27" 5k late 2014 Need your advice.

[matek07]

Hello to all the great members and not so great forum members you deserve some loving too!!!.

As the title states, I am thinking about purchasing a late model 27" IMAC with the following specs.

5K retina, 27" Late 2014
4ghz, I 7
32gb 1600 mhz ddr3
and radeon r9 m295x 4095

I think I can get it for around 1200 +/-

Can you guys tell me if this is a good deal, is this somewhat of a future proof Imac? I only use it for email, web browsing and very light picture editing and storage. I would like for it to at least last 5 years, I know its already a few years old, but what are your thoughts and suggestions on this?

 

[redheeler]

I'd recommend a Late 2015 with a Core i5 / lower graphics card / 8 or 16 GB RAM instead for around the same price (you can always upgrade the RAM later on, and 16 GB is likely to be enough for basic usage for years to come). Just make sure you get the 256 GB SSD or 2 TB Fusion drive at a minimum.

The Late 2014 models are the most prone to image retention, and the i7 / M295X model also tends to run hotter which increases the amount of fan noise and may impact the longevity of the hardware.

 

[matek07]

copy that, thank you very much! I will start looking for an I5, I thought that the higher spec i7 would out perform the i5 and last longer, but I think for what I will be using it for the i5 will be plenty of power. what model year would you say to get if I wanted to have the i7 in it?

 

[294307]

1200 what? We don't all live in the USA, matek07.

I should caution you that the 2015 iMacs are also prone to image retention. I had a 3.2 GHz i5, 27-inch iMac (Late 2015) and it started to develop image retention within six months of purchase. Apple replaced it with a 2017 iMac after the display replacement didn't fix the problem (we have laws in the UK that require retailers to replace faulty goods if the first repair fails to fix the problem). I've had this 2017 iMac for a year and no image retention has developed. It sometimes feels like a lottery, unfortunately.

I should stress image retention is a common problem with IPS panels – it's not just unique to the iMac.

 

[matek07]

1200 what? We don't all live in the USA, matek07.

I should caution you that the 2015 iMacs are also prone to image retention. I had a 3.2 GHz i5, 27-inch iMac (Late 2015) and it started to develop image retention within six months of purchase. Apple replaced it with a 2017 iMac after the display replacement didn't fix the problem (we have laws in the UK that require retailers to replace faulty goods if the first repair fails to fix the problem). I've had this 2017 iMac for a year and no image retention has developed. It sometimes feels like a lottery, unfortunately.

I should stress image retention is a common problem with IPS panels – it's not just unique to the iMac.

So there’s no way for me to know about it having the issues unless I buy it and use it. But if they are older units then those issues should be sorted out by now.
And I’m speaking of USD.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"Can you guys tell me if this is a good deal, is this somewhat of a future proof Imac? I only use it for email, web browsing and very light picture editing and storage."

Really, if you want "at least 5 years", you need something newer.

You didn't tell us where in the world you are, or what your budget limit is.
If you can buy from the Apple refurbished online store there, I'd get the least expensive 27" iMac they offer.

8gb of RAM should be "all you need", and if the internal hard drive isn't fast enough, you could buy a cheap external USB3 SSD and use that as a boot drive.

If you can spend a little more, get the 256gb internal SSD.
You won't regret it.
If you need more storage (for movies, music, pics), just plug in an external drive.

 

[matek07]

OP wrote:
"Can you guys tell me if this is a good deal, is this somewhat of a future proof Imac? I only use it for email, web browsing and very light picture editing and storage."

Really, if you want "at least 5 years", you need something newer.

You didn't tell us where in the world you are, or what your budget limit is.
If you can buy from the Apple refurbished online store there, I'd get the least expensive 27" iMac they offer.

8gb of RAM should be "all you need", and if the internal hard drive isn't fast enough, you could buy a cheap external USB3 SSD and use that as a boot drive.

If you can spend a little more, get the 256gb internal SSD.
You won't regret it.
If you need more storage (for movies, music, pics), just plug in an external drive.

I’m located in Arizona,USA. Yes I would like for the iMac to last a few solid years. I think my budget is around $1500.

 

[mcpix]

I also think the late 2015 27" iMac is your best bet. Apple must have had a boatload of these lying around as I was able to pick up 2 brand new ones on eBay at greatly reduced prices ($1,495 and $1,295). If you don't get one with an SSD, make sure you at least get the 2TB fusion drive (that's what I have). It comes with the 128GB SSD built in and for my daily use, it functions just like an SSD.

As far as image retention, I always think that's more a function of the "panel lottery". As someone else mentioned you can always get image retention with any IPS monitor. I use one of my 2015 iMacs all day every day and I've never had any problems.

As far as ports, I also think the 2015 is hard to beat. It has dual Thunderbolt 2 ports, 4 USB 3.0 ports, and an SD card reader. I have some legacy firewire equipment, so one of the Thunderbolt ports is connected to a firewire adapter and the other to a fast external hard drive.

Because many of the 2015 27" iMacs sold at reduced prices, you should be able to find a good deal on a used one. Just this week, one sold on eBay for under $1,000.