Is now a good time to buy iMac? Or wait until next refresh.

[glennoconnell]

So I'm looking to upgrade to a new top-tier iMac in the next month or so (minus the optional extra memory which I will buy myself)

But before I do, do you think it would be worth waiting the 6+ months for the next likely iMac update?

Have a MacBook Pro which is my workhorse at the moment, and it's fine, I could make do for the next 6 months if the upgrade would be significant enough.

But looking around I can't see anything that would suggest the next upgrade (to the top tier iMac at least) would be significant enough me waiting.

It's likely there will be some sort form of performance upgrade for that model, fully expecting that, but do you think it will be a DRASTIC upgrade that it would be have been worth me waiting for?

It's Apple so it's obviously hard to predict, but any opinions would be appreciated.

 

[Cougarcat]

So I'm looking to upgrade to a new top-tier iMac in the next month or so (minus the optional extra memory which I will buy myself)

But before I do, do you think it would be worth waiting the 6+ months for the next likely iMac update?

Have a MacBook Pro which is my workhorse at the moment, and it's fine, I could make do for the next 6 months if the upgrade would be significant enough.

But looking around I can't see anything that would suggest the next upgrade (to the top tier iMac at least) would be significant enough me waiting.

It's likely there will be some sort form of performance upgrade for that model, fully expecting that, but do you think it will be a DRASTIC upgrade that it would be have been worth me waiting for?

It's Apple so it's obviously hard to predict, but any opinions would be appreciated.

No, the next Intel update isn't that exciting. The only reason to wait would be if you want the latest ports. For some reason Apple didn't put USB-C in the last update. I expect the next version will get Thunderbolt 3 as well.

 

[ggibson913]

So I'm looking to upgrade to a new top-tier iMac in the next month or so (minus the optional extra memory which I will buy myself)

But before I do, do you think it would be worth waiting the 6+ months for the next likely iMac update?

Have a MacBook Pro which is my workhorse at the moment, and it's fine, I could make do for the next 6 months if the upgrade would be significant enough.

But looking around I can't see anything that would suggest the next upgrade (to the top tier iMac at least) would be significant enough me waiting.

It's likely there will be some sort form of performance upgrade for that model, fully expecting that, but do you think it will be a DRASTIC upgrade that it would be have been worth me waiting for?

It's Apple so it's obviously hard to predict, but any opinions would be appreciated.

I have the latest top tier iMac with the 2 TB fusion drive. I expect that it will last for many years to come, it is a powerful machine and a terrific display. Right now, you can pick one up in the refurb store and save some cash for Apple Care or whatever. I also added my own RAM, purchased from OWC which was a little more expensive but matches the RAM already there in specs. The new iMac may get USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 but if neither of that concerns you go for it.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

So I'm looking to upgrade to a new top-tier iMac in the next month or so (minus the optional extra memory which I will buy myself)

But before I do, do you think it would be worth waiting the 6+ months for the next likely iMac update?

Have a MacBook Pro which is my workhorse at the moment, and it's fine, I could make do for the next 6 months if the upgrade would be significant enough.

But looking around I can't see anything that would suggest the next upgrade (to the top tier iMac at least) would be significant enough me waiting.

It's likely there will be some sort form of performance upgrade for that model, fully expecting that, but do you think it will be a DRASTIC upgrade that it would be have been worth me waiting for?

It's Apple so it's obviously hard to predict, but any opinions would be appreciated.

AMD have some new GPU's coming out around June July that may well boost the iMacs quite a lot, other than that it won't make any difference Kabylake is just a rebadged skylake with a slight iGPU upgrade so not worth waiting for, if you are a 4K video editor or a big gamer of modern intensive games it'll be worth it otherwise the 6+ months you'll have a better computer for are more worth buying it now.

