2015 vs 2017 27" iMac

[musiclvr]

I've been wanting to upgrade from my 2011 iMac for awhile now. Was waiting for the announcement of the new iMacs. Now that they're out, I could probably get a good deal on a used 2015 version.

What do you think? Was the upgrade significant? Referring to the 27" 5K i7 SSD version.

 

[bodonnell202]

I've been wanting to upgrade from my 2011 iMac for awhile now. Was waiting for the announcement of the new iMacs. Now that they're out, I could probably get a good deal on a used 2015 version.

What do you think? Was the upgrade significant? Referring to the 27" 5K i7 SSD version.

It's a pretty good upgrade on the GPU, less significant on the CPU. I guess it depends how good of deal you get.

 

[december]

I'm in the same boat. It's really just the screen and form factor that I'm after. Post prices as you find them please. Apple has not updated their refurbished and clearance page yet, but the discounts are usually slim.

 

[fathergll]

I don't think you can make any type of solid decision until the real world reviews from users start coming out. You need to focus on thermal cooling differences from 2015 vs 2017 first and foremost. I'd wait at least a month before making any move.

 

[dborod]

I have a 2011 27" iMac. I think the 2015 retina screen will be an amazing improvement. I also think the 2015 SSD will blow the doors off of the 2011 drive, even if you have the SSD that shipped in that machine. If all you do is write email and surf the web there's likely to be less noticeable improvement.

 

[Taz Mangus]

I have a 2011 27" iMac. I think the 2015 retina screen will be an amazing improvement. I also think the 2015 SSD will blow the doors off of the 2011 drive, even if you have the SSD that shipped in that machine. If all you do is write email and surf the web there's likely to be less noticeable improvement.

I went from a 2011 27" iMac to a 2015 27" i5 iMac. Great machine. Fast, quiet and best of all stays really cool. I have the 1TB SSD which is very fast. I purchased my iMac as a refurbished unit off the Apple site, saved about $150. Plan on keeping the machine for a while. No regrets.

 

[dborod]

I went from a 2011 27" iMac to a 2015 27" i5 iMac. Great machine. Fast, quiet and best of all stays really cool. I have the 1TB SSD which is very fast. I purchased my iMac as a refurbished unit off the Apple site, saved about $150. Plan on keeping the machine for a while. No regrets.

I'm definitely going to be replacing my 2011 iMac with one of the new ones, but I haven't ordered one yet. I guess I'm waiting to see some benchmarks.

 

[JonOlafson]

Here are some Benchmarks:

iMac (21.5-inch, non-Retina/18,1) https://browser.primatelabs.com/v4/cpu/search?q=iMac18,1

iMac (21.5-inch, Retina 4K/18,2) https://browser.primatelabs.com/v4/cpu/search?q=iMac18,2

iMac (27-inch, Retina 5K/18,3) https://browser.primatelabs.com/v4/cpu/search?q=iMac18,3

 

[december]

Apple store refurb prices on the Fall 2015 27" models have not moved since the new iMacs were announced. A $350 price difference for 2+ year old tech on a used machine is slightly absurd.

 

[CWallace]

What do you think? Was the upgrade significant? Referring to the 27" 5K i7 SSD version.

Much better GPU and SSD performance, better CPU and memory performance and a bit better (in terms of brightness) display.

At the moment, I am happy with my maxed-out 2015 iMac 5K, but if I was in the market for new, I would buy the 2017.

 

[BeechFlyer]

Don't forget the new models have TB3 - probably more future-proof for connecting external devices.

 

[musiclvr]

Let's revisit this now that the new models have been out for a bit...thoughts?

 

[weedevil]

Is a used late 2015 imac with apple protection plan at usd1100 worth considering?

 

[mikehalloran]

Is a used late 2015 imac with apple protection plan at usd1100 worth considering?

Maybe. Without any other details, hard to know.

How many minutes left on AppleCare?

 

[weedevil]

Maybe. Without any other details, hard to know.

How many minutes left on AppleCare?

It is under APP for another 1 yr 3 months. 16gb ram but downside is that it has only 1tb hdd storage. will need to explore how best to deploy SSD without voiding warranty

 

[Fried Chicken]

It depends on your use case and budget.

You can get a 2015 27" for as little as $1k on ebay, less than half what a new 2017 would cost.

 

[mikehalloran]

It is under APP for another 1 yr 3 months. 16gb ram but downside is that it has only 1tb hdd storage. will need to explore how best to deploy SSD without voiding warranty

Easy.

a)The only way to maintain AppleCare is to start from external and, when AppleCare is up, install inside. It's more expensive this way but AppleCare remains intact. An SSD in a Thunderbolt 2 dock is pretty fast but not as fast as...

b) Screw AppleCare and throw an SSD inside now. There are two busses: A PCIe 3x4 2TB SSD is $600 + Labor (an hour) and is roughly 6x faster than a SATA III SSD — 2TB is $350 for parts plus that same hour labor (250G – 4TB available). You can install both, actually as long as it's a 27" iMac.

Yes, 6TB SSD internal storage is possible — $1,400 for the parts and about one hour labor. BTW, if I found a 2015 i7 for $1,100 or so, this is what I would do, AppleCare or not.