Buying advice please!

[Yendog]

So with painful realization I realized that my current iMac 27 inch is 5 years old... this was during my string of expletives while currently doing some Final Cut Pro work.

I need to upgrade.

Here are my questions if anyone has any advice.

Should I wait for the next round of iMacs or just buy now. (I will be buying a desktop for sure)
Are refurbished ever the way to go?
Im a musicians so Irun audio software but far and away the most intense work I do processing wise is Final Cut Pro with 4k vids... a handful of angles at most.

I have always bought the aftermarket memory for upgrades rather than apples astronomic priced memory.

Of course I have lots of external storage now but I do like have a lot of my things (especially the massive photo library) native on the storage in computer.. but I'm getting dang cramped at 3TB even moving most of the things off.. I'd love to have 4tb or the ability.. or if there really IS a SS external storage that you recommend I would love to hear that as well. (part of why I like the photos on is they are irreplaceable...yes they are backed up in iCloud but I like the ease of them being ON the HD, on the TM backup and once a month we do a backup that is stored off site... so redundancy upon redundancy in the very important files)

I'm open to iMac, iMac Pro, even Mac Pro and a monitor although that is SO expensive.

Thanks to any kind soul for any advice.

Josh

 

[James_C]

I would wait a few weeks, the rumour is Apple are going to update the 27” iMac shortly, my guess is August. It will likely be the last Intel 27” IMac that Apple release. It sounds like a IMac Pro may be worth looking at, I suspect the Mac Pro may be more than you need, but I would wait to see what Apple updates in the next few weeks.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

Apple has never refreshed the iMac in August in the past eight years:

MacRumors Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy iPhone, Mac, iPad

This page provides a product summary for each Apple model. The intent is to provide our best recommendations regarding current product cycles, and to provide a summary of currently available rumors for each model. This page is based on rumors and speculation and we provide no guarantee to its...

buyersguide.macrumors.com

Since they did not bump the specs at WWDC, the likely scenario is that the machine will be updated after Big Sur is released which will be closely aligned to the iOS 14 release.

Due to possible COVID-19 delays, it's possible that we won't see new iPhone hardware until October which means the whole schedule will slide by several weeks. That means that Big Sur will also have a few weeks of delay.

If you need it RIGHT NOW then go ahead and buy knowing that in a few months there will likely be something newer.

 

[0128672]

The mid and high-end 27" iMacs top out at 2TB SSD, so if 4TB is a high priority config, it sounds like maybe you're looking at the base iMac Pro + 4TB @$5,999. There are some iMac Pros in the Refurb Store, and I imagine you've looked at them, but none have more than 2TB SSDs.

 

[Yendog]

Thank you.. yea i know that hardware wasn't really discussed at WWDC other than the ARM.. and I don't necessarily care about that unless it is immediately a huge jump in an iMac.. but word is it might start on the laptops etc....I am going to try to wait... 1. because my income has been decimated. 2. Because until i have to do a multi angle final cut project again I'm generally okay...

I am GLACIAL at this point but at least stuff works eventually... but FCPX was just CHOKING.. even using proxy... the time has come.

 

[MiG007]

Do you know if the "FCPX" choking is only because of the age of your iMac or is your storage slow?
Run AJA or Blackmagic Design speed tests to check.

Maybe you upgrade your storage first to get a bit of a speed bump while you wait for a month or two to see what Apple does for the iMac.

 

[Fishrrman]

Just an inquiry about Final Cut:
If you are editing 4k video, did you import the video clips using the "create proxy media" option...?

 

[James_C]

Apple has never refreshed the iMac in August in the past eight years:

Not really that relevant as Apple’s IMac releases are not that consistent and Covid my have delayed manufacturing this year as they were expected at WWDC. Of course no one but Apple knows when a product will be released but I would be surprised if it slips all the way to Big Sur release. New rumour today that iMacs are ready to go.

Also if you try and order a new 27” today it will not ship to the 1st week of August, which again suggests a new version is imminent.

Leaker Suggests New Apple Products Are 'Ready to Ship' Amid Rumors of Intel-Based iMac Refresh

While it seems hard to believe, it has already been nearly a month since the WWDC 2020 keynote, where Apple unveiled its latest software updates and...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Erehy Dobon]

Not really that relevant as Apple’s IMac releases are not that consistent and Covid my have delayed manufacturing this year as they were expected at WWDC.

Wrong.

Go back and look at the MacRumors chart.

Apple has been consistent in mostly releasing the iMac in the fall with two late spring exceptions.

The rumors about a release at WWDC were just that. Rumors. In more recent years Apple has often refrained from releasing new hardware at WWDC anyhow.

