My iMac is getting old

Eric

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When it comes to using Adobe PS and LR this thing is crawling, sometimes I have to let it set for 5 minutes just to open these apps and that's with everything else closed. I did upgrade the memory a little while back but it hasn't helped as much as I had hoped.

What would be a good upgrade? Not looking to break the bank on a super high end machine but one that's more capable of handling the apps I use with more efficiency, another iMac maybe? I do like the screen size of the 27 inch.

Greenshot 2022-04-07 15.25.40.png
 

Roller

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I know what you mean. I have an even older iMac at work that's quite slow. However, it doesn't take that long to open PS, so you may have something else going on. Having said that, your choices now if you want an iMac are a 24" M iMac from Apple or a 27" Intel iMac, which you can probably get from a third party. The other option is a Mac mini — Apple may yet release a higher end one. Then there's the Mac Studio, which is definitely in the bank-breaking range, especially since you have to pay for a separate display. Personally, I wouldn't buy an Intel Mac, since Apple's optimizations will probably be tailored to M-series processors going forward.

To me, the best thing about the 5K iMacs is their display. I'm using an HP 4K monitor until my Studio Display arrives, and the difference is obvious.
 

DT

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Personally, I wouldn't buy an Intel Mac, since Apple's optimizations will probably be tailored to M-series processors going forward.

Yeah, I'm only keeping mine to avoid dealing with changing how I handle some professional requirements (that require Windows VMs/services), but once I'm past that, my Intel days over done, my next personal machine will definitely be ASi.

If you've got any non-ASi-native apps, Rosetta works amazingly well, and the catalog of native apps probably covers 95% of most folk's needs.
 

Macky-Mac

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When it comes to using Adobe PS and LR this thing is crawling, sometimes I have to let it set for 5 minutes just to open these apps and that's with everything else closed. I did upgrade the memory a little while back but it hasn't helped as much as I had hoped.

What would be a good upgrade? Not looking to break the bank on a super high end machine but one that's more capable of handling the apps I use with more efficiency, another iMac maybe? I do like the screen size of the 27 inch.

View attachment 13068

Looks you're operating off an old fashioned internal HD spinner.......you should consider getting an SSD. It'll extend the life of your iMac.

I have a late 2013 iMac that I'm now booting from an external SSD. It's amazing how much faster it is
 
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mollyc

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i plan to upgrade to a 16” mbp when that time comes. but i still have the large screen to figure out. hoping that a luna display lets me use my 2017 imac when needed.
 

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Since the 27" Intel iMac seems to be dead in the water now, no M1 version of it apparently going to be appearing on the horizon any time soon, it seems reasonable now over the next few months to be looking at:

An M1 MacBook Pro either on its own or with an attached larger external display and the machine set up on a stand either remaining open or put in clamshell mode, plus peripherals

An M1 Mac Mini when it is next updated, and since it is headless it will need an external display if you don't already have one, plus peripherals

A Mac Studio (either Max or Ultra, take your pick) plus external display and peripherals (mouse, keyboard and if you prefer a trackpad, one of those)



At the moment I am using a 15" 2018 MBP with a 24" LG 4k Thunderbolt 3 display and the appropriate peripherals (BT Apple Magic Mouse II and Magic Keyboard). My last iMac was a 2012 one and I had been looking forward to when Apple would been releasing the first 21.5" one with a retina screen. When that finally happened, I read the specs, was disappointed and started considering my options. A 27" iMac was not among those options. Too heavy for me to handle physically, too large a display screen.

I started considering the advantages of an MBP and the flexibility which would come along with that, so I experimented a bit at home with putting the 13" MBP that I had at that time on a stand and using external peripherals with it. Decided that this approach definitely had possibilities and I particularly liked the idea that I could walk into my local Apple store and buy a 15" 2015 MBP right off the shelf that was specced pretty much exactly as I wanted. That worked out so well for me that in late 2018 I did the same thing, simply bought a 15" 2018 MBP at the store, brought it home, set it up on the same stand with the same peripherals and was more than happy. The three years in between gave me ample time to begin transitioning with cables and such for my external drives so that when I had the 2018 machine on the desk I was able to easily transfer data by swapping cables on the external drives as needed.

