Which iMac model for a home office???

[Mac2004]

Okay, I need to get a new iMac this weekend. Here is what I use my computer for: email, word processing with Pages, spreadsheets, iPhoto, watching YouTube, browsing internet, and some light graphic design. Do I really need the retina display or should I just grab one of the lower end 27 inch iMacs without the retina display. If so, is there anything I need to add to the computer or is it a pretty powerful home office computer with all the added bells and whistles. I was going to wait until the new iMacs come out but now I hear it's late October and who knows when they will hit the stores. Will the Apple store add more memory for me before I leave the store?

Any help would greatly be appreciated.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Okay, I need to get a new iMac this weekend. Here is what I use my computer for: email, word processing with Pages, spreadsheets, iPhoto, watching YouTube, browsing internet, and some light graphic design. Do I really need the retina display or should I just grab one of the lower end 27 inch iMacs without the retina display. If so, is there anything I need to add to the computer or is it a pretty powerful home office computer with all the added bells and whistles. I was going to wait until the new iMacs come out but now I hear it's late October and who knows when they will hit the stores. Will the Apple store add more memory for me before I leave the store?

Any help would greatly be appreciated.

It won't matter at all about the retina, hell that usage could be performed with ease on an old macbbok air. You don't need the retina display and the 1440p screen on the iMac is a great display, however you will want to keep this for a fair few years I'd imagine so if 4K video etc is in your future the 5K iMac will be a good investment.

Your main issue is that unless you go for the mid range 5K iMac (and up) you have no in shop options of SSD or fusion drive and that is what makes modern computers so fast in response, fluidity file access etc etc. I personally wouldn't buy a computer without some sort of SSD (the fusion has 128GB of SSd as well as a 1TB HDD) in this day and age and going forward OSX is already much better on SSD equipped Macs and that will continue as the optimisation favours flash storage.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Any iMac would do for your needs, so get whichever low end model where the screen size fits you.

I would recommend getting a Fusion Drive though, or SSD, for the long term investment.

 

[Meister]

Any iMac would do for your needs, so get whichever low end model where the screen size fits you.

I would recommend getting a Fusion Drive though, or SSD, for the long term investment.

Yes, any mac sold right now will work exactly alike for the OPs needs.

 

[adib]

If you're pressed for budget, you might consider a Mac Mini instead. A complete system with display, keyboard, and mouse can be had for less than $1000. Otherwise, the 5K iMac if space and budget is not a concern.

 

[Mac2004]

If you're pressed for budget, you might consider a Mac Mini instead. A complete system with display, keyboard, and mouse can be had for less than $1000. Otherwise, the 5K iMac if space and budget is not a concern.

How many times can I return a computer to Apple Store? For example, if I get a Mac mini and I don't like that and then return it for a 21 inch iMac could I return that for a 27 inch if I didn't like the 21 inch? That would be 3 returns. Is there any provisions on how many times you can return??