Who else is still using a 2017 iMac?

[AlexisV]

I've been using the iMac Pro for a week now. It really is faster than my old 2015 iMac for everything, even though it's basically using the same processor just with four extra cores. They're both using SSDs, so it's not like it's Fusion Drive v SSD. Sure, the old one had 16gig RAM and the new one has 64, but the old one never really struggled for memory.

The difference in general architecture seems to make more difference than the list of components.

The Vega56 is also excellent. I'm getting 75FPS in F1 2023 at 4k resolution in Bootcamp.

I'd be surprised if the vanilla 2020 iMac is any faster than the 2017 iMac Pro in general use personally, even though I know the benchmarks show the 2020 faster on occasion.

 

[macguru9999]

Even better still (and I do this), a divers bottle, but be I have to be really careful as mine are pressurised to 300 bar which is over 4000psi

You can buy an airgun attachment that clips onto the BCD hose (on the regulator). That keeps the pressure under control.

 

[dadders6]

I bought a 21" in 2020, but later noticed ("about this Mac") that it was 'built' in 2017! Does that mean it was sitting on the (Best Buy) shelf for 3 years?! I've had no problems with it, and I love having multiple connectors on the back, even an SD card slot. The lack of connections on the newest Macs is very annoying to me, so I'm going to keep this one going as long as I can. It has 'only' 256 gig SSD, so I off load videos, music and photos to various external drives. I use iMovie quite a bit, but mostly fun amateur stuff, nothing too demanding, processor wise. I have a Win laptop for an older version of Adobe Audition. That Advanced S.M.A.R.T. program you screen shot, where do I find that? - Thanks

 

[rin67630]

I bought a 21" in 2020, but later noticed ("about this Mac") that it was 'built' in 2017!

Was it sold with a wireless Keyboard / Mouse too?
3 years of shelf life may have deeply depleted the built in batteries. I have got that experience. The keyboard could not hold a charge for more than 2-3 days. It could not be repaired.

 

[Feek]

That Advanced S.M.A.R.T. program you screen shot, where do I find that?

It's an app called DriveDX.

 

[benzqn]

Running 2017 iMac with 32GB and apple SSD256GB and it's still slick! Managed to upgrade to Sonoma with open core Patcher and everything is working well. The screen is still the best in the show. On my other PC (HP 240Z) i run a 2010 27" cinema display, which is still the second best screen ever.

 

[SalisburySam]

Running 2017 iMac with 32GB and apple SSD256GB and it's still slick! Managed to upgrade to Sonoma with open core Patcher and everything is working well. The screen is still the best in the show. On my other PC (HP 240Z) i run a 2010 27" cinema display, which is still the second best screen ever.

For your workflow, what have you seen as Sonoma’s avantages for you over previous natively-supported OS like Ventura? I’m still on Monterey and considering the move to Ventura but I’d like to learn what Sonoma can deliver that’s useful on a 2017 iMac.

 

[benzqn]

For your workflow, what have you seen as Sonoma’s avantages for you over previous natively-supported OS like Ventura? I’m still on Monterey and considering the move to Ventura but I’d like to learn what Sonoma can deliver that’s useful on a 2017 iMac.

I upgraded mostly to ensure security updates to macOS. Ventura was just fine so while that is still officially supported there is probably no need to upgrade. I've had no issues however with Sonoma despite apple not officially supporting the 2017 hardware. I also have a M2 24GB macbook air which is fantastic, though I can't say its noticeably higher performance (except on startup) than the iMac 2017 - at least when it comes to day to day apps like Safari, Tidal, Teams, Zoom, MS office (sigh), slack, VLC. At this stage I have no plans to upgrade to apple silicon despite acknowledging the incredible performance it offers (on paper at least). I aim to keep hardware as long as possible and repurpose even at "end of life".

 

[el.rafar]

Everyone, a question for those who uses the 2017 iMacs... independent from processor, using Intel Power Gadget... have you guys seen the power on package going beyond 45 to 50W? I have tried really hard to push beyond that, with benchmarks or other software but it does not goes even near the rated 91W TDP... are we leaving performance on the table? Using the same software and other monitoring tools I can see that temps are under control, so no thermal throttle...

