Help Between two iMac models

Close Call

The 2014 includes Parallels, so if he ever needs access to Windows, this is definitely the choice. It also has the fusion drive, which should help compensate for the processor difference. Don't forget the processor can turbo boost if needed.

 

i'll go in a different direction. my advice is to get rid of the latest operating system and to keep the machine he has.

 

The 2014 is MUCH slower than the Late 2013.
Intel HD 5000 vs GT 750m, 1.4GHz CPU vs 2.7GHz CPU. I would recommend the Late 2013 by a mile.

Also instead of getting a new iMac, you could always install more ram and an SSD in your current mac. My friend has a Late 2009 iMac with 8gb of ram and a 240gb SSD and it's pretty fast on the lasted Mac OSX

 

Honestly - probably most of his "slowness" is from the HD. Especially since his tasks a not intensive. Current iMac should work still work great.

 

While that may be true, you have to look at the context that the machine is going to be used. The 2010 he is using now should be fine, and adding a SSD would make it very usable. However, for the tasks the user has described, will the nVidia card make that much more of a difference than the HD 5000? No. Will the processor speed be noticeable? No. Will the 5400 RPM vs. Fusion drive be noticeable? Yes! Boot times and app opening times will seem incredibly faster and make the most difference.

I'd highly recommend the 2014 iMac for those purposes listed.

 

It would probably be a better idea just to put an SSD in the current iMac, as there isnt much of a difference in power between the 2010 and 2014 model

 

I don't know what's slowing it down, but I have a 2009 3.04 c2d and it still runs fine with 10.8 and with 10.10 and running windows with Parallels. Also I have the original HD and 4gig of ram.

 

I wouldn't buy any iMac without a Fusion or SSD. Old tech. Slow. It will make more of a difference than processor or GPU for his purposes. Or upgrade; even over USB 3 as a boot drive the SSD would bring benefits and would certainly be the most cost effective.

 

I decided I wasn't comfortable with swapping out my wife's iMac drive so I had a local Apple dealer make the swap for me. The labor charge was $110. I had already cloned the SSD so they only had to do the swap.

 

Do NOT get the 1.4GHz (Mid 2014) model. That is a drastically underpowered machine and is an atrociously horrible bang-for-buck.

Get the Late 2013 model if you're going to get any new model at all.

That being said, provided you're on a Mid 2010 model (and not a Late 2009 model purchased in 2010 before the Mid 2010 models were released in July 2010), that machine should not be chocking on Yosemite, Mavericks, or Mountain Lion (they more or less run the same as each other). It's possible that either (a) you are running with the stock amount of RAM (in which case, add more) or (b) your hard drive is dying (in which case, get it replaced and it'll run much better). That machine should last you another year or two at least.

 

I'm assuming....

That you have repaired the disk permissions in disk utility and done an smc and Pram reset??? These may well sort out the slowness. Finally a clean install of yosemite can clear up many issues...

 

I would actually agree, BUT can add some real world advice as to why. I have a mid-2007 iMac with 4gig RAM. The hard drive was dying (bad sectors). My wife uses it for work, so we opted to get her a shiny new big-whompin' iMac (one step down from the Retina), which of course runs blazing fast. I then decided to use the guide on iFixit and replace the HD on the old Mac myself, something that would have made me fearful if it wasn't for the fact that I figured this computer had reached end of life anyways. I replaced the drive with a 1tb Seagate Hybrid drive from NewEgg, and it was very EASY! everything went perfect the first time. I then installed a fresh version of Yosemite from a flash drive I'd made from the other computer. This 2007-iMac runs BEAUTIFULLY. No slowness, no delays. granted I haven't forced anything like iMovie processing or massive amounts of photos on it, but for day to day email, surfing, watching videos, it's PERFECT. So, $70, plus $6 for the special suction cups you need to pop the screen off, and boom. Done. Just bought myself a few more years of life with that thing.

Now, if your heart is set on a new iMac, go for the 2014. Then take Dad's old computer and do the above for yourself!