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Should I buy a 27" 2019 iMac or wait a bit longer for new model?

rdunlap

rdunlap

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 13, 2013
320
52
So, I recently purchased a 21.5" 2019 iMac at Costco. I realized I should have purchased the 27" iMac for the bigger screen and when I went to my same local Costco and it wasn't in stock. I then started calling around other local Costcos for the 27" iMac and Costco has it listed as an inactive item. The gentleman told me that it's either they stopped selling them or a new model is coming very soon. I can't image that they would just stop selling them as it is a popular model. I then started looking at other places and strangely the 27" model that I am looking for is out of stock or sold out a lot of places. Even Apple has it shipping at 2-3 weeks out, around the same time as their June WWDC online conference. This seems very suspect and smells like a new product could be dropping. I've been reading a lot about a possible 23" model which would be perfect for me. It would basically be the same size as the one I have now but smaller bezels.

The reason why I was wanting the 27" was for the ability of throwing more RAM into the machine if needed down the road. I know you can technically upgrade the 21.5" as well but even being a computer guy, I'd be very hesitant to perform this procedure.

Do you think I should try and find a 27" iMac around me or wait a couple weeks to see if they drop a new model? My thoughts are if they are going to drop a new model I'd want to buy the latest and greatest so I get the most life out of it. The reason for purchasing at Costco was to get the 4 extra years of warranty they offer with purchasing with the Costco card.

What do you guys think I should do?

Thank you!
 
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I really hope we'll see new iMacs at WWDC; I've been waiting to buy one for a year myself. But I doubt it actually. I think early next year or end of year this year. But it's worth waiting to see I'd say, and MacRumors themselves have the iMac as a Don't Buy
 
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I'm in the same boat as you. I'm kind of tempted in buying now because of the refurbished deals on Apple's store but I'll just hold out. I have a late 2015 5k iMac (with 2TB fusion drive) and could really use an upgrade.
 
I'm debating between the maxed out new iMac if it comes out or a 10 core iMac Pro. If the new iMac comes out I'll order that maxed out. But if it doesn't I'll order the iMac Pro.
 
nambuccaheadsau said:
Buy a new computer when you need it. This 'waiting for a new model' is a constant game of thrones.
Click to expand...

I generally agree and Steve Jobs even has a lovely open letter who wrote on this.
But there are exceptions.

If you're really not in a hurry, have other devices you're decently happy with, a new model of what you really want is on the near horizon and seem likely to constitute a much better experience for your use case.
 
I waited since 2017 to 2019 to get mine, and on 2019 I decided to buy and could not be any happier. Waiting is just annoying and if something new comes out, you can always sell and rebuy. Of course you will take a hit, but you would have also used it for a couple of years. I was on a 2011 27" model, so big upgrade for me.

Of course, right now you should wait a few weeks, but if nothing comes out, don´t wait another year
 
Ok, so what I’ll do is keep the 21.5” iMac at least for another 2 weeks and if another is announced I’ll buy that one. If not I’ll get the 27” 2019 model. It’s just a little strange that the entry level 27” model is unavailable almost everywhere. That’s usually an indication that a new model is right around the corner.

Thanks for all the input!
 
rdunlap said:
So, I recently purchased a 21.5" 2019 iMac at Costco. I realized I should have purchased the 27" iMac for the bigger screen and when I went to my same local Costco and it wasn't in stock. I then started calling around other local Costcos for the 27" iMac and Costco has it listed as an inactive item. The gentleman told me that it's either they stopped selling them or a new model is coming very soon. I can't image that they would just stop selling them as it is a popular model. I then started looking at other places and strangely the 27" model that I am looking for is out of stock or sold out a lot of places. Even Apple has it shipping at 2-3 weeks out, around the same time as their June WWDC online conference. This seems very suspect and smells like a new product could be dropping. I've been reading a lot about a possible 23" model which would be perfect for me. It would basically be the same size as the one I have now but smaller bezels.

The reason why I was wanting the 27" was for the ability of throwing more RAM into the machine if needed down the road. I know you can technically upgrade the 21.5" as well but even being a computer guy, I'd be very hesitant to perform this procedure.

