Why I Might Buy a New iMac
About two years ago, I downgraded from a Mac Pro to a Mac mini. I like the Mac mini a lot, but there are some limits, notably in hard disk space. I have a very large music collection, as regular readers have probably noticed, and I have an external hard disk to store it.
But the new iMacs come with an option to use a 2 TB hard disk. My media disk is 1.5 TB (and it’s not full), so if I had a Mac with a 2 TB hard disk, I could not only put all of my “normal” files but also store my music collection on it, eliminating the need for an external hard disk. (I would still use another external hard disk for backups.)
Furthermore, the ability to include an SSD as a boot disk would be a big plus. I have a 13″ MacBook Air and am delighted with the speed of the SSD. (In my Mac mini, I have a Seagate Momentus XT hybrid drive which is faster than a normal drive, but not quite as fast as an SSD.
The only thing is this: late last year, I bought a new Apple 27″ Cinema Display, and if I want to buy an iMac, I have to sell both the Mac mini and the display. Not easy to do, here in the sticks where I live (and I don’t want to have to deal with shipping stuff like this).
In any case, Apple has a 4-6 week delay for iMacs with the SSD, so I have time to try and find a buyer. Not that I’m a speed demon, but I’d welcome a faster Mac than my mini, and especially the increased hard disk space, the SSD, and the ability to have 8 GB RAM instead of my current 4 GB. And that Thunderbolt thing sounds interesting too…
Is anyone else tempted by the new iMac?
Posted: 5/6/2011 by kirk | Filed under: Apple & Mac OS X | Tags: Apple, iMac | 15 Comments »
I got a 21.5″ iMac late 2009 version in, wait for it, late 2009. I got the 2 TB optional internal HD, hooked up a 3 TB USB drive, said yes when it asked if I wanted the external to be devoted to Time Machine, and haven’t looked back.
I don’t even know how much space I have free on my HD. I have nine or ten versions of the developer tools (Xcode, etc.) each about 10 GB. I don’t bother anymore with spending energy on how much space I have, I just exist in the moment.
What was the question again?
If you’re using the Mini as a direct user client, either open it up (or pay someone to do so) and stick in an SSD. Or pony up $2K for the entry-level iMac SSD. Either way, if it’s a client machine rather than just a serving hub, SSD’s for the OS and ~/ folder do make a phenomenal difference.
Personally, I like componentized gear, rather than all-in-one, since I like value, so I’d stick a 60GB or 115GB OWC SSD in the Mini and keep the big flat panel. You can always buy an bare 2GB drive for your external enclosure for $70. Or even better, add the 2GB drive with a second enclosure to your current setup, and then you’ve got 3.5GB of storage for future proofing your library…
Not sure why you don’t want to deal with shipping since you can get very good prices for your equipment if you sell it on eBay. (and this would seem to be a better option than to have buyers come to your home or you to drive to theirs)
Tony
Yea, it’s true. But I think the box is too big to go via the post office, and that means a pretty high shipping cost, which would mean I’d have to lower my price accordingly. (For the display, at least.)
I might try it though; I’ll see if I get a local buyer.
Why not just use a dual monitor set up.
It’s a thought, but I don’t really need two monitors, and my desk space would make it difficult. I was chatting with a friend about it – he uses 3 monitors – and I can’t see how it would make my work any easier; quite the contrary, given the width of the 27″ displays.
OK. Let me explain my anti-iMac bias here in more detail.
Let’s assume you are looking at the 8GB, 27″, dual SSD/2TB iMac. That’s $2650 from Apple. (You’ll save $100 if you upgrade the RAM on your own.)
Now, compare to you upgrading your Mini hard drive to an OWC 115GB SSD, upgrading your Mini RAM to 8GB, (assuming your Mini is 2009 and not 2008), and buying an OWC Quad Interface 2 HD Drive enclosure along with two bare 2TB drives for 4TB of storage.
The cost for that total package is $590 instead of $2650.
Now, let’s have you buy a second OWC Quad Interface 2 HD Drive enclosure along with two bare 2TB drives, just for backup.
Now, we’re up to $850 instead of $2650. And you get an easy backup solution in the process.
