imac recommendations? looking to upgrade my 8 yr old imac. any thoughts folks? i don't need a laptop. i hear good things about the speedy m1 chip. thanks for your comments/experience...

nj53 Loc: Canon City, Colorado

looking to upgrade my 8 yr old imac. any thoughts folks? i don't need a laptop. i hear good things about the speedy m1 chip.

thanks for your comments/experience for those who've got a new mac....

norm

sourdough58 Loc: Maine

following:

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

nj53 wrote:

looking to upgrade my 8 yr old imac. any thoughts folks? i don't need a laptop. i hear good things about the speedy m1 chip.

thanks for your comments/experience for those who've got a new mac....

norm

They currently have the 24inch M1 iMac out but soon to release the 27inch M1 iMac which is what I'm waiting for. I'm no computer expert, only know my other iMac's 12yrs and 5yrs old still run as good as the day purchased..
PS lots of videos on YouTube about the M1 chip.. They just can't choke this thing up. Can't wait to see how fast any and all photo/video editing software I have will run on it.

Tote1940 Loc: Dallas

My set up
Have an iMac tucked in a closet surrounded by external hard drives printer label printer Output to Stereo set up feeding iTunes to whole house
On my desk around 10 feet away monitor fed by DVI cable bluetooth full size keyboard and mouse and powered USB
Find it very convenient could have used mac mini if I had planned better
Do not what chip available on Mini
Don’t fall for laptop if you do not need one

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

nj53 wrote:

looking to upgrade my 8 yr old imac. any thoughts folks? i don't need a laptop. i hear good things about the speedy m1 chip.

thanks for your comments/experience for those who've got a new mac....

norm

Eventually your 8 yr. old iMac will stop accepting complete upgrades to its operating system. Mine, a late 2013 model is mired in "Catalina" and will not progress further. The cutoff is the 32-64 bit processing point. Even using 32 meg of ram it bogs down in Lightroom. That seemingly is being caused by a huge catalogue. The new MB Pros are very hot and very fast computers. Depending upon your needs the Mac Mini could suit you. There are alternatives to the iMac. Orders for new computers are requiring long wait times.

Photolady2014 Loc: Southwest Colorado

nj53 wrote:

looking to upgrade my 8 yr old imac. any thoughts folks? i don't need a laptop. i hear good things about the speedy m1 chip.

thanks for your comments/experience for those who've got a new mac....

norm

I just ordered a new 27”. Due to be delivered the 16. Much faster than the estimated Mid December delivery date on the web site. I ask several places and nobody knows if they will continue the 27” or if for sure they will put the new chip in it. They may go to a 30”. I did not feel I needed 30”.
Anyway, my Lightroom is sooooo slow that I did not want to wait a year or so for the new chip. Plus several pointed out the cost will be much higher.

What I have coming and I was promised this will be super fast and last another 6+ years. By then they will have something better than the new M chip!

i9 processor
64GB memory
Radon Pro 5700
4TB SSD storage.
Textured glass

Total bill just over 5k (ask about discounts) I got a 10% military discount due to my dads service.

All I can say is the damn spinning wheel had better be gone for several years!!!!

Beth

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

martinfisherphoto wrote:

They currently have the 24inch M1 iMac out but soon to release the 27inch M1 iMac which is what I'm waiting for. I'm no computer expert, only know my other iMac's 12yrs and 5yrs old still run as good as the day purchased..
PS lots of videos on YouTube about the M1 chip.. They just can't choke this thing up. Can't wait to see how fast any and all photo/video editing software I have will run on it.

Heck, even the lowly, fan-less MacBook Air cuts through rendering tasks like butter. I rendered 28 full size JPEGs from 16 megapixel files in 27 seconds on mine.

