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Experience also tells me that the highest spec'ed macs will sell better when it's time to move up again.
 
OK, you talked me into it ;). I ordered a maxed out iMac:

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... except for the RAM. As someone on this thread suggested, I'll get the 16 GB (2x8GB) from Crucial or OWC for a total of 24GB and upgrade to 64GB later on when prices drop.


Congrats, absolute quality config. All day i've had my finger hovering over the buy button but i just cant press it. I don't know what the block is. I just need to know i'm not throwing the £500 away. I'm even trying to convince myself i might take up video editing some time in the future just to justify the i7 and M395X -- which i know i will almost certainly never do. lol
 
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Experience also tells me that the highest spec'ed macs will sell better when it's time to move up again.
Experience actually tells me the opposite. The stock models are by far the best sellers, and that holds true on resale. You lose a lot of the resale value on high end upgrades because most people don't want them.
 
I feel like this is the last iMac with the current design. For this reason, I am going to wait. Thunderbolt 3, USB-C, DDR4, all this will be added into the next iMac, which hopefully has been redesigned. We'll see!

Agreed! I am also waiting for Thunderbolt 3, and not-as-important-but-would-be-nice USB C. Not sure why Apple didn't add Thunderbolt 3 to these 27" iMacs, with Skylake they should be able to handle it.
The reason I want it: with it the retina iMacs should be able to support Target Display Mode. This 2009 27" might be getting a little slow, but it still has a great screen; I intent to keep it and use it as an external monitor when I get my retina iMac. Then when that one gets old, I'd like to do the same thing
 
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Experience also tells me that the highest spec'ed macs will sell better when it's time to move up again.


You're dropping way more money down on the computer upfront which you cannot recoup down the road. Dropping an extra $1000+ on a computer will not get you anywhere near $1000 extra in the resale. If you want a max out iMac for whatever reason buy it.... but don't think it's for any type of smart financial decision for reselling it.

Here's two extreme options. Do you think in 4 years 'option 2' will be worth $1600 more than 'option 1'? I guarantee you end up eating a ton of that cost. You'll probably end up only getting another $200 - 300 extra on a resale. I would say the only time upgrading certain parts really matters is for cheaper upgrades that make a massive difference(basic fusion or ssd upgrades..etc).

Option 1 - $1900
  • 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
  • 8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB
  • 1TB Fusion Drive
  • AMD Radeon R9 M380 with 2GB video memory


Option 2 - $3500

  • 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
  • 8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB
  • 1TB Flash Storage
  • AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory
 
He never said he'd recoup his purchase price difference....
He said it will sell better, which I agree......but you will take a big $$ hit from purchase price.

Just like a loaded car......resale 5-years later your lucky to get 10 - 20% on the options.


I purchased a maxed out machine because that's what I want and intend to keep my iMac for 5+ years......I could care less about resale.
 
He never said he'd recoup his purchase price difference....
He said it will sell better, which I agree......but you will take a big $$ hit from purchase price.



What is your definition of 'sell better'? The only thing relevant is which one depreciates more because either computer sells depending on what you list it for.

  • If you list both computers in 2019 for the same price will the max out version sell faster? Yes it will.

  • If in 2019 you list the base version for $800 and the max version for $1100 will the max out version sell faster? No it won't.



I purchased a maxed out machine because that's what I want and intend to keep my iMac for 5+ years......I could care less about resale.


Thats fine and logical reasoning. No one is questioning that.
 
Agreed! I am also waiting for Thunderbolt 3, and not-as-important-but-would-be-nice USB C. Not sure why Apple didn't add Thunderbolt 3 to these 27" iMacs, with Skylake they should be able to handle it.
The reason I want it: with it the retina iMacs should be able to support Target Display Mode. This 2009 27" might be getting a little slow, but it still has a great screen; I intent to keep it and use it as an external monitor when I get my retina iMac. Then when that one gets old, I'd like to do the same thing
That's a false economy. In 6 years, you can sell the old 5k Retina iMac and easily afford a new 5K 27" monitor which will be very, very inexpensive. You'll probably even make a few bucks. Target display mode will likely come in 2016, but is a white elephant (is that the right expression?)
 
What is your definition of 'sell better'? The only thing relevant is which one depreciates more because either computer sells depending on what you list it for.

  • If you list both computers in 2019 for the same price will the max out version sell faster? Yes it will.
Exactly the point
  • If in 2019 you list the base version for $800 and the max version for $1100 will the max out version sell faster? No it won't.
I disagree......while you will never recoup the purchase difference, in your example I bet it would sell faster.

Thats fine and logical reasoning. No one is questioning that.

Yup, I purchase for myself and don't really give a hoot about resale.......
Thank You.
 
I feel like this is the last iMac with the current design. For this reason, I am going to wait. Thunderbolt 3, USB-C, DDR4, all this will be added into the next iMac, which hopefully has been redesigned. We'll see!

In my fairly long experience (5 so far) this would sensibly mean waiting til the second refresh as they always have issues with the first redesign.

There is an argument for owning the last of a series, when all/most problems have been solved. My 17" 2011 MBP has been great and the first that has not had me using applecare.
 
