iMac 4K 21.5"

liamcrane

liamcrane

liamcrane

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Hi Guys

Looking at getting myself my first Mac and was just looking for some advice. Popped into the Apple store today and had a play around and i must say i loved it! I really liked the 27" as well but its far to big for my needs and would be wasted for what i want it for.

My main uses are mainly for some very light gaming, games such as Football Manager etc. I'm learning HTML and web design so that's going to be the main use of it for me. I do have a windows laptop but i wanted a static desktop as i feel much more comfortable at one compared to a laptop. Looking for something long term and have really got to love Apple.

Im looking at the iMac 4K 21.5", i think i would like to upgrade to a fusion drive and get myself the track pad after using it today i found it much better than the wireless mouse. Am i right in thinking i i want to do any form of upgrades i would have to buy this through Apple direct?

Welcome any advice on my first purchase

Thanks guys
 
the 4K iMac really isn't upgradeable at all beyond the initial purchase. The Fusion drive is a must as a minimum, as it is masking an unbelievable decision by Apple to fit a 5,400 rpm hdd as part of it. If storage isn't an issue or, rather, you can use external storage, then consider spending more to get a larger flash drive.

If you really are genuinely looking long term though, this doesn't seem like the machine to pick. The screen is like the shop window of a designer brand that leads to Lidl inside. A future iteration in 12 months or less could be so much better.
 
I agree with The_Abyss.

In my view the 21.5" 4K iMac isn't what I would call a long term investment. I realise that you've said you'll be using it for light gaming and web design, but the 4K really isn't a great investment in my eyes, due to the complete lack of user upgradability. If you have your heart set on one then a Fusion Drive at minimum is a must and also consider paying the Apple Tax to upgrade the RAM (This is soldered and cannot be upgraded after purchase).

Personally I would invest in the base spec 5K 27" with a Fusion Drive at minimum or if you can Flash Storage. The 27" gives you a larger screen, dedicated graphics and the ability to upgrade the RAM yourself at a later date (and at a cheaper cost than paying Apple). I think it's a better longer term investment all round.

I thought the 27" would be to big for my requirements as well but now 2yrs into owning an iMac I'm glad I went with it. I'm learning to develop for iOS and I'm glad I have the extra screen space for using Xcode. If you are learning web design then you could be glad of having the larger screen in the future as well.
 
As above i would go down the 27" 5k imac as the 4k imac has a terrible hdd, which is such a stupid decision by Apple. OR Have you had a look at the macbook pro?
 
The iMac 4k can be spec'd with a fusion drive via the website, no issues there.
£1,279 for the 1TB Fusion (small Flash component though) - £1439 for the 2TB Fusion (larger flash component) - or £1359 for 256gb SSD. Add another £44 on top if you prefer the trackpad to the mouse.
 
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Thanks so much guys for the advice, I will take a good look at my finances and see if I could maybe look at the 27" 5k. I see what you are saying about the long term and the fact that there is no upgrade option once the 21.5" has been bought.

I do actually have a mac book pro but it's a work machine, I have always preferred to have a sit down machine with a decent size screen and I have never found laptops that comfortable to work with.

Thanks again for all your help chaps
 
Why not a decent monitor and a bluetooth keyboard/mouse? Used to do that with my MBP before I got an iMac. Worked really work. Just dock it in clamshell mode, you wouldn't know it's a laptop and not a normal unit.
 
What do you guys consider long term?

I bought a late 2013 21.5 iMac just before the refresh and I'm not planning to purchase another desktop for 6-7 years.

OP if you decide on the 21.5 4k I would defiantly put at least a fusion drive in it or flash storage, I put the 512gb flash storage in mine and upgraded to 16gb ram in the midrange 2.7ghz spec and its super fast.
 
beachBOYken said:
What do you guys consider long term?

I bought a late 2013 21.5 iMac just before the refresh and I'm not planning to purchase another desktop for 6-7 years.

OP if you decide on the 21.5 4k I would defiantly put at least a fusion drive in it or flash storage, I put the 512gb flash storage in mine and upgraded to 16gb ram in the midrange 2.7ghz spec and its super fast.
Click to expand...

I bought a 27" iMac (Late 2013) with some upgrades (CPU, Fusion Drive & GPU) and I hope to get 5yrs (hopefully more) out of it - I'm using the standard 8GB RAM this now and the machine is fast and responsive for my needs. When I feel it's struggling a bit then I'll look at increasing the RAM myself.
 
Bit the bullet and went for the 27" iMac :p added the magic track pad and went for a 256gm flash drive instead of the standard 1tb drive. 256gb will be more than enough for my needs and i have plenty of usb3 drives should i need any extra space.

Cannot wait for it to arrive now!
 
Very nice. I've the same unit but with the 2Tb Fusion Drive in it. I removed the fusion setup so just have a 128Gb SSD and the 2Tb drive - prefer it that way so I can control exactly what's on the SSD.

Does it make any difference? No idea!
 
liamcrane said:
Bit the bullet and went for the 27" iMac :p added the magic track pad and went for a 256gm flash drive instead of the standard 1tb drive. 256gb will be more than enough for my needs and i have plenty of usb3 drives should i need any extra space.

Cannot wait for it to arrive now!
Click to expand...

Nice! :cool: Think you've made the better choice going with the 27". The SSD is a great upgrade as well.

How long are they saying for shipping?
 
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