What 2019 iMac Did You Order?

[henry72]

@henry72 Thanks for the opinions! I saw your post before since I was considering the totally same configuration with yours (even now). I will go for SSD but probably for 256G only since I don't really need that much.
Also, once I bump up to the 512G SSD, the i5/580X model seems to be a more ideal option, since it offers better cost/performance value.
Glad to hear that you're very happy with your new iMac, that also gives me some confidence!
The same question here, shall I expect the i5/580X model makes a significant difference when compare with the i5/570X one for my usage?

@lishaoalox No problem at all. IMHO i5/580X is overkill for your usage. I think you should consider upgrading the SSD to 512GB, e.g. your photo library will grow over time. You can use external storage BUT it is a hassle in my opinion and it is nowhere near as fast as the internal SSD unless you get the TB3 external drive.

How long are you intending to keep this iMac for?

 

[TVreporter]

Are there any reviews of the 8th generation chips in the iMac? Really wondering if it’s worth spending extra on 9th generation

 

[lishaoalox]

I have been happier with my computer purchases when I stretch for the “overkill” at them moments I purchase. I find that the machine lasts me MUCH longer than if I’d gone with a mid tier machine.

My last PC upgrade was 4 years ago for gaming and that hardware is still satisfying my needs, max details, high resolution, etc. still.

In the past I tried saving money by going mid grade and usually those machines barely satisfy me in the short term and need to be replaced earlier.


My point is that I think you’ll be happier and spend less money in the long term by getting the best you can afford at the time of purchase.

@codernova I'll keep this iMac as long as I could for at least 5~6 years(if it doesn't broken by accident.) As for the long term, is there any possible that would make the low-end model@2019 not match to my usage?
My usage is quite simple and I think these won't turn into a power-needed thing in the near future.
I'd love to know is there anything else (age, etc.) that would make some influence to the machine to make it less efficiency.
Would that make significant change between the high-end and low-end models?

Here I agree 100%. This is what I do..always and with many products.

Likewise, "buying the most spec'd out version of whatever Apple product you could afford at the time of purchase" has always been my mantra.

That said this time I did not do that. I did the 9th Gen i5/580X simply because I know my type of usage, along with the reality larger changes to the iMac as a model as soon forthcoming - made it less necessary for me to do my normal thing.

I'm supposed to get my new one today/tomorrow - so I think I'll find out in short order if I regret going against my own advice.

Thanks for the replying. I wish I could get mine soon once I make the decision!
Now only the high-end/low-end problem is making me confused.

@lishaoalox No problem at all. IMHO i5/580X is overkill for your usage. I think you should consider upgrading the SSD to 512GB, e.g. your photo library will grow over time. You can use external storage BUT it is a hassle in my opinion and it is nowhere near as fast as the internal SSD unless you get the TB3 external drive.

How long are you intending to keep this iMac for?

@henry72 I'd keep this iMac as long as I can. At least for over 6 years I suppose. If it is still not broken at that time, I might keep it until it does.
For long term usage, it seems reasonable to purchase a better model but somehow I think my usage (iWork, Spotify, YouTube, etc.) won't change into power-needed thing in the future, or is there anything else that would make influence to the efficiency of iMac in the future?
I don't do Photo/Video editing nor gaming, just some paperworks and music/online videos.
In that case, do I still need to purchase the high-end model for the future proofs since I'm planning to keep it as long as possible?

Are there any reviews of the 8th generation chips in the iMac? Really wondering if it’s worth spending extra on 9th generation

Yes, I'd love to hear from the real users of 8th-gen core to see if really worth the extra money too.

 

[henry72]

@henry72 I'd keep this iMac as long as I can. At least for over 6 years I suppose. If it is still not broken at that time, I might keep it until it does.
For long term usage, it seems reasonable to purchase a better model but somehow I think my usage (iWork, Spotify, YouTube, etc.) won't change into power-needed thing in the future, or is there anything else that would make influence to the efficiency of iMac in the future?
I don't do Photo/Video editing nor gaming, just some paperworks and music/online videos.
In that case, do I still need to purchase the high-end model for the future proofs since I'm planning to keep it as long as possible?

This is the model I would get if I were you. Your usage is very light, this 6-core machine will definitely last you over 6 years. You can also customise the keyboard with a numpad or swap Magic Mouse to a Trackpad.

