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2019 iMac or 2017iMac

B

brianmonty

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 26, 2008
11
3
I am in the market for a new Mac to replace my 2010 27" iMac.

I actually ordered a mac mini last week, but have decided to go with the new iMac, primarily because of the display and graphics card.

Since I want this Mac to last 7-10 years, I am going to go with SSD. I thought about internal 512GB SSD with an external 1TB for my photo files (photos currently sit at 300+GB). While I know Apple SSD is expensive, the price difference between upgrading to 512GB internal SSD + 1TB external SSD and going with 1TB internal is about $250, so I am going with 1TB internal.

Now the question in the title, 2017 or 2019 version. I have the ability to purchase a 2017 brand new iMac with 16GB RAM + 1TB internal SSD for $2,100. Or I can configure the same spec (except the older processor) on a 2019 for $2450 (this price takes into account that I would purchase 8GB RAM from Apple and add more RAM from a 3rd party).

I do light video editing, a lot of pictures but not much editing of pictures, and mostly web browsing, etc.
 
Last edited:
dazlicous said:
What’s the specs thou of each machine and your needs
Click to expand...
2019 is the base 27” 3.0 8th gen i5, 16gb ram (8 gb apple +8 gb 3rd party , 1tb ssd, $2,450

2017 3.4 quad core i5, 16 gb apple ram, 1 tb ssd, $2,100


I am guessing both of these machines have more power then I need for web browsing, Microsoft office, light video editing, a lot of photo storage, light photo edit.

My main focus is finding a machine that will last 7+ years.
[doublepost=1553448542][/doublepost]
brianmonty said:
2019 is the base 27” 3.0 8th gen i5, 16gb ram (8 gb apple +8 gb 3rd party , 1tb ssd, $2,450

2017 3.4 quad core i5, 16 gb apple ram, 1 tb ssd, $2,100


I am guessing both of these machines have more power then I need for web browsing, Microsoft office, light video editing, a lot of photo storage, light photo edit.

My main focus is finding a machine that will last 7+ years.
Click to expand...
 
2019 all the way for me. 6 cores vs 4 - 50% CPU performance gain. The base clock speed may look better on the 2017 but I believe the 2019 will also Turbo above the 2017 3.4 very consistently. 1 year factory warranty. 2 years newer parts.
 
dazlicous said:
Don’t forget too the 2019 will be supported longer for software updates
Click to expand...

Considering the similarity of these machines, support for 2017's and 2019's is likely to be dropped at the same time. Also, Apple is still selling a "2017" iMac - the non-retina 21.5".

propower said:
2019 all the way for me. 6 cores vs 4 - 50% CPU performance gain. The base clock speed may look better on the 2017 but I believe the 2019 will also Turbo above the 2017 3.4 very consistently. 1 year factory warranty. 2 years newer parts.
Click to expand...

You have to ask if $350 for a 6c6t i5-8500 over a 4c4t i5-7500 is worth it...
 
brianmonty said:
2019 is the base 27” 3.0 8th gen i5, 16gb ram (8 gb apple +8 gb 3rd party , 1tb ssd, $2,450

2017 3.4 quad core i5, 16 gb apple ram, 1 tb ssd, $2,100


I am guessing both of these machines have more power then I need for web browsing, Microsoft office, light video editing, a lot of photo storage, light photo edit.

My main focus is finding a machine that will last 7+ years.
[doublepost=1553448542][/doublepost]
Click to expand...


I may be wrong and maybe you are aware, but I believe you'll need to buy 16GB of third party rather than 8 because the Apple ram comes as two banks of 4 and you have to replace those with 2 banks of 8. Can anyone confirm?

Also,instead of paying the extra for an Apple 1TB internal you might do better with two external 1TB's - One for the photos, one for the backups.

On the upside my 2013 is still going strong, SSD so the only moving part is the fan which was noisy a few months ago but has quietened down at least for the moment
 
Go with the 2019.

Not sure why there is such a price difference. Didn't they keep prices the same?

Sounds like you can do without the extra 8GB of RAM for now as well. Only upgrade RAM is you actually need it. Try 8 GB for a while and see if it's enough.
 
Tumbleweed666 said:
I may be wrong and maybe you are aware, but I believe you'll need to buy 16GB of third party rather than 8 because the Apple ram comes as two banks of 4 and you have to replace those with 2 banks of 8. Can anyone confirm?

Also,instead of paying the extra for an Apple 1TB internal you might do better with two external 1TB's - One for the photos, one for the backups.

On the upside my 2013 is still going strong, SSD so the only moving part is the fan which was noisy a few months ago but has quietened down at least for the moment
Click to expand...
You can add any RAM combination as you wish (there are total 4 slots). You can even put one stick of 8GB. 2x4GB will give a dual channel benefit, but based on OP usage I doubt it would make any real life difference. So he can just add 8GB since there are two free slots.
 
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7-10 years? Don’t even look at the 2017. The $350 difference is only about $4/mo over 7 years and even lower for 10 years. If you want support that long you need newer. I’m going to try to run my 2019 iMac for 6-8 years.
 
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