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psymac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 17, 2002
549
155
Having decided that I could no longer wait for the updated Mac Mini, will buy the 2017 27" iMac. Tempted to buy the high end 3.8ghz model with 512GB over that of the 3.4ghz entry level model (didn't consider the mid range model, as that typically has very poor value in my experience).

My review of specs show the 3.8ghz model with about a 5-10% performance improvement over the entry 3.4ghz model, with however a price difference of about 16% ($2099 vs $2499). Didn't consider the mid range model, as that typically has very poor value in my experience.

Although not a heavy video editing user, I'm leaning towards the 3.8ghz model as more of a future proof decision. Any thoughts as to your buying decision for either model?
 
Having decided that I could no longer wait for the updated Mac Mini, will buy the 2017 27" iMac. Tempted to buy the high end 3.8ghz model with 512GB over that of the 3.4ghz entry level model (didn't consider the mid range model, as that typically has very poor value in my experience).

My review of specs show the 3.8ghz model with about a 5-10% performance improvement over the entry 3.4ghz model, with however a price difference of about 16% ($2099 vs $2499). Didn't consider the mid range model, as that typically has very poor value in my experience.

Although not a heavy video editing user, I'm leaning towards the 3.8ghz model as more of a future proof decision. Any thoughts as to your buying decision for either model?

Well the 580 gpu is quite a step up too and far more important than the slight speed boost on the cpu for longevity.
 
i bought the mid. Upgraded to 512ssd and i7. Perfect for my needs. The base model in Canada cost more than the hi end model in the US
 
My opinion:

Midrange iMac, 3.5ghz 7600 CPU.
Get either a 256gb SSD (adds $100) or a 512gb SSD (adds $300).
(Use external drives for additional storage, SSD or HDD, whatever you have or can afford)

Unless you're going to be heavy into 4k video, that should do the job for some time to come.
 
I went high on SSD 1TB and stock on memory, then upgraded the memory from OWC 8+16=24GB :). 4.2 GHz i7 with 580 GPU.
 
Tried the mid-tier 27 in. I5 at the aple store today. This thing is a complete beast of a computer! I can only imagine what the fully loaded one can do. To me the current iMac is the best computer they have ever made. i might pull the trigger on one this Winter and use it to gig live with. Thought about a macbook pro but the processor and memory aren't quite there for me yet.
 
Wardie's advice is pretty good.

I always purchase the i7 and for the couple of hundred bucks and generally pick that up in price when I sell every second model on replacement. Buy your memory from OWC and fit yourself. And if you think 512B is big enough, go for it.
 
I upgraded from a 2008 Mac Pro which I had kept going for 9 years by (a) buy high end up front the bits that are not user replaceable and (b) low end the bits that are and then upgrade these as and when.
IMac is obviously a lot less upgradeable than the old MP hence beefy spec now so it lasts eg GPU.
Having said that storage is a different game now though as with USB3/Thunderbolt then external main storage and SSD is usable and fast (non professional). So you could go for a smaller SSD no worries really I just wanted my big Lightroom libraries and home video on internal SSD. And even to be fair you can now run external GPU on it if really needed but $$$.
 
I got the mid-level 27" iMac 5K. 3.5GHz, 8GB RAM upgraded to 24GB with 16GB Crucial memory, 575 Radeon GPU and 512 SSD. Plus I got an external 1TB SSD (Glyph Atom RAID) for data. Whatever you get, get it with SSD. The Fusion drive is painful slow.
 
People define value in different ways. Is it features/dollar? Performance/dollar? Etc.

The best features per dollar is found in the stripped base model. You get the same screen, I/O, OS, keyboard, etc., as every other one. From there, Apple charges a lot for every minor upgrade. E.g. the actual cost for the parts differences between a base and a mid-range model is a few tens of dollars, but Apple charges $200. It's the same situation for the other jumps.

The best over-all performance per dollar is arguably achieved in an SSD-only configuration of the base model. The 512 option seems the most popular. People can manage with 256, especially as you can add a good external SSD drive (e.g. 2TB) down the road, and by comparison Apple's 1 TB is a poor value for the money.

The best performance while maintaining the quietest operation (a factor I find important) would likely be the mid-range model with SSD.

The best value with the highest graphical performance is in the high-end model with the standard I5.

If nothing but the highest performance will do, then there's only one value (outright performance) being sought, and you know what to get (or wait for the iMac Pro).

As always with Apple, for decades now, add your own RAM whenever that's possible.

I'm typing this on a base model with 512 SSD, with aftermarket RAM added. It's a very good machine and I'm quite satisfied.
 
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Yes, I’m coming to that conclusion, especially an Apple refurbished base model with 256GB SSD at $1609.
 
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has this thread come to any final solutions or answers since then?

is relevant, and is helpful to the imac goal -- https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...xperienced-users-it-would-be-helpful.2110913/

While I'd generally suggest providing us with a bit more information about what you do (or plan to do) with your iMac, I think Ph.D., sums it up pretty well (it's literally three replies up but I've quoted it for convenience).

People define value in different ways. Is it features/dollar? Performance/dollar? Etc.

The best features per dollar is found in the stripped base model. You get the same screen, I/O, OS, keyboard, etc., as every other one. From there, Apple charges a lot for every minor upgrade. E.g. the actual cost for the parts differences between a base and a mid-range model is a few tens of dollars, but Apple charges $200. It's the same situation for the other jumps.

The best over-all performance per dollar is arguably achieved in an SSD-only configuration of the base model. The 512 option seems the most popular. People can manage with 256, especially as you can add a good external SSD drive (e.g. 2TB) down the road, and by comparison Apple's 1 TB is a poor value for the money.

The best performance while maintaining the quietest operation (a factor I find important) would likely be the mid-range model with SSD.

The best value with the highest graphical performance is in the high-end model with the standard I5.

If nothing but the highest performance will do, then there's only one value (outright performance) being sought, and you know what to get (or wait for the iMac Pro).

As always with Apple, for decades now, add your own RAM whenever that's possible.

I'm typing this on a base model with 512 SSD, with aftermarket RAM added. It's a very good machine and I'm quite satisfied.

To add just a few things, I think it's probably a bit easier to understand by breaking it down as best value / major specification vs best value / model.

CPU/GPU: The base options (3.4Ghz i5 / Pro 570) clearly offer the greatest performance /$ for casual users, while also operating significantly quieter than the higher end (i7 / Pro 580) BTO options. That said, for certain use cases, the Performance /$ equation changes, and the better CPU/GPU make more sense.

Ram: No question, get the base 8GB and upgrade the rest yourself, you'll save a ton for the exact same thing.

Storage: Anything BUT the 1TB base Fusion Drive. With only a 24-28GB SSD partition even casual users can easily push the drive into HDD performance territory (AKA unacceptably slow for anyone who's used a smart phone/tablet/laptop/desktop computer with any kind of solid state storage in the past 5 years). For this option, the 2TB fusion drive OR (IMHO better yet) an SSD BTO is by far the better option in terms of performance / $.
 
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