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iMac late 2012
- Thread starter Rexonite
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300 is a bit steep but definitely not a horrible price. Make sure there's an SSD in there already because they're a bit of a pain to open and using a regular hard drive just isn't an option.
Using OpenCore Legacy Patcher you can install Monterey on it. It will run just as well as Catalina, which is the latest officially supported version for this iMac iirc.
You could probably find a newer iMac for a similar price if you're willing to hunt around for it though.
Using OpenCore Legacy Patcher you can install Monterey on it. It will run just as well as Catalina, which is the latest officially supported version for this iMac iirc.
You could probably find a newer iMac for a similar price if you're willing to hunt around for it though.
You didn’t list the drive type.
I personally wouldn’t get the Late 2012 without the 680MX, which was a pretty decent GPU.
$300 is a little expensive for the specs, imo.
While it doesn’t include a display, you can find M1 Mac Mini for sub $600 sometimes.
I got a top of the line Late 2013 iMac in eBay for $250 a few months ago. Although, it was listed as not working, with symptoms of a failed HDD. I took a chance, and that was all it was.
The point is, the $300 for the specs of your friend’s iMac is a little high. Unless you needed something quickly, and only had $300 to spend, I would pass.
I personally wouldn’t get the Late 2012 without the 680MX, which was a pretty decent GPU.
$300 is a little expensive for the specs, imo.
While it doesn’t include a display, you can find M1 Mac Mini for sub $600 sometimes.
I got a top of the line Late 2013 iMac in eBay for $250 a few months ago. Although, it was listed as not working, with symptoms of a failed HDD. I took a chance, and that was all it was.
The point is, the $300 for the specs of your friend’s iMac is a little high. Unless you needed something quickly, and only had $300 to spend, I would pass.
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eBay is listing 27" 2012 iMacs for around that price ($300) for that configuration - so the price is the same at least on eBay.
I just used a 2012 27" with a GTX 680MX a few hours ago in Photoshop, Premiere, and InDesign, and it was just fine. I would imagine the 675MX is not that much slower.
I just used a 2012 27" with a GTX 680MX a few hours ago in Photoshop, Premiere, and InDesign, and it was just fine. I would imagine the 675MX is not that much slower.
I own quite a few iMacs, the ones I own from the 2011 to 2013 models are:
Mid 2011, i5 (2.7GHz), 6770M 512MB, 32GB RAM
Mid 2011, i7 (3.4GHz), 6970M 2GB, 32GB RAM
Late 2012 i7 (3.4GHz), 675MX 1GB, 32GB RAM
Late 2012 i7 (3.4GHz), 680MX 2GB, 32GB RAM
Late 2013 i7 (3.5GHz), 780M 4GB, 32GB RAM
The only one listed above I bought new was the Late 2012 with the i7 and 680MX, and that one is a beast. The 2013 definitely faster than the Late 2012 with the 680MX, but not nearly the difference from the high end 2011 to high end 2012. I now use the 2013 more than my old favorite, but I only just recently got that one a few months ago.
I personally think that $300 for only the i5, 675MX, 8GB of RAM is a little too much, but then again, maybe I have been lucky in the finds I get.
I got the Late 2012 i7, 675MX iMac last year for only $50 from a friend, but to be fair, the internal HDD broke, so it wasn't technically fully working.
I for the Mid 2011 i5, 6770M for $100 on a local forum back in 2020, it was perfect, but needed a good internal cleaning. It was just too slow. I tried swapping the GPU for a K4100, but I think the used GPU fried. I might get around to looking at it again one day.
The Mid 2011 i7, a friend pulled it from a dumpster, and it didn't work, so he gave it to me. I replaced the HDD and baked the GPU and it worked great. Not only that, it ended up being a top of the line for that year.
Again, I couldn't picture paying $300 for the specs on that iMac, especially with the M1 Mac prices being so close, but I fully understand that the OP could be in a totally different position than I am in. I would keep looking, but if you are in a pinch and need something right away, maybe it might be worth it to you to take your friend's iMac for $300.
I have two Late 2012 iMacs, both with the i7, but one with the 680MX and the other with the 675MX, and the 680MX has about 40% higher fps than the 675MX on WoW. It is a hell of a upgrade for gaming.
