Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What iMac should I buy (Less than 500$)

T

TheMasterOfTech

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 21, 2021
38
6
So I am in need of a new Mac for obvious reasons seeing as I have a 2012 MacBook Pro that is really slow and hot. I do not have a very big budget (less that 500CAD) and I need a iMac that can run basic games/garageband/iMovie at a ok performance. it doesn't need to be 100% up to date, but should be at least at 10.15 because of app support.
Which iMac do you recommend I buy? (thanks in advance)
 
Let's start with what NOT to buy.
- Not a 2013 or older (unless you are willing to use OpenCore unofficial MacOS upgrades). After all if you need 10.15 today you should get something 11.x capable just in case your requirements change.
- Not a 2014 5K: they ran hot. Not as bad as a 2011 27", but still not a first choice either.
- Not a 2015 with M380. That GPU was underpowered for a 27" display with retina scaling and may limit even basic gaming.
- Not a dual-core 2014-2015. Too slow for your stated use.

If are buying from a reputable mac reseller probably the only thing you can afford is a late 2015 21.5" quad-core, preferably with 16GB ram. Bonus points for an SSD, but if not just budget for an external USB SSD to use as your boot drive. Maybe a 2017 dual-core 21.5", if your garage band use is also just basic.

If you are shopping local listings or trust ebay you might be able to find a 2017-2019 4K or a 2015 5K.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheMasterOfTech
TheMasterOfTech said:
So I am in need of a new Mac for obvious reasons seeing as I have a 2012 MacBook Pro that is really slow and hot. I do not have a very big budget (less that 500CAD) and I need a iMac that can run basic games/garageband/iMovie at a ok performance. it doesn't need to be 100% up to date, but should be at least at 10.15 because of app support.
Which iMac do you recommend I buy? (thanks in advance)
Click to expand...
Shop around online and see what fits your budget.

People can tell you to avoid A, B, C, etc but if only X, Y & Z are available for 500CAD then that's that.

Why not buy a PC? If you have more time than money then that's one avenue.
 
There have been some sales of the M1 Mac Mini already, its worth keeping an eye out to see if you can get one cheaper on Amazon.
 
I don't know what deals in Canada are like but here is a current deal for $500 US in Burlington VT that I think is interesting though you'd have to add an SSD ($50). It's been listed for a week so it would probably clear for a lower price.

Screen Shot 2022-02-22 at 8.14.06 AM.png









This is a system I bought in January and asking was $500 US. It had a 500 GB SSD. It's actually an impressive system, especially when you consider the great monitor, built-in speakers, camera and microphone. I saw one of these for sale for $350 in Boston a month ago - exceptionally motivated seller who was moving to Europe and put it up for sale two days before leaving with a massive blizzard that weekend.


Overview Displays Storage Memory Support Service.jpg
 
I would save a bit more for the M1 Mini and a cheap monitor. You won‘t regret it. If you need Windows perhaps get yourself a Windows machine. At this point I wouldn’t purchase an Intel based Mac, you are buying borrowed time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MBAir2010
OP (on m1 Mini):
"I would do it if it had windows support..."

Then... why not consider an Apple-refurbished 2018 Intel Mini...?
 
  • Like
Reactions: MBAir2010
ggibson913 said:
I would save a bit more for the M1 Mini and a cheap monitor. You won‘t regret it. If you need Windows perhaps get yourself a Windows machine. At this point I wouldn’t purchase an Intel based Mac, you are buying borrowed time.
Click to expand...
I needed a Windows thingee in 2019 for work and love my Dell XPS.
there are so many great PC out there new for under $500.
and
one can still use their macs!
 
pshufd said:
I don't know what deals in Canada are like but here is a current deal for $500 US in Burlington VT that I think is interesting though you'd have to add an SSD ($50). It's been listed for a week so it would probably clear for a lower price.

View attachment 1963074








This is a system I bought in January and asking was $500 US. It had a 500 GB SSD. It's actually an impressive system, especially when you consider the great monitor, built-in speakers, camera and microphone. I saw one of these for sale for $350 in Boston a month ago - exceptionally motivated seller who was moving to Europe and put it up for sale two days before leaving with a massive blizzard that weekend.


View attachment 1963076
Click to expand...
I would happily buy one of those it's just that I can't find any here in BC but I hope that I can soon because my MacBook is in its last days
 
Fishrrman said:
OP (on m1 Mini):
"I would do it if it had windows support..."

