One feller's views on the state of everyday computer science & its application (and now, OTHER STUFF) who isn't rich enough to shell out for www.myfreakinfirst-andlast-name.com
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The late 2013 27" iMac's processor is an i5-4570 at the bottom end. At least that's what Geekbench tells me (fwiw, that's not my box's stats, but one of the hits when I was looking it up).
That gets a decent result at CPUBenchmark.net (7035), though the LGA 1150 socket has some interesting possible upgrades. It's a bear to get to the iMac's motherboard, but I've been considering doing it at some point so that I can have SSD, and figure I should consider upgrading the proc at the same time. (These are the trials and tribulations of buying bottom of the line refurb to get the cheapest cost of entry to 27" iMac-dom a year or two ago. Really wish I could've gotten VESA too, but no refurbs with that were available.)
Additional readers -- in particular the very helpful Andy Hucko of Bratislava, Slovakia -- were able to confirm that there are not logicboard firmware restrictions, and the above upgrade was restricted only by power, or specifically, the TDP (Thermal Design Power), which refers to the heat dissipation capability of a particular CPU cooling system.
I realize one metric isn't the be-all end-all, but that's just to get a general idea of what we're talking about.
Anyhow, there you go. Some iMac upgrade options. I'd like a little more power, and keep trying to price out a portable performance build, something like the ASRock M8 Mini ITX, which is a pretty neat looking package, and still relatively attractive at $330 even though it's a few years old. It's still pretty big -- here's a picture of it next to an XBox -- and there are probably smaller options, but you get where I'm going. If you could find an exceptionally quick, tiny whitebox, throw in a portable, USB-powered monitor and a bluetooth keyboard, we're nearly talkin'. This ASRock Mini-ITX X99 with four RAM sticks looks awesome, for instance.
Performance laptops are insanely expensive. For instance, this new Razer Blade laptop is exactly what I want, but also runs approximately one million dollars and has a video card I don't need. I "just" want something's that's insanely fast, but still portable enough to take to Starbucks that doesn't necessarily have a battery.
Finally sprung for a 512 Gig Crucial SSD, as recommended on the Wirecutter. Didn't realize it came with an Acronis key, and spent too long searching for something to clone my drive -- and then getting Macrium set up once I chose it. Happy to say its recovery boot DVD route went off without a hitch.
Wow. Fast. Don't ever buy a box without an SSD. I keep trying to "challenge" it by opening old, disk painful apps. BAM. They're up. Reboot super fast. I even love not hearing the dang thing. My Lenovo T430 has a pretty loud fan, but now that's the only noise, which is more wonderful than I would've expected.
I'm an idiot for buying an iMac with platters. That was not a good deal. Trying to figure out an easier way than this to replace the drive, wondering if I can cut a slit in the back and pull just the ribbon out. /sigh
It's a first world problem, I know. I have a great computer that comes with a built-in monitor that'd run me no less than $450 if I bought it separately at Newegg. But I have several computers I like to use at my desk, and the limitations of Target Display Mode, the feature that allows you to use your iMac as a monitor with other computers, really stink.
In a nutshell, my $450 monitor only works with Thunderbolt outputs. I knew that going in, and even debated grabbing an older iMac (a Mid 2010) that supported DisplayPort input with Target Display Mode. It was too expensive for the hardware concessions I'd have to make.
The thing I greatly undervalued was how difficult it'd be to move the danged iMac out of the way if it wasn't VESA mounted. The iMac is huge. I have a KVM and another HDMI multiswitch to hook my Windows laptops (one each for my day and "night" jobs) up to two external monitors via docks, and there simply isn't space to configure them open in front of the iMac and still use an ergonomic keyboard. And I don't know of another way to get a temporary Windows screen in front of me with the space I've got.
That is, there's no way for the iMac to share center stage with one of those two monitors. And the iMac needs to have center stage, or I have my far and away best monitor off to the side when I use OS X -- like I'm painfully doing now.
Again, first world problem, but I do, thankfully, work in the first world, and having an efficient office is pretty high on the priority list. I think the bottom line is that, when computers are your livelihood and you can afford it, it's likely worth shelling out for what you want, without compromise. You know what you can use. I wanted a Mac Pro. That's insanely expensive, but fits in with my workflow perfectly. I don't think I would have begrudged myself the extra $1500, but even if I had, the only pain is cost, not operation. And you're buying yourself exceptional GPUs and the ability to upgrade the processor, insane amounts of RAM, SSD (which I don't have now), and the ability to drive a 4K monitor in the future. That's a 4-5 year machine.
I also considered a 15" Macbook Pro Retina with a quad core -- $500-$600 more than the iMac. I decided against that because I'd recently purchased a [Windows] laptop. I don't think I'd've felt as badly hooking up a Macbook on the side, even though it has an arguably better screen than the iMac and, well, I'd have mobile OS X, which I only have in a white Late 2009 Macbook now.
I talked myself into an iMac based on its max RAM (so a win over the Macbook) and processor performance (which meant no mini -- and if I get exceptionally brave, I can upgrade my iMac's proc too, apparently, not that there are many options), sure, but also considerably on the monitor that I'd be getting. It'd be fine if I simply had to turn it off to use my laptops. It's another when it can't be my main monitor when I am OS X-ing without a lot of shuffling.
I'm not convinced I made the wrong decision, but I do regret the hamstringing and the imperfect workflow integration. Reminds me of my iPod touch with its case not being able to access the swipe-up control center. Apple makes decisions not to cater to as many users as possible, but to cater only for the Ideal Mac User, who not only doesn't use Windows laptops, where a Thunderbolt out is a near unicorn level rarity, but doesn't use older Mac laptops either. It's not like Apple couldn't put some hardware in the iMac to decode DisplayPort in to Thunderbolt, or sell us an (exceptionally expensive, chip-powered) adapter.
So I'm stuck feeling stupid for having put back up my 1920x1080 Hannspree cheapie where the iMac used to be. Wow, step down.
Wanted a new Mac Pro. Talked myself down to a refurbed Late 2013 27" iMac. It sounds great. As in literally, the music coming out of it sounds great. I'm not sure I've gotten an iMac since the lamp post, which also had great speakers. They really know how to design these things.
More importantly, most of the concessions I made to get a refurb seem to have played out okay. I wasn't able to get SSD (that would've been an extra $400, since I wouldn't've been able to order refurb) or the VESA mount. The second actually does bother me a little; the thing is huge. But I've been running Xamarin Studio and XCode/Interface Builder without any trouble at all. It's fast. It's fun, which I couldn't say with my 2009 MacBook.
I worry that I'll get bitten by a Retina iMac latter this year, which will drive me crazy. Part of the reason I went iMac was to wait two years before going Pro, and to get a decent monitor out of it. I'm already going through monitor withdrawal at work, where I only have two ThinkVision L220XWC 22"ers (and a lower-res, 1080p ViewSonic), and even then only because I bought those two for myself. So the monitor's great, but if I'm hoping to use Target Display Mode to connect the iMac's screen with a Mac Pro for years to come and there's a consumer-level retina iMac soon, I may kick myself for being stuck with what is, otherwise, an incredible monitor for the next six years.
But overall, wow. Great computer. Or, rather, an insane step up from what I'd been using previously.
Though I couldn't quite shake myself from watching some more Windows Phone 8 videos last night...
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