During those years, though, I wasn't doing much with photography so that the 15" MBP screen was perfectly fine for me, but once I got back into more frequent shooting again and subsequently editing many images, it quickly became apparent to me that I needed to get an external display, which I did -- the one mentioned above -- and that has worked out very well for me. Yes, I know that for a lot of folks a 24" display is considered to be too small, but I had found a long time ago back in the days when I had a 30" ACD that it was too large for me and that I kept having to swing my head from side to side to view everything on the screen, which is unacceptable. The large screen real estate was great for pixel-peeping while working on images but not so great when simply trying to read emails or forum posts. I had also earlier found that for me, 24" is the "sweet spot" for both editing images and reading text on forums and in email. Aside from that, since I live alone and I'm the one who has to wrestle any new item out of the box and on to the computer workstation, then set it up, it's best to have something which I can actually physically manage at the time of purchase plus at any time that the equipment needs to be moved around for whatever reason. No problem with an MBP or Mac Mini, of course, but external displays can be surprisingly heavy.

in the meantime, you might want to update from Big Sur to Monterey; that might resolve some of your issues with your current machine.

Everyone's needs, priorities and experiences are different, of course.....
 
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Apple fanboy

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When it comes to using Adobe PS and LR this thing is crawling, sometimes I have to let it set for 5 minutes just to open these apps and that's with everything else closed. I did upgrade the memory a little while back but it hasn't helped as much as I had hoped.

What would be a good upgrade? Not looking to break the bank on a super high end machine but one that's more capable of handling the apps I use with more efficiency, another iMac maybe? I do like the screen size of the 27 inch.

View attachment 13068
Not another glossy screen. How about a Mac Studio? Then you can get a separate screen. Makes the upgrade less painful. But an SSD external might be worth a try as suggested above. If it doesn't work out you can always use the drive elsewhere.
 

DT

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I'm not an AIO person, or someone who needs professional level color accuracy (though I do like a reasonably accurate display), so if I were buying a desktop from Apple today, I'd do:

Apple Studio Max $1999
32GB RAM
512GB Storage
10-Core CPU
24-Core GPU
16-Core Neural Engine

With these upgrades:

32-Core GPU +$200
1TB Storage +$200

I think those two options are solid BFTB.

Then I'd run two displays, I already have two, but if I did need them, I'd go with Dell UltraSharp U2723QE (27", 4K, USB-C Hub, 3 year business select service)

With the typical discount, you're looking at around $1250 for both.

So ~$3650, unless you have additional discounts, plus tax.
 

Herdfan

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Same machine as you but still running Mojave. And same boat.

I really want an iMac Pro, but that is more about color than performance. There is a good selection of August 2020 refurbs on the Apple site.
 

mollyc

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A nice BenQ would suit you! SW271C
yes, ultimately I'd get an actual external monitor to pair with a MBP, but first I have to *get* a MBP, and then save up for an external also....one thing at a time. 🙂
 

Eric

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Okay, thinking about taking in our old MBP pros (two laptops that have issues and have been replaced) and the iMac to the Apple Store to ask about trading them in, on maybe the Studio. Does anyone have any experience with trading in directly at the store?
 

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I've traded in iPhones to get new iPhones in the Apple retail store, and I vaguely recall that one time I traded in an iPad to get a new iPad.... If I remember correctly, one can only trade in one item to help pay for a new one at the time of purchasing the new device. Also, if one has an Apple Card, I think there's something about a policy that one can't trade in an Apple device on a new item AND use the Apple Card to get the 0% 12-month financing all in the same transaction. Obviously there are potential ways around these restrictions, such as taking in one or more devices to trade in without making a purchase right then, and receiving Apple Gift card(s) in return, and then using the Apple Gift card(s) as part of the payment at a different time when buying whatever the desired new device is. I'm not sure if that would work or if they have restrictions on that as well, such as someone can only use a certain number of Apple Gift cards, only up to a certain amount of accumulated value, or something else. ?? Definitely worth checking out!
 

Eric

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I'm not an AIO person, or someone who needs professional level color accuracy (though I do like a reasonably accurate display), so if I were buying a desktop from Apple today, I'd do:

Apple Studio Max $1999
32GB RAM
512GB Storage
10-Core CPU
24-Core GPU
16-Core Neural Engine

With these upgrades:

32-Core GPU +$200
1TB Storage +$200

I think those two options are solid BFTB.

Then I'd run two displays, I already have two, but if I did need them, I'd go with Dell UltraSharp U2723QE (27", 4K, USB-C Hub, 3 year business select service)

With the typical discount, you're looking at around $1250 for both.

So ~$3650, unless you have additional discounts, plus tax.
Okay, I have to budget for this but I'm going with this model with 1TB storage and that will be the only upgrade for now. I already have a 27 inch monitor and will use my existing mouse and KB (assuming they'll work with it). I'm also going to bring in our 2 older MBP laptops, including my old 17" and the existing iMac to see what I can get in return for them, probably not much but I don't want to go with the hassle of selling them and they're just taking up space. I called and they said to just bring it all in and no appointment needed, already formatted and ready to go.
 

