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I loved my old 27" 2011. Too bad got hit with the AMD GPU issue. You could chage CPU, GPU (still Apple models only or you'd lose brightness and boot screen), HDD, SSD, the whole deal.

Make it 35", slap thing bezels and same "thiccness" with removable/replaceable internal components and would be incredible.
I call such machines a Windows PC.;)
 
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Really excited for a redesigned iMac. Holding onto my 2010 has gotten stressful lately lmao.

Hoping the end of this year or 2020 will be the time.
You're going to be waiting a long while. Just buy it if you need. Now is a good time, especially after the storage price decrease. The iMac is most likely not going to be updated twice in one year with a complete redesign. And given the iMac release history (2015, 2017, and 2019) it may not be updated until 2021.
 
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Aside from the bezels getting trimmed down, I can’t imagine how much they can do to make this a more aesthetically pleasing machine. I personally think it’s a beautiful design even in its current state.

Agreed. There is really only so much you can do to the front of a computer that is essentially a screen, other than bezels. I think it still looks great.

I’ve bought a few refurbished MacBook Pros over the years. They’ve always been indistinguishable from new, aside from the non-retail box. I would never buy one new unless I was in a hurry.

I guess, if you have to buy from Apple. I usually buy my Macs new during a sale from a 3rd party retailer.

With that said, I probably would purchase refurb if I was trying to find a BTO machine at a discount.(Like the Army poster who snagged a refurb i9/Vega 48)
 
How upgradable are the 2019 machines? I'm guessing not, but can the SSD and RAM be changed for the brave/foolish?
You can change the CPU, RAM and SSD if you really want to. The CPU's are socketed similar to a normal motherboard.

Purchase the cheapest model with a fusion drive and you can put in a compatible Intel chip from a 9900K and under, to your own RAM and replace fusion with your own SSD.

I have 5 iMacs currently that I've upgrade i3's and i5's to i7 chips I picked up used off of eBay.

People looking to save cash, you have to work it so you are either putting in sweat equity or up front cash. Either way, you're still paying for it.
 
I’ve never bought a refurbished product before, is it worth the discount (and loss of the beats promotion)? Are they like new just not with the official box?
They are arguably better because after the flaw is fixed they are human inspected. If you are on a budget they are worth it. In general I find that I'd rather get a new one than an older refurb. If you find a new refurb that you wanted to buy new it's a no brainer. They come in plain brown boxes instead of the fancy white ones. With the beats promo, if you are getting the beats no matter what, I'd probably lean new + promo, but it's really close.
 
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Agreed. There is really only so much you can do to the front of a computer that is essentially a screen, other than bezels. I think it still looks great.



I guess, if you have to buy from Apple. I usually buy my Macs new during a sale from a 3rd party retailer.

With that said, I probably would purchase refurb if I was trying to find a BTO machine at a discount.(Like the Army poster who snagged a refurb i9/Vega 48)

Oh yeah, I actually bought my 2018 MacBook Pro 15” from some guy on eBay for under $1800. 2.2ghz/16GB/512GB/560X, would have been at least $2300 refurbished. It showed up wrapped in a bunch of bubble wrap and shoved into a cardboard box, with a new cable and charger. Shady!
 
Apple has everything from the bottom (3.0GHz/8/1TB/570X) all the way up to the top of the line (3.6GHz/64GB/2TB SSD/Vega 48) in the listings. I think there is a combo of both buyers remorse and some issues that undergo repair and the user may have received a replacement along the way, but who knows...and does it really matter?

Does it really matter....well maybe? Perhaps it indicates warranty issues with new products or perhaps reliability issues. Personally I think they are often brand new and just a means of offering discounted products without harming the RRP or partner pricing.
 
Does it really matter....well maybe? Perhaps it indicates warranty issues with new products or perhaps reliability issues. Personally I think they are often brand new and just a means of offering discounted products without harming the RRP or partner pricing.
Either way, I get a brand new iMac with the same return period, 1 year warranty and eligibility for AppleCare. I have had issues with both new and refurbished Macs during the time I have been buying them, so it’s not a panacea, but my 2012 15” MacBook Pro is going strong, has no delamination or GT 650M issues and although not the powerhouse it once was, served me pretty well for what I ask it to do. The 27” 2013 iMac has been great, except for the 32GB DRAM, but I replaced it with a “more” compatible kit, and since moving it to Mojave, it runs like an absolute dream (High Sierra was a friggin’ catastrophe).
 
there are quite a few USB3 external DVD drives on Amazon, surely one or more is compatible

£18 sterling, Samsung, and with everything Samsung it just works. I know as this is what I use on my older iMac. You only buy Apple peripherals when no good alternatives exist, which is not the case here.
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2013 iMac has been great, except for the 32GB DRAM, but I replaced it with a “more” compatible kit, and since moving it to Mojave, it runs like an absolute dream (High Sierra was a friggin’ catastrophe).

Our mid-2011 iMac runs High Sierra like a (flippin Rolls Royce).
 
