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Worth going from a 2017 iMac to a 2021 iMac M1

G

GizmoDVD

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 11, 2008
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5,284
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Right now my current setup is
2017 5k Retina iMac 27", 3.8 Quad Core i5, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Radeon Pro 580 8 GB

Looking to get an updated iMac 24" or Mac Studio. I realize the Studio would cost a lot more (plus a screen, even though I could just use my Thunderbolt Display?) but is this a big jump? I do light work on it as-is, heavy lifting from it being a PLEX server.

Thanks
 
Sounds to me like you already know your answer; if you're using your current system for only light work, than you clearly do not need the Studio. That said: to what Thunderbolt display are you referring? If you mean that iMac, I think you're going to be disappointed, as Target Display Mode is a deprecated feature.
 
zarmanto said:
Sounds to me like you already know your answer; if you're using your current system for only light work, than you clearly do not need the Studio. That said: to what Thunderbolt display are you referring? If you mean that iMac, I think you're going to be disappointed, as Target Display Mode is a deprecated feature.
Click to expand...
i have an older Thunderbolt Display I thought about pairing with a Mac Studio
 
GizmoDVD said:
Right now my current setup is
2017 5k Retina iMac 27", 3.8 Quad Core i5, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Radeon Pro 580 8 GB

Looking to get an updated iMac 24" or Mac Studio. I realize the Studio would cost a lot more (plus a screen, even though I could just use my Thunderbolt Display?) but is this a big jump? I do light work on it as-is, heavy lifting from it being a PLEX server.

Thanks
Click to expand...

"Worth" depend on your utility of the machine.
If it's a collectible item, used for decorative purpose and fit the color of your room, then yes, it's worthy for every penny you'd spend.
If your purpose is to use less electricity and save the planet, then a big yes, the new iMac M1 will be adequate for your light job while spending much less power.

If it's a tool for your job (i.e time is money, performance vs/investment cost), then the gain to go from iMac 2017 to iMac M1 is marginal, if not negative.
 
If you don't want to "step down" to a 24" display, you might consider waiting a little while longer until the m2 Mini gets released.

I'm thinking it will be a "nice jump up" from what you get with the current m1 Mini.
Not a Mac Studio... but "not that far away from the base Studio" in overall performance.
 
I'm sticking with my 2017 iMac Core i5-7600 with 24 GB RAM. The 24" M1 iMac is a downgrade for screen space, and the Mac Studio + 27" Cinema Display costs too much with no real improvement in the screen. Plus some people complain of whine with the Mac Studio.

Considering you and I both have relatively light workloads, and the 2017 iMac is still fully supported with macOS 13 Ventura, upgrading at this point just seems like a waste of money.
 
Forgive me, but I'm actually having some difficulty understanding why you're thinking of getting rid of your current iMac. You have a pretty decently specced out system, though maybe slightly old... it should still be well capable of fulfilling the uses that you've described, so far. Is there anything wrong with it? Is it failing to meet your needs in some way? Or are you merely thinking about supplementing it with a second Mac?

In any case, I agree with Scott: an M1 Mini would comfortably get your foot in the door on Apple Silicon without a huge outlay of cash, and it would be well capable of doing everything you've described. In fact, you could plausibly sell your current iMac for more than the cost of a new M1 Mini, depending upon the configuration of the Mini.

Additionally, it looks like there's a beta of Plex which is Silicon native, so that might be worth exploring if you do go down this path.
 
zarmanto said:
Forgive me, but I'm actually having some difficulty understanding why you're thinking of getting rid of your current iMac. You have a pretty decently specced out system, though maybe slightly old... it should still be well capable of fulfilling the uses that you've described, so far. Is there anything wrong with it? Is it failing to meet your needs in some way? Or are you merely thinking about supplementing it with a second Mac?

In any case, I agree with Scott: an M1 Mini would comfortably get your foot in the door on Apple Silicon without a huge outlay of cash, and it would be well capable of doing everything you've described. In fact, you could plausibly sell your current iMac for more than the cost of a new M1 Mini, depending upon the configuration of the Mini.

Additionally, it looks like there's a beta of Plex which is Silicon native, so that might be worth exploring if you do go down this path.
Click to expand...

VenturaOS updates seem like a big enough reason for me to jump to a M1, as it will be my first M1 product. I have a feeling Apple will drop OS support next year as this barely gets Ventura AS-IS.
 
GizmoDVD said:
VenturaOS updates seem like a big enough reason for me to jump to a M1, as it will be my first M1 product. I have a feeling Apple will drop OS support next year as this barely gets Ventura AS-IS.
Click to expand...
Ah... that sounds like a horse of a different color to me. So am I reading into this correctly that you're more seeking to future-proof your purchase, and get a new Mac which can last awhile and continue receiving the latest software updates as long as is reasonably possible, irrespective of your current workload and possibly also of price? If that's the case, maybe you don't want an M1 Mini, after all.

I suggest that you take a good look at the MacRumors Buyer's Guide for additional insights, but the general gist is this: The M1 Mini was first released nearly two years ago as one of the very first Apple Silicon Macs and as such, is likely to be replaced by an M2 version at some point in the very near future... I would speculate, likely before the end of the calendar year.

Your best bet for future-proofing (without breaking the bank) might be to wait until that replacement is announced -- but if your money is burning a hole in your pocket and you absolutely must spend it now, the best currently available future-proofed choice would probably be the Studio, which first came onto the scene a mere three months ago.
 
GizmoDVD said:
VenturaOS updates seem like a big enough reason for me to jump to a M1, as it will be my first M1 product. I have a feeling Apple will drop OS support next year as this barely gets Ventura AS-IS.
Click to expand...
What Ventura features? The few M-specific ones seem pretty uninteresting to me.
 
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