Would you still buy an Intel-based iMac?

[satchmo]

My 2019 27" iMac was 'on loan' for a few months during Covid. But now it's going back to by former employer.

So I'm in the market for a new Mac (my remaining computer is a 2010 MBP and it just doesn't cut it).

Timing is everything, and while I'd love to see what a larger 2021 iMac will cost, I suspect it'll be very expensive and probably won't ship until the end of this year.

My options are really, the 27" iMac, a 24" iMac or Mac mini.

A refurbished 2020 i5 iMac 27" works out to be almost identical to the price of a mid-tier 2021 iMac 24"
Naturally a Mac mini is the cheapest option, but alas, there are no great displays to pair it with. I also have an existing 24 Dell that is okay for now.

I actually quite liked the 2019 27" iMac. It seemed powerful enough with the noisy fan being it's worse attribute.
For context, I don't do video editing or much of a gamer. Perhaps Photoshop would be the most intensive app.

Do you think it's wiser to go with the new M1 iMac or Intel based one?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Intel: Not unless I had to run VM, run other Intel specific software, or wanted to do a lot of gaming.

If that doesn't apply to you, go M1.

 

[dogslobber]

Depends on your individual use case. Do you need to run Windows x86 software? I s'pose if Windows ARM can run such x86 apps via Windows version of Rosetta then that might not be an issue. But I'm not sure if that's the case.

Also, Linux virtualization is really about running x86 Linux distro for developer testing but ARM Linux is less useful as you still need to test on the platform you'll support.

 

[randy85]

It sounds like either the Intel 27" iMac or the M1 iMac will do the job for you? Perhaps the M1 would have a better resell value if you did want to upgrade to the larger M1X iMac should it become available later in the year.

I don't really see a wrong answer here if it gets the job done, but yes if it's a stop gap measure, the M1 might be the better buy if the smaller screen is workable.

 

[satchmo]

Depends on your individual use case. Do you need to run Windows x86 software? I s'pose if Windows ARM can run such x86 apps via Windows version of Rosetta then that might not be an issue. But I'm not sure if that's the case.

Also, Linux virtualization is really about running x86 Linux distro for developer testing but ARM Linux is less useful as you still need to test on the platform you'll support.

No need for Windows x86...it's a nice to have but can count on one hand the number of times I've needed it.

Intel: Not unless I had to run VM, run other Intel specific software, or wanted to do a lot of gaming.

If that doesn't apply to you, go M1.

Do you think developers will eventually no longer write for Intel based Macs?

It sounds like either the Intel 27" iMac or the M1 iMac will do the job for you? Perhaps the M1 would have a better resell value if you did want to upgrade to the larger M1X iMac should it become available later in the year.

I don't really see a wrong answer here if it gets the job done, but yes if it's a stop gap measure, the M1 might be the better buy if the smaller screen is workable.

I think that's why I was considering the M1 Mac mini. A cheap stop gap measure until I see what the larger iMac is like.

 

[Apple_Robert]

No need for Windows x86...it's a nice to have but can count on one hand the number of times I've needed it.



Do you think developers will eventually no longer write for Intel based Macs?




I think that's why I was considering the M1 Mac mini. A cheap stop gap measure until I see what the larger iMac is like.

I don't think it will be coming to an immediate end. If you do coding for Intel based apps, I think you have several more years to do so outside of the orchard.

 

[ADGrant]

Do you think developers will eventually no longer write for Intel based Macs?

I think that third party developers will support Intel Macs at least as long as Apple does. There are a lot of them in use.

I think that's why I was considering the M1 Mac mini. A cheap stop gap measure until I see what the larger iMac is like.

If you get a decent monitor like a 5K LG, you can just upgrade the Mac mini later.