Should I replace an 2015 base iMac 27 for a 2020?

[okusai3000]

Hi everyone!,

I work mainly with parallels, Power BI and Visual Studio, and lately I've been realizing that i'm struggling a bit with the performance. This however it's not only limited to those apps, also opening Chrome or Edge instead of Safari takes pretty long.

So the thing is... should I replace it for the base 2020? (it's the only one that I can afford). On the other hand, I am a bit afraid of the future models with silicon as I depend for my work on Parallels and Windows completely. And I doubt that everything will be working correctly on Windows ARM.

Right now I'm using an 2015 27 inch base model, with 24gb de RAM and an External SSD. Do you think I'll notice a proper improve?


Thanks for your opinions!

 

[wilberforce]

I went from a medium-spec 2014 iMac to a medium-spec 2020 iMac, both with internal SSDs, and found only slight difference in speed of opening apps like Chrome or Safari - both nearly instantaneous. You may have some other issue making these apps open slowly.
I don't use Visual Studio or Parallels, so cannot provide an opinion.
My suggestion: 14 day return period. Try it out for yourself.

 

[Phil77354]

If your work is mostly using Windows applications then I'm wondering why you don't simply purchase a Windows computer for those tasks (heresy here on MacRumors, I know, but it may be the practical choice). It will be considerably less expensive than an iMac and you can still use your iMac for those things where you want the Mac features and operating system.

Otherwise if you feel strongly that you need to replace the 2015 iMac, and you do want to stay with Apple computers, then the current 27" is going to be the last generation with Intel processors and will be the easiest transition for you to make.

If you can wait a bit longer, though, why not see what Apple announces later this year as a replacement for the 27" iMac? It will have Apple Silicon, that is for sure, but they may have something up their sleeve to address the users like you who need to also run Parallels and Windows applications. Sooner or later they will need to find a way for those to work on their new iMacs. I say that knowing almost nothing of what complications there may be in making that happen!

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

If your work is mostly using Windows applications then I'm wondering why you don't simply purchase a Windows computer for those tasks (heresy here on MacRumors, I know, but it may be the practical choice). It will be considerably less expensive than an iMac and you can still use your iMac for those things where you want the Mac features and operating system.

The iMac 2020 base model (MXWU2) is roughly 2000$ in my country.
Building a Windows PC with the same specs will cost me way over 2000$.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I am a bit afraid of the future models with silicon as I depend for my work on Parallels and Windows completely. And I doubt that everything will be working correctly on Windows ARM."

Not everyone needs the m-series CPU.
Your use case sounds like you should get "the last of the Intels" while they're still available...