Do you think I should try and find a 27" iMac around me or wait a couple weeks to see if they drop a new model? My thoughts are if they are going to drop a new model I'd want to buy the latest and greatest so I get the most life out of it. The reason for purchasing at Costco was to get the 4 extra years of warranty they offer with purchasing with the Costco card.

What do you guys think I should do?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken, aren't all the Costco and Best Buy iMacs Fusion drives? I wouldn't buy one unless it has an SSD.
 
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I can agree with this. If you cannot afford an internal SSD then hold off until your next paycheck or whatever you need to do. I have a late 2015 5k iMac and the Fusion drive is such a bottleneck. I had to remove so much content (SSD is only 128GB for 2TB+ fusion drives).
 
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Yea, getting the fusion drive is just slowing down the processors and internal mechanics of the computer. It's like putting a pinto engine in a Ferrari chassis. Or even better putting a CVT transmission in a ferrari.
 
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I plan on throwing my own SSD in there after purchasing.
 
The iMac is by far their most problem-free computer. And it's always silent. What are people waiting for exactly? A new body where the iMac and much thinner, causing more fan noise and other rev 1 problems?

The current iMac, with a SSD, is awesome. Don't buy it with a spinning drive.
 
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johannnn said:
The iMac is by far their most problem-free computer. And it's always silent. What are people waiting for exactly? A new body where the iMac and much thinner, causing more fan noise and other rev 1 problems?

The current iMac, with a SSD, is awesome. Don't buy it with a spinning drive.
Click to expand...

I don't know what others are waiting for, but I'm waiting on a Navi based GPU, preferably in an iMac Pro actually. Big Navi iMac Pro and I'm buying straight away.

Also, to your point about it being solid; My 2014 5K iMac burned the GPU to 110°C until it melted. :)
 
johannnn said:
The iMac is by far their most problem-free computer. And it's always silent. What are people waiting for exactly? A new body where the iMac and much thinner, causing more fan noise and other rev 1 problems?

The current iMac, with a SSD, is awesome. Don't buy it with a spinning drive.
Click to expand...
Thats what I'm worried about having REV 1 issues of something new . I'm just standing by to see what turns soon otherwise I will hunt down an iMac pro refurb or possibly lowered new price etc . I still haven't jumped to catalina just because Mojave is working fine . My Automation industry I deal with too much of that craziness as it is . :) lol
 
If nothing gets announced this month I’m going with the base model 27” with a 256GB. I can always pick up another hard drive for storage. What do you guys think?
 
rdunlap said:
If nothing gets announced this month I’m going with the base model 27” with a 256GB. I can always pick up another hard drive for storage. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
You can also get a NAS. I have a synology with 8TB of storage and have solved my storage needs that way.
 
rdunlap said:
Even Apple has it shipping at 2-3 weeks out, around the same time as their June WWDC online conference.
Click to expand...
The low supply and shipping times might simply reflect the pandemic's impact. Demand for desktop machines is/was strong with many more working from home. Also, shipping ( like USPS, FexEx, UPS ) has been severely pounded by the pandemic. The combination of demand plus longer shipping times could explain what you're seeing.

Waiting until WWDC seems reasonable but it's always possible to find a reason to wait. Apple may only announce with availability later in the year; a typical approach for them.
 
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Assuming new IMac is announced at WWDC, how soon can I actually get one in my hands? Waiting 2-3 weeks is no problem, but if it takes a month to ship them after the announcement, I might just get something right now.
 
jsteimle said:
Assuming new IMac is announced at WWDC, how soon can I actually get one in my hands? Waiting 2-3 weeks is no problem, but if it takes a month to ship them after the announcement, I might just get something right now.
Click to expand...

I expect it’ll be a case of “You can order it on the 29th”. So from the 29th I’d expect around 2 weeks shipping for BTOs, but for one of the standard models I think you’d be able to get them within a week and a week and a half. Pure speculation all of this, just a gut feeling
 
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