is the lowest end 27 retina worth it?

[squaredeux]

the $1799 version that is.

here's what i want/need:

-dont care for max ram (plan to do it myself)
-want a AIO no matter what and the 27 retina is just what i ended up wanting to get after years of considering which AIO to get.
-only light gaming. only games i play sometimes are diabloIII and starcraftII.
-no heavy video, audio, photo or graphical processing.
-only video i plan to do is some iMovie videos
-quiet sound is a must. doesn't have to be absolutely silent but am considering chucking my 5 years old laptop out the window because the sound is so loud.
-not willing to pay more for a SSD. when its out of warranty, i'd like to put in an internal SSD or a pcie SSD (if its possible - can anyone tell me if it is?). in the meantime, i'd probably just thunderbolt an external SSD as my main hard drive and not use or use the 1TB as just storage. i don't need a lot of data memory - hardly any. all of my stuff is on an external HD.

so is the 1799 one "worth it"? or should i really pay more for a better version. i mean i guess it really comes down to the GPU since i dont really care about the CPU. i'd really like for them to make SSD standard but at the price point i just dont think i can stomach it.

so can anyone give me some thoughts/feedback/advice?

 

[alexxk]

hard to say.. no one really knows what the M380 can do. That 5K screen might cry if that GPU is too weak.. so hard to say!!

 

[squaredeux]

hard to say.. no one really knows what the M380 can do. That 5K screen might cry if that GPU is too weak.. so hard to say!!

isnt the 380 a rebadge?

 

[whodatrr]

At least get a Fusion drive. But better to at least spring for the 2TB Fusion, as it has a bigger SSD.

Trust me, this will make your system seem twice as fast.

 

[squaredeux]

At least get a Fusion drive. But better to at least spring for the 2TB Fusion, as it has a bigger SSD.

Trust me, this will make your system seem twice as fast.

more than an external SSD via thunderbolt? or substantially more?

 

[whodatrr]

In 2015, a 5400 spinner is a paperweight. You'll boot slowly, open apps slowly, and spend a lot of your day watching beach balls. It'll make you feel like you're stuck in 2008...

more than an external SSD via thunderbolt? or substantially more?

 

[squaredeux]

In 2015, a 5400 spinner is a paperweight. You'll boot slowly, open apps slowly, and spend a lot of your day watching beach balls. It'll make you feel like you're stuck in 2008...

yeah i know the HDD is gonna suck balls. i guess my question is, whats gonna be faster, external SSD via thunderbolt or fusion? 2TB fusion is a $270 upgrade.

 

[whodatrr]

Better to have a useful drive inside, than to spend almost as much on an external. But an external later, if you feel the need. That's the best $279 you can possibly spend.

Also consider resale value. Nobody is going to want a system with a slow spinner in 2020... Nobody. And internal drive replacement in these systems is not for the faint of heart.

yeah i know the HDD is gonna suck balls. i guess my question is, whats gonna be faster, external SSD via thunderbolt or fusion? 2TB fusion is a $270 upgrade.

 

[alexxk]

I think the 27 inch uses a 7200 HD. Either way, yes get a fusion drive.

 

[Malus120]

Is the baseline retina iMac worth it?
Generally speaking absolutly not.

For only $200 more you can get a model with a faster CPU, GPU, and a 1TB fusion drive.

While that model is not without its faults (24gb ssd in 2015 apple, REALLY!?), it will still run circles around the spinning rust only base model.

If you're on a budget get a refurb 2014 model with a real 1tb fusion drive.

The only way the base model makes any sense at all is if you already have an external ssd and don't need the additional horsepower.

So the real question is do you already own an external ssd to use with your new iMac? If the answer is yes, the baseline model could be s good for for you. Otherwise just say no, as you'll just end up paying more once you factor in the cost of the ssd.