Sadly though the iMac is the desktop that most people buy and it having a spinning hard drive really does affect performance. The 21.5 inch iMac has a 5400rpm Hard drive, and it REALLY slows down the machine. I cannot believe they are still selling this as a default option.
What you state is true; 5400 RPM drives do slow down algorithmic and computational operations of certain tasks within a computing system environment, yes. However, the read and write speeds of the drive are/were designed for a specified use case and in thise instances the drive works just fine. Most normal consumers do not even know they have, or don't have for that matter, a specific hard drive in their computer. You cannot cherry-pick your data set for use from an applicant pool of Macrumor readers, or you and your friends, etc. as the bias is extremely intact we and corrupts valid data you are trying to use to make a point. When I say "most normal consumers," I am alluding to the 95% of people of use their iMac or CPU system for surfing the Internet, email, chat, Facebook, etc.; tasks using meanial resources and only needing basic hardware computer parts to operate efficiently within the given threshold allowed (while still maintaining high customer satisfaction rates from customers), and that allows the use of the 5400 RPM drives.
While I do agree they should provide a basic option at the same price point for a smaller sized SSD instead of the larger HD, again their "research, development, customer feedback, etc." has all led to the decision they made to continue using the specified drives. I am not going to sit here and say I know better than Apple based on my opinion or thoughts without the facts, that's just ignorant; they are after all the most profitable business in the world lol so they must be doing something right somewhere. I will say the transition is there to SSD drives and the tota transition within he iMac lineup has just not been a necessity until now (according again to the research and data they spend billions of dollars annually collecting). I do feel it was more important to change the mobile lineup to include standard SSD as there is usually only one storage option on the road with a laptop, the built-in HD. Unlike a home PC where you can hook up an extern TB drive for added storage and have it rate Read and Write both faster still, even without an SSD internally. So the contexts are different and the situations are different, but things are changing yes.
Sometimes we just have to step back and remember that our voices, the voices of us individuals in Macrumors, are the extreme minority and not a realistic sampling of likely identified computer owners in general. While we all here may agree or disagree to a point, the world away from here has no clue. And as a perfect example, my mother sent me a text earlier this morning and asked me, "... What's this new Apple Music thing I heard about?" Not only does she have no clue lol, she has no idea what iTunes Radio is either. So most people in categorized in the general applicant saming pool are not affected by most of what personally affects users like you and I.
Hope you understand what I am trying to say and see what I mean lol.
Have a great day.
Best...
USVet96
