Greetings MacRumors hive mind
I am having an internal debate and so what better way to solve it than ask the internet for the advice
Right now I am running on a maxed out 2019 iMac
3.6 GHz Core i9 9900Kf
Radeon Vega 48
2TB SSD
40 GB RAM
It has been a fantastic machine and I have been very happy with it thus far. While I mostly use it for development much of it on the local OS with some testing in Docker containers. Some of my testing I do in virtual machines (which are running Docker containers) in VMware fusion to test different configurations. When I got this machine last year it was tough making the decision between this machine and an entry-level 8 Core iMac Pro. But what won me over to the maxed-out 2019 iMac was that the Core i9 was an overall stronger CPU compared to a 2017 Xeon and that RAM upgrades would be far easier with this machine. I also got it around the time when Apple cut the prices of their SSD upgrades last year. So after that, the value proposition of computing power per dollar went to the i9 iMac and I went for the 2TB SSD (before the price drop I was only going to get the 1TB SSD). The other thing that made me lean regular iMac was the fact that I had been reading about issues with T2 related crashes. So while I may have been missing out on some fancy T2 features a standard iMac would be that much more reliable with an intel made system controller. And if I ever wanted to run other operating systems like Linux on this machine down the line it would be easier to do that
At the time I was pretty sure that this would be the last iteration of the "classic" iMac design and would probably be the model to make my "intel stand" and wait out the (what was at the time rumored) ARM transition. And my thinking was that it is better to get the last revision of a proven design (despite it looking dated) instead of going for a Rev A of a new design.
And I am still very happy with this machine. But Apple revving the intel iMac line one more time has given me pause. If my intention was to get a souped-up iMac to wait out the "rough" waves of the ARM transition as a strategy I am wondering if it is a good idea to sell my current machine for a good sum while I still can (it has AppleCare+ so that would help it retain value) or if the differences between a 8 Core i9 iMac and an 8 Core i7 or 10 Core i9 is really that much to justify the hassle of going through the work of selling a machine and getting a new one.
The only things that are really tempting me on the 2020 machines
1080p webcam
The possibility of adding 10GB Ethernet
The GPUs being made on a 7nm process so possibllity running cooler and keeping the whole machine cooler.
- but I have read reports the 10 core i9 runs hotter than the 8 core i9 of 2019 (but the 8 core i7 may run cooler)
Better GPUs for the occasional game (This is not a dedicated gaming machine but I do like to fire one up occasionally after hours)
Perhaps the T2 goodness is worth it after all. <-- I feel this one is a bit of a gamble but to be completely fair I do acknowledge that there are benefits to the T2. I don't do much video editing other than some small family projects.
But there are reasons to keep the 2019 Core i9 machine
T2 still not fully issue free (from what I am reading online) And may prevent a future alternative OS install (Other than Mac OS or window)
- I still hear reports of bridge OS crashes.
This machine is capable of running Mojave off of an external Disk and thus run 32 bit Mac software (if needed - this is a nice security blanket)
- This is one of the fastest Macs that can still run Mojave any Mac release after this can NOT run Mojave if the need arises.
After a couple of years of use, it is possible to expand the storage of this machine by putting an SSD into the SATA slot that would have normally held the Hard Drive in a fusion drive config. T2 Macs do not allow for internal storage upgrades at all. And an Apple AASP can do that upgrade for me if I want. There is one near me
Now I could just be feeling remorse for not waiting till this year to upgrade from my previous set-up (2012 15-inch Unibody MBP) and I could just be feeling the remorse itch. But how does this all sound? Are the performance improvements THAT substantial? From what I can tell the Core i9 2019 performance is about in line with the 8 Core i7 2020 iMac. And 10GB ethernet still be achieved via thunderbolt. And perhaps even better webcams (4K?) via external USB may be available later. I guess it is hard to predict Apple since I am sure I was not alone in thinking that the 2019 model would probably be the last iteration of the "classic" iMac design.
After going to the effort to type all this out I think I have convinced myself that keeping the current machine as my "last Intel stand" may be the "safer" move. But I figured I would use you all as a sounding board.
Am I leaning the right way? Or is the performance gains this year make the effort of selling my current machine worthwile in context of doing development while running a bunch of VMs and Docker containers?
