Is a 2011 model too old?

[Soondae]

You sure about that? The only Mac that didn't get USB 3 ports in 2012 was the Mac Pro.

OMG you are correct, Just saw that my Superdrive is running on a USB 3 controller. I never realized that this model supported USB 3.0

 

[Guy Clark]

A better older-machine buy would be a 2009-2012 Mac Pro, the tower version. You can upgrade those in various ways including inexpensive USB3 cards, updated GPU's, CPU's, SSD, and lots of memory, all very easily. However that may or may not be the right answer for you, depending on how eager you are to upgrade things yourself, plus you need to factor in a monitor and keyboard. If you go iMac I agree with the others that I would stick to 2012 or later. There's nothing wrong with the older iMacs, and indeed I have an early 2009, but I wouldn't pay (much) money for one. Lack of USB3 is a major issue.

Lack of USB 3.0 is a downside but there is Firewire 800 which although now old tech still works well even in 2018.

 

[Lil Chillbil]

A Quad Core 2009 Mac Pro wouldn't be a bad choice

 

[loby]

This is going to date me, but the computer can basically last forever, it's the O/S that is the issue. I have electronics, not tubes, but transistors, resistors, etc. that are over 40 years old, and they all still work. Computers have gone to circuit boards, an advance from my old electronics, but there is nothing inherent in them that will cause them to stop working.

My 6116 from the early 90's boots and will operate in its antiquated way. My iMac from the early aughts will also boot and your can do things with it still. My 2008 3,1 is still going strong. I bought at the end of last year a 5,1, not because my 3,1 didn't work, but because the O/S is EODing the older Mac Pros, and the 5,1 seems to be configured in a way to give it at least five more years.

The practical issue for any computer is the operating system, and whether it can continue to communicate with a world where everything is being updated in a way that your old computer can no longer communicate with the world. That doesn't mean it can't continue to function for your personal use, to type up letters on your outdated version of Word for Mac, or play music through that iTunes program you downloaded twenty years ago. It just means you may not be able to access the internet or have limited functionality, because Safari from 1995 can't read HTML5 and no one is updating a version of Safari to work on your computer.

I personally like keeping the old Apple computers around, modern antiques.

Good points. I believe it always just depends on one's needs.

I still use a MacBook Pro 2010 for general stuff and it can handle still some advance things in Logic Pro X for an example. I still use some expensive hardware that works and is good from that time period , so again I think it just depends on your application.

Operating System is always the issue and not necessarily hardware now-a-days. Me thinks that hardware came to maturity in technology during mid 2000's, so really anything preventing older hardware from about 2008 on from being usable is just the Operation System, internet and other peripherals like iPhones etc. and iOS.

Dual Core and 4 GB of RAM and a decent graphic processor still holds out for general overall purpose stuff for most average users. My wife is an average user and she is happy with her Mac mini (cute see says) 2009 on her desk (hard to believe).

I think during the years of 2007-8 to about 2013 kind of ended the big jumps of upgraded needed hardware. Like Steve Jobs said, "What wrong with Dual Core?" If you are a power user "Yes" we need more, but general web surfing, doc or bean counting Tim Cook spreed sheets, iMessages, Facebook, enjoi and unicorn stuff, streaming music or watching movies, the current offerings are ok.

People have issues paying premium pricing for older technology and want higher grade internals at Apple's premium pricing. I understand and agree as I had to pay a hefty price for a Mac Pro 2013 a year ago or so for work before the $1,000 reduction (ouch), but it is what it is. I am it seems one of the few who like the trash can...but hey, to each its own.

But for more power demanding stuff like Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X etc..we need some power, so the old stuff is questionable for usage.

 

[Guy Clark]

Spending significant money on a 5-6+ year old computer is IMHO a fools errand.

Yes, the hardware is still powerful. But they're well out of warranty and especially with the discrete GPU models, due for hardware failure of various types.

Hard disk drives have a failure rate that goes up significantly at year 4 and beyond.
The GPUs have a known issue.

Its up to you whether or not you want to risk it, but just know that expecting the hardware to be failure free for any significant period of time is a risk. I would not be spending any more money than you can afford to throw away, should the device have something like a GPU or logic board failure within 6-12 months; because that's a risk you face.

If you're willing to take that risk, go for it; but if throwing this money at the machine and having it fail will hurt you financially, then look at something closer to 1-2 years old, ideally with warranty coverage. IMHO the money people are asking for secondhand Mac hardware is crazy, but...

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The caveat to that being that computer components can just randomly fail without warning, without having necessarily been exposed to abuse or poor treatment. Same goes for brand new or under-warranty hardware, but at least you're covered in that instance, and the rates are much lower for the first 3 years (which is why Apple will offer applecare for that long - they're not stupid and have run the numbers, 3 years is where various failure rates blow out significantly). I'd also argue that modern hardware is a lot more fragile than the stuff from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Physical limits are being pushed harder.

You literally have no way of knowing whether or not this machine will fail on day 1 or 10 years from now; however law of averages says that there are several components that are out of warranty and on the increasing likelihood of the MTBF curve at this point.

The 2011 iMac has a major advantage over later models in that is user repairable/upgradeable. If the Hard Drive fails it can be easily replaced by the user. I have two 21.5" iMacs one from Late 2009 the other from Mid 2011 both of which I have fully serviced which is something that cannot be readily done with the 2012 iMac onwards.
Furthermore the 2011 iMac has the superb Intel Quad Core Sandy Bridge i5/i7 CPU. A 2011 iMac can be picked up for less than half the original retail price which makes it an outstanding bargain.

 

[elf69]

agree!
I have an 2007 imac and love the fact I can get inside an fix/upgrade.

I would like a newer 2010/2011 model though as this one bit slow and the ram cap too.

 

[AmazingRobie]

Does not matter what it has and doesn't have inside of it. Stay far away from the 2011 model iMacs and the 2008 model MacBook pros. Period. Unless someone gives one to you for free, you've paid too much. It will fail, without fail and if you don't have the bux to fork out to fix it, you'll rue the day you purchased Apple.

 

[coolfactor]

As someone that always purchased used instead of new, I can give you some advice — if you're going to buy used, get the beefiest specs that you can afford. Go even higher than you "think" you might need. Don't aim low on specs, because you'll need them eventually.

Does Apple or any authorized retailers there offer financing? That might be another way in to getting a new machine instead of used.