Resolved Trying to decide options. Refurbished iMac 2012

[DdMac679]

My wife and I are looking at the late 2012 refurbished 27" iMacs and we are not able to decide on a course of action. Primarily, she wants the iMac to last a good 5 years (depending on Apple's support towards operating systems) and the primary function for the computer would be the typical word processing, email, photos, music, light gaming (SCII most intense game), etc. With that I feel that the i5 with 1 GB video card and 1TB HDD would be the best option but we are torn about future proofing after reading several articles about "buy the best you can now". We are also torn about the HDD. With the new Fusion drives available, we don't know if we should get one or not or just grab the typical 7200RPM solution. We know we will have a harder time upgrading the HDD later on so it's also tempting to grab a 3TB solution now but with 4 'USB 3' drives we can upgrade later via external options. We are unsure if we would ever install Windows (we have no need for it at this time) and basically we are looking at our options and would like your opinion.

 

[Macsonic]

Hi DdMac679. Refurbished Macs are fine and usually just as good as brand new ones. About the 5 year future proofing I could not comment much because usually iMacs get newer models yearly and older models may get obsolete quicker and iMacs are one of Apple's fast selling machines. Aside from OS support, also take into consideration the longevity of the hardware side. Also check out the iMac section in this forum about some users having issues on the screen ghost images or accumulated smudges at corners.

Maybe the 3TB HD solution is good since you mentioned you will have lots of photos and music stored. If you will use the Fusion drive route, safer to also have a backup of your Fusion system. I just had a chat with a Mac technician. He commented the HDs of iMacs are now embedded into the logicboard and harder to recover files in case of repairs or hardware crashes. Just make sure to always have a backup system.

 

[jdblas69]

Personally I would go with a 3TB either fusion or 7200.

To me an all in one computer should be just that, why would I want extra external storage options attached and cluttering up my desk when I can get the options internally.

In regards to future proofing nothing is certain, you need to buy the machine that will work for your needs now and the near future.

Just my opinion.

 

[palmharbor]

??

If the iMac had an intermittant problems that does not show up when
it comes back to apple then it will get approved for resale.
I just bought a refurb Panasonic BlueRay DVD and its has the wrong remote
and the wrong owners manual.
If you think they take this unit apart and test each part, HD, Ram etc...you are wrong...it would take too much time.

 

[DdMac679]

We decided to go with the refurbished i7 w/ 1TB Fusion solution. Although it may be more ideal to have taken the 3TB option, our computers combined don't even scratch 400GB. Additionally, we (I ) wanted the 2GB video card and we figured if we ever needed additional HDD space, we'll just grab ourselves a nice external USB3.0 drive. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[robabroad]

My experience

FWIW: I purchased a refurbished iMac approximately 4 years ago. So far, no issues at all. I didn't get top of line (I think it was i7 around that time). But, I've been satisfied. I'm not a heavy gamer (mostly strategy stuff, like Civilization). Added additional RAM. 1TB internal drive has been enough so far (lots of photos, some video). Definitely still going strong.