Not sure how that translate to Pro apps like Photoshop and Premiere. I assume the 2GB of VRAM in the 680MX would give it a significant performance increase over the 675MX with only 1GB VRAM.
I tried to look up some Pro app benchmarks comparing the two, but could only fine gaming ones. Here is a huge list of comparisons, the 680MX typically has a 30%-40% increase fps over the 675MX:
www.notebookcheck.net
That said, I am unsure if GPU performance has as big of an impact on graphic design as RAM and CPU would.
I remember now, prior to finding the 2013, I was looking at a Late 2012 iMac, with the 3.2 i5, 680MX for $150. It had a damaged display, but I was going to take the display off of my Late 2012 with the 675MX and put it on the eBay one.
But, I found the Late 2013, i7 (3.5GHz), 780M 4GB, 32GB RAM instead. Even @ $350, the Late 2013 ended up being a pretty good deal even with the HDD not working in it. Although, it could have been DoA and I would have been screwed.
Mid 2011, i5 (2.7GHz), 6770M 512MB, 32GB RAM
Mid 2011, i7 (3.4GHz), 6970M 2GB, 32GB RAM
Late 2012 i7 (3.4GHz), 675MX 1GB, 32GB RAM
Late 2012 i7 (3.4GHz), 680MX 2GB, 32GB RAM
Late 2013 i7 (3.5GHz), 780M 4GB, 32GB RAM
The only one listed above I bought new was the Late 2012 with the i7 and 680MX, and that one is a beast. The 2013 definitely faster than the Late 2012 with the 680MX, but not nearly the difference from the high end 2011 to high end 2012. I now use the 2013 more than my old favorite, but I only just recently got that one a few months ago.
I personally think that $300 for only the i5, 675MX, 8GB of RAM is a little too much, but then again, maybe I have been lucky in the finds I get.
I got the Late 2012 i7, 675MX iMac last year for only $50 from a friend, but to be fair, the internal HDD broke, so it wasn't technically fully working.
I for the Mid 2011 i5, 6770M for $100 on a local forum back in 2020, it was perfect, but needed a good internal cleaning. It was just too slow. I tried swapping the GPU for a K4100, but I think the used GPU fried. I might get around to looking at it again one day.
The Mid 2011 i7, a friend pulled it from a dumpster, and it didn't work, so he gave it to me. I replaced the HDD and baked the GPU and it worked great. Not only that, it ended up being a top of the line for that year.
Again, I couldn't picture paying $300 for the specs on that iMac, especially with the M1 Mac prices being so close, but I fully understand that the OP could be in a totally different position than I am in. I would keep looking, but if you are in a pinch and need something right away, maybe it might be worth it to you to take your friend's iMac for $300.
The 680MX is a beast.
I have two Late 2012 iMacs, both with the i7, but one with the 680MX and the other with the 675MX, and the 680MX has about 40% higher fps than the 675MX on WoW. It is a hell of a upgrade for gaming.
Not sure how that translate to Pro apps like Photoshop and Premiere. I assume the 2GB of VRAM in the 680MX would give it a significant performance increase over the 675MX with only 1GB VRAM.
I tried to look up some Pro app benchmarks comparing the two, but could only fine gaming ones. Here is a huge list of comparisons, the 680MX typically has a 30%-40% increase fps over the 675MX:
Graphics Card Comparison - Head 2 Head
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX - Benchmarks, Tests and Comparisons
That said, I am unsure if GPU performance has as big of an impact on graphic design as RAM and CPU would.
Correction on this one, I looked it up on my eBay account, and I actually paid $350 for this one on eBay back in Feb 2022.
I remember now, prior to finding the 2013, I was looking at a Late 2012 iMac, with the 3.2 i5, 680MX for $150. It had a damaged display, but I was going to take the display off of my Late 2012 with the 675MX and put it on the eBay one.
But, I found the Late 2013, i7 (3.5GHz), 780M 4GB, 32GB RAM instead. Even @ $350, the Late 2013 ended up being a pretty good deal even with the HDD not working in it. Although, it could have been DoA and I would have been screwed.