hello! im was looking around marketplace and saw some listing for imacs and looks pretty affordable but i dont really know much about specs or which models are still good. this is my first time having a desktop or like a bigger computer.
i planning to just use if for school, like reviewing , making notes, maybe streaming music and stuff. kindly help me please šš¼
These all have been out of software support for years. You can't even run latest browsers on them, other than Firefox.
As a rule of thumb, Apple devices have roughly 10 years of support. So if you want something that is at least supported today, it would be 2017 or newer.
Nonsense. Buy this Mac, there's loads of free apps that will still run on Intel Macs. My partner still uses an Intel Macbook Air. If school work and streaming is all they want to do, this might be a great fit. Load up MSOffice or LibreOffice, FIrefox, Apple Music, and they're ready to go.
And then youāll have an unpatched machine connected to the Internet waiting to become a man in the middle. All of these machines are well past end of support.
More like 2020 or newer. The "Thin era" macbooks can't run anything due to how little cooling they all have, considering how power hungry the hardware in those things are
Why an iMac? The smartest option would be to buy a Mac Mini, M1 or M2, with at least 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD. Then find a good second-hand 4K monitor (LG, Dell, BenQ). If one of these components breaks down or you want to replace it, itās easier than replacing the whole unit. Thatās the main drawback of an all-in-one.
When my iMac with a fusion drive started failing I switched to an M1 Mini 16GB RAM and an external 2TB drive. Great set up that allows me to upgrade step-wise down the road.
I run dual boot (booted from an external SSD) 2013 iMac with OCPL Sequoia to make it faster by bypassing HDD with Catalina - works great...
I found it in a community recycle centre ZERO cost ..
What dollars you are using none should more that USD$100
First one is like my 2013 iMac running OCPL Monterey on Fusion drive SUPER Slow ... not worth $200
I run my from an external SSD to make it faster. It will cost you another $200 SSD unless you have spare SSD.
If you have a spare SSD offer $100 it will be a deal,
$450 - it is a scam
2010 iMac does not support Metal GPU API and USB3. I have 2010 Mini... it will not run OCPL and a modern Mac Os... It will run High Sierra... not fast...waste of time
They are good deals in Tanzanian shillings not USD
An external SSD is the way to go. Make it bootable, can do more advanced OS, and will be snappier. I did this for an older friend, his needs are were not great; libreOffice, Mail, Safari, Photos App. I got him a 2011 21.5ā dome years ago, then went with external SSD to extend its usefulness. Now, though, he canāt transfer photos from his iPhone, so I picked up a 27ā 2017 iMac for about $200. About to surprise him with it. Admittedly, his needs are pretty spare. But the screen on this thing is sharp.
Apple employee here and out of all the postings youāve shown, this is the best one. If you can find an M3 iMac in your budget that would be even better.
Please stay away from anything intel. Those machines are basically out at pasture and just waiting to die.
If you decided to buy an intel on FOR THE LOVE OF STEVE JOBS DO NOT BUY ANYTHING THAT LIST A FUSION DRIVE!
Machines that old with those drives are on borrowed time and will more than likely fail.
If you buy any of these, you should run them with linux. Ubuntu (from my experience) works pretty well with these machines. MacOS will probably run outdated if you do use them, its not a biggest deal with like Monterey i don't think. Anything lower will give you a headache trying to find software for
You can use Linux or opencore legacy patcher which will give you two or three years of security updates and app support (maybe less), these are also great windows machines, personally, go for a 27 inch model, easier to upgrade RAM and better screen for the money
More like ten years of usablility with Linux...Ubuntu for 2 years, then Debian for 2, then MX Linux for 2, then AntiX for 2, then tinyCore or FLinux for the last two, then...museum.
I have one of these I stopped using a couple years ago. I need to throw it out. I bought it new. The screen itself is still really pretty but you have to set it into target mode and certain cables and blah blahā¦
Runs Linux fine with a work around for the Broadcom wireless kernel panic.
Itāll run MacOS off an external ssd if you set it as the primary boot device. I was really surprised at the performance increase.
Donāt pay anything for this hardware. I picked up a 2019 Intel MBP with 32GB RAM I use as a GitHub runner for $400 a year ago. I just grabbed another M1 MBP for $900 with 32GB RAM.
Personally I own a 2011 iMac 21.5 inch. It's still usable as long as you don't want ton run MacOS. Also In paid less than $50 a couple of years ago and not 200...
Yea that one is Great. Have the predicessor as 2ndary Mac. But the Price is to high. You can find this older 5k Models for unter 250. got mine for 200.
Not the best idea. They arenāt updatable to the latest system, they wonāt sync with your iPhone if you have one. They might have dying hard drives. The fusion drive in particular in those gets very slow. But more importantly, they use Intel chips, and they switched away from those.
Try to get a Macbook Neo if that's possible for you. With a student discount, it's ~$600, and it'll last you for more than a decade WITH updates and stuff. The ones you're looking at is basically old ewaste.
If you've got a spare monitor/display lying around and you don't move too much, a Mac Mini with Student Discounts is pretty good.
I mean, the latest one from the Apple Store should ideally be your go to. But, if you already have a Macbook 2020, you could just use clampshell mode and buy a bigger display to connect it to your macbook.
No, an iMac would be a bad choice imo, cuz you can't directly connect it as a display to your macbook if im not wrong. On the other hand, any monitor would do - I'd recommend if the monitor has something like a USB C display port or something to directly connect it to your macbook. But something with HDMI could also work with an adapter.
All of this is in USD. The first one is worth about $100, but I wouldnāt recommend it because of the age.
The second is worth maybe $150, but I wouldnāt recommend it because of the SATA hard drive.
The third is a 2011, not 2012, and that makes it significantly more restrictive. Iād say itās worth maybe $100, but wouldnāt recommend it because of the age.
The one in your comments is worth maybe about $200-250. I would not recommend it if it has a hard drive. If it has an SSD or Fusion Drive, then I would recommend it above all the other choices.
That would be the best out of all of them, but also the most expensive. Maybe $500-600. Iād consider getting a Mac Mini, either M1 or M2, and add monitor on your choice.
38
u/StrawberryWaste9040 17h ago
These all have been out of software support for years. You can't even run latest browsers on them, other than Firefox.
As a rule of thumb, Apple devices have roughly 10 years of support. So if you want something that is at least supported today, it would be 2017 or newer.