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Worth waiting for a model update?

A

ahoydecoy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 24, 2015
127
30
My Dell desktop has been slowly dying for the past couple of months, but it’s now really getting close to being completely useless.

I would have replaced it with a 21inch 4K iMac by now, but I’m well aware they haven’t been updated in a long while. Do you think it’s worth waiting much longer for a refresh? I know it’s overdue, but I feel like I’ve been holding off for too long and can’t make much longer…

Is there any indication (beyond random guesses) of when the next model is likely to be released?

On a different note, I was wondering whether any of you would recommend the Fusion drives? The SSD’s make the machine a little too pricey for me and obvious have a lot less storage. Is there a noticeable disadvantage in going with a 1tb Fusion?
 
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ahoydecoy said:
My Dell desktop has been slowly dying for the past couple of months, but it’s now really getting close to being completely useless.

I would have replaced it with a 21inch 4K iMac by now, but I’m well aware they haven’t been updated in a long while. Do you think it’s worth waiting much longer for a refresh? I know it’s overdue, but I feel like I’ve been holding off for too long and can’t make much longer…

Is there any indication (beyond random guesses) of when the next model is likely to be released?

On a different note, I was wondering whether any of you would recommend the Fusion drives? The SSD’s make the machine a little too pricey for me and obvious have a lot less storage. Is there a noticeable disadvantage in going with a 1tb Fusion?
Click to expand...

If your usage will be somewhat of a modest level and not heavy tasking like 3D rendering and high settings gaming just like me then the current m395 2tb fusion will be more than capable to cover your needs. Stay away from 1TB fusion as it consists of only 24 gb ssd portion.
 
Get the 27" iMac if you can. You will NEVER regret having spent more for the bigger display.

If you choose to get a fusion drive, get the 2tb version instead of the 1tb.
The 1tb has a 24gb SSD portion and a 1tb HDD portion. The SSD portion is simply too small.
The 2tb version has a 128gb SSD portion and a 2tb 7200rpm HDD portion. Much better.

There is no way of knowing yet when new iMacs will be announced.
Could be 3 months.
Could be 6 months.
Or longer.
Are you willing to wait that long?

The 2015 models are very nice, and worth consideration.
As the old saying goes, "if you need now, BUY now...."
 
I have a feeling new iMacs will be march-april with better SSD options. So I'm holding out as I'm not a fan of Fusion drives and opening up an iMac can be tricky.
 
You've been using an old dying PC and putting off a new computer "just in case" something newer comes around. You're obviously not needing it for anything major, so don't worry about new stuff.
 
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ahoydecoy said:
My Dell desktop has been slowly dying for the past couple of months, but it’s now really getting close to being completely useless.

I would have replaced it with a 21inch 4K iMac by now, but I’m well aware they haven’t been updated in a long while. Do you think it’s worth waiting much longer for a refresh? I know it’s overdue, but I feel like I’ve been holding off for too long and can’t make much longer…

Is there any indication (beyond random guesses) of when the next model is likely to be released?

On a different note, I was wondering whether any of you would recommend the Fusion drives? The SSD’s make the machine a little too pricey for me and obvious have a lot less storage. Is there a noticeable disadvantage in going with a 1tb Fusion?
Click to expand...

I would wait, the big draw back with the current 21.5" 4K is that there is no dedicated graphics, you can't even select it as an add on. I am hoping that this will be fixed in the new version. Or you should look at the 27" 5K certainly worth the difference in price, especially with the drawbacks of the current configuration options of the 21.5"

I'm considering building a hackintosh for my next machine if Apple keep on releasing this garage. Or changing to Windows. My 2 cents for what it's worth.
 
Sam_S said:
I would wait, the big draw back with the current 21.5" 4K is that there is no dedicated graphics, you can't even select it as an add on. I am hoping that this will be fixed in the new version. Or you should look at the 27" 5K certainly worth the difference in price, especially with the drawbacks of the current configuration options of the 21.5"

I'm considering building a hackintosh for my next machine if Apple keep on releasing this garage. Or changing to Windows. My 2 cents for what it's worth.
Click to expand...

Considering the 21.5" Retina iMac uses the (delayed) Broadwell Iris Pro CPU at 3.1GHz i5 on the basic model or 3.3GHz i7, Apple have 3 possible choices:

Apple could go with the Skylake R series in a simple refresh of the 21.5" platform.
Skylake Core i5-6685R 3.2GHz or i7-6785R 3.3GHz - these CPUs launched 3 quarters after the models with simpler Iris HD 530 graphics which are used in the 27" iMacs - but come with Iris Pro 580 graphics. The issue here is that Intel aren't showing Kaby Lake versions of the R series CPUs with Iris Pro graphics on the desktop roadmap so a rethink on the design will be needed for the following iteration. It would leave the 21.5" iMac potentially a generation behind the 27" model due to the integrated graphics.

Apple could go with the just-launched Kaby Lake desktop CPUs which currently come with HD Graphics 630, but they'd probably need to add a GPU. However, unless they redesign the 21.5" Retina model there's no more heat budget left to accommodate a GPU if they go with a 65w desktop CPU. Previous generations of the 21.5" iMac did come with a graphics card, however, so if there's room for a GPU such as the AMD 450 from the Macbook Pros that would be the logical choice alongside a Kaby Lake desktop if they can sufficiently cool it. This will have an impact on the number of USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports that could be added to the chassis.

More radically they could just go with a Macbook Pro 15" style spec using mobile CPUs along with mobile GPU but the raw speed would be too low, the MBP 15" comes with i7 CPUs that have hyper threading which would distort the range unless the range topping 27" iMac went the same way meaning even more furore unless the intention is to clear the way for some other product above both. It would seem highly unlikely given that the Kaby Lake CPUs suitable for the 27" iMac have been released.

I would say that given the recent trials and tribulations of the last few months the easy thing to is to put the Skylake R versions into the 21.5", go with Kaby Lake in the 27" iMac and leave the innovation until next time because there's no Kaby Lake R series CPU on the roadmap.
 
What model Dell do you have?

Sometimes a clean install the same as buying a new computer.
 
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