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Need advice on when to buy replace iMac

I

icemantx

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 16, 2009
514
548
I have an early 2009 24" 2.93ghz iMac that has served me well and is still working fine. Over the years I have upgraded the Ram to 8GB and installed a DIY 2TB Fusion with a 256 Crucial SSD.

That said it is 5 years old and technology has advanced. The thing I am unsure about is if I buy say a 27" iMac with a 3TB Fusion, is it worth the extra $1500 after selling mine?

Also being that I already have a Fusion, would the new 2013 iMac fusion really be noticeably faster in apps like iMovie or iPhoto? I use aperture occasionally but mainly iPhoto.

Seems to me the biggest upgrade would be the screen as opposed to a second or two here and there on tasks such as opening or closing apps. iPhoto can be a little sluggish when working with large photos which does get a little annoying. iMovie is a little sluggish too, but serviceable.

What do you all see as the biggest reason to upgrade? I have actually thought about waiting for the next Mac mini to see what that brings. After 5 good years with the iMac I am looking for a good reason to upgrade and could use your advice.

Jeff
 
Apple fanboy

Apple fanboy

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Feb 21, 2012
55,255
53,001
Behind the Lens, UK
Best reasons to upgrade

1. Your old computer doesn't work and repair costs are extremely high.
2. Your old computer no longer does what you need it to or does it so slowly it is painful to use.
 
R

robgendreau

macrumors 68040
Jul 13, 2008
3,465
329
The new iMacs use, I think, PCIe connections for SSDs which would be substantially faster than what you've got; but again, whether that matters in actual use for you is hard to say. If you're just sorting photos, meh. If you are making extensive use of filters, probably a new one would be speedier. Converting video almost always benefits from faster processors.

And yeah, a new one would have a bigger IPS screen. But you could actually add a 2560x1440 IPS screen and get much the same thing for less money.

Look at some real-world reviews and see what might help you. Frankly, the old machine you've got is pretty nice. You might want to take it to the point where the difference is much more pronounced, since machines will only get faster.
 
jvette

jvette

macrumors 6502
Dec 29, 2007
264
0
Depending on what you're going to do it may be worth the upgrade. I just went from a 2007 Imac 2.8 extreme with 4gb of ram and a 500gb 7200 hard drive to a 2013 i7, 32mb ram, 4gb video and a 512gb ssd drive. Granted the boot up time is about half of the older system and working in Aperture is noticeably faster everything else runs about the same. If you web surf, word process, email ect you won't see any difference. The old one was working fine but I just wanted a new one. I also do a little video editing and you really see the difference in that.
 
B

Bear

macrumors G3
Jul 23, 2002
8,088
5
Sol III - Terra
  • Old computer needs repairing.
  • Old computer no longer does what it needs to.
  • The new computer has something you really want or need. (Larger screen?)
  • You want stuff to run faster even tho' the old computer is doing what you ask of it.
 
V

verybadgnome

macrumors newbie
Feb 2, 2008
17
0
I have a 2008, 20", 2.4Ghz that sometimes runs slow. I could get a new 21.5" and move this one to the bedroom with a wall mount. Just wondering at this point if it is worth it to wait until the next update later this year.
 
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