I would like to acquire an iMac, perhaps the latest 5mm one. Given the price tag, what is the view on the lifespan of an iMac? For the sake of perspective, let's use the specs of the 21 inch iMac with the current price tag of R12 499.
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iMac lifespan
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greg0205
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It depends on you really... Remember, the one you'd be looking at in the iStores or on the zastore site now are still the older ones. The new really, really thin ones only hit stores in the States this month. That said, the new iMac now has a 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor, you get twice the RAM on the new one with 8GB of memory, you get a 1TB drive instead of a 500GB one and you also get a NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M graphic card rather than a AMD Radeon one.
You'll find a lot of posters who buy new Apple tech the day it comes out but, unless you absolutely have to be on the bleeding edge, I think you'd be okay for quite a while to come. I replaced my 2009 13" C2D MacBook Pro this year... Not 'cos it wasn't still going strong after three years (to be fair, I'd upped the RAM and put in a hybrid drive), but rather 'cos it was stolen.
You'll find a lot of posters who buy new Apple tech the day it comes out but, unless you absolutely have to be on the bleeding edge, I think you'd be okay for quite a while to come. I replaced my 2009 13" C2D MacBook Pro this year... Not 'cos it wasn't still going strong after three years (to be fair, I'd upped the RAM and put in a hybrid drive), but rather 'cos it was stolen.
Thanks for that - never had any Mac before, only got into the ecosystem now with IPad and iPhone. Not sure about ease of upgrades etc in the context of systems and programs requiring more and more hardware resources. Would four years be pushing things too far?
GreGorGy
BULLSFAN
Still in perfect working order:
* 2005 original MacMini PPC G4 (currently use it for recording TV via TVMax; daughter plays SC4 on it) - Tiger latest OS, although an ext F/W hd runs Leopard
* 2009 MacMini Intel Core 2, currently at daughter's mother's house where she (daughter) uses it, mainly for games, internet and to watch Drifta
* 2010 MBP13", use it myself daily.
Not a single one of these machines is showing any signs of age other than obsolete tech and therefore slower performance with newer things. I'd say a new iMac should have a workable shelf life of at least 5 years and a spare utility life therefore for at least another 5 years.
greg0205
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I seriously doubt four years is pushing it to far. Newer Macs are way more difficult to work on yourself as far as HDDs and RAM goes and I'm sure the iMac will be no exception. It might be an idea to future-proof it a little more by getting more RAM at the time you buy ('tho RAM from Apple is VERY expensive). The main reason, as you point out, would be that future OS updates could require more resources to run properly.. still, 8GB would be good to go for a while anyway as Apple are pretty good at optimising their own software and hardware.
sSslik
Well-Known Member
I bought an iMac for work purposes in 2007 and it is still going strong and running at decent speeds 5 years later .... of course, the ex now has it!
...which is a perfect excuse to buy a new one.
My MBP 17" is 2,5 years old and still running strong, surviving quite a few photo edits, video edits, my post grad and video conversion from hell (converted 25 movies in a batch). My suggestion is to go for the biggest amount of memory if you are going to do a custom build iMac.
clasqm
Senior Member
I bought a white plastic iMac around 2007/8 that proceeded to overheat itself out of existence. The aluminium unibody iMac that replaced it in 2010 shows no sign of giving up whatsoever. With regard to the new ones, apparently only the 27" model can have its RAM upgraded.
Space_Chief
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2006 Mac Pro 1,1 still going strong at 6+ years. Sony Japan always said their stuff is built to last at least 10 years, maybe Apple kit can last that long too. But that was stuff made in Japan and not China or Brazil.
Very limited. RAM is usually easy via a cover but anything else is not so simple and things are getting harder.
Time flies. They'rs such stunning machines they feel special a few years longer than equivalent pcs, so 5 years is very doable. If you are a gamer then buy a pc; upgradeability is the only way to go with games needing the latest tech.
The only major downside to the new thin imacs is they are not yet retina, which means you could be the guy who buys an imac right before the retina version comes out. Once the retina version comes out it'll be no brainer.
The only major downside to the new thin imacs is they are not yet retina, which means you could be the guy who buys an imac right before the retina version comes out. Once the retina version comes out it'll be no brainer.
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Rishalin
Senior Member
Exactly, look at the iPad Mini - its just launched and there is talk of an iPad Mini with Retina! - I'm sure the Macbook Air and iMac line would follow the retina way too..
koffiejunkie
Executive Member
My 2c: I replaced my 2008 vintage entry-level 15" MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo this year with the high-end all-the-upgrades 15" model. The *only* reason I did it is because, among other things I use it for Aperture. Since I started using it, my camera has changed a few times and my raw files trebled in size, which means it takes a lot longer to process each file. I decided to get a new one now, go all out, and be good for another five years.
