Would I be foolish to buy a 27" Refurb now?

[jdhoskins]

I am looking to replace my mid-2007 iMac (refurb bought in 2008) soon.
I'm not afraid of refurbs.
I don't care about Retina, I'm not a video professional.
I do care about speed, and I think a fusion drive might do me more good than retina.

Right now they have a 27" 3.2 Ghz with 16GB Ram and 1TB Fusion for $1,869.
A new model specced like this would be $300 more.

I know new models are coming in October, but haven't heard anything about the non-retina's getting updated, especially in the 27" range. I thought I heard rumblings they might be dropping it.

Thoughts?

 

[matreya]

I'm not a video professional, but I bought the 5k iMac because the quality of text is so much improved over my previous late-2013 27" iMac.

I definitely wouldn't buy ANY Mac that didn't have either a Fusion drive or SSD in it.

 

[johnh57]

Same boat. I need to replace my 2010 mbp. I may wait for the new riMac - but, then again, what exactly am I waiting for? Apple hasn't put out a roadmap as to whats coming and when.

 

[MecPro]

Same boat. I need to replace my 2010 mbp. I may wait for the new riMac - but, then again, what exactly am I waiting for? Apple hasn't put out a roadmap as to whats coming and when.

Same boat they I am in. But I have a 2008 MacBook Pro. It's struggling to even load YouTube videos.

I am not the person to update my PC every few years either, so for me I need something to last maybe 7 plus years again hence why I want to wait until the new cycle of iMacs come out

So far I've specced the current one with a 4GHz processor, 512 SSD and max graphics. But I'm waiting as I want to get the next model with USB C/3.1, etc

Not sure how long I can wait. Really getting tempted to build my own Windows machine to be perfectly honest.

 

[johnh57]

Thankfully the refurb I've been watching disappeared from the store this afternoon. I have a little more time to ponder things.

 

[TechZeke]

The fact that Apple squished Apple TV, Apple Watch, iPad, and iPhone into one Keynote makes the October Keynote seem like it's going to be a Mac refresh frenzy, since there really isn't anything else to talk about. Apple of course will have inside info the availability of Skylake CPUs, and the 4K 21.5" iMac is pretty much a given. Any Mac buying should wait AT LEAST until the October Keynote.

 

[MecPro]

The fact that Apple squished Apple TV, Apple Watch, iPad, and iPhone into one Keynote makes the October Keynote seem like it's going to be a Mac refresh frenzy, since there really isn't anything else to talk about. Apple of course will have inside info the availability of Skylake CPUs, and the 4K 21.5" iMac is pretty much a given. Any Mac buying should wait AT LEAST until the October Keynote.

But have Apple confirmed an event for October though?

 

[timothevs]

It is very likely that they might get rid of the non retina display iMacs. The Retina displays are just that good. Considering there hasn't been a real update to the non-retina line in a while, it seems likely that it might actually happen.

That said, I was in a similar boat. I had to get rid of my 2012 Core i7 iMac before moving across the country. I thought I could get by on my 2010 Mac Pro, but started missing the iMac and its space saving design. I had the option of waiting till October, but upon checking the Skylake reviews, I didn't find as compelling a need to wait for the new Chipset.

Long story short, I bought a refurb Retina Core i7 4.0GHz iMac with the 1TB Fusion drive and boy... I am just blown away.

 

[kazmac]

OP, if you need the machine now, go for it. No you're not foolish if the new machines do not fit your needs.

I'm waiting (I almost caved 2x with the 2 year old 21.5".) I may spec up to the 27" if the screen can be used in target mode. I never really appreciated that feature because the larger screen still seems overwhelming to me. But if it does have Target Mode, I can use the machine longer than usual. I'd like that.

 

[Nismo73]

I am looking to replace my mid-2007 iMac (refurb bought in 2008) soon.
I'm not afraid of refurbs.
I don't care about Retina, I'm not a video professional.
I do care about speed, and I think a fusion drive might do me more good than retina.

Right now they have a 27" 3.2 Ghz with 16GB Ram and 1TB Fusion for $1,869.
A new model specced like this would be $300 more.

I know new models are coming in October, but haven't heard anything about the non-retina's getting updated, especially in the 27" range. I thought I heard rumblings they might be dropping it.

Thoughts?

I'm going to beg to differ with you on not caring about retina. I do a lot of photo editing, some video, but a lot of just surfing the web and reading forums and the like on a late '12 refurb 27". The one thing I really liked looking at the 5K iMacs at the Apple store was the clarity of text; makes it easier just to read text all the time on it.

 

[Fishrrman]

I agree with the above poster who cautioned not to buy any Mac UNLESS it has either a fusion drive or a "straight" SSD in it.

Having said that, you should try to find someplace that has BOTH the "regular" and the retina 27" iMacs, side-by-side. I found two like this at the local BestBuy.

Take a few minutes, and compare using the same web pages, etc.

I was surprised (being someone who is nearing 70 with "older vision") that the retina display DOES make a noticeable difference, even to me.

But you will have to make this decision for yourself.

I'm a "Mac Mini guy" these days, but if I was going to buy an iMac, it would be one with the retina display...

 

[johnh57]

It is very likely that they might get rid of the non retina display iMacs. The Retina displays are just that good. Considering there hasn't been a real update to the non-retina line in a while, it seems likely that it might actually happen.

That said, I was in a similar boat. I had to get rid of my 2012 Core i7 iMac before moving across the country. I thought I could get by on my 2010 Mac Pro, but started missing the iMac and its space saving design. I had the option of waiting till October, but upon checking the Skylake reviews, I didn't find as compelling a need to wait for the new Chipset.

Long story short, I bought a refurb Retina Core i7 4.0GHz iMac with the 1TB Fusion drive and boy... I am just blown away.

I was going to thank you for buying the one I was looking at - but I was looking at the same thing with the 1TB Flash drive and the 295x gpu. I had my finger on the buy button several times.

If the new (if there is a new) machine is a broadwell I'll kick myself.

 

[timothevs]

I was going to thank you for buying the one I was looking at - but I was looking at the same thing with the 1TB Flash drive and the 295x gpu. I had my finger on the buy button several times.

If the new (if there is a new) machine is a broadwell I'll kick myself.

heh, sorry m8, I bought mine a few weeks back. If you are watching the refurb store like a hawk, may I suggest http://www.refurb-tracker.com ? The site will email you once the iMac you desire is back in stock. You gotta be quick, as you know these things go VERY fast.