The new M1 Pro and M1 Max processor systems on a chip, found in the 14" and 16" MacBook Pro, are rumored to be coming to the larger iMac sometime soon. If you truly need workstation professional performance, they make a lot of sense. On the other hand, the M1 24" iMac gets rave reviews from all corners. Just don't buy the base model, which has only one fan. The $1500 and up options are best.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

nj53 wrote:

looking to upgrade my 8 yr old imac. any thoughts folks? i don't need a laptop. i hear good things about the speedy m1 chip.

norm

Yes, the M1 chip has gotten fantastic reviews. I know there is a 24" iMac M1, but I don't know if there is a newer version, similar to the new laptop M1 X and Pro computers. From what I've seen and heard, the M1 runs cooler and faster, and it doesn't require as much internal memory.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

jerryc41 wrote:

Yes, the M1 chip has gotten fantastic reviews. I know there is a 24" iMac M1, but I don't know if there is a newer version, similar to the new laptop M1 X and Pro computers. From what I've seen and heard, the M1 runs cooler and faster, and it doesn't require as much internal memory.

Apple silicon in iPhones, iPads, and Macs has “unified” memory. That means the same data can be accessed by CPU and GPU and Neural Engine processors at the same time from the same place. That drastically improves speed and efficiency.

Also, the SSD storage is much closer to the processors, reducing latency (think memory swapping time).

The M1 Max moves data on its internal bus at 400 megabytes per second. That’s extraordinarily fast!

These things are beasts. Equivalent performance from other computers takes three to four times the power, which is why the new Macs run so cool. It’s wy they’re so quiet. And it’s why the notebooks have great battery life with NO performance sacrifice compared with running on AC power.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

burkphoto wrote:

Apple silicon in iPhones, iPads, and Macs has “uni... (show quote)

Intel just introduced a new CPU that has gotten similar rave reviews. It will be for desktops initially.

https://www.techadvisor.com/news/pc-components/intel-alder-lake-12th-gen-cpu-3800589/

twosummers Loc: Melbourne Australia or Lincolnshire England

I just replaced my 4 year old iMac with new M1 processor iMac with 16gb RAM and SSD. Blisteringly fast against possible the slowest computer I've ever had. My new iMac is a perfect match for my new M1 based MacBook Pro.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

The new models are fast, but consider what kind of post-processing you will be doing. The size of the internal memory and speed are things that make post-processing fun or tedious. Also, are you going to be saving your shots in external hard drives or depending on your iMac?

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

twosummers wrote:

I just replaced my 4 year old iMac with new M1 processor iMac with 16gb RAM and SSD. Blisteringly fast against possible the slowest computer I've ever had. My new iMac is a perfect match for my new M1 based MacBook Pro.

All the M1 Macs (13" MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and 24" iMac) use the same M1 SOC, so they have similar performance. The Air will throttle if you push it very hard. VERY hard. But that can be avoided with a simple mod... putting thermal pads on the cooling channel between it and the case.

The iMac is probably the best Mac for general home and office use. It is extremely well engineered.

The new 14" and 16" MacBook Pros feature the M1 Pro and M1 Max processors, and truly professional level workstation-like performance for high end tasks such as video editing, software development, mathematical/statistical modeling, animation, game development, and other "out there" tasks.

Mark7S

I have had the M1 24" iMac since June (replaced my late 2015 iMac 27") - it is blistering fast. Not sure they are going to have a 27" Would like more than the 16Gb but not really necessary but 32Gb will be available next version. 1TB internal SSD. Running light room on a Sabrient Rocket Pro 2TB SSD at up to 1000 Mbs. The CalDigit element Thunder Bolt 4 is a must have. Have a Lacie 6TB Thunderbolt 3 Drive . Have Blackjack VX2SSD with 2GB Samsung in each slot for back ups inc Time Machine.

Absolutely NO issues running Lightroom Classic.

Chadp Loc: Virginia Beach

My wife recently bought a MacBook Air with the M1 processor. I have been impressed with the speed when testing with some photo and video editing. I would look at the new Mac Mini with the M1 since you don’t need a laptop.