Then... why not consider an Apple-refurbished 2018 Intel Mini...?
Click to expand...
They have a iGPU which are normally much worse than the dGPU (Famously excluding the 2011 MBP 15 and 17 inch)
 
pshufd said:
What do you see for availability in BC? Do they have Craigslist or something comparable there?
Click to expand...
Yeah we have Craigslist and FB Marketplace and most stuff is the same from the US except that you can't find any macs here but you can there
 
The best ones I've found are Late 2012/Mid 2013 21.5/27 inch iMacs with the 1GB graphics card, quad core i5/7, and 8GB RAM and they are all $400-500. if I bought one of them, do you think it would be good enough for what I listed I needed it for?
 
TheMasterOfTech said:
The best ones I've found are Late 2012/Mid 2013 21.5/27 inch iMacs with the 1GB graphics card, quad core i5/7, and 8GB RAM and they are all $400-500. if I bought one of them, do you think it would be good enough for what I listed I needed it for?
Click to expand...

Depends. Which 10.15+ applications do you need, and if those applications require 11.0 next year will you be able to continue using the older version?

Another complication is Garage Band. The newest version of Garage Band now requires 11.0 and newer, and Apple does not allow a clean installs of old MacOS versions to download an older compatible version. I can't remember if Migration Assistant transfers 'preinstalled' Apple Softare. If it does, then life is good. But if it doesn't you could find your iMac without Garage Band.

As for the graphics card, 1GB is fine for 2D gaming and anything 2015 and older. Factorio, StardewValley, Kerbel Space Program, etc. On the other hand if your 'basic gaming' includes WoW, Fortnite, or similar a faster than average modern iGPU such as the Iris Plus 640 with 1.5GB shared memory would actually work better.



In the end, you may have to either change your requirements or change your budget.
 
You have to validate your programs with the hardware. I have a 2010 iMac 27 which I enjoy using but there's a lot of stuff that doesn't run on High Sierra so I run the other stuff on a newer iMac. I think that the iMacs from 2012 on are serviceable if the CPU and GPU meet your needs. I prefer the 27 inch models for better cooling and the ability to easily add RAM.

In general, you shouldn't just buy and guess - you should verify that what you want to run can run on the hardware.

You could also go the OCLP route but a lot of people don't want to try that.
 
I have found a few of the 2015 4k iMacs (not the terrible non retinas with the dual core i5) with decent specs, like ssd and faster ram than my current Mac. but would the intel graphics be good enough to play games on? I know that the hd 4000 (which is what I have on my MacBook) sucks, but would the upgrade to the iris pro 6200 be worth it? and what would the equivalent dGPU card be? I know that otherwise it is powerful enough to do GarageBand and all tahat stuff
 
TheMasterOfTech said:
I have found a few of the 2015 4k iMacs (not the terrible non retinas with the dual core i5) with decent specs, like ssd and faster ram than my current Mac. but would the intel graphics be good enough to play games on? I know that the hd 4000 (which is what I have on my MacBook) sucks, but would the upgrade to the iris pro 6200 be worth it? and what would the equivalent dGPU card be? I know that otherwise it is powerful enough to do GarageBand and all tahat stuff
Click to expand...

I think that Iris Pro is about 5K Geekbench 5 OpenCL which is comparable to the 2014, 2015 MacBook Pros without dGPU. I think that you'd be better off with a 2014 iMac 27 as the dGPUs on those are a huge step up.
 
TheMasterOfTech said:
but would the intel graphics be good enough to play games on?
Click to expand...
The Iris Pro 6200 was the fastest integrated GPU you could get in 2015. It's much better than the HD 4000. Still, you had better keep expectations reasonable. :) It really depends on which games you want to run and at what settings. You can forget about running any game at the full 4096×2304 resolution, that's for sure.

One thing to keep in mind with the 2015 iMac 4K: The 1TB Fusion Drive configuration is a joke (mine has it) because the SSD is only 24GB, resulting in things being slowed down by needing to access the slow 2.5" 5400rpm hard drive sooner than later. So, either go for one that has a "proper" large SSD or prepare to shell out for an external Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 SSD to use as a boot drive (I use a Samsung T5).
 
pshufd said:
I think that Iris Pro is about 5K Geekbench 5 OpenCL which is comparable to the 2014, 2015 MacBook Pros without dGPU.
Click to expand...
FWIW those dGPU-less 15" MacBook Pros use an Iris Pro 5200 (Haswell-H); the Iris Pro 6200 (Broadwell-H) is faster. Still, I've just run Geekbench 5 OpenCL and got 5097.
 
Last edited:
The Iris Pro 6200 wasn't just the fastest iGPU of 2015, it was one of the fastest iGPUs Intel ever made! It is arguably equivalent to the Iris Plus 650/655 in 2017-2019 13" laptops and wouldn't be surpassed until 2020 with the Intel G7.

However it is still just an iGPU. At best it is equivalent to an Nvidea GT 755M (per notebookcheck).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back