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2021 24-inch M1 iMac or 2020 27-inch Intel iMac?

einsteinbqat

einsteinbqat

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 3, 2012
502
432
Canada

2021 24-inch M1 iMac or 2020 27-inch Intel iMac?​


Hello!

My 2011 27-inch Intel iMac died. Ten years old. I am thinking of its replacement, and I wonder whether I should go for the M1 iMac or the Intel iMac.

Also, which one would take me furthest in time?

2021 24-inch M1 iMac
  • Apple M1 chip with 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, 8-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine
  • 16GB unified memory
  • 1TB SSD storage
2020 27-inch Intel iMac
  • 3.6GHz 10-core 10th-generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz
  • 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory (to be upgraded later)
  • Radeon Pro 5700 XT with 16GB of GDDR6 memory
  • 1TB SSD storage
Thanks ??
 
No question about it. Go for the 24" M1 iMac as that's the future. Intel had a good run just as the PPC Macs had back in 2006 when Intel took over.

The 2020 27" iMac is a good machine but it's in Apple's rear view mirror. ;)
 
Technologically, definitely the M1.

Only drawback is the smaller screen, especially when you are as old as I am :)

When the 27" iMac came out (I bought one of the first C2D in 2009 I think), it was stupid expensive, but I bought it mainly for the big screen, and when compared with the price of a 1440p 27" LCD screen back then, it suddenly was not a bad deal at all, and I so wanted a big screen!
 
That's the thing! I wish Apple had the 27-inch M1 out already! It would have made the decision much easier.

You guys think that the M1 will last a long time? As in, being future proof?
 
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cardfan said:
I’d probably make do with a mini or cheap mba (if any deals still pop up). And wait for the 27” iMac to get updated
Click to expand...
This is what I would do - get an Air - if my current iMac (late 2014 5k 27"...the first 5k model) died.
 
Though choice depending on what you do…. Considering you still had an 10 year old machine I guess the M1 will be fine unless the screen size is too small for you.

Also the 5700 xt is a decent card.
It is not like any reviews compared it but should be close to the 32 core M1Max in gpu performance.

Bonus you still can use bootcamp too if you need it.
 
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anthonymoody said:
In my case I'd use it as-is with the plan to get the 27" (or hopefully larger) M-based iMac when released. Whether I traded/sold the Air at that time would be TBD.
Click to expand...

Pretty much. And if one of those 700-800 mba you won’t take much of a hit. The new iMacs will be here before you know it.

There’s no way I’d get an intel one. And the 24” is too small. Ideally you want the m1 pro or max chip. Possibly mini led 5k screen?
 
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I think the 24” M1 iMac is a thing of beauty. I have a green one, specc’ed 16 GB RAM / 512 GB SSD, and I haven’t regretted my purchase for a minute. It’s quiet, fast, cool, slim, light, boots quickly and has all the features you might want in a desktop machine. I’m sure these are going to be around for a long time to come, and it will happily cope with most workloads.

As a rough guess I’d say the Intel macs are good for three more years of OS support, and will then be put out to pasture. It’s not a good way to go, buying a machine that could go out of support so quickly.

If you want to wait for the bigger screen iMac which is probably coming in the Spring of 2022, you should be prepared for an even bigger screen — I’m guessing 30” or 32” — and a price hike compared to current 27” models.
 
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Bodhitree said:
I think the 24” M1 iMac is a thing of beauty. I have a green one, specc’ed 16 GB RAM / 512 GB SSD, and I haven’t regretted my purchase for a minute. It’s quiet, fast, cool, slim, light, boots quickly and has all the features you might want in a desktop machine. I’m sure these are going to be around for a long time to come, and it will happily cope with most workloads.

As a rough guess I’d say the Intel macs are good for three more years of OS support, and will then be put out to pasture. It’s not a good way to go, buying a machine that could go out of support so quickly.

If you want to wait for the bigger screen iMac which is probably coming in the Spring of 2022, you should be prepared for an even bigger screen — I’m guessing 30” or 32” — and a price hike compared to current 27” models.
Click to expand...

Hmm ? Haven’t thought about the end of Intel support, but I think It’ll be waiting for the updated 27-inch (or bigger) iMac.
 