All the best.

These are the reason why I got the top model. I couldn't justify the i9 & Vega

- Photo editing (Photos app, maybe Lightroom in future)
- Light 4K video editing (iMovie, FCP in future)
- Virtual machine (Windows 10)
- Light gaming (Diablo 3, Sims 4)
- Plex server

 

[codernova]

@henry72 I completely agree with your assessment. ...except... I couldn't help think that for $300 more you get a much faster 9th gen cpu (3.7/4.6 boost) that has newer tech and a soldered heat spreader, and a much faster GPU (580x). (both are roughly 25% faster than their basic counterpart).

I know @lishaoalox doesn't NEEEED it for their uses, but in years 4-7 they might wish that $300 was spent, just for that little bit of oomph. Today's software won't stress either system but who knows how things will change in a few years.

 

[Spudlicious]

This is my new toy. Based on usage of my 2015 rMBP I don't need 16GB RAM or 512GB SSD but I thought, what the heck, next year and the year after (if I am spared) I won't want to be wishing I hadn't been so mean. Hope I won't regret settling for the i5, but on Passmark scores and suchlike it looks fairly saucey.

 

[jeme]

Upgrading from a 2017 4K iMac to a 2019 5K 27 inch. Just wanted some advice - I am ordering the 3.7 i5 with 8GB of Ram - can do my own upgrade later, the real question is the 512 SSD or 1 GB - the 1GB is a $400 upgrade and I could do a future external THunderbolt 3 drive.

I can get the machinefor 2299 through Adorama without tax, or I can order it via the Apple EPP for 2438 with tax, that would include an upgrade to a magic touchpad (currently using Logitech MX S2)

Anyway - do I wait on the storage or get it now. Current matching is only using about 200GB of 500GB? Thoughts?

Selling my 2017 on offer up or Craigs list. OK thanks in advance for the help.

 

[dannynjoni]

Upgrading from a 2017 4K iMac to a 2019 5K 27 inch. Just wanted some advice - I am ordering the 3.7 i5 with 8GB of Ram - can do my own upgrade later, the real question is the 512 SSD or 1 GB - the 1GB is a $400 upgrade and I could do a future external THunderbolt 3 drive.

I can get the machinefor 2299 through Adorama without tax, or I can order it via the Apple EPP for 2438 with tax, that would include an upgrade to a magic touchpad (currently using Logitech MX S2)

Anyway - do I wait on the storage or get it now. Current matching is only using about 200GB of 500GB? Thoughts?

Selling my 2017 on offer up or Craigs list. OK thanks in advance for the help.

I'm holding out for when I've got the money for a 1TB or even 2TB of SSD. But I think 512GB for a desktop with extremely fast external storage options such as we currently have should suffice for most people. I just know I'll be glad to get the larger internal SSD personally.

 

[jeme]

Thanks so much appreciate the input dannynjoni.

 

[PilotTiny]

Ordered this beast a few days ago to replace my late 2013 21.5”, can’t wait to get it. I can’t only hope that it gets delivered early lol.

 

[kazmac]

Upgrading from a 2017 4K iMac to a 2019 5K 27 inch. Just wanted some advice - I am ordering the 3.7 i5 with 8GB of Ram - can do my own upgrade later, the real question is the 512 SSD or 1 GB - the 1GB is a $400 upgrade and I could do a future external THunderbolt 3 drive.

I can get the machinefor 2299 through Adorama without tax, or I can order it via the Apple EPP for 2438 with tax, that would include an upgrade to a magic touchpad (currently using Logitech MX S2)

Anyway - do I wait on the storage or get it now. Current matching is only using about 200GB of 500GB? Thoughts?

Selling my 2017 on offer up or Craigs list. OK thanks in advance for the help.

Buy through through Apple.

I tried to buy a machine from Adorama last week and they screwed up my information even though we verified it twice in store. As a result, the order was cancelled and my money was tied up during some good sales this week.

And despite what Adorama’s site says, I was told no returns. Glad I got my money back this morning. Still not sure what I am going to do here (Mac or PC).

