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$200 for 2 extra ports and ethernet. And to re-enable a GPU core they disabled. 16GB ram limit 512GB storage limit un-upgradable You are better off getting a

by pers0n 5y ago

$200 for 2 extra ports and ethernet. And to re-enable a GPU core they disabled. 16GB ram limit 512GB storage limit un-upgradable You are better off getting a Mac Mini, its the same performance.

minimaxir 5y ago
Part of the value of an iMac is the display, and a display of this quality is worth a couple $hundred.
noahtallen 5y ago
Comparing to the mini: - plus a 4.5k monitor - plus a webcam - plus a better mic & speakers And this monitor and webcam setup is probably better than most 4k monitors and most webcams, at least at the entry-mid level ranges.
- volta83 5y ago
  Right, but if you get a good monitor, it will serve you what, 10 years ? 15 years ? What do you do with this monitor when Apple stops supporting the first generation of ARM CPUs and you have to upgrade to a new Mac in 4 years ?
  - crazygringo 5y ago
    When has Apple ever put out a macOS update that didn't support 4-year-old hardware? Big Sur still runs on iMacs from mid 2014. (And MacBook Airs from mid 2013.) [1] And most apps will continue to run on older macOS for several more years anyways. Plus, while a good monitor might technically last 15 years... that doesn't mean you want to keep using it. New technologies like Retina, P3, micro-LED, etc. mean that by the time you want to upgrade your computer, you often want to upgrade your monitor too. [1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211238 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211238
    - volta83 5y ago
      > When has Apple ever put out a macOS update that didn't support 4-year-old hardware? Every single time Apple has changed the hardware architecture of their machines. The last generation of PowerPC macs was only supported for two years. The first generation of Intel macs was only supported for 3 years. The second generation of Intel macs was supported for >8 years.
      - crazygringo 5y ago
        The first Intel iMac was released in early 2006 and supported until Lion was released in mid 2011. That's five and a half years. Not three. And the last PowerPC iMac was late 2005, and supported until Snow Leopard in late 2009. That's four years, not two. So I guess that is the one case of not supporting four year old hardware (barely), but that's not analogous to the M1 since it dropped support for the old architecture, not an older model of the new architecture.
        volta83 5y ago
        That's unfortunately incorrect. The first generation Intel Macs used Intel Yonah cores "Core Duo". Those were the ones released in january 2006. These models were discontinued in September 2006, and replaced by Intel Penryn cores "Core 2 Duo". The main difference being that Intel Yonah cores only support SSE3, while the Penryn cores support SSSE3 and up to SSE4.1 (there is some variation here). Lion required "Core 2 Duo" hardware, Leopard is the actual last OS that supported the early "Core Duo" macs, and received its last update in 2009. Back then, this was kind of frustrating, because Leopard was released in 2007, so basically those with the very first Intel-based macs only got 1 major OS upgrade. That is, the first generation Intel-based macs reached EOL at the same time as the last generation of PowerPC macs. I guess the technically-correct thing to say is that the very first generation of Intel macs only got 3 years of support. This is in strong contrast with the Core 2 Duo macs released 6 months later, which got much longer support (some up to Mountain Lion... which had its last update in 2015, 9 years later). --- For this reason, I'm not buying M1 macs. Makes more sense to wait 1 year or so if you can stretch it and get M2s or M3s, chances are any of those will last you a decade. I completely agree with you that Apple will kill Intel support ASAP. IIRC they guarantee ~2 year of support or so, so probably 2 years after they discontinue their last Intel model all support for Intel will be gone. Makes absolutely no sense to buy an Intel mac right now unless you get them for peanuts and only want it for the next 2 years or so.
  - rconti 5y ago
    My mom is looking to replace her 2008 iMac. Last year I told her to wait for the M1s, so she's still on her old one, 13 years later.
mlindner 5y ago
Not disabled, binned. It failed to pass QC.

by pers0n 5y ago

$200 for 2 extra ports and ethernet. And to re-enable a GPU core they disabled. 16GB ram limit 512GB storage limit un-upgradable You are better off getting a Mac Mini, its the same performance.

minimaxir 5y ago

Part of the value of an iMac is the display, and a display of this quality is worth a couple $hundred.

noahtallen 5y ago

Comparing to the mini: - plus a 4.5k monitor - plus a webcam - plus a better mic & speakers And this monitor and webcam setup is probably better than most 4k monitors and most webcams, at least at the entry-mid level ranges.

volta83 5y ago
Right, but if you get a good monitor, it will serve you what, 10 years ? 15 years ? What do you do with this monitor when Apple stops supporting the first generation of ARM CPUs and you have to upgrade to a new Mac in 4 years ?
- crazygringo 5y ago
  When has Apple ever put out a macOS update that didn't support 4-year-old hardware? Big Sur still runs on iMacs from mid 2014. (And MacBook Airs from mid 2013.) [1] And most apps will continue to run on older macOS for several more years anyways. Plus, while a good monitor might technically last 15 years... that doesn't mean you want to keep using it. New technologies like Retina, P3, micro-LED, etc. mean that by the time you want to upgrade your computer, you often want to upgrade your monitor too. [1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211238 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211238
  - volta83 5y ago
    > When has Apple ever put out a macOS update that didn't support 4-year-old hardware? Every single time Apple has changed the hardware architecture of their machines. The last generation of PowerPC macs was only supported for two years. The first generation of Intel macs was only supported for 3 years. The second generation of Intel macs was supported for >8 years.
    - crazygringo 5y ago
      The first Intel iMac was released in early 2006 and supported until Lion was released in mid 2011. That's five and a half years. Not three. And the last PowerPC iMac was late 2005, and supported until Snow Leopard in late 2009. That's four years, not two. So I guess that is the one case of not supporting four year old hardware (barely), but that's not analogous to the M1 since it dropped support for the old architecture, not an older model of the new architecture.
      - volta83 5y ago
        That's unfortunately incorrect. The first generation Intel Macs used Intel Yonah cores "Core Duo". Those were the ones released in january 2006. These models were discontinued in September 2006, and replaced by Intel Penryn cores "Core 2 Duo". The main difference being that Intel Yonah cores only support SSE3, while the Penryn cores support SSSE3 and up to SSE4.1 (there is some variation here). Lion required "Core 2 Duo" hardware, Leopard is the actual last OS that supported the early "Core Duo" macs, and received its last update in 2009. Back then, this was kind of frustrating, because Leopard was released in 2007, so basically those with the very first Intel-based macs only got 1 major OS upgrade. That is, the first generation Intel-based macs reached EOL at the same time as the last generation of PowerPC macs. I guess the technically-correct thing to say is that the very first generation of Intel macs only got 3 years of support. This is in strong contrast with the Core 2 Duo macs released 6 months later, which got much longer support (some up to Mountain Lion... which had its last update in 2015, 9 years later). --- For this reason, I'm not buying M1 macs. Makes more sense to wait 1 year or so if you can stretch it and get M2s or M3s, chances are any of those will last you a decade. I completely agree with you that Apple will kill Intel support ASAP. IIRC they guarantee ~2 year of support or so, so probably 2 years after they discontinue their last Intel model all support for Intel will be gone. Makes absolutely no sense to buy an Intel mac right now unless you get them for peanuts and only want it for the next 2 years or so.
- rconti 5y ago
  My mom is looking to replace her 2008 iMac. Last year I told her to wait for the M1s, so she's still on her old one, 13 years later.

mlindner 5y ago

Not disabled, binned. It failed to pass QC.