Help me pick one, please

[Deschodt]

And I seem to have developed a skill set for buying a mac a couple of weeks before Apple releases a new model... I'm looking for something to replace my wife's aging 21.5" Imac from Mid 2010 (3.06Ghz I3). I'd appreciate the help of a current guru to make sure I'm not about to do it again...

As far as I can tell Apple just released a new Retina Imac 27, but it's $$$ and 27" only. I need something about twice as fast as what I've got in 21.5 size. The rest of the lineup looks like they date back to mid 2013 ???? Am I right? If I'm itching to buy, it must be that Apple is about to release something...

I was thinking of a midrange 21.5" with 2.7 or 2.9 Ghz processor. Fusion drive upgrade regardless... Questions: 2.7/2.9 seems like a small difference in speed but it comes with a nicer video card. Is it a huge difference? My wife doesn't really play much, I might try starcraft or something, no more.. 8 Gigs or 16 with Yosemite ? If 16 I might have to drop fusion, if so, 16 or fusion ?

Plan B, tell me if I'm crazy for considering a Mini instead? I have spare mice, keyboard, big monitor... The top line mini is $999 *with* a fusion drive and 2.9 Ghz... Seems like a deal ! Is it not for some reason I am unaware of ??? Is it significantly slower than an imac for some reason or... ?

Bonus Q: Hasn't apple released a full sized Bluetooth keyboard yet (with keypad) ?

Thanks for helping out a "disconnected" ex-mac guru who fell off the wagon !

 

[tillsbury]

Yes, your sensible choices are to spring for the Retina iMac or go for a mini, which you could of course run into your existing 21" iMac screen, using that as a display.

Edit: no, the full keyboard has a cable. Pain, that.

 

[dice23]

Re: Help me pick one, please

Look at the apple refurbished section, they have some pretty cheap 2012 27 inch models with decent specs and you can always add more ram in it whenever your ready.

 

[pasadena]

I can't help with the macs, but I use a logitech wireless KB for Mac (the one that charges via solar panels) and I love it - better than the Apple one, and it has a keypad and a few other keys that the Apple one lacks.
No need for sun either, my desk is in a very dark place and the KB is fully charged.

 

[hyune83]

But I don't believe a mac mini will support 5k or even 4k. Am i correct?

 

[tillsbury]

But I don't believe a mac mini will support 5k or even 4k. Am i correct?

New ones support 4k. Nothing supports 5k except the iMac retina.

 

[Deschodt]

Thanks guys... Based on your advice and more research, I think I'm gonna wait... I've read that the new Minis in some cases benchmark slower than the 2012 ones, which is silly (like the new 1.4 Imac). Can't find refurb'ed 2012 minis either.... Imac wise, I don't picture (ha) myself getting the retina model yet - at that price I'd try to stretch for a MacPro - and the other 21.5 models are "old"! I betcha since I'm itching to upgrade something new will be out next week ;-) The refurbished 2012 27" was a good idea in principle, but I am not sure it's enough of a performance jump vs. a moderate discount only...

Come on Apple, 2013 Imac models??? bring on the new stuff please - well, stuff actually faster than the previous gen ? ;-)