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Razeus

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jul 11, 2008
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Read the fine print on "How much storage is right for you".

The 1TB Fusion Drive pairs a 1TB hard drive with 24GB of fast flash — enough to store important OS X files and applications to ensure fast startup, near instant wake from sleep and quick application launching, with room left over for your most frequently used files and apps. The 2TB and 3TB Fusion Drives pair a larger hard drive with 128GB of fast flash storage, providing even more space for your most frequently used files. For the best performance, iMac systems with 32GB of memory should be configured with a 2TB or larger Fusion Drive or all flash storage.

http://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac?product=MK472LL/A&step=config#
 
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Yes, this was kind of a "hidden downgrade" that does nothing except save Apple some $$ and will catch many people unaware. You can spec a very nice 27 inch iMac for $2500 +, but this change in the fusion configuration, the continued high prices on RAM and SSD and the insistence on putting a slow 5400 rpm hard drive in the base iMac in 2015 doesn't give me many warm and fuzzies about Apple right now.
 
Really don't understand Apple any more. They were always about good kit at a premium price. Now it's all about shouting about how great a product is while quietly downgrading the specs or taking away any flexibility (e.g. Soldering ram to the logic board) while keeping the price the same.

They're the richest company in the world, it's not as though they have to squeeze every last penny from the margins. This is just bait and switch tactics to twist your arm to upgrade.

Look at the price difference between the 2 and 3TB fusion drives, then compare those to retail prices of the same. There's nothing special about them, but £80 for an extra TB is obscene, when the difference at retail is about £30-40. And of course it's a sealed unit, so you can't upgrade your own.

The only thing keeping me with Apple is the OS, it's certainly not the rip off pricing structure.
 
Really don't understand Apple any more. They were always about good kit at a premium price. Now it's all about shouting about how great a product is while quietly downgrading the specs or taking away any flexibility (e.g. Soldering ram to the logic board) while keeping the price the same.

They're the richest company in the world, it's not as though they have to squeeze every last penny from the margins. This is just bait and switch tactics to twist your arm to upgrade.

Look at the price difference between the 2 and 3TB fusion drives, then compare those to retail prices of the same. There's nothing special about them, but £80 for an extra TB is obscene, when the difference at retail is about £30-40. And of course it's a sealed unit, so you can't upgrade your own.

The only thing keeping me with Apple is the OS, it's certainly not the rip off pricing structure.

Yes totally agree a family member is now going to have to spend £1849 to get the 2TB Fusion drive when 1TB would have sufficed. Not worth getting the 1TB option now.
 
Most people who buy the fusion drive buy it because it promises SSD like performance with more storage for less money. That promise is still upheld with the new 24GB SSD. They have no idea how nor do they care how it is done. Apple markets it as 1TB - 3TB, not 1.128TB etc (although thats what you got).
So they have now reduced the price while offering the same performance. As I said most didnt even know you used to get 1.128 or 3.128TB from the 1 or 3 TB fusion drive models, so there wont be a difference for the majority of people.

The 5400rpm drive in the 21.5" is a absolute joke though, it should be a 7200rpm drive.
 
Why get fusion to begin with?
Get the SSD option.....you won't regret it.

BTW - this is in the base 1TB fusion model which has a price decrease over last year.
 
Read the fine print on "How much storage is right for you".
Aww man, that just sinks it. I was trying to justify the iMac but this is the straw that breaks the camels back. In my company we call this addition through subtraction, i.e., my company says something positive about a new benefit but in actuality they took a benefit away.
 
it does seem a bit 'sneaky' by apple hiding (the reduction) in the small print.

I wonder how much extra profit this will generate for them. 128>24 GB?

Thanks OP as I would _never_ have noticed that.
 
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Really don't understand Apple any more. They were always about good kit at a premium price.

Agree completely. Back in the Steve Jobs days, you payed a premium price, but you at least got a product that was well put together, had reasonable specs, was super reliable, and "just worked". My own experience in the 10 plus years I've used their products was that of not a single hardware problem in that entire time, spread over three computers. We still have two of those computers in the household, one from 2004, and one from 2006. They are more reliable than the more recent models we replaced them with.

Nowadays, you pay a premium price, but entry level Apple tech is getting to the point where it is barely useable. You are now effectively forced to upgrade, just to get something you can actually use: iPhones with 4k recording ability and 16gb memory, a similar problem with iPads, low processor speeds that are similar to a NETBOOK on entry level iMacs and Mac Minis; it's getting ridiculous. It seems to me that Apple tech is in no way premium anymore. It's as cheap and nasty as Apple can possibly make it, and put into a premium looking case, to keep up appearances. The classic example was with the Apple Watch, where one of the selling points of the stainless steel and edition watches was the packaging materials.

What hasn't gone down in quality, is Apple's PR department, which continues to do a fantastic job of promoting their products as "premium" when they no longer are.
 
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My next desktop won't be an iMac and that hurts me to say.

They've officially priced me out of the market due to the "forced" upgrades for my needs (photography processing and now editing 4k video now).

I can get more computer on Windows 10 which is an absolutely stellar OS. And with Office 2016 and a new CEO, Microsoft is proving that they still have some fight left in them. Competition is good.
 
24gb is on the paltry side.

It should have been at least 48gb.
64gb would have been better.
 
the smaller you make it the more I realize how much you stink for not giving it to me for free... considering the going rate for a great 120GB SSD now is 60 bucks, how greedy does apple look for not having a 24GB fusion drive standard...
 
The only thing keeping me with Apple is the OS, it's certainly not the rip off pricing structure.
Its funny you mentioned that. I've been using my SP3 for the past few days, and I was yearning to get back to my Mac. There's just some things like I like doing more on OS X, then in Windows. I guess I may end up running my MBP into the ground until I decide what computer I will buy.
 
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I guess I may end up running my MBP into the ground until I decide what computer I will buy.

My Mac mini is coming up to three years old which is when I would normally consider upgrading. There's nothing in the current Mac range that grabs me enough to bother upgrading, especially with regards to the mini, so I'll just do the same as you and stay with what I've got for now.
 
Its funny you mentioned that. I've been using my SP3 for the past few days, and I was yearning to get back to my Mac. There's just some things like I like doing more on OS X, then in Windows. I guess I may end up running my MBP into the ground until I decide what computer I will buy.

If in doubt, do nowt.
 
My Mac mini is coming up to three years old which is when I would normally consider upgrading.
Funny thing is, I've long considered my 2012 rMBP to be the best laptop I've owned and I still standby those words. Its been the best and I guess that's one reason why I'm hesitant to upgrade. The bar has been set pretty high and seeing what I get now, doesn't seem to exceed that.

If in doubt, do nowt.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean? Are you advocating buying a new machine now?
 
I think people are being a bit too dramatic. When you take into account that to buy a comparable display separately would cost $1700-$2000, and the fact that there is pretty much no competitive all-in-one on the PC side, I'd call the 5K iMac a good bang for the buck. The XPS 27 $2199 model only comes with 32GB SSD +1TB HDD, a GT 750M, and no 5K retina display. There's simply no other AIO so well-rounded for the price(Screen, build quality, performance). The upselling sucks, but lets quit pretending that PC manufacturers don't do it. On the new Surface Book, you can't even get a 512 SSD or 16GB of RAM unless you get the top end $2699 model.

Now, the 4K 21.5" iMac is BS, though. There's no excuse for the lack of a dGPU BTO and a standard HDD. I'm severely disappointed and see it as a missed opportunity. They could have at least put the M380 in there or give it as a BTO option.
 
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