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Buy New 2020 iMac or wait for redesign and AS?

J

jazzer15

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 8, 2010
563
136
Ok, so you knew the question was going to be asked and I might as well start it off.

I have a BTO late 2015 4 Ghz i7 iMac with 512GB SSD and 4GB AMD GPU that I'm happy with, but my wife's computer is a late 2009 i7. It is still generally running fine for her use which is VERY basic (with the exception of running parallels for a single piece of software) but it takes a long time to boot, is still on High Sierra and perhaps is on borrowed time.

I had originally intended to buy the next iMac that came out and give my computer to my wife, but I was also thinking that there might be a redesign. Anyway, now I have to decide if I should go through with a purchase. On the plus side, the 2020 is here now, more computer than I need at the moment, and it is a known quantity -- less likely to have any 1st generation hardware issues. I could also repurpose my wife's computer as an external monitor. On the negative side, it is the same old design (which I don't mind now, but I might have some "new toy" envy after the redesign happens) and I'm not sure I will see a huge difference in my day-to-day tasks.

The unknown is whether my wife's computer continues humming along for another year.

Thoughts/votes?
 
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Have you considered upgrading your wife’s iMac? If it takes a long time to boot, the cause is most likely the HDD. A new relatively cheap SSD would offer a noticeable performance increase.

Likewise, you could upgrade the RAM, which may offer a performance boost depending on her usage and may make running Parallels more bearable.

Is there anything else that suggests her computer is failing? If it’s just slow boots then an SSD will almost certainly fix this. The upgrades mentioned are moderately easy to do on this model and iFixIt will offer full instructions usually with a video.
 
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If you are waiting for the 27-32" AS imac .. be prepared to wait until the end of next year or longer. If youre waiting for the 24" then I would wait until october to see what they release.
 
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nick9191 said:
Have you considered upgrading your wife’s iMac? If it takes a long time to boot, the cause is most likely the HDD. A new relatively cheap SSD would offer a noticeable performance increase.

Likewise, you could upgrade the RAM, which may offer a performance boost depending on her usage and may make running Parallels more bearable.

Is there anything else that suggests her computer is failing? If it’s just slow boots then an SSD will almost certainly fix this. The upgrades mentioned are moderately easy to do on this model and iFixIt will offer full instructions usually with a video.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, I actually have considered this. I'm not sure I am prepared to do the upgrade myself, but it is something I can think more about. I suppose the worst that happens is that I havev to buy a new computer anyway :)

RAM is not an issue as I had already added more some time ago. There isn't anything else that suggests there is a problem.
 
jetjaguar said:
If you are waiting for the 27-32" AS imac .. be prepared to wait until the end of next year or longer. If youre waiting for the 24" then I would wait until october to see what they release.
Click to expand...

I would likely be getting another 27 inch (although if there is a redesign with smaller bezels, it may be that a 24 inch screen isn't too much smaller than the current 27 :) )
 
I'm in a similar boat to you and I too would have the "new toy envy". I'm personally going to wait till we get the re design as I just don't want to get the same design again for the next 5 years.
 
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jazzer15 said:
Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, I actually have considered this. I'm not sure I am prepared to do the upgrade myself, but it is something I can think more about. I suppose the worst that happens is that I havev to buy a new computer anyway :)

RAM is not an issue as I had already added more some time ago. There isn't anything else that suggests there is a problem.
Click to expand...
No problem. I just thought I’d suggest it as it may give your wife’s iMac a couple of years additional use at which point you can safely upgrade to a rev B Apple Silicon iMac.

To be honest unless you:
  • Are running a business from your iMac
  • Require Bootcamp
  • Have important software that needs to run at native speed and may not be transitioned to run natively on Apple Silicon for a while
  • Like Intel/the architecture/want to own one of the last ever Intel Macs
Then I would avoid buying a new Intel iMac now. As far as Apple Macs are concerned it’s effectively an end of life architecture. It’s impossible to say how long it would continue to receive software updates and the newest OS as things have changed a lot since 2005, but as an example, PPC Macs sold as late as 2006 could not run Snow Leopard released in 2009. They did continue to receive Leopard security updates until 2011.

It may be completely different this time and I may be spreading unnecessary fear, for which I apologise in advance, but a 27” iMac is a lot of money to spend. And based on the fact that your wife still uses her 2009 iMac and you have a 2015, I’d imagine you’d want at least 5 or 6 years from any purchase you make.

One other consideration is that High Sierra will officially reach its end of life status later this year. This means it won’t receive further security updates. This may be a problem for you, it may not, but it’s good to be aware of it.
 