Apple's major hardware releases coincide with major operating system releases these day. That's why Apple has zero history of releasing new iMacs in August.

I'm not even sure if Intel has released any new processors that would encourage a hasty hardware release. In fact, Intel's ongoing plodding is one of the key factors for Apple's transition to their own custom silicon: because Intel can't deliver the goods.

Apple mentioned that there are still Intel Macs in the pipeline but there is no discernible justification to release new iMacs in August. It's already too late for back to school. 85% of Macs sold are notebook computers anyhow, the iMac is now a niche product.

The supply chain constraint excuse is not plausible for iMac. It's not like Apple needs to stockpile 10 million ready-to-ship units for launch.

 

[cdcastillo]

Just an inquiry about Final Cut:
If you are editing 4k video, did you import the video clips using the "create proxy media" option...?

I think he does (he wrote "even using proxy")

 

[Yendog]

Yes... im using Proxy... even with proxy if its multiple angles... truthfully even TWO.
I have a:

Below i'll attach my current specs.

also a question I have is about video cards when I DO upgrade.. I've always completely discounted them as I am NOT a gamer in any way but if i'm doing lot of final cut work does going with a better graphics card help there...

[automerge]1595268548[/automerge]

Do you know if the "FCPX" choking is only because of the age of your iMac or is your storage slow?
Run AJA or Blackmagic Design speed tests to check.

Maybe you upgrade your storage first to get a bit of a speed bump while you wait for a month or two to see what Apple does for the iMac.

Yes I ran Black magic already and its all good for what it is... also I have the FXPX files on my local HD not an external... so a slow spinning external or something isn't the problem.

 

[James_C]

Wrong.

Apple's major hardware releases coincide with major operating system releases these day.

Erm I think you need to look at the MacBook Pro - most of those have been released during the summer in the last 6 years, only once have they been released in Oct in recent history. Apple does have history of releasing new hardware in the summer. I would not be surprised if the new iMacs come out in July.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

The OP isn’t interested in buy a MacBook Pro so that model’s release schedule is irrelevant to this discussion.

This discussion is when the iMac will likely be updated. Mac notebook release history is different since those models are more apt to be considered for back-to-school purchase. However that is moot here.

I don’t care about the Toyota Tacoma release history if I want to buy a Prius.

For the sake of the OP, please try to stay on topic.

 

[Yendog]

yea i have a MacBook for other things and it is not a burly machine.. I definitely need a desktop... iMac, iMacPro, or Mac Pro.... on my list today is to go and try to line up some more numbers...
[automerge]1595456011[/automerge]
Also not sure if anyone saw it but can anyone advise on the graphics card question? does that have any real relation to Final Cut? I literally have never considered anything about graphic cards... as I'm not a gamer and all of my power goes to AUDIO not video.. but now that FCPX is becoming more of my life.... ??

 

[apple_unreal]

Graphic card may be important for you when rendering effects at 4K, all that is GPU base specially if you going to preview.

Now, I have the latest Mac Mini with 64 of Ram and using Premiere. I was using Premiere in my 2014 MBP and I was editing in 4K no compression like nothing, the MBP was laughing... until I upgraded to Catalina and upgraded to the latest Premiere on both computers... With either or the OS or software upgrade now editing feels like using an beige G3... clumsy and slow, even having an external GPU in the Mac Mini.

I finished that project BUT check if the speed problem you have may the the OS version.

It is your internal disc SSD or the old ones? Because your computer should run 4K just fine.

 

[Yendog]

its a fusion drive... late 2015... it plays it fine but multiple angles of high density video/audio it CHOKES right now.

 

[James_C]

Apple has never refreshed the iMac in August in the past eight years:

I was trying to help the OP to make an informed decision. It was pretty clear that there was likely to be a bump to the 27" iMac line not only from the rumours, but from the fact that you could no longer order even the standard configuration without a significant wait and this was likely to happen before mid August. The only products from Apple that have a predictable lifecycle are the iPhones. Everything else is a different story.

I was offended by the tone of some of your replies to me,

Wrong.

, it is a rumour website after all.

Hopefully @Yendog is now able to order his new iMac, if he has not already done so.

Finally Apple is now putting SSD's as standard in the iMac's

 

[Yendog]

yes thanks to you all... actually while the upgrade 27inch didn't do anything for lots of folks its actually got exactly the upgrades I need.

 

[James_C]

yes thanks to you all... actually while the upgrade 27inch didn't do anything for lots of folks its actually got exactly the upgrades I need.

Glad that you got what you wanted, out of interest which one did you end up ordering ?