Replacing 2011 27" i7 iMac advice

[JimEddie]

I'm thinking about finally replacing my 2011 27" i7 iMac. It's served me well over the years, but I think it's high time I replaced it with a newer model.

The question I have is do I go for:

• Refurb 2017 i7 iMac, or
• New 2019 i5 iMac (the 3.1 GHz model)

It looks like they're reasonably evenly matched, I guess the main factor will be new model vs discontinued model?

 

[imaccooper]

What are your use cases for the iMac? Generally speaking, I am always going to recommend an ssd over a fusion drive whatever you are doing. After that, it starts to matter what you are doing with the computer.

I have no reservations buying from the Apple refurb store to save a bit of money as long as the appropriate configuration is available, but I always try to get the newest available model if possible. In this case, that might mean waiting a few weeks/months for some 2019s start showing up, but that will be a worthwhile wait for a newer machine.

 

[Gary171]

I’m in the same boat with a 2011 iMac.....95% of machine use is email and web based stuff but I feel like I’m missing out on OS upgrades now - and machine is very slow waking up and logging back in. Debating getting an ssd to speed things up, maybe a Mac mini, 21” iMac ... I’m all over the place but mostly just kicking the can down the road. A new machine is definitely a want to have, not a need to have.

 

[prss14]

I’m in the same boat with a 2011 iMac.....95% of machine use is email and web based stuff but I feel like I’m missing out on OS upgrades now - and machine is very slow waking up and logging back in. Debating getting an ssd to speed things up, maybe a Mac mini, 21” iMac ... I’m all over the place but mostly just kicking the can down the road. A new machine is definitely a want to have, not a need to have.

Recently started booting up externally, Thunderbolt, ssd. I should have done it years ago. Faster than it was when it was new.