MEJHarrison

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Okay, thinking about taking in our old MBP pros (two laptops that have issues and have been replaced) and the iMac to the Apple Store to ask about trading them in, on maybe the Studio. Does anyone have any experience with trading in directly at the store?

I'm not sure if it's different online vs a store, but you can start a new order on the website, check the trade-in option, enter the serial numbers, then see what they're offering. I think my current iMac was $350. It's a 2017, but roughly similar specs after that.
 

Herdfan

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Okay, I have to budget for this but I'm going with this model with 1TB storage and that will be the only upgrade for now. I already have a 27 inch monitor and will use my existing mouse and KB (assuming they'll work with it). I'm also going to bring in our 2 older MBP laptops, including my old 17" and the existing iMac to see what I can get in return for them, probably not much but I don't want to go with the hassle of selling them and they're just taking up space. I called and they said to just bring it all in and no appointment needed, already formatted and ready to go.

Let us know how you do with that one. I have one (2011) as well sitting around taking up space.
 

Eric

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I'm not sure if it's different online vs a store, but you can start a new order on the website, check the trade-in option, enter the serial numbers, then see what they're offering. I think my current iMac was $350. It's a 2017, but roughly similar specs after that.
Right, it looks like I can get close to $250 so we'll see what they say.

Let us know how you do with that one. I have one (2011) as well sitting around taking up space.
From the looks of it I'm guessing just around $100 to $150 each, really just hoping to offset the costs of the Studio Max. I know the M1 screams on my newest MBP, the same apps that take minutes to minutes to open on the iMac take only seconds and it's sold me on having it in a new computer.
 

Clix Pix

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Today I went to the Apple store to buy a new Black Magic Mouse and a new Black Magic Keyboard for my current 2018 MBP. The mouse has been acting wonky since the day I dropped it on the hardwood floor and the Space Grey keyboard hasn't ever been quite the same since. the day I accidentally spilled some chocolate protein drink on one side of it. I got all excited when hearing that Apple was releasing new black devices to replace the space grey ones that they'd pulled from the stores..... No problem with getting a black mouse but there were no new black keyboards on the shelf so I explained to the salesperson what I wanted and she looked up to see if they had any in the back room as the online store had said that they had them in stock at that store. She the asked me what computer or device was I planning to use the new keyboard with, and I told her a 2018 15" MBP and she gave me the news that the new keyboards only will work with the Apple Silicon M1 machines.... Ehhhh!!

I have a 13" M1 MBP but don't use an external keyboard with it, no need to do so. I really needed the new keyboard for my primary MBP, the 2018 one, which is what I use for my "daily driver," so to speak, and my image processing.... Well, out of luck there, so bought the black Magic Mouse and came home, got on Amazon and ordered a BT Space Grey Satechi keyboard which looks quite similar to my current Apple one. Before clicking the "Buy" button I checked the description carefully to be sure that this is in fact going to be compatible with my 2018 MBP. The price is significantly less than the new Apple keyboard so that saves some $$$ there, which is always a nice surprise.

Anyway, now having been alerted to the issue of potential incompatibility of the new Apple BT keyboard with the older devices, just out of curiosity I'm going to check out whether or not the keyboard I'm using right now on the 2018 will also work with my M1 machine; I haven't had a need to use an external keyboard with that machine so the idea of possible incompatibility of older keyboards never crossed my mind.

As for the new BT Magic Mouse, I have been charging it since getting home from the store so haven't actually yet tried to connect it to my 2018 MBP. I would assume that if there were a compatibility issue that the saleswoman at the store would have mentioned that just as she had warned me about the keyboard. Well, seems to me that mice are less specialized and more universal than keyboards so hopefully there won't be an issue but if there is I'll just pair it with my M1 MBP.
 

mr_roboto

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Fyi, the new keyboards apparently work fine with Intel Macs so long as you don't mind the Touch ID function not working. Everything else should be good.
 

Clix Pix

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Fyi, the new keyboards apparently work fine with Intel Macs so long as you don't mind the Touch ID function not working. Everything else should be good.
Ah, that makes sense to me! I thought it was rather odd that Apple would develop a keyboard which wouldn't work with their Intel machines, as people are still going to have those Intel machines for a while and there are situations where one needs to have an external keyboard. Thanks! Actually I wouldn't be using Touch ID anyway since I am using the external keyboard as an external one with a 2018 MBP rather than the MBP's onboard keyboard. I do have Touch ID on the M1 but half the time it doesn't work anyway and I wind up typing in the passcode anyhow.
 
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