iMac 2017 21.5 return

[raulsbd79]

Hi everyone,

I’m within the 14 days cool off period and I have decided to return my 2017 4K 21.5” 8 Ram 5400rpm iMac to Apple.. It’s my first imac machine and I didn’t know about the differences on hard drives..

My first question is how to backup all my pictures and apps I already had on it and what else will need to do before send it back to Apple. Does someone has purchased on the web and then has returned via ups? How was the experience?

My second question is which replacement you will recommend.. I was thinking the same I had but with 1TB fusion drive which works out at £80 more on the total price. Will I feel difference performance compared to the 5400rpm version of the hard drive?

Many thanks everyone!!

 

[raulsbd79]

Anyone?

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Just give the 1TB Fusion drive a huge miss. It only has a 24GB Flash Drive installed. If you MUST have a FD go for the 2/3TB model with 128GB of Flash. The best option however is for a 512GB SSD or larger if the money runs to it. You do need an external hard drive and cloning software such as CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper.

The external will be bootable when cloned. You can then boot from it, holding down Option, an d erase and format the internal hard drive. Can't help with UPS but follow as Apple suggests.

 

[curmudgeonette]

Just give the 1TB Fusion drive a huge miss. It only has a 24GB Flash Drive installed. If you MUST have a FD go for the 2/3TB model with 128GB of Flash.

The 2TB and 3TB Fusion Drives aren't available in the 21.5". The only choices are 5400 RPM HDD, 1TB Fusion, or several sizes of SSD.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

I was trying to suggest the 27" is the go without being impolite. Also OP the 27" has a huge advantage in that memory can be increased via a hatch door on the reverse.

 

[raulsbd79]

Thanks for your replies. Tbh I just need a 21.5" as it fits perfect on my room. I think 27" will be too much just for what we do browsing the net, doing some Word work and storing pictures.. Surely will improve the performance from going from the 5400 rpm HDD to the 1TB FD? I am considering to chose the 3.4ghz one with the 4gb Radeon card and 8gb RAM. Anyone could share experience with that particular model?

Many thanks for your replies

 

[Huddy]

The fusion drive works by placing your most used files on the flash portion of the drive, in this case 24GB of the 1TB. It's not a massive amount by any means but as you will only be using Word and Web browsing you should notice a decent speed increase over the 5400rpm drive. You should also notice better boot times and file transfer speeds.

I think most people look at the stingy flash amount with this option and rightly don't see much reason to invest in it. But in your case I think it's a decent upgrade with you not wanting to invest in a large flash drive.

 

[raulsbd79]

The 5400rpm drive was painful slow.. and as I said i just need the 21.5" one.. Im choosing i think the high end of the range.. as to add fusion drive to the middle one is £80 and to go to the next level on the 21.5" is £100 does it make sense.. will it make difference the higher processor speed from 3ghz to 3.4ghz? and the upgraded Radeon with 4gb instead the one of 2gb?

Thanks again

 

[chedder’mac]

if cost is your concern (btw it is mine...) check out the refurbished models on the Apple site, there they do offer a 2TB fusion drive with the 21” iMac (most likey a special order, and they do turn over stock pretty fast) (US store, not sure about anywhere else) that’s where I pick up most of my Apple stuff.
Same warranty and Applecare.

 

[294307]

2017 iMacs with a 1TB Fusion Drive use a 32 GB SSD paired with a 1 TB mechanical drive. The larger 2 TB and 3 TB Fusion Drives use a 128 GB SSD.

2015 iMacs with a 1 TB Fusion Drive use a 24 GB SSD with a 1 TB mechanical drive. The larger 2 TB Fusion Drive use a larger 128 GB SSD.

Please also consider whether 8 GB RAM will continue to meet your needs for the total length of time you intend to keep your iMac. Only the 27-inch iMacs have a RAM access door for future upgrades: while it is possible to upgrade the RAM in the 21.5-inch 2017 iMac, it requires removing the display which is glued together. While Apple offers RAM upgrades on iMacs after purchase, it does not come cheap.

If you still want to purchase a 21.5-inch iMac, it's a perfectly reasonable choice - just make sure 8 GB RAM will be sufficient for your needs, or upgrade to 16 GB at the point of ordering. Unfortunately, Apple overcharges for RAM upgrades - it's £180 to upgrade from 8 GB to 16 GB. Extortionate compared to market prices.

Not really selling the benefits of the iMac that well, am I? These are all facts. Nice machines of course... Apple just seems to have their priorities upside down. Using 5400-rpm hard drives happens to be one of them.

 

[raulsbd79]

Right guys made my mind up. I’m investing a bit more and getting the 2017 27” model. Compared to the top end 21.5 is only £200 more and I will enjoy a bigger screen plus I will be able to upgrade the ram in the future. What do you think about the base model of the 27” model? How much will it cost to add ram memory later on in the future?

Many thanks

@bbnck you are a good seller haha

 

[gian8989]

Right guys made my mind up. I’m investing a bit more and getting the 2017 27” model. Compared to the top end 21.5 is only £200 more and I will enjoy a bigger screen plus I will be able to upgrade the ram in the future. What do you think about the base model of the 27” model? How much will it cost to add ram memory later on in the future?