By contrast, using a 2018 Mac mini, with an 8th gen i5 the same software shows that the CPU goes all the way to its max TDP with ease, same also on a 2017 12" MacBook... even surpassing TDP in certain conditions.

 

[jagolden]

Wish I was 🙁. While my back was turned it got over balanced by my cat, a little pushed and it crashed down onto the desk and the external disc drive. Smashed the screen. Didn’t seen worth fixing. Went to M2 16” MBP with Apple external display.

 

[Andy5Kimac]

I still edit Photos & Video (shot from Canon R6ii & EOS R) on my 2017 i7 5k iMac. Shoot 4k 60 YouTube videos editing on it. It still works completely fine for my needs. The quick sync speeds up the process big time transcoding the R6ii footage to proxies to H.264 to edit smoothly so it still works perfectly fine. I will use it til it dies before upgrading to apple silicon 😂.

 

[basdeninard]

Wish I was 🙁. While my back was turned it got over balanced by my cat, a little pushed and it crashed down onto the desk and the external disc drive. Smashed the screen. Didn’t seen worth fixing. Went to M2 16” MBP with Apple external display.

Did you get rid of the cat as well?

😉

 

[basdeninard]

I was using my 2017 27" iMac (i5, 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 4GB GPU) quite happily up until about a fortnight ago. However, it struggled to run an external 4k monitor (Dell U2723QE), was overheating causing the fan to go crazy. The brutal weather here in Perth (Western Australia) was adding to the overheating with regular 40+ degrees C days. So, I've temporarily retired it.

I have the same iMac as you (but with a 1 TB third-party SSD and 16 GB RAM) and I've used it in a tropical climate for years without a problem. I only just recently got air conditioning installed. It never overheated once, and considering the room can easily reach 35 ℃ without air conditioning, it's quite surprising considering the maximum operating temperatures according to Apple.

I also have a 2019 MacBook Pro. Last year, I noticed black lines / residue on the corners of the laptop chasis each time I opened the screen lid. It only just occurred to me this year as to what it was. The rubber that covers the edge of the screen literally started melting off due to the heat. But, the iMac has continued to work fine since the day I bought it in 2017. It does now suffer from image retention, but I know that isn't caused by the heat, as many users seem to experience the same issue with the iMac after several years of ownership, regardless of the climate in which they are used.

As for your iMac overheating, as Feek mentioned, it might actually just be a case of dust build-up. When I got the stock 1 TB Fusion Drive replaced with a third-party 1 TB SSD, I also got the inside of the machine cleaned out as well, and the thermal compound on the CPU repasted. It dropped the idle temperatures by 5 ℃ to 10 ℃. I was quite surprised. Also, make sure you are not using your iMac near a window or another location where the sun might be hitting the iMac without you realising.

 

[jagolden]

Did you get rid of the cat as well?

😉

😄 Not a chance. I would do <anything> for our cats.

 

[Richy85]

I have an imac 27" 2017. I bought the base model when it went on sale, (i5, 8gb, 570 and fusion drive). A few months later I opened it to change the processor for an i7, 64gb and dual disk, a 500gb and a 1tb sata. Today I use it with OCLP and Sonoma without problems... for my work I use VMware fusion virtualizing windows on an external monitor

 

[Regulus67]

I have a base spec iMac Pro, and use it every day. From time to time, I have considered upgrading it. But with the Mac Pro 7.1 machines, I am far less tempted. I would love to have 4TB SSD storage in it, but not with macOS after Monterey.
I wasn't able to install Monterey on the last Mac Pro this summer (8TB SSD upgrade), only Sonoma 😐

I see a brand new iMac Pro (base config) for sale in Germany, with Big Sur 😍. If it is still for sale in two weeks, I might order it. Can't order it now, as I will abroad the next two weeks.

 

[pshufd]

Just bought one on Wednesday and I've been setting it up. It's replacing a 2015 iMac 27 which I'll put up on Craigslist. These old iMacs are fine for office work and they're priced really nicely for the 5k monitor. You just need to make sure that you have an SSD and it helps if you have 16-32 GB of RAM as the stock 8 isn't really enough for best performance. I might run Windows on it too.

