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Worth upgrading? iMac2010 to iMac2013

S

sheareb

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 27, 2009
103
104
Hello, its a long time since ive been involved in the detailed specs of hardware and wanted opinions. I am currently running a mid-2010 27 inch iMac as per below:
Processor 2.93 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 12 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5750 1024 MB
1TB Drive

Do the new 27 inch iMacs knock the socks of this?
I know speed depends on what you are doing etc - I tend to mainly use the Mac for general work and IOS development with XCODE but often run virtual machines (windows) using parallels and play PC games.

Im sure the new machines must be much faster but would value opinion of the new specs vs mine:
3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
8GB (two 4GB) memory
1TB hard drive1
NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M with 1GB video memory
 
I think you'll see a nice boost in playing games and within parallels. I'm not sure you'll see a huge difference in Xcode however. I think 2010 model to the 2013 is nice bump in performance in general terms.
 
maflynn said:
I think you'll see a nice boost in playing games and within parallels. I'm not sure you'll see a huge difference in Xcode however. I think 2010 model to the 2013 is nice bump in performance in general terms.
Click to expand...

Yes - if you have the money to do so then the upgrade will be more than worth it! :)
 
Serban said:
you can't go with the high end model 775M and 3.4Ghz i5?
Click to expand...

I didnt think it was worth £130 (approx $205) for a slightly faster processor an extra 1GB video - and this was with the education discount.
However, there is always the view that it makes the machine likely to last longer and keep acceptable performance!
 
it doesn't sound like what you are doing is that demanding, but if you feel like your system now is a little slow... everything will be blazing fast with your new set-up.

and it's pretty much a no-brainer to at least go with the Fusion Drive option.
 
sheareb said:
... and play PC games.

Im sure the new machines must be much faster but would value opinion of the new specs vs mine:
3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
8GB (two 4GB) memory
1TB hard drive1
NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M with 1GB video memory
Click to expand...
Depending on the PC games, you'd want the 775M or 780M for a real performance increase. And you might want to consider the Fusion for the performance boost that will give you.
 
sheareb said:
I didnt think it was worth £130 (approx $205) for a slightly faster processor an extra 1GB video - and this was with the education discount.
However, there is always the view that it makes the machine likely to last longer and keep acceptable performance!
Click to expand...
It will last longer in the same sense like your BTO high-end 2010 lasted until the end of 2013 - more or less for 3 years.

Were I in your situation I'd skip this iteration unless I was going for an all-SSD system. You are basically "upgrading" to the same computer with slightly better specs.
 
To be honest the machine I have now runs just fine. The most strain I probably put it under is running 3 PC Virtual machines at the same time with a mix of Windows Server, Win XP and Windows 98. Server tends to run SQLSevrer and web server with the client machines generally used for Visual Studio.

Only games I play are battlefield 2 and Battlefield 3 - machine struggles with the latter I would suggest.

I guess I answer my own question that I dont actually NEED an upgrade even though the machine is now 3 years old - the value of apple eh!
 
sheareb said:
I didnt think it was worth £130 (approx $205) for a slightly faster processor an extra 1GB video - and this was with the education discount.
However, there is always the view that it makes the machine likely to last longer and keep acceptable performance!
Click to expand...

I was going through a similar consideration as you. I ended up upgrading to the new iMac. You should know that the difference between the base GT 755M and the GTX 775M represents a 103% performance increase. So, it's not just an extra ram. Adding the GTX 780M will give you another 24% improvement on top of GTX 775M.

I personally went for the GTX 775M.

Also, a Fusion drive is a must. If you can only make one upgrade, the Fusion drive would be it (or the base SSD at 256GB if that's enough space for you).
 
Sheareb,
I have the same 2010 machine with the same amount of ram (although I have upgraded to SSD). While I am tempted by the new design/screen, Thunderbolt, usb 3.0 etc I honestly don't see what I would gain by upgrading at this point (I am not a gamer). I mostly use Lightroom/PS and import a lot of 20+ megapixel photos to work on and this machine is handling it fine. I plan to wait at least two years or until I need a new machine (3-4 years?).

Since your current machine runs just fine I'd say wait. Things you may gain in the future. Faster CPU, faster ram, usb3.1, Thunderbolt2 and who knows what else Apple has in store.
 
I too have the same config and memory upgrade and agree with B.A.T., that you should have at least 1-2 more years of good useful life.

If you are looking for justification to upgrade I'd suggest seeing what happens when Mavericks comes out, maybe some feature won't work with your model, or it will be even more faster on Haswell. (Hmm, why did the iMac get Haswell before the rMBP? Cue the conspiracy theorists!) also, what is the resale value of the mid-2010? Maybe your out of pocket won't be that bad.

I wouldn't mind the ac wireless, but I'd have to buy a SuperDrive to "backup" my movies. ;o)
 
Well, I don't have the same config but am pleased that others actually support my opinion. My 2010 still works like new, with the exception that it collects dust behind the screen (have grey spots in the top left corner - a result of a design error of the computer) That still does not warrant a new computer. I guess I will wait until my iMac dies due to natural causes :) (which can actually mean anything between less than a month and 5 years or why not even more)
 
B.A.T said:
Sheareb,
I have the same 2010 machine with the same amount of ram (although I have upgraded to SSD). While I am tempted by the new design/screen, Thunderbolt, usb 3.0 etc I honestly don't see what I would gain by upgrading at this point (I am not a gamer). I mostly use Lightroom/PS and import a lot of 20+ megapixel photos to work on and this machine is handling it fine. I plan to wait at least two years or until I need a new machine (3-4 years?).

Since your current machine runs just fine I'd say wait. Things you may gain in the future. Faster CPU, faster ram, usb3.1, Thunderbolt2 and who knows what else Apple has in store.
Click to expand...

I have a 2010 21.5", and due to an SSD upgrade, I have no reason to by a new iMac. I have suggested repeatedly to friends, family, and forum members that any computer built within the last 3 or 4 years will most likely feel like new by replacing the HD with an SSD. Unless you have a unique use case, like lots of heavy graphics work where time is money.

Personally, I'm hoping my machine lasts until Apple releases 4K iMacs. That will be a good enough reason for me to upgrade.
 
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