Will this iMac last me 10 years of normal use? (no gaming, no video editing etc)

[vfqatwfv]

I am kinda torn between these 2 iMac systems:

Both are new 27" retinas. I want it to last me 10+ years for normal use: browsing, YouTube videos, office apps, music etc. No gaming, nothing work related. But I want it to be smooth and not laggy when doing basic tasks and being able to watch any movie quality such as 4K ( or 6K, or 10K... in future) for the next 10 years.

My plan is to not make any upgrades in future (besides RAM which can be easily done)

Oh and I am fixed on iMac, please do not offer me to switch to PC or ask me why. Thank you!

1.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz

8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB (WILL UPGRADE RAM AS NEEDED)

256GB Flash Storage or 512GB Flash Storage or go all the way up to 1Tb Flash Storage???

AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory


2.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz

8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB (WILL UPGRADE RAM AS NEEDED)

256GB Flash Storage (Using less than 60Gb right now, but any chance apps will get tremendous in the next 10 years???)

AMD Radeon R9 M380 with 2GB video memory



PS Just ran a 1440p 4K video on a i3 with GT 610 1Gb and it was pretty sharp and smooth, however, 2160p was choppy. Don't see why R9 380 would not last me 10 years considering GT 610 equals to a 10 year old mid-range gaming GPU...

 

[johnbl]

I would expect the base machine to be opsolete in 2 to 3 years. I would hope the electronics would continue to work for 5 years. Upgrading the old machine using the old standards tends to not be cost effective when you attempt the upgrade. Apple hardware is considered vintage 5 years after they stop making the model. No support after that if you are not in a special area that passed special laws. Like California, or turkey.

New technologies coming out this year will make your new system appear obsolete even faster than the standard rate.

10 years would be in realistic to expect.

I am kinda torn between these 2 iMac systems:

Both are new 27" retinas. I want it to last me 10+ years for normal use: browsing, YouTube videos, office apps, music etc. No gaming, nothing work related. But I want it to be smooth and not laggy when doing basic tasks and being able to watch any movie quality such as 4K ( or 6K, or 10K... in future) for the next 10 years.

My plan is to not make any upgrades in future (besides RAM which can be easily done)

Oh and I am fixed on iMac, please do not offer me to switch to PC or ask me why. Thank you!

1.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz

8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB (WILL UPGRADE RAM AS NEEDED)

256GB Flash Storage or 512GB Flash Storage or go all the way up to 1Tb Flash Storage???

AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory


2.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz

8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB (WILL UPGRADE RAM AS NEEDED)

256GB Flash Storage (Using less than 60Gb right now, but any chance apps will get tremendous in the next 10 years???)

AMD Radeon R9 M380 with 2GB video memory



PS Just ran a 1440p 4K video on a i3 with GT 610 1Gb and it was pretty sharp and smooth, however, 2160p was choppy. Don't see why R9 380 would not last me 10 years considering GT 610 equals to a 10 year old mid-range gaming GPU...

 

[vfqatwfv]

I would expect the base machine to be opsolete in 2 to 3 years. I would hope the electronics would continue to work for 5 years. Upgrading the old machine using the old standards tends to not be cost effective when you attempt the upgrade. Apple hardware is considered vintage 5 years after they stop making the model. No support after that if you are not in a special area that passed special laws. Like California, or turkey.

New technologies coming out this year will make your new system appear obsolete even faster than the standard rate.

10 years would be in realistic to expect.

I am kinda torn between these 2 iMac systems:

Both are new 27" retinas. I want it to last me 10+ years for normal use: browsing, YouTube videos, office apps, music etc. No gaming, nothing work related. But I want it to be smooth and not laggy when doing basic tasks and being able to watch any movie quality such as 4K ( or 6K, or 10K... in future) for the next 10 years.

My plan is to not make any upgrades in future (besides RAM which can be easily done)

Oh and I am fixed on iMac, please do not offer me to switch to PC or ask me why. Thank you!

1.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz

8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB (WILL UPGRADE RAM AS NEEDED)

256GB Flash Storage or 512GB Flash Storage or go all the way up to 1Tb Flash Storage???

AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory


2.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz

8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB (WILL UPGRADE RAM AS NEEDED)

256GB Flash Storage (Using less than 60Gb right now, but any chance apps will get tremendous in the next 10 years???)

AMD Radeon R9 M380 with 2GB video memory



PS Just ran a 1440p 4K video on a i3 with GT 610 1Gb and it was pretty sharp and smooth, however, 2160p was choppy. Don't see why R9 380 would not last me 10 years considering GT 610 equals to a 10 year old mid-range gaming GPU...

Strange. My dad's old PC from 2005 works like a charm still... And still can handle everything.

What do you mean by being obsolete? It won't be able to play utube and run Google Chrome?

Is there any solid evidence (preferably with links to science / tech articles) you can provide?

Also, I see I can even still buy an iMac from 2008 with pretty decent specs:

http://www.macofalltrades.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=IM-24-28-E08A&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_feed&utm_campaign=comparison_shopping_feeds&gclid=CjwKEAiA8ee0BRD1l7vV6JHe0zISJADxYItmJ52SMzIToabpi6kAO_xX8XpA9wC2Nt8baG9ExLuGehoCcELw_wcB

 

[johnbl]

http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2015/07/28/intel-and-micron-produce-breakthrough-memory-technology

This type of technology allows stacking of electronics inside of a chip (if you can keep the heat down)
It should cause some significant changes in electronic devices over the next few years. much higher capabilities or a large reduction in size. Many of the new designs of video card will have 16 GB or 32 GB of memory. I would not be betting on old ddr3 ram 5 years from now.


sure you could run today's Utube or today's chrome but even 5 years is a long time and I suspect websites will update and you might be able to update your machine for a while but it will fall behind and become obsolete.

electronics are not made to last much beyond the useful life of the device.
Each component will have a different life expectancy even the solder and wires.
for example old solder, the very old solder last much longer than the newer solder, the newer solder is lead free and is more brittle. Each time the computer heats up and cools down you have a chance to crack a solder trace just by thermal expansion. It will fail. how long the computer lasts depend on where you get the failure and if it is cost effective to repair.