 

[dadders6]

Was it sold with a wireless Keyboard / Mouse too?
3 years of shelf life may have deeply depleted the built in batteries. I have got that experience. The keyboard could not hold a charge for more than 2-3 days. It could not be repaired.

I've never used the wireless mouse/keyboard, I prefer wired, both going through a USB hub, so only one connector used in the back.

 

[pshufd]

I'm using the Apple keyboard and mouse that came with mine on the iMacs but I prefer a mechanical keyboard with lit keys over the Apple keyboards. I also prefer a large Logitech mouse as they are far more comfortable for me.

 

[Dc2006ster]

My 2017 5K is used everyday. I would like to upgrade but have run into one of the disadvantages of the all in one system. I love the 27" 5K display. My wife has a 24" m1 iMac which runs very well but I like having the larger display. If I could somehow use this display for a newer Mini or Studio I would but I hate to fork out for another display when this one is so good.

 

[SalisburySam]

My 2017 5K is used everyday. I would like to upgrade but have run into one of the disadvantages of the all in one system. I love the 27" 5K display. My wife has a 24" m1 iMac which runs very well but I like having the larger display. If I could somehow use this display for a newer Mini or Studio I would but I hate to fork out for another display when this one is so good.

Exactly!

 

[drrich2]

My 2017 5K is used everyday. I would like to upgrade but have run into one of the disadvantages of the all in one system. I love the 27" 5K display. My wife has a 24" m1 iMac which runs very well but I like having the larger display. If I could somehow use this display for a newer Mini or Studio I would but I hate to fork out for another display when this one is so good.

This highlights a curious shift at Apple that doesn't seem to get a lot of 'press.' Quite some years ago, in the consumer space (and a lot of business space) the iMac was 'king.' The Intel Mac Mini existed, but went a long time between updates, whereas the iMac series got updated fairly often. People wanting a more customizable high power system cheaper than a Mac Pro had long wished for a 'headless Mac' (e.g.: a mini-tower), but what Apple put out was the iMac Pro.

And then...I don't know if the shift to Apple silicone chips had anything to do with it, but there seems to've been a big paradigm shift at Apple. 27" iMacs with 5K retina screens, a good overall value option (if we ignore having to toss the screen with the computer, once target display mode went away), was eliminated. The 24" iMac remains, but that smaller screen is off-putting to many. The iMac Pro was discontinued and the Studio came out (which sounds like a 'headless Mac,' but you can't upgrade RAM or add internal storage, so it's functionally an all-in-one - monitor). The Mac Mini gets updated decently often, the Studio goes too far between updates, the Mac Pro is obscenely expensive for most and the iMac screen is too small (for many).

So is a Mac Mini + Apple Studio Display Apple's new de facto mid.-range iMac? I think most Mac users won't cough up the money for the ASD, so it's more like Mac Mini + 27" (or 32") 3rd party 4K display.

Which leaves people like you wanting to upgrade old 27" 5K iMacs but balking at the sticker shock and poor 27" 5K monitor system value options.

Has Apple ever publicly commented on why they did this? I get that in business the default answers are 'money' and/or 'market share,' but what is the reasoning?

 

[pshufd]

This highlights a curious shift at Apple that doesn't seem to get a lot of 'press.' Quite some years ago, in the consumer space (and a lot of business space) the iMac was 'king.' The Intel Mac Mini existed, but went a long time between updates, whereas the iMac series got updated fairly often. People wanting a more customizable high power system cheaper than a Mac Pro had long wished for a 'headless Mac' (e.g.: a mini-tower), but what Apple put out was the iMac Pro.

And then...I don't know if the shift to Apple silicone chips had anything to do with it, but there seems to've been a big paradigm shift at Apple. 27" iMacs with 5K retina screens, a good overall value option (if we ignore having to toss the screen with the computer, once target display mode went away), was eliminated. The 24" iMac remains, but that smaller screen is off-putting to many. The iMac Pro was discontinued and the Studio came out (which sounds like a 'headless Mac,' but you can't upgrade RAM or add internal storage, so it's functionally an all-in-one - monitor). The Mac Mini gets updated decently often, the Studio does too far between updates, the Mac Pro is obscenely expensive for most and the iMac screen is too small (for many).

