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Traveldog

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 9, 2024
11
3
Hi , I would like some input. Im finally going to buy a new imac, I have been waiting for the M4 to come out.

This is what I am upgrading from... and try not to laugh. It has lasted a long time for what I use it for, that being , checking mail, surfing the web, some light word processing and storing about 3000 pictures. I dont play games, or do any kind of video creating . Having said that I am looking for advice on what M4 would be best for me to last another 10 years or longer based on what I use it for.

I see the standard M4 $1699 Canadian. and then there are another 2 options for the Imac. I think I should probably get a new keyboard to I like the one with the numbers on and I see that would be an upgrade but my older keyboard with the numbers/keys are a bit yellowing.

So I would love to know anyones thoughts on if I should take the middle option which is I think the 10 Core with at $1949.00. Or if the standard model would be good enough. Thank you.

Screen Shot 2024-10-31 at 4.16.27 PM.png
 

bodonnell202

macrumors 68030
Jan 5, 2016
2,627
3,479
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
For your use case I would probably just stick to the base model as I don't think the upgrade that come with the 1 level up will make much of a difference. The upgrades from the cheapest to 1 level up for an extra $250 are as follows:
  • 2 extra GPU cores - for you since you don't game and mostly do basic computing tasks I don't think you'd ever need or notice the extra graphics horsepower
  • Upgrade from 2 to 4 Thunderbolt/USB ports - might make a difference if you plan on plugging lots of peripherals, but honestly unless you are plugging in more than 1 high resolution monitor and using a Thunderbolt external SSD an inexpensive USB hub will probably serve you just as well
  • Gigabit Ethernet Port - the base model is WiFi only, however if you do plan to connect it with a wired internet connection you can add the Gigabit ethernet port for only $50, so don't spend $250 just for that
  • Touch ID on the Keyboard - although it sounds like you plan to upgrade to the keyboard with a number pad, which also comes with Touch ID
In most cases your money is best spent upgrading RAM but given your (non demanding) use case and that Apple just doubled the baseline amount of RAM I think 16 GB of RAM will serve you well for a long time.
 

StoneJack

macrumors 68030
Dec 19, 2009
2,713
1,941
Hi , I would like some input. Im finally going to buy a new imac, I have been waiting for the M4 to come out.

This is what I am upgrading from... and try not to laugh. It has lasted a long time for what I use it for, that being , checking mail, surfing the web, some light word processing and storing about 3000 pictures. I dont play games, or do any kind of video creating . Having said that I am looking for advice on what M4 would be best for me to last another 10 years or longer based on what I use it for.

I see the standard M4 $1699 Canadian. and then there are another 2 options for the Imac. I think I should probably get a new keyboard to I like the one with the numbers on and I see that would be an upgrade but my older keyboard with the numbers/keys are a bit yellowing.

So I would love to know anyones thoughts on if I should take the middle option which is I think the 10 Core with at $1949.00. Or if the standard model would be good enough. Thank you.

View attachment 2445045
I would opt for 16gb ram (standard configuration)
512 or 1 TB of memory since it is your main computer.
 
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