Time to upgrade my iMac?

[MrMister111]

I currently have an iMac with the following specs. Was bought brand new by me, currently on latest MacOS High Sierra.

Mac (21.5-inch, Late 2012)
Processor 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5
memory 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 512 MB
1Tb Fusion drive

I'm sort of finding a little slow downs now and then, tbh it gets used less and less because of iPads, and kids have own computers now, but think maybe do need one for Photos for Mac and printing, and do still surf web and general use, for iTunes library (although more and more streaming now with other services)

So I'm wondering what I should do now, its technically nearly 5 years old, still doing ok, but wondering if it would be a massive upgrade for my use. The CPUs seems the same? Newer family I suppose, but better power efficiency doesn't really count on desktop, eg mine is 2.9GHz i5, newer 21.5" is 2.3GHz dual‑core Intel Core i5. Dual core that big a step up from mine?

I would sell to trade in this one, and try and get a Apple Refund or like to help cost, even buy it for daughter who's at college (do you still get the free 3 year warranty in UK with this?). trade in online to Apple is £215, which I dont think is very good, I would hope to sell for a little more than that maybe?

Would even be nice to step up to the 27" but a lot lot more expensive.

thanks

 

[SecuritySteve]

You're probably not going to notice a major step up in performance with your use cases in newer models. The applications you are using are not GPU intensive, and that generally is what makes a computer seem slower compared to newer models.

While your computer supports the latest OS, you're probably fine in terms of raw processor development progress. Wait for Apple to switch to all-flash storage so that you don't have to pay the premium for going full SSD. It's obscene that Apple still uses spinning disks at all in this day and (digital) age.

 

[MadDane]

As SecuritySteve said, you probably won't notice that much difference by upgrading. What you could do to speed up your current machine is to upgrade to full SSD. Either by taking it apart or, and this is easier, plugging in an external SSD and booting from that. That should make your current iMac feel a lot more responsive.

That said, if you are lusting for a beautiful 5k display that is another reason to upgrade.

 

[MrMister111]

Thanks for comments.

The 5K would be nice, but haven't seen it in real life, but obviously I imagine it will be brill.

I won't open it up myself definitely no, but maybe an external as long as it could be hidden behind or something? How would it connect? Are they expensive? Easy to setup etc? Seperate power needed? Would I see a big increased in my general day to day use?

Maybe I should wait until next update to see if Apple go to SSD internal as standard, or a little cheaper?

What size would I get as currently it's a 1Tb fusion?

I'm just finding my Photos library as it's quite large it seems to be quite slow.

Thanks

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Nothing will ever be cheaper than right now. It is a internet myth SSDs will become cheaper with time. I went for a 1TB PCI-e Flash drive and could not be happier.

 

[MrMister111]

Nothing will ever be cheaper than right now. It is a internet myth SSDs will become cheaper with time. I went for a 1TB PCI-e Flash drive and could not be happier.

Over time the SSD will become cheaper, HDD did so these will....

How do you connect that to your iMac please?

 

[Fishrrman]

Just wondering -- doesn't the internal "1tb" fusion drive on that one have a 128gb SSD portion, and a 1tb HDD portion? (not like later iMacs with tiny SSD portions)

If so, you might consider "DE-fusing" the fusion drive -- that is, "splitting it" into standalone SSD and HDD.

If you do this, the SSD will then run "at full speed" all the time, and I predict the iMac will be MUCH faster in the user experience.

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:
You MUST back up first (I recommend creating a bootable clone using either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper). DEfusing a fusion drive "wipes out" the data.

You have to do this using terminal -- I don't know of any other way.

I would put the OS, apps, and "stripped-down" accounts on the SSD.
I would keep large libraries (movies, music, pictures) on the internal drive -- they don't "need speed".

I'll reckon that if you do this, it will "feel like a new machine" -- or at least, something closer to that than where you are now.

 

[MrMister111]

Yeh I've read that they crippled the fusion drives a bit, I do believe mine has 128Gb yes, not sure how to confirm though.

My photos library and iTunes as large I'd expect to be on the HDD bit anyway, and the MacOS on the SSD anyway? Isn't that what's supposed to happen on fusion anyway?

Is there a way to see what is where as just appears as a 1Tb drive in disk utility.