Please help → Is it nuts to purchase a 2019 or 2020 27” iMac for very basic family use—is it worth paying the extra amount for the 2020?

[pollybrowne]

We need a desktop for light use—no video editing, no gaming. We have other devices for that.

We just need a desktop for basic family use (ie. papers, creating documents, spreadsheets, email etc.)


I’ve heard various different things about the 2019 vs the 2020 iMac as far as future support—It’s my understanding that the 2020 is the last of the supported intel iMacs.

All of our other devices (iPhones, ipad pros etc.) are no more than 2 years old and I’d be concerned if those devices were no longer supported/ ineligible for updates for various reasons.

But my understanding is that it’s a bit different when it comes to a desktop you are using for very basic tasks.



My only question is whether it will still start up and run decently? Would it be ridiculously slow, or come with some other caveat that we aren’t considering?

And last—is there that much more of a benefit to purchasing the 2020 over the 2019 considering there is about a $200 difference?


ANY help/guidance at all would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks!!

 

[Apple_Robert]

Unless you are on an incredibly tight budget and absolutely need a 27" screen, I would not get an older Intel Mac. In my opinion, you would be better off...
1) Getting a current base model iMac
2) Getting a Mac mini and purchase a separate screen etc.

Support for the intel models you mentioned will be limited in a few years not to mention those models run hot and make a fair amount of fan noise.

 

[erihp]

seconding getting a m-based mac mini

 

[Thirio2]

If you ever connect it to the internet, I would go for a newer m model for the security updates.

 

[Fishrrman]

Get a 2024 m4 Mini from the Apple online refurbished store.

If there is ANY way possible, get one with a 512gb SSD instead of 256gb.

Pick up a 27" 4k display. Many available at all price points. I would suggest just a little more than "the cheapest one you see" ...

 

[pollybrowne]

Unless you are on an incredibly tight budget and absolutely need a 27" screen, I would not get an older Intel Mac. In my opinion, you would be better off...
1) Getting a current base model iMac
2) Getting a Mac mini and purchase a separate screen etc.

Support for the intel models you mentioned will be limited in a few years not to mention those models run hot and make a fair amount of fan noise.

I’m not incredibly tight on budget but we are going to be moving back to the UK in a couple of years—and I’d rather not lug an iMac with us, but rather buy a new one when we get there.

I obviously want one that runs for the nest 2 years, but I’m not as concerned about longevity and I’m not worried about fan noise.

My understanding is that the iMac 20 will run the latest software…is that correct?

 

[pollybrowne]

Get a 2024 m4 Mini from the Apple online refurbished store.

If there is ANY way possible, get one with a 512gb SSD instead of 256gb.

Pick up a 27" 4k display. Many available at all price points. I would suggest just a little more than "the cheapest one you see" ...

Are you referring to getting a 27” inch display for the newer model? Or sugessting that if I do get the older model that I should make sure it has a 512 SSD

 

[pollybrowne]

THANK YOU for all of your replies so far I really appreciate it.

 

[mmkerc]

Given you stated uses, and need only for 2-3 years the 2019 is fine. I would suggest if budget allows getting at less 16 GB Ram. Storage is ok at 256 GB in that if you need more you can buy external drives relatively inexpensively that you could use when you return home to the UK.

 

[!!!]

Think about buying an M1 or even Intel 2018 mini. As you mention not wanting to lug around the iMac, it's an option as well. Used M-series iMacs are an option as well.

I would totally go for the Intels, they perform fine for basic use, but the future of updates is a bit uncertain, Apple seems to be slowly wrapping up support for Intel macs over the next few years.

 

[Geoff777]

I have a 27" iMac 2017 sat next to my Studio. It's running MacOs Ventura 13.7.8 which was an update in August this year. I have plenty of apps that are still updated on the App Store. MS 365 has regular updates. So I think there's still plenty of support out there and it's running just fine apart from the odd screen glitch now and again but that's hardware I think.

 

[chrfr]

I have a 27" iMac 2017 sat next to my Studio. It's running MacOs Ventura 13.7.8 which was an update in August this year. I have plenty of apps that are still updated on the App Store. MS 365 has regular updates. So I think there's still plenty of support out there and it's running just fine apart from the odd screen glitch now and again but that's hardware I think.

Just as a note, Microsoft has ended support for macOS Ventura so you won’t be getting any more office updates on that computer.

Even on a low budget it just doesn’t make sense to buy an Intel Mac anymore.

 

[Geoff777]

Just as a note, Microsoft has ended support for macOS Ventura so you won’t be getting any more office updates on that computer.

Even on a low budget it just doesn’t make sense to buy an Intel Mac anymore.

Oh! They could have told me! 😂 Last update was only a month or so ago. It's still running just fine though.
Yup, just checked, there's one update available - for the updater! The others are now saying MacOs upgrade required.

 

[chrfr]

Oh! They could have told me! 😂 Last update was only a month or so ago. It's still running just fine though.

It’ll probably keep working. Microsoft follows Apple’s OS support, so they drop Office support when an OS stops getting updates.