 

[QuantumLo0p]

So I'm looking to upgrade to a new top-tier iMac in the next month or so (minus the optional extra memory which I will buy myself) But before I do, do you think it would be worth waiting the 6+ months for the next likely iMac update? Have a MacBook Pro which is my workhorse at the moment, and it's fine, I could make do for the next 6 months if the upgrade would be significant enough. But looking around I can't see anything that would suggest the next upgrade (to the top tier iMac at least) would be significant enough me waiting. It's likely there will be some sort form of performance upgrade for that model, fully expecting that, but do you think it will be a DRASTIC upgrade that it would be have been worth me waiting for? It's Apple so it's obviously hard to predict, but any opinions would be appreciated.

Perhaps not what you want to hear (nor Apple, lol) but if your current hardware is "fine", and no drastic upgrades are expected from the pending refresh, then why not wait and see what the refresh brings? I know many people who have sat through a refresh because their hardware was fine and they did not want to buy new just to have new and keeping close tabs on the resale value wasn't as much a concern as a real world upgrade.

 

[Tomorrow]

If you need the computer now, buy it now.

Six months is too long of a wait for the possibility (not certainty) of new hardware that may or may not be significantly better or less expensive.

 

[glennoconnell]

AMD have some new GPU's coming out around June July that may well boost the iMacs quite a lot, other than that it won't make any difference Kabylake is just a rebadged skylake with a slight iGPU upgrade so not worth waiting for, if you are a 4K video editor or a big gamer of modern intensive games it'll be worth it otherwise the 6+ months you'll have a better computer for are more worth buying it now.

Yeah I currently edit most of my videos in 1080p right now, but if my current mac is anything to go by, I'll probably be using whatever machine I get as my main machine for the next for 5+ years. So while I won't need the 4k editing right now, in a few years I'm certain I will be. Gaming as well, seen some gameplay videos on YouTube and most games seem pretty decent. Obviously wouldn't be running 5k 60fps games on it, but that extra graphics boost would be worth the wait for me.

With the increasingly powerful GPU's Apple is putting in, I've heard people saying that because of the iMacs average cooling system, the machine throttles and they won't reach their full potential. So I'd be waiting 6 months and paying for a top tier chip and the system will just overheat and throttle anyway. I'm no expert on these things so I don't know for sure if that's true, but hopefully that would be something Apple might address in the next 6 months (but I doubt it if it means changing the physical design of the machine too much).

But it seems increasingly likely I'm going to wait. It's going to be a long 6 months. Praying my old MacBook Pro makes it and that Apple don't screw me over! haha.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Yeah I currently edit most of my videos in 1080p right now, but if my current mac is anything to go by, I'll probably be using whatever machine I get as my main machine for the next for 5+ years. So while I won't need the 4k editing right now, in a few years I'm certain I will be. Gaming as well, seen some gameplay videos on YouTube and most games seem pretty decent. Obviously wouldn't be running 5k 60fps games on it, but that extra graphics boost would be worth the wait for me.

With the increasingly powerful GPU's Apple is putting in, I've heard people saying that because of the iMacs average cooling system, the machine throttles and they won't reach their full potential. So I'd be waiting 6 months and paying for a top tier chip and the system will just overheat and throttle anyway. I'm no expert on these things so I don't know for sure if that's true, but hopefully that would be something Apple might address in the next 6 months (but I doubt it if it means changing the physical design of the machine too much).

But it seems increasingly likely I'm going to wait. It's going to be a long 6 months. Praying my old MacBook Pro makes it and that Apple don't screw me over! haha.

This year both NVIDIA and AMD are going to a 14nm process this will lower power use and heat generation a lot, as much as half maybe especially on the mobile units the iMac uses so waiting may well be your best bet. The current generation seems much better on heat and throttling than the last as well, take a look on you tube comparing 2014 295x to 2015 395x it's much better.

 

[maflynn]

I think if you need one now, get it, where about mid-cycle, i.e., half way from the release of the current gen and new gen iMacs.

I think the 5k represents a great buy right now, but if you need thunderbolt 3 or a more powerful GPU, then you may want to wait.