Reader Question: Best Mac if Buying Now

2017-11-11 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: 4K and 5K display, computer display, iMac, iMac 5K, iMac Pro, Mac Pro, reader comment, SSD

See my Mac wish list.

Del B writes:

Time to buy a new iMac, and plan on doing so through your link around black Friday. Will go with your publisher preference. Will the new Mac com with the not ready for prime time filing system.

Somewhere I read that the new file structure will initially be focused on the iMac Pro. Do you know? Part of me wants to wait for the new design rumored for '18 but I really need to buy something very shortly

DIGLLOYD: My top deals pages are updated daily and always a good place to bootmark and scan each day. There are many such pages sorted by category.

The fastest Mac today for most users (and indeed one I’d consider switching to) is model which is currently $200 off, the $2899 Apple 27" iMac with Retina 5K Display (Mid 2017) model #APIMTRMNED43. Of course, add 64GB OWC memory, and you’ll probably want big fast external storage too.

As for value, the iMac Pro is a massive losing proposition for most users, unless money is meaningless to you. The iMac Pro could actually be *slower* for many things than the 2017 iMac 5K.

File system is code and I can see no reasonable argument that Mac Pro SSD would perform better than the 2017 iMac Pro SSD—unless it is due to the fact that Apple put a *slower* SSD into the 2017 iMac 5K than the 2015 iMac 5K (for transfers up to 1MB or so). Presumably the iMac Pro will rectify that, but who knows.

See all iMac articles.