2013 iMac refurb or Maxed out Retina?

[Col Vandal]

I'm seriously starting to weigh one of the refurb 2013 iMacs instead of a Retina. Looks like I can get one with an i7 and maxed out GPU and a 3tb fusion for $2,289 instead of a maxed retina for $2750 or so (educator discount).

I do a lot of photo stuff but not much gaming or video.

 

[infantrytrophy]

Two choices are important: SSD and the "5K" screen of the new Retina iMacs.

Whatever you do, get the SSD option on either a refurbished 2013 iMac or the new retina iMac.

If you agree and you decide that the SSD is the right choice, then compare the price difference of the 2013 refurb iMac w/ SSD (if you can find one) vs the new retina iMac w/ SSD. Then decide if the retina screen is worth the price difference. For me, the retina screen was worth the price - my new riMac w/ SSD is awesome.

 

[yjchua95]

I'm seriously starting to weigh one of the refurb 2013 iMacs instead of a Retina. Looks like I can get one with an i7 and maxed out GPU and a 3tb fusion for $2,289 instead of a maxed retina for $2750 or so (educator discount).

I do a lot of photo stuff but not much gaming or video.

I'd stay away from a Fusion Drive purely because for reliability reasons.

A pure SSD setup still gives you the best speed.

If I were you, I'd go for a retina iMac with i7, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD and 4GB M295X. RAM is upgradeable, and you can always buy external storage.