too.

My issue is with newer software, they are becoming obsolete.

I am looking for 2nd hand 2019/2020 27" iMacs. Are these good options for me?

Please advise

Thanks

 

[icemantx]

Depends on if you want stick with Intel or if you are willing to move to either the 24" iMac or M1 Mac Mini/Mac Studio + Studio Display (or another monitor).

The 2019 iMac is upgradeable should you want to increase the RAM or storage (with screen removal) somewhere down the road. Overall, it is still a nice computer and will do the job.

For the next several years the Intel iMacs will be supported, but I would not expect much past 5 years from now for software updates/support.

 

[wilberforce]

Check the Apple refurb store, includes 1 yr warranty. I have an iMac like this, it is excellent for photography:

Refurbished 27-inch iMac 3.8GHz 8-core Intel Core i7 with Retina 5K display

If you can dream it, you can do it on iMac. It’s beautifully designed, incredibly intuitive, and packed with powerful tools that let you take any idea to the next level. And the new 27-inch model elevates the experience in every way, with faster processors and graphics, expanded memory and...

www.apple.com

(Upgrade the RAM yourself with 32GB third party RAM.)

 

[Andrea Filippini]

Hi guys, I own a small photography business, and I need 2 iMacs for 2 different locations.

I now own 2 x 2013 27" iMacs, with SSD upgrade and 16GB memory, they work fine, as I manage their resources very well, and are pretty fast too.

My issue is with newer software, they are becoming obsolete.

I am looking for 2nd hand 2019/2020 27" iMacs. Are these good options for me?

Please advise

Thanks

Depends on your budget.
Your model is already a great machine.
Do you use Adobe software?

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

If you choose another Intel machine you will be looking at the same problem within 5 years. Go for M1 machines instead.

 

[russell_314]

If you choose another Intel machine you will be looking at the same problem within 5 years. Go for M1 machines instead.

This. Unless you can get an Intel Mac for half price or less I would not buy it. The only exception is if you can’t use a specific app that’s critical to what you do on Apple Silicon. Even then I would really try to find some other software that would work.

 

[zalle]

Check the Apple refurb store, includes 1 yr warranty. I have an iMac like this, it is excellent for photography:

Refurbished 27-inch iMac 3.8GHz 8-core Intel Core i7 with Retina 5K display

If you can dream it, you can do it on iMac. It’s beautifully designed, incredibly intuitive, and packed with powerful tools that let you take any idea to the next level. And the new 27-inch model elevates the experience in every way, with faster processors and graphics, expanded memory and...

www.apple.com

(Upgrade the RAM yourself with 32GB third party RAM.)

It's a good idea, but Im in Europe (Portugal)

 

[zalle]

I found a 2020 27" iMac which I will check tomorrow, for a fair price.

 

[Diablo360]

I’d make the switch to M1 instead of spending more money on the intel machines

 

[zalle]

Could I buy a Mac mini and use it in both machines?

or is it just a dead end as well????

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Could I buy a Mac mini and use it in both machines?

or is it just a dead end as well????

The Target Display Mode on your iMac 2013 may not work at all with the Mac mini M1. (Mac OS needed is High Sierra, while your iMac might have already been upgraded to Catalina)
There is a solution call OpenCore Legacy Patcher to help your iMac installed with newer Mac OS than those that officially supported ones.
You can try it on an external SSD before deciding. The cost to try is less than 100$ for the external SSD and one evening of time.

 

[zalle]

But, let's say my iMac's are still on Sierra.

If I make the iMac mini work, then I can't upgrade OSX?

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

But, let's say my iMac's are still on Sierra.

If I make the iMac mini work, then I can't upgrade OSX?

If you iMac are still on Sierra, then you should check with the "newer software" about which Mac OS are required to run it. iMac 2013 are officially supported for Catalina.
After upgrading it to Catalina, if you don't like the OS, you can always wipe out the internal disk and re-install Mac OS.
Either Internet Recovery, or USB installer method to re-install Mac OS.

I would suggest you to upgrade the iMac to High Sierra first. The upgrade will install several firmware updates necessary for later OS.

 

[theorist9]

The Target Display Mode on your iMac 2013 may not work at all with the Mac mini M1. (Mac OS needed is High Sierra, while your iMac might have already been upgraded to Catalina)
There is a solution call OpenCore Legacy Patcher to help your iMac installed with newer Mac OS than those that officially supported ones.
You can try it on an external SSD before deciding. The cost to try is less than 100$ for the external SSD and one evening of time.

TLDR: It won't work unless you use Luna Display, and Luna Display has compromises.

