When do iMacs go into solid state storage by default?

winterwinter
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited July 2014
I haven't made a post or a thread in a while so here I go. It's no secret I love my Mac mini but I'm getting sick of waiting for a new one so in terms of a desktop, I have to move up to an iMac. By default, it begins with the Iris Pro graphics which I'm no heavy gamer but how has Iris Pro fared for the 21.5" screen? 8 GB of RAM and your only way to upgrade is when you first buy it. So I have to spend an additional $400 to get 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage for a PCIe SSD.

Do I move up to the $1,499 model for the 750M? Is it worth that much? Now keep in mind I'm going to keep my mini for as long as I can but if I have to upgrade, sell me on the iMac?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,474moderator
    winter wrote: »
    I haven't made a post or a thread in a while so here I go. It's no secret I love my Mac mini but I'm getting sick of waiting for a new one so in terms of a desktop, I have to move up to an iMac. By default, it begins with the Iris Pro graphics which I'm no heavy gamer but how has Iris Pro fared for the 21.5" screen? 8 GB of RAM and your only way to upgrade is when you first buy it. So I have to spend an additional $400 to get 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage for a PCIe SSD.

    Do I move up to the $1,499 model for the 750M? Is it worth that much? Now keep in mind I'm going to keep my mini for as long as I can but if I have to upgrade, sell me on the iMac?

    Don't get the iMac, get the Retina Macbook Pro so you can play games in your bed and during a power cut. The rMBP has Thunderbolt 2 where the iMac doesn't.

    iMac, Iris Pro, 8GB, 256GB SSD = $1499
    rMBP, Iris Pro, 8GB, 256GB SSD = $1659 ( http://store.apple.com/us/product/FE293LL/A/refurbished-154-inch-macbook-pro-20ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display )

    The rMBP also has a quad-i7 vs quad-i5 so is faster CPU-wise. 16GB RAM would be better but you might not need 16GB.

    The 750M isn't worth the extra, the difference in performance is negligible. The rMBP might be refreshed in October though so it would have been better if you'd bought one about 6 months ago or wait until September/October and see what the refurb prices are then.

    Don't just think about the initial price but how much you'll be able to upgrade for too. The rMBP will be worth more when you need to upgrade in say 3 years time so the extra initial cost is negligible and MBPs are in higher demand (by 3:1) vs desktops.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    winterwinter Posts: 1,238member
    Makes sense. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to get a MacBook Pro and it's the original uMBP that got me into the Apple camp. I thought it was beautiful.
  • Reply 3 of 5
    rheaj5rheaj5 Posts: 1member
    From 2009 they had ssd but it's built to order option.
  • Reply 4 of 5
    winterwinter Posts: 1,238member
    rheaj5 wrote: »
    From 2009 they had ssd but it's built to order option.

    To me you shouldn't have to pay extra. The $1,099 model should have a 1 TB HDD and Iris graphics but ah well it's Apple.
  • Reply 5 of 5
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    winter wrote: »
    I haven't made a post or a thread in a while so here I go. It's no secret I love my Mac mini but I'm getting sick of waiting for a new one so in terms of a desktop, I have to move up to an iMac.
    Even the current iMac leaves a lot to be desired especially in comparison to Apples laptops. Your current machine really isn't that old, id find things to distract myself and look at what available at the end of the year.
    By default, it begins with the Iris Pro graphics which I'm no heavy gamer but how has Iris Pro fared for the 21.5" screen?
    It is the number of pixels that makes the difference. That being said iMacs are far from gaming machines even if Iris Pro is a huge step up for Intel.
    8 GB of RAM and your only way to upgrade is when you first buy it. So I have to spend an additional $400 to get 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage for a PCIe SSD.
    Very poor values obviously which is another reason to wait as we should see significant bumps in base capacities as the prices for storage have dropped like a rock and continue to go down.

    By the way 256 GB should be considered minimal storage. You should think about supplementing that or enlist external devices. However non trivial usage of Apples Mac platform requires more that 128 GB on the hard disk.
    Do I move up to the $1,499 model for the 750M? Is it worth that much? Now keep in mind I'm going to keep my mini for as long as I can but if I have to upgrade, sell me on the iMac?

    I won't try to sell you on the iMac because I don't think it is a good idea. Yes im biased against the iMac, I would be the first to admit that, however I don't think it makes anymore sense to buy todays iMac than it does the Mini. Broadwell is so close you can smell it. Beyond that the costs for RAM and flash continue to drop and hopefully that gets reflected in the coming refreshed machines. In other words Apple has milked the platform for all it was worth and like many Apple products it is only a good value a few months after Introduction. Frankly the longer it takes Apple/Intel to deliver new products the worst the value of Apples existing lineup.
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