 

[kschendel]

We have a 2020 27" iMac. It runs fine and I'm not too worried about the Office support situation. Having said that, I would probably advise a newer (apple silicon) model unless you get a terrific price on one of the Intel models.

As I understand your usage, there would be basically no difference for you between the 2019 and 2020 models. The 2020 has newer internals (e.g. 10th gen Intel CPU instead of 8th or 9th, newer video card, etc.)

 

[rb2112]

We need a desktop for light use—no video editing, no gaming. We have other devices for that.

We just need a desktop for basic family use (ie. papers, creating documents, spreadsheets, email etc.)


I’ve heard various different things about the 2019 vs the 2020 iMac as far as future support—It’s my understanding that the 2020 is the last of the supported intel iMacs.

All of our other devices (iPhones, ipad pros etc.) are no more than 2 years old and I’d be concerned if those devices were no longer supported/ ineligible for updates for various reasons.

But my understanding is that it’s a bit different when it comes to a desktop you are using for very basic tasks

My only question is whether it will still start up and run decently? Would it be ridiculously slow, or come with some other caveat that we aren’t considering?

in 2025, we are still using 2019 imac as family with almost no issues. Starts up, runs, interfaces just fine for everything. No reason to move off it for a long time, hopefully!

 

[HenryAH]

I have a 2019 27" iMac with (shudder) a 1 TB hard drive. It is generally at the end of life for me, but has worked faithfully for the 6 years that I have had it. Why at the end of life, the HD is getting so slow that it sometimes takes 5-10 minutes to emerge from sleep mode, though once running, it does ok (the HD is only half full for it's lifetime). This was an ugly cheap Black Friday Costco purchase when new, it cost less than the smaller iMac at that time. Why buy it back then, it is all about the gorgeous 27" retina screen, with crisp clear text and beautiful 4k video. What am I planning to buy? A base MacMini with 512 GB storage (at Costco) and, probably, a refurbished 27" Studio Display from Apple (with my Apple credit card for the small discount).

 

[Fishrrman]

@HenryAH (reply 17) --

You could revive that '19 iMac and really speed it up by adding an external SSD and setting that to be your new boot drive.

This is CHILD'S PLAY on the Mac -- ANYONE can do it.

I'd recommend one of these (1tb or 2tb, depending on your needs):

Crucial X9 1TB Portable SSD, Up to 1050MB/s, USB 3.2 USB-C, External Solid State Drive, Compatible with Windows, Mac, & Android, Reliable Storage for Games, Files, & Backups, Black - CT1000X9SSD902

The Crucial X9 1TB Portable SSD (CT1000X9SSD902) provides high-performance storage with read speeds of up to 1050MB/s, allowing for quick and efficient transfers of large files, including high-resolution photos, 4K videos, and gaming data. With its 1TB storage capacity, this external SSD is perfe...

www.amazon.com

Connect the new SSD to a USBc port on the back. Don't use the USBa ports.
Open disk utility.
Go to the view menu and choose "show all devices" (VERY important step)
Erase the new drive to APFS, GUID partition format (case INsensitive)

The drive is now empty and ready to receive data, so...
Download SuperDuper by clicking the link below:

https://shirt-pocket.com/mint/pepper/orderedlist/downloads/download.php?file=https%3A//shirt-pocket.com/downloads/SuperDuper%21.dmg

SD is FREE to use for what we're going to do with it.

SD is about the easiest to understand and use app out there.
Use it to "clone" the contents of the internal hard drive to the new SSD.
It will take a while.

When done, go to the Startup Disk settings pane and set the external drive to be the boot drive.
Then... reboot.

That should do it.
Running from the SSD will be the same as from the internal.
The slow internal drive can now become your backup. You ALWAYS want to have a bootable backup when you're booting from an external drive.

 

[zgagato]

Vote for the M4 mini with an upgraded SSD. I mean get the 256 gb SSD from apple and swap it for 1 or 2 tb one. You can use the current iMac as a display and get a 4k or 5k 3rd party monitor after moving to the UK. M4 mini is more portable than a laptop.

 

[HenryAH]

Fishrrman (reply)​

I have given some thought to your very good response of an external SSD, but my "end of life" is much more than a slow hard drive, Safari no longer works (to replace it you have to reinstall the whole OS, which I have done more than once), the Facetime app no longer accepts phone calls and I cannot call out of it either, the Music app is corrupted and is losing playlists and songs, the computer will freeze for no reason requiring a hard restart, on startup I get a bright yellow screen that is difficult to get rid of, and the computer refuses to install OS updates, which means I get no secruity updates. Of course, the last straw is Apple dropped my computer from their latest OS update (Tahoe), so I am starting to miss new features.

 

[Fishrrman]

@HenryAH --

If you don't want to try an external boot SSD, then...
Go back and read my reply #5 in this thread.

 

[HenryAH]

@HenryAH --

If you don't want to try an external boot SSD, then...
Go back and read my reply #5 in this thread.

Yes, a mac mini 512 GB, I still lean toward the Studio Display (refurbished) because it eliminates clutter on the desk (no external speakers, no hub, no camera & mike), then add a 2 TB SSD for backup and storage.