Should I upgrade to 2015 iMac 5k from 2014 iMac 5k?

[badlydrawnboy]

I have the 2014 iMac 5k. It's almost exactly one year old. In general I'm very happy with it, but one of the main regrets I have is that I got the 512 GB SSD instead of the 1 TB.

I'm considering selling my current machine and buying the 2015 model with 1 TB SSD. I'd probably max the RAM to 64 GB because I do a fair amount of Photoshop work (photography). I have 32 GB now, though, and that's probably enough for what I do so I'm not sure I'll see much of a difference.

The biggest appeals are the bigger internal hard drive (which I can't easily upgrade myself), faster flash storage, higher RAM capacity, and better graphics card—though I don't do any gaming.

Just wondering if it's worth the upgrade. Did anyone else go from 2014 to 2015 iMac? If so, why, and are you happy you did?

 

[maflynn]

I think you're better off keeping your existing rig. You'll most likely end up losing money. The difference between the two models is so small, it's not worth it imo

 

[redheeler]

I agree, not worth upgrading from a previous-generation Retina iMac. If you need more storage, consider getting an external HDD or SSD.

 

[jerwin]

I have 32 GB now, though, and that's probably enough for what I do so I'm not sure I'll see much of a difference.

You've had it for one year. Have you ever run into a situation where the system actually used 32 GB of RAM (not just an insane amount of cache) where not having a gigabyte of flash was a serious limitation? Sure, It uses a newer CPU, but it's not guarenteed to be faster across the board.

If you purchased it with a m290x, and wish that you had gotten a m295x, because it turned out that the extra shaders and vram could have sped up things you do everyday, go for it. if the extra i/o speed would make it possible to edit hd video using less compressed codecs, go ahead and upgrade.

But a speculative upgrade? Probably not worth it, unless you really want the better screen.

 

[WilliamG]

You'll see no difference in flash performance at all unless you're doing huge sequential transfers. 32GB RAM is plenty, and the other differences are tiny. Just get an external 1GB Samsung 850 Pro/Thunderbolt/USB 3.0 enclosure etc if you need more room.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Ah man, forgot to mention the increased color gamut as one of the main reasons. As a photographer I'm definitely interested in that. Maybe I should go down to the Apple Store and see if I can notice a difference. The reviews I've read do say it's noticeable.

I have a very fast external LaCie 1 TB SSD that holds my photos (500 GB) and music (250 GB). I was thinking if I got the new iMac with 1 TB internal drive I could move the music back onto it and free up some space on the external drive for more photos, without buying another drive.

Right now my setup is absolutely silent, because of the SSD in the iMac and the external SSD. I really like that, especially because I do some audio/podcast recording. Trying to keep it that way and avoid having an external HDD or an enclosure with a fan.

Ha ha. Look at my trying to justify an upgrade.

 

[jerwin]

Maybe I should go down to the Apple Store and see if I can notice a difference. The reviews I've read do say it's noticeable.

Definitely. Take some of your photos along, too

 

[Apple fanboy]

Ah man, forgot to mention the increased color gamut as one of the main reasons. As a photographer I'm definitely interested in that. Maybe I should go down to the Apple Store and see if I can notice a difference. The reviews I've read do say it's noticeable.

I have a very fast external LaCie 1 TB SSD that holds my photos (500 GB) and music (250 GB). I was thinking if I got the new iMac with 1 TB internal drive I could move the music back onto it and free up some space on the external drive for more photos, without buying another drive.

Right now my setup is absolutely silent, because of the SSD in the iMac and the external SSD. I really like that, especially because I do some audio/podcast recording. Trying to keep it that way and avoid having an external HDD or an enclosure with a fan.

Ha ha. Look at my trying to justify an upgrade.

If your serious about photography, get a dedicated monitor. I run a NEC Spectraview 241 from my iMac. All the Apple screens are like mirrors. The difference between the two is massive.

 

[Sirmausalot]

I think you're better off keeping your existing rig. You'll most likely end up losing money. The difference between the two models is so small, it's not worth it imo

i concur. unless you can donate the old imac to charity (like a school) then hang on to it.

 

[yugioh5d]

I don't think upgrading is worth it at all. There aren't much different anyway. Everyone seems to go with Flash storage 512 or 1TB but mysteriously I ended up hopped for a 3TB Fusion....if you need more storage, like everyone posted above, it is better off use external storage SSD, or Thunderbolt.