The old one is still such a good computer, that I can't get myself to let it go. It runs the latest OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and is as responsive as it was the day I got it with 10.5 Leopard on. Everything still works, is still fast and responsive. I recently spent a couple of days throwing things around in VMWare to prepare a slipstreamed Windows CD with all updates and some extra bits for a family member. Even in a virtual machine, the performance was still excellent.
For comparison, a friend of mine, who is a graphic designer, has an iMac, also with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, dating from around the same time. She primarily works with large banners, billboards and packaging - really large files. She's still using that same computer, she's still getting the jobs and making the money.
So to your question, it really depends what you intend to use it for. OS X doesn't have a habit of getting slower and heavier on resources (except RAM perhaps) with each release. Every other piece of software I use runs as well on my old MBP as it did the day I got it. Many things run better. If you intend to do general desktoppy stuff - internet, e-mail/chat, office documents, watching movies, listening to music - it will keep working just fine. The only time you should really worry is if you intend to process or encode digital media that's likely to grow substantially in size over the next few years.
Either ways, when you get it, it's absolutely worth it to put the maximum amount of memory in it. By the time you need more memory, the current standard will be yesteryear's and and expensive (like DDR2 now), so you'll be glad you did it while it was affordable.
The old one is still such a good computer, that I can't get myself to let it go. It runs the latest OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and is as responsive as it was the day I got it with 10.5 Leopard on. Everything still works, is still fast and responsive. I recently spent a couple of days throwing things around in VMWare to prepare a slipstreamed Windows CD with all updates and some extra bits for a family member. Even in a virtual machine, the performance was still excellent.
For comparison, a friend of mine, who is a graphic designer, has an iMac, also with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, dating from around the same time. She primarily works with large banners, billboards and packaging - really large files. She's still using that same computer, she's still getting the jobs and making the money.
So to your question, it really depends what you intend to use it for. OS X doesn't have a habit of getting slower and heavier on resources (except RAM perhaps) with each release. Every other piece of software I use runs as well on my old MBP as it did the day I got it. Many things run better. If you intend to do general desktoppy stuff - internet, e-mail/chat, office documents, watching movies, listening to music - it will keep working just fine. The only time you should really worry is if you intend to process or encode digital media that's likely to grow substantially in size over the next few years.
Either ways, when you get it, it's absolutely worth it to put the maximum amount of memory in it. By the time you need more memory, the current standard will be yesteryear's and and expensive (like DDR2 now), so you'll be glad you did it while it was affordable.
Thanks for all the perspectives. Using "koffiejunkie's" description of desktoppy stuff, yes, I will be using it for that. No major gaming or graphic design type stuff. I think a 5 year timeline from a cost perspective should then do it.
From what somebody else said, it appears that one can only add RAM to the 27 inch iMac. Then waiting for retina, decisions decisions....and when are we ever going to see the new iMac here in SA. If has taken so long for the iPhone to arrive - still to arrive - I wonder what the arrival timeline would be for the iMac and new iPads.
From what somebody else said, it appears that one can only add RAM to the 27 inch iMac. Then waiting for retina, decisions decisions....and when are we ever going to see the new iMac here in SA. If has taken so long for the iPhone to arrive - still to arrive - I wonder what the arrival timeline would be for the iMac and new iPads.
greg0205
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The iMacs come in through the local agents, Core... No mobile network involvement as there is with the phones... New products are in-store here surprisingly quickly these days. I picked up my Air a little over a month after the US release.
I see rumours are starting to circulate that they will be release a new thunderbolt display soonish. If that's true i think it'll be 2 years before we see retina on the 27 inch imac (the thunderbolt display is not updated often). So it might not be worth waiting. The res on the 27 inch is already right up there as it is, so you won't be going without much. But remember this is all speculation, anything is possible, the retina display could come in a year.
One way to go about things would be to get the mac mini and pair that with a decent 24 inch IPS monitor which are already quite cheap. You can then upgrade the screen when a quality 27 inch 4K retina monitor comes out. I'm sure once Apple does it Dell and Samsung will release something comparable, but at a lower price. If you wanted the thin look of the imac the retina thunderbolt display will then also be an option.
It's nice to keep things separate in case something breaks. It would suck big time having to send you whole imac and it's contents away for a couple days or weeks just because something minor is wrong with it. I went the imac route last time and while i havent had a single problem with it, i do think i will be going the split route next time. It makes a lot of sense to invest in a very good monitor, keeping it for 5-7 years, while swapping out the mini ever two years or so to keep things current.
If you were planning on going for the 21 inch imac, well then the mac mini + 24 inch IPS display for roughly the same price is just a better deal. A bigger screen is always a winner.
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clasqm
Senior Member
Yes you can. But this thread is about iMacs.
You have now tickled my interest in terms of the Mac mini. Beautifully described on the apple site, and definitely something to consider. Will do some further homework in this regard