Many thanks

@bbnck you are a good seller haha

Other than the fusion drive that I don't like (just personal preference, but ok for your need) it is a realy good machine. The gpu is better than best 2015 model.
Right now the cost of ram has gone up so much that apple price doesn't look as bad as before so just wait next year. With 8gb you shouldn't have any problem: not even chrome with a lot of extensions use all that ram.

 

[Wondermutt]

Right guys made my mind up. I’m investing a bit more and getting the 2017 27” model. Compared to the top end 21.5 is only £200 more and I will enjoy a bigger screen plus I will be able to upgrade the ram in the future. What do you think about the base model of the 27” model? How much will it cost to add ram memory later on in the future?

Many thanks

@bbnck you are a good seller haha

I was in the same boat.... Initially planned on the 21.5 because of price and I was great with the screen size. After doing a bit of research and looking on here though it became apparent that in my situation the 27 with an SSD would make my money go a bit farther and hopefully ensure the machine lasts longer. Ended up picking up a base 27 with a 256 SSD from the refurb store ($1609). I plan to upgrade the RAM in the next year or so. It arrives Tuesday, hope I made the right call!

Just wanted to put my 2 cents in because it sounds like we were in similar situations.

 

[raulsbd79]

Thanks for all your replies hopefully tomorrow I will be picking up my new 2017 Imac 27" base model.. One question I have is can this system have the new High Sierra Os? Also regarding time machine can a back up done on High Sierra (my old 2017 21.5" machine) be transfer to my new 27" (that I suppose it will be shipped with just Sierra)?

Many thanks again guys!

 

[Smellmet]

Other than the fusion drive that I don't like (just personal preference, but ok for your need) it is a realy good machine. The gpu is better than best 2015 model.
Right now the cost of ram has gone up so much that apple price doesn't look as bad as before so just wait next year. With 8gb you shouldn't have any problem: not even chrome with a lot of extensions use all that ram.

I still think the price difference is huge. I've just ordered a new 27" iMac for work and I left it at 8GB standard and bought a single 16GB chip from Crucial for £152 taking me up to 24GB RAM. Apple wanted an extra £540 to take the machine up to 32GB!

 

[gian8989]

I still think the price difference is huge. I've just ordered a new 27" iMac for work and I left it at 8GB standard and bought a single 16GB chip from Crucial for £152 taking me up to 24GB RAM. Apple wanted an extra £540 to take the machine up to 32GB!

Obviously Apple price is too high to even think about it. I just wanted to say that in the last few months the price of RAM has gone up so much that it is reducing the gap.
Well... It looks like you are from GB. The $ -> € is already a joke but the $ -> £ is something to be arrested.

 

[raulsbd79]

Thanks for all your replies hopefully tomorrow I will be picking up my new 2017 Imac 27" base model.. One question I have is can this system have the new High Sierra Os? Also regarding time machine can a back up done on High Sierra (my old 2017 21.5" machine) be transfer to my new 27" (that I suppose it will be shipped with just Sierra)?

Many thanks again guys!

 

[tn-xyz]

One question I have is can this system have the new High Sierra Os?

maybe. you can upgrade though.

Also regarding time machine can a back up done on High Sierra (my old 2017 21.5" machine) be transfer to my new 27" (that I suppose it will be shipped with just Sierra)?

yes.

 

[raulsbd79]

I have my new 2017 27” iMac!! It’s the one with the 1TB fusion drive, anyone knows if I can update it to High Sierra or I will have any issues by doing so?

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Apple suggest waiting for an update in order the new APFS can be installed. You could of course update now under the old HFS formatting, but then this would require an erase and install when the update for Fusion drives is released.

 

[raulsbd79]

Many thanks !

 

[294307]

I don't believe an erase and reinstall will be necessary when APFS support is ready for Fusion Drives. Unless I am mistaken and there has been a recent change of requirements, the OS will convert the Fusion Drive to APFS automatically when a future update brings support for non-SSD drives.

 

[tn-xyz]

I don't believe an erase and reinstall will be necessary when APFS support is ready for Fusion Drives. Unless I am mistaken and there has been a recent change of requirements, the OS will convert the Fusion Drive to APFS automatically when a future update brings support for non-SSD drives.

i agree.
APFS is simply a conversion from HFS+ and has been since beta.
it won't be different for fusion drives once properly supported and OP can still upgrade to high sierra.

 

[294307]

To answer your original question, you can upgrade to High Sierra now if you want, or wait until 10.13.1. I upgraded on release day and on the whole it has been very stable, but your mileage may vary. Take a Time Machine backup before upgrading, so you can easily downgrade if needed.

 

[raulsbd79]

To answer your original question, you can upgrade to High Sierra now if you want, or wait until 10.13.1. I upgraded on release day and on the whole it has been very stable, but your mileage may vary. Take a Time Machine backup before upgrading, so you can easily downgrade if needed.

Do you think 10.13.1 will support fusion drives already?

Many thanks for your replies guys!!