Finally, let’s assume your Mini is pre-2009 and thus won’t handle 8GB of RAM, and that 8GB of RAM is highly important to you, even if your swap is headed to a speedy SSD, so you add a brand new Mini to your buying spree just to handle the extra RAM.
You’re still only spending $1,550 instead of $2650. And you get an extra Mini to either sell, or use for WiFi backups and emergency situations, and no flat panel shipping hassles.
What do you lose by going with the Mini instead of the iMac? Essentially Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt. So you have to ask yourself, how often are you slowed down by the Core Duo CPU, or by not having an external connection port that some day will somewhat improve I/O speeds. I think those aren’t what slow down the majority of users.
So, I say to keep ‘em in components. Your spanking new platter storage solution will be viable for years. And your flat panel will likely be viable for years. Plus, you’ll have extra money in your pocket to upgrade sooner. And you won’t have a single point of failure for things going catastrophically wrong.
I’m never clear on why folks with good technical skills buy iMacs unless they just don’t worry about petty cash in that dollar/euro range…
You lose processor speed, easy RAM upgrade (mine’s a 2009 mini, and you can’t access the RAM like you can now), hard disk speed (you don’t have internal 7200 RPM HDs), graphic card, Thunderbold, etc.
I used to agree with your logic – separate monitor and computer – but unless Apple makes a mid-sized tower, that solution isn’t ideal for me any more.
Your calculations are false, though; you’re not counting the money I’d get back from selling the monitor, not to mention the existing Mac mini.
“You lose processor speed, easy RAM upgrade (mine’s a 2009 mini, and you can’t access the RAM like you can now), hard disk speed (you don’t have internal 7200 RPM HDs), graphic card, Thunderbold, etc.”
Well, I’m assuming that since you already put a hybrid HD in your Mini, you possess the skills to add RAM and an SSD to your Mini.
And yes, not only do you lose Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt, but you also lose a better graphics card in the bargain.
But I tend to agree with the logic in Marco’s recent post that the performance improvement of SSD’s dwarfs all other performance gains put together.
Of course, all different users are different. It depends on how much you use your desktop compared to how much you use your laptop. It depends if you are waiting on CPU dependent tasks like Photoshop filters to render, or if you need better FPS in games, both of which an SSD won’t improve by an order of magnitude like it will ordinary computer usage.
But I’m of the school that with SSD’s, we’re entering an age of thin clients, be they laptops or desktops. Save money where you can so you can more rapidly update your thin client buying cycle, and outsource your non-SSD storage to big platter external boxes.
Your mileage may obviously vary depending on your usage patterns. And it sure would be nice if Apple made a mid-range desktop, though we all know that ain’t going to happen. But I do find the SSD/thin client topic to be an interesting one at the moment.
Frankly, if I were in your shoes, what I’d really do if I weren’t saving pennies is to replace my Mini with a MBP, which I could hook up to the flat panel & platter box and also have the ability to detach when desired, and I’d keep the old Mini to run headless as a WiFi backup server + other household server functions…
I do have the skills to upgrade the mini, but, to be honest, it was a harrowing experience, and not one I want to go through again.
As for SSD performance, yes, I see that on my MacBook Air (and on the 2008 MBA I had as well). However, the hybrid is a good compromise; you don’t need to store much data on the SSD, so anything bigger than your OS and apps is a waste of money (IMHO).
The idea of using a laptop connected to my monitor is interesting, and one I hadn’t thought about. I already have an MBA (because, for some of my work, I absolutely need a second computer), but that’s not enough for my everyday work. Also, another laptop would take up space; much more than a mini or an iMac. The mini is a fine Mac, and for most uses it’s sufficient, but I’m going to do some video screencasts soon, and I’d rather have something that’s a bit faster to work with them.
As for turning the mini into a server, I’ve thought about it, but it’s not really worth it. I could use it for, say, Time Machine backups, but I already do that with an external disk connected to an AirPort Extreme.
But your points are all valid, and may be applicable to people in different circumstances. And Marco’s post makes similar, valid points. It’s a tough time to choose. If I didn’t have the MBA, an MBP might be an option, but I still have to have a second Mac – ideally a laptop – to work with, say, beta versions of Mac OS X and other beta software.
“I do have the skills to upgrade the mini, but, to be honest, it was a harrowing experience, and not one I want to go through again.”
