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Buying a new iMac

Sdahe

Sdahe

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 26, 2007
1,723
23
San Juan, PR
Hello,

Im planning on buying a new imac next week and Im a bit confuse about these 2 models. One of them is $100 more and it says it has 5K monitor but Im wondering if the other one has retina display or the retina display is the 5K display model.

I will mostly use this imac for graphic art

38EDD7C4-0907-4F43-9E0C-DF9F494C1888.jpeg 3B052565-6D68-4968-94C5-CD9B11EC9893.jpeg
 
I believe the one on the left is the 2015 model; not sure why the price is higher since those were being offered with up to $500 off at Best Buy last week.
 
OP:

I would not buy either of those.

You absolutely DO NOT WANT an iMac with only a platter-based hard drive inside.
It will be intolerably slow.

The 1tb fusion drive version is a little better, but it has a tiny 32gb flash portion that will quickly "fill up", and you'll again experience slower speeds.

I would suggest you find something with an SSD inside -- even the 256gb size (if price is a consideration). You can always add USB3 external storage if you need it.

Or a 2tb fusion drive model. This one has a 128gb SSD/flash portion along with the 2tb HDD portion...
 
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Fishrrman said:
OP:

I would not buy either of those.

You absolutely DO NOT WANT an iMac with only a platter-based hard drive inside.
It will be intolerably slow.

The 1tb fusion drive version is a little better, but it has a tiny 32gb flash portion that will quickly "fill up", and you'll again experience slower speeds.

I would suggest you find something with an SSD inside -- even the 256gb size (if price is a consideration). You can always add USB3 external storage if you need it.

Or a 2tb fusion drive model. This one has a 128gb SSD/flash portion along with the 2tb HDD portion...
Click to expand...
Would Apple sale imacs with ssd only?
 
Sdahe said:
Would Apple sale imacs with ssd only?
Click to expand...

Yes all macs can be configured with an ssd in a variety of sizes when ordered and they often come up on the refurb store as well.

The 2017 options on the 27 inch go up to 2TB on the top configuration all other configurations top out at 1TB ssd.

You may want a 2TB fusion option instead it will be very fast for most operations using the 128gb ssd for all your most used apps and files.
 
I got my 27" iMac 5K mid-2017 delivered yesterday and it's amazing. I got mine with 3.5GHz i5, 512 SSD, Radeon 575 and 8GB ram. I got extra 32GB ram from Crucial (Amazon). It took 5 days for shipping directly from Apple. Like others said, get the basic 3.4GHz i5 with 8GB ram and 256GB SSD then add an external 1TB SSD. I got a 1TB Glyph Atom RAID SSD and its fantastic and super fast. BH Photo has the 256GB SSD iMac in stock and ready to ship. I got mine from Apple Online Store to take advantage of 24 months, no interest with my Barclaycard Apple Rewards card, though.
 
willmtaylor said:
Just get a custom configured iMac from B&H Photo Video with a SSD in it. You’ll be much happier in the long run.
Click to expand...
Yes.. I guess this is the best option
[doublepost=1509470055][/doublepost]Is the Fusion drive better than the Solid State drive?
 
Sdahe said:
Yes.. I guess this is the best option
[doublepost=1509470055][/doublepost]Is the Fusion drive better than the Solid State drive?
Click to expand...

Hands down the SSD wins in speed over any Fusion drive. I do prefer a 256GB SSD over a 3TB Fusion Drive any day and night, weekends included.

Here you can see the disk speed I'm getting with my New 27" iMac 5K equipped with a 512GB SSD.

Screen Shot 2017-10-31 at 12.24.14 PM.png
 
Sdahe said:
You prefer the 256 SSD over the 512 SSD?
Click to expand...

Of course not. My point was that I do prefer the smaller SSD (256GB) over the bigger Fusion drive (3TB). If you can afford a 512GB SSD then go for it. In my case I wanted the iMac with 1TB internal SSD but the price increased $400 for extra 500GB so I decided to stay with 512GB SSD and buy an external Glyph Atom RAID 1TB SSD instead for the same $400. I also got a 4TB G-Drive USB-C for Time Machine.

IMG_0116.jpeg
 
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OP asked:
"Is there a store like B&H in Tampa, Fl where I can buy an iMac with a 512SSD stock?..."

Probably not. Almost no chance of that.

iMacs with SSD drives are generally "build-to-order".
You have to order them through Apple's website (or the websites of a very few select resellers).

If you go to refubme.com and choose to see only Apple-refurbished Macs, you may find some there being sold with SSD's (that were installed from the beginning). However, be aware that stock on Apple's refurb pages "comes and goes", depending on what they have...
 
Sdahe said:
Is there a store like B&H in Tampa, Fl where I can buy an iMac with a 512SSD stock?...
Click to expand...

All SSD iMacs are build to order and assembled in the USA (at least mine says that). Not even Apple Stores carries them. The only online retailer that carries SSD iMacs in stock and ready to ship is B&H Photo.
 
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enricoclaudio said:
All SSD iMacs are build to order and assembled in the USA (at least mine says that). Not even Apple Stores carries them. The only online retailer that carries SSD iMacs in stock and ready to ship is B&H Photo.
Click to expand...
Yeap.. I just bought mine right now with B&H.. 512SSD In it.. now Im happy
[doublepost=1509482769][/doublepost]Well thanks to all for your help.. I just bought an 27” iMac in B&H with a 512 SSD in it and 8GB of ram that I will upgrade later on.. maybe up to 32GB.. No fusion drive for me.. SSD all the way this time!
 
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