Advice needed on new hardware for casual use

[Laton]

Sadly my Mac got a malfunction today with the graphic card. Since it is a 2011 modell and my DVD ROM was already malfuntioning, changing the graphic card is probably not really an option. It is my main data backup.

But I‘m really unsure what I should get as new hardware.

Currently I only read news on the desktop when my kids are using our iPad. I download the pictures and movies from my iPhone for backup. Maybe I will watch movies when Apple TV+ is available.
I didn‘t use the Mac for gaming in a while. I got a PC for this currently using our TV as monitor.

Disc space will probably going to be a problem so I would like to get 2 TB.

I don‘t have a lot of space on my desk, so I‘m looking for something compact.

But since money is running a little bit short I would like to spend only around 1500 €.

Well, right now I don‘t know what might be the best solution.

Do you have any advice? Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[Laton]

I forgot to add that my current Mac is 27“ but I think 21“ might be just as fine.

I don‘t have any separate monitor currently.

I was thinking about the new small 21“ Mac but I can only get up to 1 TB disc space.
A external drive for the additional disc space might be an option but can I include it in my time machine backup?

Will my old time machine from 2011 still be supported with the current hardware?

 

[Laton]

In a perfect world I would have ordered a 21“ iMac with 2 TB internal hard drive. About 1800€ would be have been okay.

So now I‘m struggling with the almost best solution.

We have a NAS at home but I don’t like using it because it’s not online all the time.

I‘m tempted to go with the 27“ iMac but this would be at least 2300€.

But do I overestimate my disc usage? I managed to take 2GB of photos and short movies on a short trip. So having about 120 GB disc space left seems to be a problem in the near future. I could free up some space by moving old files on the NAS, probably 80 GB additionally. But anything else will take time which I don’t have currently.

The other thing is that I’m not sure if I did consider all other possible options.
MacMini with external monitor maybe? Or MacBook Air?

Apple seems to announce some new hardware in the coming weeks. Is there something I should wait for?
I could wait two, maybe four weeks, but then I probably need something new.

 

[robbieduncan]

Why is the NAS not online all the time?

 

[Laton]

We don’t use it all the time and the sound of the fans is pretty annoying.

 

[robbieduncan]

My solution would be to move it somewhere that you don't notice the noise and run it 24/7. Use it to allow you to have smaller disks on your desktop. Make sure it's backed up! Make the most out of your current devices to get the most bang for your buck on the new machine

 

[Laton]

You are right that we should probably use the NAS more. But the technical solution is not easy. We don’t have a separate room where it can run 24h. The living room is completely open. And the rest of the rooms are bedrooms.

 

[robbieduncan]

You are right that we should probably use the NAS more. But the technical solution is not easy. We don’t have a separate room where it can run 24h. The living room is completely open. And the rest of the rooms are bedrooms.

Have you got an attic? A basement? Could you replace the fans wit quieter Noctua fans?

 

[Laton]

No basement. The attic is open and part of the living room. There’s only a small part closed but we don’t have any network cables there.
I also thought of replacing the fans, but I forgot to mention that the hardrives are also pretty loud. 😖 No SSD yet.

 

[Laton]

I‘m still debating with myself if I should invest a little bit more and get more out of it.

Gaming is not a main focus but maybe I would do a bit more when the hardware is okay.
Nothing big of course, maybe Starcraft 2 or World of Warcraft. Or some game from the new apple arcade.

What would be minimum graphic I should get if I go for a 21“ or 27“ Mac?

 

[Unami]

If I were you, I‘d just take any mac that‘s up to the job and manage the data storage externally. if you don‘t need to play the newest or most demanding games, e.g. starcraft and wow and some apple arcade games are fine, then any recent mac should work. obviously, an i5 is better for gaming than an i3, a vega gpu is better than a radeon which in turn is better than an iris, and 16 gb of ram is better than 8. and all of them should play starcraft really well. on the other hand, for the price of a single spec update on a mac you could probably get a nintendo switch or a ps4 or an appletv...

personally i‘d prefer a macmini because of it‘s small footprint, upgradeable ram, it doesn‘t come with a mouse and keyboard (which you already have) and there‘s no throwaway monitor (in the sense that you have to throw it away eventually with the rest of the computer) - you could maybe even use your old mac in target display mode...

as for storage space: for around €70 you‘ll get a nice small 2TB 2,5 inch external drive that can be velcroed to the back of an imac or laid onto a mac mini and set up to back up to your time machine. you‘ll have to guesstimate your storage needs yourself, as it depends on your cameras/phones and codecs used, but it‘s not going to get smaller anytime soon

 

[Laton]

Thanks a lot for the advice thus far.

Currently I‘m leaning towards a 21“ iMac and using an external hard drive if necessary.

I also checked up on target display mode.
„You must first log in to your Mac (using a regular display, if necessary) before you can use an iMac in Target Display Mode.“
Since I don’t have an extra monitor this feature is probably not a good solution.

 

[Laton]

Ok, I just ordered my new iMac:

iMac 21,5“ 2019
i5 3,0 GHz
1 TB Fusion Drive

I got a pretty good deal and managed to stay even under my target goal of 1500€. 🙂

Thanks a lot for the discussion.

 

[Flynnstone]

An expansion option is to put a SD card in the slot on the back. 400GB last time I bought. Maybe bigger now.

 

[Laton]

Cool idea! I never thought of that, but it’s a really interesting option. Thanks! 😊