I don’t blame you. Before I bought my ’09 Mini, I looked at the teardown photos and decided I wanted nothing to do with that whatsoever. The groovy folks at PowerMax in Oregon were happy to sell me a Mini and charge me only $30 to open it up and install the parts I sent them before shipping it to me. Without the sales incentive, I’d assume it’d cost you around $100 to find someone reputable either local or mail-in to open up the Mini and install components for you.
“As for turning the mini into a server, I’ve thought about it, but it’s not really worth it. I could use it for, say, Time Machine backups, but I already do that with an external disk connected to an AirPort Extreme.”
Think different.
Get that Mini to within 15m of your entertainment system so you can run HDMI to your HDTV and audio to your receiver. Attach your 1.5GB library to your Mini. Attach the whole thing to your LAN.
Now you now have a more robust and capable version of your Time Machine and AFP server than you had with AirPort Extreme. But wait! There’s more!
For free, you’ve got running 24/7:
- iTunes shared music
- iTunes remote control (via iOS)
- iOS print services
For $8, you can avoid having to buy an Apple TV, as you’re now running AirPlay via software, as well as running the AirTunes protocol.
For $25, you’re running a more capable version of AirTunes sent from OS X boxes. (Sell the AirPort Express.)
Hell, you can even tinker around and install Plex on the box to see what the bleeding edge in HTPC’s looks like.
Plus, you get a spare OS X box lying around for emergencies. Plus, you have a nice way to outsource rare jobs like running virtual machines with Fusion or compressing video. Plus, in Lion, you’ll be able to log into background users while leaving the normal “A/V user” controlling the Mini’s output.
And the beautiful thing about it all is that my ’09 Mini, which does all that and more, probably has a useful lifespan of several more years. The graphics are sufficient to playback 1080 video. I don’t even mind the internal (non-hybrid) platter drive, since the lagginess that is so bothersome on a client is less bothersome on a pseudo-server connected over the LAN.
In short, think about keeping that old Mini even as you upgrade your client boxes, especially if you can get it within 15m of your entertainment system. There’s a reason that Minis have such high resale value. They’re valuable.
(For one example, having a headless Minis has allowed me to buy cheap commodity networking gear and totally avoid AirPort Extremes, AirPort Expresses, Apple TV’s, and Time Capsules. In general, if you’ve got a bunch of Cupertino clients in your household and have a reasonably mild level of technical proficiency, having a headless Mini will save you money.)
I know all about the media center stuff, but I do that already with an Apple TV. I also don’t need a server that will be running 24/7; I turn my computers and network hardware off at night, and having a headless server would be just one more thing to turn on and off.
For emergencies, I have the MacBook Air.
BTW, I appreciate your trying to convince me. At least others reading the comments may learn something. :-)
“I turn my computers and network hardware off at night”
Wow. You really are a European now. (Good for you.)
Being a normal thoughtless American, I leave my network gear and Mini running 24/7…
Yes, there are plenty of things I turn off at night. I have a switchable power strip for my TV, DVD player, satellite TV box, etc. as well.
“However, the hybrid is a good compromise”
A year or more ago, perhaps. Now, not so much.
“you don’t need to store much data on the SSD, so anything bigger than your OS and apps is a waste of money (IMHO).”
FWIW, I may sorta disagree with this, depending on what precisely you mean.
Putting /Users/ onto the SSD is a massive win for user interface performance. You’re often waiting on lots of little reads and writes especially to ~/Library/ that create user interface lag.
The only trick here is trimming down your /Users/ to what can fit into your sane SSD budget in 2011. For most folks with “media”, that means means moving your audio, video, and likely your photos out of of your User folder until it’s 2013. (For those who balk at moving their photos out, remember that most shoeboxing apps will put thumbnails into a cache folder on the SSD, so it’s not a big speed issue unless you are a heavy photographic editor.)
Adjust permissions and backups for your media outside your User folder on the platter drive accordingly, (which can even be connected to you via ethernet for most users, since it’s only media), and have the entire OS X ‘normal disk hierarchy’ on the SSD.
When it’s 2013 and Moore’s law has done its work, you can upgrade your SSD and start moving media back into your User folder…