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which iMac?

S

sweetlites

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 30, 2015
2
0
I would like some opinions on buying a new iMac.
This will be my first mac so I do have some concerns.

I've been debating between these 2:

option 1 Late 2013 iMac 21.5: http://www.adorama.com/ACME086LLAA.html
Intel Core i5 Quad-Core 2.7GHz, 8GB SDRAM, 1TB Fusion Drive

option 2 Late 2015 iMac 21.5: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1190352-REG/apple_z0rr_mk4422_bh_21_5_imac_late_2015.html
Intel Core i5 Quad-Core 2.8GHz, 8GB SDRAM, 1TB Fusion Drive

Price-wise option 2 is slightly more expensive but I read that the 2013 fusion drives have 128gb of ssd while the new ones have 24gb :/ and that could make a difference in speed. I do plan on running bootcamp as I do need to run some windows only applications. I figure I'm a typical user who does email, surfing, streaming video, light photo/video editing, sometimes all at the same time which was why I thought I would go for a quad-core. I would like to have at least 1tb hard drive space as I currently have a 256gb hd that I end up having to move files to an external. At this point, I don't think I'm super pleased with the specifications at the price point especially considering the added cost of applecare and windows but feel this is a semi-future proofed set up I could work with. Or if anybody has any other alternative recommendations, please feel free to give me suggestions!
 
sweetlites said:
I would like some opinions on buying a new iMac.
This will be my first mac so I do have some concerns.

I've been debating between these 2:

option 1 Late 2013 iMac 21.5: http://www.adorama.com/ACME086LLAA.html
Intel Core i5 Quad-Core 2.7GHz, 8GB SDRAM, 1TB Fusion Drive

option 2 Late 2015 iMac 21.5: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1190352-REG/apple_z0rr_mk4422_bh_21_5_imac_late_2015.html
Intel Core i5 Quad-Core 2.8GHz, 8GB SDRAM, 1TB Fusion Drive

Price-wise option 2 is slightly more expensive but I read that the 2013 fusion drives have 128gb of ssd while the new ones have 24gb :/ and that could make a difference in speed. I do plan on running bootcamp as I do need to run some windows only applications. I figure I'm a typical user who does email, surfing, streaming video, light photo/video editing, sometimes all at the same time which was why I thought I would go for a quad-core. I would like to have at least 1tb hard drive space as I currently have a 256gb hd that I end up having to move files to an external. At this point, I don't think I'm super pleased with the specifications at the price point especially considering the added cost of applecare and windows but feel this is a semi-future proofed set up I could work with. Or if anybody has any other alternative recommendations, please feel free to give me suggestions!
Click to expand...

Go with the older model if it puts your mind at ease, but I have found the critiques of the new, smaller SSD component to be overblown. Almost without exception, they come benchmark theorist who have never used the 2015 Fusion drive. Many do not even understand how the Fusion system works, so be careful who you take advice from. The person on the other end may not know what they are talking about.

For 2015, Apple increased the possible speed of internal SSDs. While the drive SSD portion might be smaller, the bus is faster.

I bought #2. Three weeks into use, I think I am satisfied with the purchase. A few photos at a time loaded, I notice no lag ACR or in Lightroom when using brushes. Short home videos with minor color adjustments render out of Adobe Premiere in about 1.5 to 2 minutes for every minute of footage. This is not stellar performance, but it's not bad, either. Heat is the real killer of computer hardware. Management is good. The highest I have seen the temp go is 70° while rendering video footage. The fan kicks in and temperature drops to 60-something. These are the most challenging tasks I put the machine through. For everything else (Internet, MP4 video, Pages documents) it just flies. Keep in mind that the 1TB Fusion drive is deigned for targeted use. If you use a bunch of different applications, are all over the place and have a hundred browser tabs open for some reason, your experience might be different. I bought the machine pretty much only as an affordable workstation for design, photography, and minor video production. It works well for that.
 
Personally I would not recommend buying one of the old screen iMacs.

Go for a Retina model. The base 21.5" model is fine for your needs, even with the smaller 24GB portion of the Fusion drive.

But the screen is a massive improvement and the thing you'll notice over everything else.
 
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