Is the base model good enough?

[AlexGraphicD]

I am tempted selling my late '15 27'' 2TB Fusion m395 iMac seeing how great of an update the 2017 iMacs are with the improved cpu and gpu speeds.
My main concern is that I can't spend money for the mid 575 model, so if I would buy, it would be the base model and this time I would go pure SSD the 512gb.
So I'd like to know if the 570 gpu model is sufficient enough for graphic design (photoshop, illustrator, indesign) and also some casual video editing in 1080p and 4k, while brwosing and driving the pixels on the screen with no noticeable lag. I don't intend to do any 3d Animation, or VR developing.

 

[Asclepio]

i think the base model with SSD is the best iMac to buy right now, take a look at these charts https://www.macrumors.com/2017/06/21/2017-27-inch-imac-benchmarks/
some i7 cpus have well know thermal issues, as for the gpu the 570 is good enough for 1080 and 4k. the higher specs imho don't fit in the current iMac chassis for a silent experience that "all in one" should offer.

 

[Chancha]

It is one of those times where the base model isn't too underwhelmingly castrated. With the slight loss in performance you gain back some heat efficiency and obviously also some cost savings. While a budget I would go for the base and upgrade the SSD as much as you can.

 

[EugW]

I would keep your existing iMac. To be honest, that doesn't seem like money well spent in your scenario, assuming I understand you correctly. If you want SSD for data, just get yourself a Thunderbolt SSD, or else USB 3 SSD.

Considering you're short on money right now, I'd just save up until 2018 and buy a 6-core iMac when it comes out for a huge boost in multi-threaded speed. That's what I might have done had I not needed to buy right now.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

And console yourself with this ~ the next model will be better anyway!

 

[EugW]

And console yourself with this ~ the next model will be better anyway!

Hugely better. The next generation of higher end mainstream i5 and also the mainstream i7 chips will be 6-core. It's likely the lower end i5 chips will be 4-core though.

Base clock speeds on the 6-core chips will likely drop compared to current 4-core, but obviously the highly multithreaded applications will benefit greatly. For example, the likely scenario is a 91 Watt 6-core i7 with 12 MB cache and hyperthreading. 12 virtual cores! This would be the direct replacement for my 7700K. The base clock might be below 4 GHz, but the Turbo may be 4 GHz or higher.

I'm not convinced the types of ports included would change, but maybe that will happen too, because we're due for a form factor change. The current front face aesthestics is from 2009.

 

[Jaffaman27]

I'm not convinced the types of ports included would change, but maybe that will happen too, because we're due for a form factor change. The current front face aesthestics is from 2009.

But also, when the next iMac comes and if there is a redesign.. Most likely you will lose the option of upgrading the RAM yourself..

 

[MadDane]

But also, when the next iMac comes and if there is a redesign.. Most likely you will lose the option of upgrading the RAM yourself..

I am quite convinced you are right about this. Even in the iMac Pro you have to pull off the screen in order to upgrade the RAM.

 

[576316]

Sounds like, for your use case, a base model iMac would be just fine. You're not doing any serious heavy lifting that requires higher end internals.

 

[randian]

But also, when the next iMac comes and if there is a redesign.. Most likely you will lose the option of upgrading the RAM yourself..

I thought the 27" models have always had user-upgradeable RAM. Why would Apple change it now?

 

[MacDevil7334]

I thought the 27" models have always had user-upgradeable RAM. Why would Apple change it now?

Apple has been steadily eliminating user-upgradable RAM from the entire line of Macs for the past 5 years or so. I fully expect the 27-inch iMac to be the next victim whenever it is redesigned.

 

[trsblader]

I thought the 27" models have always had user-upgradeable RAM. Why would Apple change it now?

So far yes, but the iMac pro doesn't have user friendly up-gradable ram and Apple has confirmed that it is not user up-gradable. I'm not sure if it's been confirmed if it's soldered in or if you can take the screen off and upgrade. There's always the chance now in the future redesign or not, that the 27" lose the user up-gradable ram option.

 

[MacDevil7334]

At the end of the day, it's in Apple's financial interest to eliminate user-upgradeable RAM from all their products. I ordered a 27-inch iMac yesterday. If I wanted to configure the machine with 32 GB of RAM at order, it would cost me a preposterous $600. Instead I ordered a kit from Cruicial for $215 and I'll get to keep the 8 GB that ships with the computer for a total of 40 GB.

BUT, if I didn't have the option to upgrade the RAM myself, I would be left with two choices. Option 1 would be to upgrade the RAM at the time of purchase and pay Apple's insane markup. Option 2 would be to save money at purchase and go with the base RAM. But, that would mean my machine would probably become obsolete sooner, at which point I would have to buy a new one. Either way, Apple has made more money off of me by preventing me from upgrading the RAM myself.

Now, there miiiiiiiiiiight be a case to be made that the lack of user upgradeable RAM is a necessity in Apple's laptops given that they are thin and crammed to the gills with components and batteries. But, it's absolutely inexcusable in the iMac. We can still upgrade the 27-inch for now, but I fully expect that to disappear with the next redesign.