The iMac (not the iMac Pro) is still one of the best upgradable Macs in the lineup (apart from the new Mac Pro which is only for the "chosen few"...). You can still upgrade the RAM trough the RAM door and you can upgrade the storage with a Thunderbolt SSD/NvME like the Samsung X5. This small device did not need a power connection so you can tape it to the back with velcro tape...

Except you pay much more when getting the X5 drive than upgrading SSD with apple. But the third party RAM upgrade is pretty nice!
 
There were a metric crap ton of Refurb iMacs there last night, I am having trouble understanding what “unique” configuration you need that they don’t have, if not initially, at some point.

Unless you are absolutely set on buying a refurb iMac with factory DRAM, that’s one less criteria to have.

21.5 inch iMacs come with stock RAM, there's no option besides factory RAM if you want 32gb.
 

Yes but those either have Radeon GPUs instead of the Vegas, Fusion Drive instead of SSD, or i5 instead of i7...or a combination. I can never find one with my exact specs or I probably would have upgraded by now. Same for MacBook Pros there's always something 1 spec off. It's fine, just something I've noticed over the years unless the issue is just that they sell out of them that damn fast, perhaps I should setup an email alert.
 
I call such machines a Windows PC.;)
Yea.
After the 700 EUR Apple wanted in 2017 to replace a 2011 MXM GPU, I moved to Windows 10 with a custom Mini-ITX build on a nice N-Case M1 silver, including a watercooled GTX 1080.

I hand picked all the parts and never looked back. Currently on a dual 27" monitors setup floating on an Ergotron LX Dual.

Money was not the issue. Getting ripped-off was. ;)
 
Yes but those either have Radeon GPUs instead of the Vegas, Fusion Drive instead of SSD, or i5 instead of i7...or a combination. I can never find one with my exact specs or I probably would have upgraded by now. Same for MacBook Pros there's always something 1 spec off. It's fine, just something I've noticed over the years unless the issue is just that they sell out of them that damn fast, perhaps I should setup an email alert.

I have not seen the highest end of the 21.5” model show up yet. That is really more a matter of time than anything else.

The MacBook Pro is usually going to be one spec off in something, but at this point, there is a 2018 2.6GHz 6-core/16GB/512GB SSD/Vega 16 that goes for $2509, which is probably the best bet in terms of price/performance. It’s nearly impossible to get the Vega 20 w/o the Core i9, but if you find it with the Core i7 2.6GHz, you usually have to get it with 32GB/1TB SSD. Frankly, by the time you do that, you can get the 2019 8-core 2.3GHz 32GB/512GB SSD/Vega 20 for not that much more money.

You cannot get e-mail alerts, but supplies are refilled on Tuesdays and Thursdays more often than not and sometimes you have to camp out if you want to find exactly what you want. Good luck!
 
Can we at least get the optical drive back without being a $79 rip off?

Sorry, I don't see an optical drive coming back within the system. There are many reasons it doesn't make sense.
 
Intel Comet Lake-S (6-, 8-, 10-core) is not schedule to launch until Q2/2020, so the absolute earliest launch would most likely be WWDC in June of 2020.

Daaamnnn. Well that gives me time to save my money hahah.
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You're going to be waiting a long while. Just buy it if you need. Now is a good time, especially after the storage price decrease. The iMac is most likely not going to be updated twice in one year with a complete redesign. And given the iMac release history (2015, 2017, and 2019) it may not be updated until 2021.

Idk. I’m holding out hope. 2021 would be brutal. I guess I can buy 1 now and then sell it when the redesign happens.
 
Sorry, I don't see an optical drive coming back within the system. There are many reasons it doesn't make sense.
Other than making a desktop computer thinner. I don't see how it makes sense to remove it.
As long as CD are still being made and sold, I have plenty of reason to use it as that is far superior to digital music.
 
Daaamnnn. Well that gives me time to save my money hahah.
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Idk. I’m holding out hope. 2021 would be brutal. I guess I can buy 1 now and then sell it when the redesign happens.
Yep, that's exactly what I just did today. If a redesign happens, the 2019 iMac will still command a hefty price and I'll sell it.
 
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Other than making a desktop computer thinner. I don't see how it makes sense to remove it.
As long as CD are still being made and sold, I have plenty of reason to use it as that is far superior to digital music.

"far superior to digital music" Thats debatable!

The format of the digital file as well as the music source come to play here. As an example Neil Young Archives are digital and far superior than the original CD cuts.

In either case a CD or file still needs to be converted from the digital format to the analog form the speaker needs. The quality of the DAC then impacts either. Unlike a clean phonograph disk which is a direct analog cut of the music from the master tapes. Be aware more modern cuts are from digital sources!

And the quality of your amp & speakers also come to play here as well.

Many music stores have closed where I live, many that still exists have cut their collection down. I now need to go to used stores to find the music I like and I often get a Phonograph Vs CD. For either I convert them to a file as I don't want to wear the originals from all of the playing. And I have a good rig to convert them over.
 
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