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If you're going to buy a maxed out iMac, I'd wait until next year. I'm convinced 2016 is going to be the year of the redesigns (MacBook, iMac, iPhone). I'm just not willing to spend a large chunk of my money on an iMac (my first Mac!) that's basically just a spec bump.
 
If you're going to buy a maxed out iMac, I'd wait until next year. I'm convinced 2016 is going to be the year of the redesigns (MacBook, iMac, iPhone). I'm just not willing to spend a large chunk of my money on an iMac (my first Mac!) that's basically just a spec bump.

I think this is more than a spec bump. I've been waiting for the Skylake processor, instead of Haswell or Broadwell, which is a Haswell refresh. Skylake is a completely new Intel platform. A Skylake refresh isn't expected until the third quarter of 2016. The 5K monitor is another plus with 14.7 million pixels with a larger color palette, which is perfect for photographers. So, if you don't need an iMac right now, you can choose to wait for the refresh, but that's another year.
 
For a silent refresh, I for one am pretty darn impressed with the changes.
More than I expected.

Thats why I pushed Apple for returning my 3+ week old system (out of return period) and ordering the latest release and pocket $100 in the deal.......can't beat that.
Should be here by mid next week at the latest. :)
 
I think some people forget that the CPU went from a two-generation old Haswell to the newest Skylake, which is more than just a speed bump. I can't wait to see tests of the highest-spec iMacs because I'm sure they'll be just as fast as the 6-core Mac Pros, or in the same ballpark.

As a video editor and cinematographer, the screen is what sold me. Wide-gamut 5K display? Just looking at the cost of regular 4K displays makes me feel great about my purchase. I was a little bummed about no Thunderbolt 3, but to be honest...

I'm moving on from a 2011 iMac, which was the first with Thunderbolt. It wasn't until last year and Thunderbolt 2 that peripherals started rolling out to take advantage of the tech. Remember all those Thunderbolt docks that took a hundred years to come out? Remember all the thunderbolt drives that were announced and just recently started appearing in the last year? I'm not expecting TB3 to be a fast roll-out at all, and I'm not ready to be the first group of trial runners that will run into problems trying to run video cards in expansion chassises. Hopefully in another 4 years, the market will catch up with the new tech and I'll be buying a new computer then.

For now, I'm extremely excited to have a powerhouse to edit 4K video and replace a computer that can't keep up anymore. We'll all be holding out forever if we keep talking about the future of technology.
 
Can I apply to the ranks of madness? I ordered the full monty and am very excited to see the performance difference between this and my current Early 2011 13-inch MBP. I don't know how much to expect from the GPU, but I basically just want the most beautiful Civ V games I can manage haha. The CPU should be a massive improvement for that and video encoding/transcoding.

Specs below are from my order confirmation. It was made late on October 15th, delivery is estimated October 26th-28th.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
$4,125.00
• 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
• 8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB
• 1TB Flash Storage
• AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory
• Magic Trackpad 2
• Magic Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide
• Accessory Kit

AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac - Auto-enroll
$139.00

Prices are from Apple in Canada (CAD), after educational discount, before tax.
 
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I think this is more than a spec bump. I've been waiting for the Skylake processor, instead of Haswell or Broadwell, which is a Haswell refresh. Skylake is a completely new Intel platform. A Skylake refresh isn't expected until the third quarter of 2016. The 5K monitor is another plus with 14.7 million pixels with a larger color palette, which is perfect for photographers. So, if you don't need an iMac right now, you can choose to wait for the refresh, but that's another year.
Makes good sense.
 
I want the following 27" iMac 5K:
$2199
  • 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor
  • 8GB (two 4GB) memory
  • 2TB Fusion Drive
  • AMD Radeon R9 M390 with 2GB video memory
Reasons to buy:
- My current iMac is 6 years old
- I really want it

Reasons not to buy:
- I'm saving up money for a mortgage approval
- I only need it "somewhat"

Haha... what to do?
 
Ok, so here is my take on it. I want a maxed out iMac*. I probably do not need one, but i want one anyway, so i am trying to convince myself to buy one. I need help in pressing that 'confirm order' button with the juicy extras all loaded up. And i suspect others need that nudge too.

My justification to press the button is this: The new (late 2015) 27" Retina 4.0GHz, 512GB Flash Storage, M395X and 3 year apple care on the UK store comes to £2548

My latest iMac has lasted me about 8 years. I paid roughly £2000 for it in 2007. 8 years is 2920 days and £2000 divided by that number works out at about 68.5p a day for a wonderful machine ( upgraded the storage to SSD a few years ago ) that has served me so well.

So, if i apply the same 8 year time frame to the new (late 2015 iMac), i'll be paying 87p a day if it last me 8 years. Although, i really don't want to hang on to it for so long. So if i half that to 4 years, the average daily expense will be £1.74.

£1.74 a day isn't that much, its the choice between an extra cup of bad coffee a day or a shiny new iMac, and
especially when you consider the resale value after the 4 year period. Which hopefully will be around £700-1000.

Please tell me i am not delusional because i want to order immediately!! :)

* Will upgrade RAM myself to 32GB at later date

I wouldn't buy another iMac as the 21.5" is all integrated while the 27" is too massive to be useful. IMO, the iMac peaked with the 2011 iMac 21.5", which can take 32gb of ram.
 
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