Details: You can't use Target Display Mode with an M1 Mac Mini, because the sending computer must be from 2019 or earlier and run Catalina ( https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204592 ), and the Mini doesn't qualify on either count (https://www.macworld.com/article/676359/can-m1-macs-run-older-versions-of-macos.html)

AirPlay won't work either, since that only works with 2019 or later iMacs.

His only option is to use Astropad's Luna Display over USB-C, and that's limited to 5k @ 45Hz (https://help.astropad.com/article/226-retina-c2m), introduces some lag, and can be buggy:

 

[theorist9]

If you choose another Intel machine you will be looking at the same problem within 5 years. Go for M1 machines instead.

This. Unless you can get an Intel Mac for half price or less I would not buy it. The only exception is if you can’t use a specific app that’s critical to what you do on Apple Silicon. Even then I would really try to find some other software that would work.

Nah. The main reason to go with AS would be performace, not support time. The big tradeoff is cost.

If he gets a 2019-2020 iMac, as you both agreed, he's looking at ~5 years (unless they discontinue support earlier b/c of the Intel->AS switch). With a base AS machine, like the Mini, it's maybe 7 years. Hardly much of a difference, esp. considering he'd need to pay >2x as much if he gets the Mini, if he wants display quality comparable to that from a 2019/2020 Retina 5k iMac (which means paying ~$1600 for a Studio Display—or maybe $800–$900 for a used Ultrafine).

 

[rpmurray]

If you choose another Intel machine you will be looking at the same problem within 5 years. Go for M1 machines instead.

M1 machines have no upgrade potential unless you hang stuff off their limited ports. I'd get the 27 inch intel iMacs, bigger display, upgradeable RAM, if you get the 2019 you can even swap out the SSD. And when they are no longer officially supported you can install OCLP to run the latest macOS. Win-win. They'll still be around when the M1s are landfill.

 

[James_C]

Unless you specifically require an Intel Mac, I would not recommend buying one, as in a few years time, Apple will not release new versions of Mac OS for it. Intel Macs tend to be noisy under load compared to Apple Silicon. As you are happy with the performance of your current iMacs I would hang on to the end of the year, to see what your options are. By then we could have a M2 Mac Mini or possibly we might see a 27” M2 iMac, although current indications are that Apple are not currently planning to release a larger iMac. In your situation I would probably eBay the two iMacs and buy a 16” Apple Silicon MacBook Pro and invest in an external display, that way you can take your computer and data with you.

 

[AL2TEACH]

I found a 2020 27" iMac which I will check tomorrow, for a fair price.

It's been awhile and the suspense . So what did you do?
I have a 2015 iMac 27' and can't dream of parting with it at the moment.

 

[theorist9]

Unless you specifically require an Intel Mac, I would not recommend buying one, as in a few years time, Apple will not release new versions of Mac OS for it.

Except we don't know that. Apple typically supports higher-end machines, like the 27" iMacs, for 8-10 years, and lower end ones for ~7. So a 2019 iMac's support will go away in ~5-7 years, and the base Mini's will go away in ~7 (not much difference there). The only wrinkle is if, b/c of the transition to AS, Apple withraws support for the Intel machines sooner. This is a legitimate concern, but we simply don't know the answer to it.

Having said that, the OP probably can't use a base Mini, because they probably don't want to be locked into 16 GB RAM (I'm assuming the M2 will also be limited to 16 GB). That means they need at least an M2 Pro (in the likely absence of a large M2 Pro iMac, an M2 Pro Mini, if released, would be a good choice). So then it's 5-7 years vs. 8-10.

Also, a 2019 iMac would give them a much better display than they'd get if went the AS route, unless they were willing to buy a 5k Studio Display or used 5k LG Ultrafine along with it, which significantly bumps up the cost.

As you are happy with the performance of your current iMacs I would hang on to the end of the year, to see what your options are. By then we could have a M2 Mac Mini or possibly we might see a 27” M2 iMac, although current indications are that Apple are not currently planning to release a larger iMac.

Agreed, if the OP can wait, and decides to go the AS route, definitely wait for the M2.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in this discussion is the difference in iMac monitors since the 2013 models you currently own. The more recent 27" iMac monitors have higher resolution, a wider color gamut and improved brightness and contrast as compared to the models you currently own. Since you run a photography business, this alone makes a more recent iMac (or a Mac Mini with Studio Display, etc.) something you should consider. Calibrate the monitor regularly and you should be doing wonders for the images you are working on and showing to clients.

 

[zalle]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in this discussion is the difference in iMac monitors since the 2013 models you currently own. The more recent 27" iMac monitors have higher resolution, a wider color gamut and improved brightness and contrast as compared to the models you currently own. Since you run a photography business, this alone makes a more recent iMac (or a Mac Mini with Studio Display, etc.) something you should consider. Calibrate the monitor regularly and you should be doing wonders for the images you are working on and showing to clients.

Thanks man!