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nick9191 said:
No problem. I just thought I’d suggest it as it may give your wife’s iMac a couple of years additional use at which point you can safely upgrade to a rev B Apple Silicon iMac.

To be honest unless you:
  • Are running a business from your iMac
  • Require Bootcamp
  • Have important software that needs to run at native speed and may not be transitioned to run natively on Apple Silicon for a while
  • Like Intel/the architecture/want to own one of the last ever Intel Macs
Then I would avoid buying a new Intel iMac now. As far as Apple Macs are concerned it’s effectively an end of life architecture. It’s impossible to say how long it would continue to receive software updates and the newest OS as things have changed a lot since 2005, but as an example, PPC Macs sold as late as 2006 could not run Snow Leopard released in 2009. They did continue to receive Leopard security updates until 2011.

It may be completely different this time and I may be spreading unnecessary fear, for which I apologise in advance, but a 27” iMac is a lot of money to spend. And based on the fact that your wife still uses her 2009 iMac and you have a 2015, I’d imagine you’d want at least 5 or 6 years from any purchase you make.

One other consideration is that High Sierra will officially reach its end of life status later this year. This means it won’t receive further security updates. This may be a problem for you, it may not, but it’s good to be aware of it.
Click to expand...

Well, none of those scenarios apply to my situation. However, while I do tend to keep my computers as long as reasonably possible, I do prefer to have an operating system that is still receiving security updates. That is something I will have to consider.

Thanks again.
 
jazzer15 said:
I have a BTO late 2015 4 Ghz i7 iMac with 512GB SSD and 4GB AMD GPU
Click to expand...
I have the exact same computer - it's annoying that when you go to try and trade it in at Apple website our model doesn't exist... Even inputting the serial number into their system brings up lots of late 2015 models but not ours... Maybe they don't show BTO upgraded models...

Sorry lol off-topic...
 
G.McGilli said:
I have the exact same computer - it's annoying that when you go to try and trade it in at Apple website our model doesn't exist... Even inputting the serial number into their system brings up lots of late 2015 models but not ours... Maybe they don't show BTO upgraded models...

Sorry lol off-topic...
Click to expand...

Haha. I put my serial number in and then answered a bunch of questions about the computer and it came up with a value of $670. It didn't ask about GPU.
 
Do you think apple will still take this as a trade in device?

Im thinking of getting the new 27" 2020 iMac and then once the second or third generation AS iMac comes out just trade in the 2020 for the AS model. Im cautious of first generation models but definitely not going to be able to wait until the second generation 27"-23"
 
I find that if you need a display, the iMac is a great bang for the buck, with one of its great features being upgradeable RAM and hard drives. (And the higher end options even have decent GPUs, so there's less need for an eGPU)
 
I just don't see how people expect an Arm iMac to be out this year considering developer kits only recently started shipping and still are
 
Well. If Apple were to replace 27" intel imac with 27~32" AS iMac this year, they woiuldn't have upgraded this much.
As of now, I'm pretty sure the first round of AS chips are not capable of competing directly with i9 in iMac 27" atleast in general sense.
I'd guess a similar replacement iMac will come out the next year.

But.. it's your choice to make. Good luck though :)
 
I’ve switched many a Mac to SSD from HDD and never once opened them up. All MAC”s can boot externally, buy an external SSD from Amazon, you can spend a few dollars for a cheap one or a couple of hundred for a faster branded one.

The speed increase you’ll get from an external SSD will make your wife think you’ve bought her a new 2020 model. Trust me.
 
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If you need the 27" 5K size, I think it's a good time to buy. I don't think we will see an AS replacement for the high end bigger iMac for a while yet. If you don't need the screen size, then wait for the smaller sized AS iMac which shouldn't be too much of a wait.
 
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jinnyman said:
As of now, I'm pretty sure the first round of AS chips are not capable of competing directly with i9 in iMac 27" atleast in general sense.
I'd guess a similar replacement iMac will come out the next year.
Click to expand...

Why? A two-year-old iPad without a fan already matches an iMac in single-core performance.
 
Arctic Moose said:
Why? A two-year-old iPad without a fan already matches an iMac in single-core performance.
Click to expand...
Well that’s just my guess based on the degree of differences in this year’s 27” vs 21”.
Also, Apple is known for maximizing their profit. All the options and T2 etc are extra cost for them as well. Why do that if they can just do like 21” unless they plan to sell 27” for quite a while.

Who knows? I may be proven wrong.
 
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