So I got a deal on a 2012 iMac Core i5 2.7GHz 8GB RAM 1TB HDD Catalina for $140 and I was wondering if its worth buying and if not what IMac model would you buy?
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Is this a bad IMac buy?
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It would depend what you plan to do with it, and how important $140 is to you. I'm typing this on a 2011 2.3 GHz Core I5 MacBook Pro with 16 gigs RAM, 750 gig HDD. It works, but gets slower and slower on websites, to the point I'm looking to replace it, and have been for the past year. I'm waiting for the upgraded M1 MacBook Pros.
Yes it's a bad buy. It's not officially supported under newer versions of MacOS and will stop getting security updates in a little over a year when MacOS 13 drops. MacOS is also really designed with a SSD in mind these days and runs slow on HDD. And replacing the HDD on those requires cutting the adhesive around the screen off and then having to replace the adhesive. Not worth it IMO. I would not use a computer with a HDD as the main drive these days.
nambuccaheadsau
macrumors 68020
As it stands yes. You will find the 5400rpm laptop style drive terribly slow and the 8GB memory barely adequate and memory is not user upgradeable. From that model opening them up comes with risks of gturning it ionto a door stopper.
Suggest you get a 1TB SSD and connect it externally via USB3 and using gthat as your boot drive.
Suggest you get a 1TB SSD and connect it externally via USB3 and using gthat as your boot drive.
After making a few stupid mistakes when I was young, I now NEVER buy anything just because it is a "good deal." Not even stocks.
The most important criterion is to get what you want/need; price is important, but it is secondary.
I would buy an iMac that will be supported for at least a few years, i.e., one that is less than 5 years old.
The most important criterion is to get what you want/need; price is important, but it is secondary.
I would buy an iMac that will be supported for at least a few years, i.e., one that is less than 5 years old.
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Nguyen Duc Hieu
macrumors 68040
It depends on your purpose and the conditions
If you are buying it as a collectibles, then yes, 140$ is a good deal.
If you plan to use it for light jobs (Word processing, web surfing etc.) and the screen is a bright 27" , then jump on it. It's a great deal.
If your are living near me (Ho Chi Minh city), then sell me the seller's info, he he...
za9ra22
macrumors 65816
I have pretty much the same model at home. Great computer in its day, and still viable for a lot of uses now. It's important to recognize the fact that it will be slow, but with software of the day (meaning, not usually the latest versions) it will be as useful as it ever was.
These days, I wouldn't recommend it as a primary system however, unless it would be for a relative short period of time.
I also have a (late) 2015 27-inch, with 2Tb fusion drive. That not only has a retina screen which the 2012 doesn't, but is also a great deal faster. At this point, that would probably be the base-level iMac I'd comfortably recommend.
giv-as-a-ciggy-kent
macrumors regular
21 or 27?
At that price, good buy. I installed BIG sur on an unsupported 2009 iMac and it’s usable as a second PC, the 2012 will be way better.
if I were you I’d get the opening/adhesive kit and upgrade CPU/Ram and disk to i7/32gb/Samsung 860 SSD. So for like 300$ all in you get something that will be comfortable to use for a few more years.
The_Croupier
macrumors 6502
Great buy, i would snap it up without thinking. Its the same price as 4 packs of cigarettes in Australia.
I have the exact same iMac since new. I've opened it twice over the years and that is no big deal if you are careful. Takes about 45 mins or so to open, clean the fan assembly, upgrade the RAM (I went to 16Gb) and fit an SSD and later wifi card and close it up again. I patched it to Big Sur and it runs like a dream. I'll possibly replace it in a couple of years.