New 2019 iMac 21.5 extremely slow

[nkranjce]

Hi guys, 3 months ago I purchased new 2019 iMac (21.5 QC i3 3.6GHz Retina 4K/8GB/1TB/Radeon Pro 555X w 2GB). It was just sitting in the box while because I didn't want to open it before I move to my new apartment.

3 days ago I put in on my new desk, turned it on for the first time and I'm not sure what I was expecting, but everything seems really slow, especially compared to my 2013 MacBook Pro.

It's not that slow when accessing files, but when I try to open settings or search for something the springing wheel is always there.

I'm aware of SSD and HDD differences, but is it this something I should just learn to live with or my new iMac needs some time to get ready for regular usage?

Additionally, I was thinking of getting Sasmung X5 500GB as a boot disk. In that case, can I still use my HDD storage to store files?

 

[rbart]

If you have HDD only storage, it's normal. It's really slow, and you have to live with that or upgrade to SSD.
Apple shouldn't sell so slow machines

 

[PBMB]

3 days ago I put in on my new desk, turned it on for the first time and I'm not sure what I was expecting, but everything seems really slow, especially compared to my 2013 MacBook Pro.

It's not that slow when accessing files, but when I try to open settings or search for something the springing wheel is always there.

Your description leaves considerable margins for subjective interpretation. Could you measure the time it takes for a certain operation and post it here? Maybe it is still indexing the HDD content?

If it is not a hassle to do so, another option would be to erase everything and re-install macOS.

 

[crouchingtiger]

Just give it an hour or so as it finishes Spotlight indexing etc. reboot, spinning wheels should be gone. This happens whenever I reinstall MacOS.

 

[CheesePuff]

You need to switch to a SSD drive, easiest would be to buy a Thunderbolt 3 external SSD and use it as your boot and main drive: https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Rock...+3+nvme&qid=1567168735&s=gateway&sr=8-13&th=1

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Budget computer with 1TB HDD equals slow molasses performance. As suggestew above you should have got a mahine with an SSD.

 

[nkranjce]

Thanks!

The problem solved itself.
I wasn't able to update following apps: Pages, Keynote, Numbers and iMovie. Instruction in App Store said I need to accept them on the Account page in the App Store.
I had to delete mentioned apps and bring them back from trash. Everything is "normal" so far. It boots much faster and no spinning wheel for me anymore.

However, I'm still getting an external SSD. Any thoughts on SanDisk's 500GB Extreme Portable as a boot drive, since I'm inpatient and unwilling illing to wait for mentioned X5?

 

[bpeeps]

After the storage price drop, wasn’t it a no brained to upgrade to an SSD. Just completely a mistake to buy a computer with an hard drive in 2019.