So is a Mac Mini + Apple Studio Display Apple's new de facto mid.-range iMac? I think most Mac users won't cough up the money for the ASD, so it's more like Mac Mini + 27" (or 32") 3rd party 4K display.

Which leaves people like you wanting up upgrade old 27" 5K iMacs but balking at the sticker shock and poor 27" 5K monitor system value options.

Has Apple ever publicly commented on why they did this? I get that in business the default answers are 'money' and/or 'market share,' but what is the reasoning?

I have two solutions to this problem: 1) Cooperative computing, and, 2) Airplay to Mac or Screen Sharing.

Cooperative computing is where you tie two Macs together (you can add Windows and Linux too) on your desktop using Synergy so that you can control one, two, three, a hundred PCs on your desk, with one keyboard and mouse set. You get cut and paste across systems too. My current setup is M1 Mac Studio with 3x4k 27 inch monitors, a 2015 iMac 27, and a custom Windows desktop running a 2k 25 inch monitor.

Things that I do a lot where performance doesn't matter is done on the 2015 iMac. Stuff that requires a lot of CPU/GPU runs on the Studio. Stuff that has to run on Windows, currently one program, runs on the Windows desktop. I have a 2018 mini and am considering running Windows on it instead of on the big desktop as the big desktop is way underutilized.

The other approach is Airplay to Mac if the iMac is new enough or if someone is up to running OCLP or using Screen Sharing for older Macs where Airplay to Mac isn't supported and the user doesn't want to deal with OCLP. This runs over your LAN so there's the likelihood of lag. One way to solve this is to run a Thunderbolt cable between your Apple Silicon Mac and the 5k iMac. For 2014 and 2015 iMacs, you'd need a TB3 to TB2 adapter and a TB2 cable for about $80. For the iMac Pro, and 2017-2020 iMacs, you just need a TB3 cable. I'm planning to test out an Apple Silicon to iMac Pro over TB3 cable for Airplay to Mac performance. Theoretically there shouldn't be any lag as the bandwidth should be 40 gbps but I want to try it myself. I wouldn't mind testing it with the 2015 iMac but my plan is to sell it now that I have the iMac Pro.

The downside to using an iMac as a monitor is power consumption. A standard Dell monitor probably uses 35 watts as just a monitor while an iMac will typically use 150 watts for this function. If your power costs are cheap (I'm looking at you Hydro-Quebec), then sure. If you're paying $0.50 per KWH, then you might not want this solution.

 

[Hat Tric]

2017 5k iMac user here. The base model with 256GB SSD still handles all my (not very demanding) tasks perfectly. Still waiting on the switch to Apple Silicon because Ventura will get another year of fixes and the display is soooo good (and there is OCLP).

So last week I decided to get a Dell 4k 27 inch (Dell S2722QC) as a second display and to see for myself if it is an adequate alternative to the Apple Studio Display.

And though it’s obvious that the iMac is in a different class, I was quite surprised that the Dell screen passes as „good enough“ near retina when running with 2560x1440 resolution. The sepeakers are bad and there is no camera. But considering the Dell monitor only cost 260 Euro and an Apple Studio Display would set me back at least 1500 Euros, I’m perfectly fine with that.

I’m now prepared for any Mac Mini that will come out in the future.

 

[videojanitor]

Another 2017 iMac user here, though in the minority as it's the 21.5-inch model. 3.4GHz i5, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD. It smoothly runs both MacOS Ventura and Windows 10 in Parallels -- switching between them with one keystroke is a seamless.

Works great -- love it, especially the screen. The screen *is* the thing for me. I've looked at stand-alone 4K monitors as I think about the future and none of them cut the mustard -- they don't compare to the quality of the iMac screen. I'll probably go for a 24-inch iMac in the next year or so, but for right now, this suits me fine.