I am having an internal debate and so what better way to solve it than ask the internet for the advice
Right now I am running on a maxed out 2019 iMac
3.6 GHz Core i9 9900Kf
Radeon Vega 48
2TB SSD
40 GB RAM
It has been a fantastic machine and I have been very happy with it thus far. While I mostly use it for development much of it on the local OS with some testing in Docker containers. Some of my testing I do in virtual machines (which are running Docker containers) in VMware fusion to test different configurations. When I got this machine last year it was tough making the decision between this machine and an entry-level 8 Core iMac Pro. But what won me over to the maxed-out 2019 iMac was that the Core i9 was an overall stronger CPU compared to a 2017 Xeon and that RAM upgrades would be far easier with this machine. I also got it around the time when Apple cut the prices of their SSD upgrades last year. So after that, the value proposition of computing power per dollar went to the i9 iMac and I went for the 2TB SSD (before the price drop I was only going to get the 1TB SSD). The other thing that made me lean regular iMac was the fact that I had been reading about issues with T2 related crashes. So while I may have been missing out on some fancy T2 features a standard iMac would be that much more reliable with an intel made system controller. And if I ever wanted to run other operating systems like Linux on this machine down the line it would be easier to do that
At the time I was pretty sure that this would be the last iteration of the "classic" iMac design and would probably be the model to make my "intel stand" and wait out the (what was at the time rumored) ARM transition. And my thinking was that it is better to get the last revision of a proven design (despite it looking dated) instead of going for a Rev A of a new design.
And I am still very happy with this machine. But Apple revving the intel iMac line one more time has given me pause. If my intention was to get a souped-up iMac to wait out the "rough" waves of the ARM transition as a strategy I am wondering if it is a good idea to sell my current machine for a good sum while I still can (it has AppleCare+ so that would help it retain value) or if the differences between a 8 Core i9 iMac and an 8 Core i7 or 10 Core i9 is really that much to justify the hassle of going through the work of selling a machine and getting a new one.
The only things that are really tempting me on the 2020 machines
1080p webcam
The possibility of adding 10GB Ethernet
The GPUs being made on a 7nm process so possibllity running cooler and keeping the whole machine cooler.
- but I have read reports the 10 core i9 runs hotter than the 8 core i9 of 2019 (but the 8 core i7 may run cooler)
Better GPUs for the occasional game (This is not a dedicated gaming machine but I do like to fire one up occasionally after hours)
Perhaps the T2 goodness is worth it after all. <-- I feel this one is a bit of a gamble but to be completely fair I do acknowledge that there are benefits to the T2. I don't do much video editing other than some small family projects.
But there are reasons to keep the 2019 Core i9 machine
T2 still not fully issue free (from what I am reading online) And may prevent a future alternative OS install (Other than Mac OS or window)
- I still hear reports of bridge OS crashes.
This machine is capable of running Mojave off of an external Disk and thus run 32 bit Mac software (if needed - this is a nice security blanket)
- This is one of the fastest Macs that can still run Mojave any Mac release after this can NOT run Mojave if the need arises.
After a couple of years of use, it is possible to expand the storage of this machine by putting an SSD into the SATA slot that would have normally held the Hard Drive in a fusion drive config. T2 Macs do not allow for internal storage upgrades at all. And an Apple AASP can do that upgrade for me if I want. There is one near me
Now I could just be feeling remorse for not waiting till this year to upgrade from my previous set-up (2012 15-inch Unibody MBP) and I could just be feeling the remorse itch. But how does this all sound? Are the performance improvements THAT substantial? From what I can tell the Core i9 2019 performance is about in line with the 8 Core i7 2020 iMac. And 10GB ethernet still be achieved via thunderbolt. And perhaps even better webcams (4K?) via external USB may be available later. I guess it is hard to predict Apple since I am sure I was not alone in thinking that the 2019 model would probably be the last iteration of the "classic" iMac design.
After going to the effort to type all this out I think I have convinced myself that keeping the current machine as my "last Intel stand" may be the "safer" move. But I figured I would use you all as a sounding board.
Am I leaning the right way? Or is the performance gains this year make the effort of selling my current machine worthwile in context of doing development while running a bunch of VMs and Docker containers?