 

[Zettie1996]

Finaly ordered after long doubting between 512GB or 1 TB SSD. I couldn't justify the price upgrade of €450 so I went for the 512GB.
GPU: 48 Vega because you can't upgrade the GPU later.
Memory 8GB. I will add extra 32 GB myself.
I can't wait until it will arive!

 

[Spudlicious]

Finaly ordered after long doubting between 512GB or 1 TB SSD. I couldn't justify the price upgrade of €450 so I went for the 512GB.
GPU: 48 Vega because you can't upgrade the GPU later.
Memory 8GB. I will add extra 32 GB myself.
I can't wait until it will arive!
View attachment 839717

Looking at your attachment I just realised I can read Dutch ☺
Fine spec, you chose well.

 

[Zettie1996]

Looking at your attachment I just realised I can read Dutch ☺
Fine spec, you chose well.

Yeah, it's fun to see all the languages that come by

 

[cambookpro]

@codernova I'll keep this iMac as long as I could for at least 5~6 years(if it doesn't broken by accident.) As for the long term, is there any possible that would make the low-end model@2019 not match to my usage?
My usage is quite simple and I think these won't turn into a power-needed thing in the near future.
I'd love to know is there anything else (age, etc.) that would make some influence to the machine to make it less efficiency.
Would that make significant change between the high-end and low-end models?






Thanks for the replying. I wish I could get mine soon once I make the decision!
Now only the high-end/low-end problem is making me confused.



@henry72 I'd keep this iMac as long as I can. At least for over 6 years I suppose. If it is still not broken at that time, I might keep it until it does.
For long term usage, it seems reasonable to purchase a better model but somehow I think my usage (iWork, Spotify, YouTube, etc.) won't change into power-needed thing in the future, or is there anything else that would make influence to the efficiency of iMac in the future?
I don't do Photo/Video editing nor gaming, just some paperworks and music/online videos.
In that case, do I still need to purchase the high-end model for the future proofs since I'm planning to keep it as long as possible?


Yes, I'd love to hear from the real users of 8th-gen core to see if really worth the extra money too.

Just to throw in my thoughts. My mum sounds like she has a pretty similar use case, uses the iMac for PowerPoint, Spotify, Youtube, Word, etc. She still uses a base model 21.5" 2010 iMac (upgraded RAM to 12GB and small SSD), and it's perfectly fine. I wouldn't worry about "future proofing", unless you really expect your workflow to change in the next few years - it's throwing money away the vast majority of the time. Only upgrade I'd consider is the SSD - it makes even the simplest tasks fly. Apple really shouldn't be selling computers with HDDs/Fusion Drives in 2019.

 

[lishaoalox]

This is the model I would get if I were you. Your usage is very light, this 6-core machine will definitely last you over 6 years. You can also customise the keyboard with a numpad or swap Magic Mouse to a Trackpad.

All the best.
View attachment 839432

These are the reason why I got the top model. I couldn't justify the i9 & Vega

- Photo editing (Photos app, maybe Lightroom in future)
- Light 4K video editing (iMovie, FCP in future)
- Virtual machine (Windows 10)
- Light gaming (Diablo 3, Sims 4)
- Plex server

@henry72 I completely agree with your assessment. ...except... I couldn't help think that for $300 more you get a much faster 9th gen cpu (3.7/4.6 boost) that has newer tech and a soldered heat spreader, and a much faster GPU (580x). (both are roughly 25% faster than their basic counterpart).

I know @lishaoalox doesn't NEEEED it for their uses, but in years 4-7 they might wish that $300 was spent, just for that little bit of oomph. Today's software won't stress either system but who knows how things will change in a few years.

Just to throw in my thoughts. My mum sounds like she has a pretty similar use case, uses the iMac for PowerPoint, Spotify, Youtube, Word, etc. She still uses a base model 21.5" 2010 iMac (upgraded RAM to 12GB and small SSD), and it's perfectly fine. I wouldn't worry about "future proofing", unless you really expect your workflow to change in the next few years - it's throwing money away the vast majority of the time. Only upgrade I'd consider is the SSD - it makes even the simplest tasks fly. Apple really shouldn't be selling computers with HDDs/Fusion Drives in 2019.