My 2017 iMac was giving me problems this summer, so I had the same dilemma. I went to the Apple Store and looked at the 24" and decided that I could live with the smaller screen without much difficulty (and I am a photographer). In the end, my husband was able to replace the power supply to my computer, so I am still using it, but I would not buy the Intel iMac, even with a larger screen, especially if I need one right now.

At this point I am hoping to move to a M1 Pro 16" MBP and get an external monitor for when I need the larger screen.
 
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einsteinbqat said:

2021 24-inch M1 iMac or 2020 27-inch Intel iMac?​


Hello!

My 2011 27-inch Intel iMac died. Ten years old. I am thinking of its replacement, and I wonder whether I should go for the M1 iMac or the Intel iMac.

Also, which one would take me furthest in time?

2021 24-inch M1 iMac
Apple M1 chip with 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, 8-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine
[*]16GB unified memory
[*]1TB SSD storage
2020 27-inch Intel iMac
3.6GHz 10-core 10th-generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz
[*]8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory (to be upgraded later)
[*]Radeon Pro 5700 XT with 16GB of GDDR6 memory
[*]1TB SSD storage
Thanks ??
Click to expand...
I replaced a 2015 27" Imac, with a 2021 24" 8/8/16/1TB
The new iMac is so superior wise to a older intel iMac its maddening they didn't have until this year. SSD access is 3000 Mb/s R/W. Anything that loads in memory is way faster. The 8 core GPU is quite adequate to run something like Diablo 3 at good FPS speeds. I like the quality of the HDR capable 23.5" display, I find it very easy on the eyes to use. Being that we don't expect the larger iMac for a few months (March April) and that will cost more. I suggest you get one from the Apple store and you have until Jan 8th to return it if you don't like it.

The Blue or Silver mode 8/8/16/1 TB is a in store stock item you can look fort local stock if you select the top configuration and change memory to 16 GB and SSD to 1 TB. You see when you play with that configurations options that local stock highlights with those options.
 
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mollyc said:
My 2017 iMac was giving me problems this summer, so I had the same dilemma. I went to the Apple Store and looked at the 24" and decided that I could live with the smaller screen without much difficulty (and I am a photographer). In the end, my husband was able to replace the power supply to my computer, so I am still using it, but I would not buy the Intel iMac, even with a larger screen, especially if I need one right now.

At this point I am hoping to move to a M1 Pro 16" MBP and get an external monitor for when I need the larger screen.
Click to expand...
That is certainly the other great option to go with. Using a more expensive M1 Pro/Max 16" MBP with a 5K display and use it with a Magic keyboard and Magic 2 mouse or something else. I actually use both the 24" iMac with a 16" M1 Max MBP and only thing don't have is a external display to clamshell with it.
 
Realityck said:
That is certainly the other great option to go with. Using a more expensive M1 Pro/Max 16" MBP with a 5K display and use it with a Magic keyboard and Magic 2 mouse or something else. I actually use both the 24" iMac with a 16" M1 Max MBP and only thing don't have is a external display to clamshell with it.
Click to expand...
i’m going to try the luna display dongle with my imac. people here are using that setup with varying degrees of success and since i don’t do much video work i think it will be okay for me.
 
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Realityck said:
That is certainly the other great option to go with. Using a more expensive M1 Pro/Max 16" MBP with a 5K display and use it with a Magic keyboard and Magic 2 mouse or something else. I actually use both the 24" iMac with a 16" M1 Max MBP and only thing don't have is a external display to clamshell with it.
Click to expand...
The problem, as always, is that there are no good 5K monitor options. The LG ultra fine is adequate but pricy. I don’t think there are any others actually available anymore.
 
einsteinbqat said:
Hmm ? Haven’t thought about the end of Intel support, but I think It’ll be waiting for the updated 27-inch (or bigger) iMac.
Click to expand...
Any Intel Mac currently being sold will have more than 3 years support. Current Apple policy is they are declared vintage 5 years after they are last sold so you could be looking at up to six years.

Having said that, I would probably skip both iMacs right now. I would probably get the new 16" MBP and an external monitor and keyboard.
 
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