 

[EugW]

So far yes, but the iMac pro doesn't have user friendly up-gradable ram and Apple has confirmed that it is not user up-gradable. I'm not sure if it's been confirmed if it's soldered in or if you can take the screen off and upgrade. There's always the chance now in the future redesign or not, that the 27" lose the user up-gradable ram option.

? When did they confirm that? Link? It isn't even out until Dec.

 

[trsblader]

? When did they confirm that? Link? It isn't even out until Dec.

https://9to5mac.com/2017/06/05/imac-pro-ram-and-space-gray-accessories/

"Additionally, Apple has confirmed to us that the RAM in the iMac Pro will not be user-replaceable. This shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise given Apple’s other recent products, but nevertheless it means users are stuck with however much RAM they purchase from Apple."

Additionally, pictures on Apple's website show where the ram is placed, and then an image of the case itself and there appears to be no door there. That's obviously not confirmation, but it's certainly not offering up a contradiction to 9to5mac's claims.

 

[EugW]

https://9to5mac.com/2017/06/05/imac-pro-ram-and-space-gray-accessories/

"Additionally, Apple has confirmed to us that the RAM in the iMac Pro will not be user-replaceable. This shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise given Apple’s other recent products, but nevertheless it means users are stuck with however much RAM they purchase from Apple."

Additionally, pictures on Apple's website show where the ram is placed, and then an image of the case itself and there appears to be no door there. That's obviously not confirmation, but it's certainly not offering up a contradiction to 9to5mac's claims.

View attachment 705294

View attachment 705295

Well, that sucks.

 

[c613m]

Base model + 512SSD for me. And will upgrade RAM in a month or so to 16GB or 24GB.

I debated this vs the high end and 2TB Fusion Drive, in the end, I think the choice for base model with added ssd and ram will be extremely good. Can't wait. Ordered 20 June and order still processing

 

[Quash]

Base model is easily the best value, go for it

6 Core CPU's are probably gonna be standard from next year so that quad core i7 is not the greatest investment now anyway.

 

[dollystereo]

At the end of the day, it's in Apple's financial interest to eliminate user-upgradeable RAM from all their products. I ordered a 27-inch iMac yesterday. If I wanted to configure the machine with 32 GB of RAM at order, it would cost me a preposterous $600. Instead I ordered a kit from Cruicial for $215 and I'll get to keep the 8 GB that ships with the computer for a total of 40 GB.

BUT, if I didn't have the option to upgrade the RAM myself, I would be left with two choices. Option 1 would be to upgrade the RAM at the time of purchase and pay Apple's insane markup. Option 2 would be to save money at purchase and go with the base RAM. But, that would mean my machine would probably become obsolete sooner, at which point I would have to buy a new one. Either way, Apple has made more money off of me by preventing me from upgrading the RAM myself.

Now, there miiiiiiiiiiight be a case to be made that the lack of user upgradeable RAM is a necessity in Apple's laptops given that they are thin and crammed to the gills with components and batteries. But, it's absolutely inexcusable in the iMac. We can still upgrade the 27-inch for now, but I fully expect that to disappear with the next redesign.

This should be illegal, all desktop computer should have user upgradable ram/HD/SSD. We should have computers that last as long as we can, resources are not limitless.

 

[Falcon80]

Base model is easily the best value, go for it

6 Core CPU's are probably gonna be standard from next year so that quad core i7 is not the greatest investment now anyway.

The mid-tier version looks pretty good as well. Faster yet with good thermal.

 

[AlexGraphicD]

Thanks for the input. I didn't know that next year there's gonna be an iMac with 6 core CPU, although I don't know exactly if that is going to be a huge difference on my real life usage. But I'm no tech expert so, maybe I'll wait and see.
What about HDR? Do the new models support HDR video?

 

[Firebrand]

I didn't know that next year there's gonna be an iMac with 6 core [...]

Source?
[doublepost=1498240838][/doublepost]

This should be illegal, all desktop computer should have user upgradable ram/HD/SSD. We should have computers that last as long as we can, resources are not limitless.

Yep, I wonder if the spacegray iMac Pro is a taste to come for the (classic) iMac, concerning RAM lock-out...

 

[MacDevil7334]

Yep, I wonder if the spacegray iMac Pro is a taste to come for the (classic) iMac, concerning RAM lock-out...

I also find it funny that the "consumer" iMac has user-upgradable RAM but the upcoming "pro" version does not. Seems pretty clear this is the direction Apple wants to go with the entire Mac line. The 2017 may well be the last model of iMac where the RAM can be upgraded after purchase.

 

[Firebrand]

I also find it funny that the "consumer" iMac has user-upgradable RAM but the upcoming "pro" version does not. Seems pretty clear this is the direction Apple wants to go with the entire Mac line. The 2017 may well be the last model of iMac where the RAM can be upgraded after purchase.

Fusion RAM :-(

 

[propower]

I am auditioning a base model and a i7. The base is quite impressive. I am not a big video guy so the 580 is mostly lost on me , Still - I dislike the Fusion drive very much - slow and noisy. Absolutely will replace with one of the SSD choices as a BTO if I go this route.