@henry72 @codernova @cambookpro
Thanks for all the advice and thoughts!
Base on my usage and since my workflow won't change in the near years, I probably go for the base 27 inches model and upgrade to the 256G SSD. And add another 8G for a totally 16G RAM later after receiving the machine.
I did well with 16G/256G 2018 MBP, so I guess I would also be satisfied with the 2019 iMac.
I know the 512G SSD is about 50% faster in writing speed than the 256G one, but this might be hard to feel that difference with my light usage.

Thanks for all the opinions again and wish you all have a good day!

 

[codernova]

@lishaoalox It is gonna be a VERY fast and beautiful machine. Let your friends here know when you order it! .

 

[PBMB]

I know the 512G SSD is about 50% faster in writing speed than the 256G one

Very interesting. Do you have any links with SSD benchmarks?

 

[mrvo]

Buy through through Apple.

I tried to buy a machine from Adorama last week and they screwed up my information even though we verified it twice in store. As a result, the order was cancelled and my money was tied up during some good sales this week.

And despite what Adorama’s site says, I was told no returns. Glad I got my money back this morning. Still not sure what I am going to do here (Mac or PC).

Adorama is ***** when it comes to verification. B&H is good, soon Adorama will collect taxes anyway.
My 0.02.

 

[petvas]

I bought the 27" iMac with the i5 3,7 Ghz processor:

I am not planning in using it for video rendering. Just normal tasks for an IT consultant: Internet, Email, Office, Remote Desktop, VMs. The above configuration is more than enough for the tasks I will be using my iMac for.

 

[kazmac]

Adorama is ***** when it comes to verification. B&H is good, soon Adorama will collect taxes anyway.
My 0.02.

B & H do not accept returns and they are quite nasty to deal with. I got my money back. At least, the computer salesman at Adorama knew his stuff. Also, I am in NY, so taxes are nothing new (except on eBay).

 

[NickelB]

Finally ordered mine!

27" | i9 | 40gb RAM (original 8gb + 32gb added myself) | Pro Vega 48 | 512gb SSD | Apple Care
came to about $5730 AUD ($4000 USD I think).

I spent way too long trying to decide between the 512gb and 1T ssd, in the end I went for the 512gb and will just get externals for saving finished projects and such, I always love having a clean and organised system anyway so the less files saved to the internal SSD the better for me, mentally - I just feel cluttered otherwise!
I was worried about "resell" value opting for the 512gb, considering I went all out with the other upgrades, but in the end I had to remember that I'm buying this for myself and not someone else, one should just buy what they want, need (and can realistically afford) for their unique work flow/situation.
Plus things are changing so rapidly it's maybe a bit silly to worry about resell value at time of purchase, so much can happen before then!

At the moment I've been working with a tiny 13" 250gb ssd (full), 8gb RAM (2.7GHz i5 Macbook Pro).
Trying to work on large layered photoshop files for large international clients with such an old baseline laptop is wasting too much of my time, actually it's just unacceptable at this point - so this will be a big upgrade for me and hopefully really improve my productivity!
*Said early 2015 Macbook Pro was actually in such tip-top shape, not one issue at all + just had whole body & screen replaced for free by Apple, would have been a good trade-in money-back wise...but of course that same week I managed to trip and drop a glass... which scattered and dented the macbook pro body and decently chipped the screen ha...life..*

Thanks to all for their input on this forum! Always very helpful!

 

[computerdummy]

Have you tried Amazon for the Crucial? That's where I got mine.

I did try to buy the crucial ram through Amazon but I wasn't completely certain what to buy there so I talked to someone at crucial and they were adamant that I shouldn't install the two sticks of 64 each into my new iMac and refused to guide me as to exactly which 64 sticks I should buy if I did what they were so against doing. The folks at OMC were more than helpful and I bought my ram from them.
I came away convinced that Crucial will do nothing to jeopardize their business relationship with Apple. I'm not faulting them for that but that reality sent me to OMC.

 

[codernova]

Finally ordered mine!

27" | i9 | 40gb RAM (original 8gb + 32gb added myself) | Pro Vega 48 | 512gb SSD | Apple Care
came to about $5730 AUD ($4000 USD I think).

Spec twins! *fist bump*

 

[Zen_Arcade]

Originally bought the 3.7/8/2tb/580x model; thought about it more, and ordered the 3.6 i9/8/2tb/580x. Added 32 gb RAM; am actually very pleased with it.

I/O speed isn’t as critical to me, but cpu power is.