I would expect the base machine to be opsolete in 2 to 3 years. I would hope the electronics would continue to work for 5 years. Upgrading the old machine using the old standards tends to not be cost effective when you attempt the upgrade. Apple hardware is considered vintage 5 years after they stop making the model. No support after that if you are not in a special area that passed special laws. Like California, or turkey.

New technologies coming out this year will make your new system appear obsolete even faster than the standard rate.

10 years would be in realistic to expect.

I am kinda torn between these 2 iMac systems:

Both are new 27" retinas. I want it to last me 10+ years for normal use: browsing, YouTube videos, office apps, music etc. No gaming, nothing work related. But I want it to be smooth and not laggy when doing basic tasks and being able to watch any movie quality such as 4K ( or 6K, or 10K... in future) for the next 10 years.

My plan is to not make any upgrades in future (besides RAM which can be easily done)

Oh and I am fixed on iMac, please do not offer me to switch to PC or ask me why. Thank you!

1.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz

8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB (WILL UPGRADE RAM AS NEEDED)

256GB Flash Storage or 512GB Flash Storage or go all the way up to 1Tb Flash Storage???

AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory


2.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz

8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB (WILL UPGRADE RAM AS NEEDED)

256GB Flash Storage (Using less than 60Gb right now, but any chance apps will get tremendous in the next 10 years???)

AMD Radeon R9 M380 with 2GB video memory



PS Just ran a 1440p 4K video on a i3 with GT 610 1Gb and it was pretty sharp and smooth, however, 2160p was choppy. Don't see why R9 380 would not last me 10 years considering GT 610 equals to a 10 year old mid-range gaming GPU...

Strange. My dad's old PC from 2005 works like a charm still... And still can handle everything.

What do you mean by being obsolete? It won't be able to play utube and run Google Chrome?

Is there any solid evidence (preferably with links to science / tech articles) you can provide?

Also, I see I can even still buy an iMac from 2008 with pretty decent specs:

http://www.macofalltrades.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=IM-24-28-E08A&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_feed&utm_campaign=comparison_shopping_feeds&gclid=CjwKEAiA8ee0BRD1l7vV6JHe0zISJADxYItmJ52SMzIToabpi6kAO_xX8XpA9wC2Nt8baG9ExLuGehoCcELw_wcB

 

[BrandX]

Retina display is cool, but really, I know you said you are fixed on an iMac, but unless you have lots of money to waste (which by the sounds of it, you don't) spend half an hour on YouTube listening to comparisons between PC's and Apple Macs. Macs are PC's. The only thing different between a Mac and a PC is that a PC runs Windows (and some strange folks use Linux) and a Mac runs Mac OS. That is the ONLY difference except the styling.

 

[vfqatwfv]

Retina display is cool, but really, I know you said you are fixed on an iMac, but unless you have lots of money to waste (which by the sounds of it, you don't) spend half an hour on YouTube listening to comparisons between PC's and Apple Macs. Macs are PC's. The only thing different between a Mac and a PC is that a PC runs Windows (and some strange folks use Linux) and a Mac runs Mac OS. That is the ONLY difference except the styling.

I want a imac due to its design and simplicity and iOS X.

 

[vfqatwfv]

I guess I asked the question in the wrong website...

This:

http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/will-this-imac-last-me-10-years-of-normal-use-no-gaming-no-video-editing-etc.1950966/

 

[g-unit1111]

Retina display is cool, but really, I know you said you are fixed on an iMac, but unless you have lots of money to waste (which by the sounds of it, you don't) spend half an hour on YouTube listening to comparisons between PC's and Apple Macs. Macs are PC's. The only thing different between a Mac and a PC is that a PC runs Windows (and some strange folks use Linux) and a Mac runs Mac OS. That is the ONLY difference except the styling.

I agree with this, if you're fixed on an iMac, then get an iMac. But you could seriously buy a $500 PC based around a Pentium G4400, an inexpensive monitor, and pocket the rest. Plus you'll also have room for upgrades where you won't on an iMac.

 

[vfqatwfv]

Retina display is cool, but really, I know you said you are fixed on an iMac, but unless you have lots of money to waste (which by the sounds of it, you don't) spend half an hour on YouTube listening to comparisons between PC's and Apple Macs. Macs are PC's. The only thing different between a Mac and a PC is that a PC runs Windows (and some strange folks use Linux) and a Mac runs Mac OS. That is the ONLY difference except the styling.

I agree with this, if you're fixed on an iMac, then get an iMac. But you could seriously buy a $500 PC based around a Pentium G4400, an inexpensive monitor, and pocket the rest. Plus you'll also have room for upgrades where you won't on an iMac.

Sorry, iMac only

 

[jdaniel 125]

Get the quad core core i7 iMac, the CPU will be more powerful. And in the future if you feel like playing some games, you can dualboot the Mac with Windows.

 

[vfqatwfv]

Get the quad core core i7 iMac, the CPU will be more powerful. And in the future if you feel like playing some games, you can dualboot the Mac with Windows.

I am not planning to play game on iMac and even if I would - why would I get anything more than i5? I'd rather up GPU then...