So I have a Late 2013 iMac that is starting to show its age and I am starting to consider options.

Up until recently it was shared by my daughter and I but since I bought her a Macbook Pro she rarely goes on iMac. I also have a 2015 Macbook Pro (15") which gets used a lot on location and traveling but pretty much sits in a bag at home.

As I see if my options are:

1) Upgrade iMac with new SSD and maybe more RAM

2) Replace iMac with newer model and sell old one for whatever I can get.

3) Sell iMac and buy 4K monitor then use MBP exclusively.

Based on some initial research it will cost approx $400.00 to upgrade iMac or $1100.00 for a new one which would be offset by the sale of old one. I could also get a pretty decent monitor with what I could sell iMac for.

I would not upgrade an old CPU. There are a lot of things under the hood that get improved as new models are introduced. The cheapest prudent (IMO of course) option would be to get a monitor to use with your MBP as long as you have enough storage available on your MBP's hard drive.

If it were me, and I did spend a fair amount of time on a desktop computer, I would just get a new iMac.

quote:

Originally posted by Maui19:
I would not upgrade an old CPU. There are a lot of things under the hood that get improved as new models are introduced. The cheapest prudent (IMO of course) option would be to get a monitor to use with your MBP as long as you have enough storage available on your MBP's hard drive.

If it were me, and I did spend a fair amount of time on a desktop computer, I would just get a new iMac.

I am kind of leaning that way as I know the 2013 is nearing (few years away) from its end of life cycle as far as upgrades go and right now I can still get "decent" money for it which would bring the cost of a new imac down

Sell existing and replace with a newer refurb. I'm anything but a Mac guy but that always seems to work for me when I retire hardware.

I did option #3. I have a USB-C docking station in my home office with power plug, 28" monitor plugged in, HD for time machine, and a few cables.

It's working well for me. I have access to everything on the MBP (always an issue when I had both iPad and MBP) whether I'm in a different time zone, in my home office, or in the recliner. I can do detailed stuff with a large screen (e.g. 2018 taxes), more ergonomic set-up if I'll be on a while, and as soon as I dock time machine does its thing automatically.

You might have one option that will cost you nothing, or maybe the price of a cable. If your iMac supports "Target Display Mode" you can use it as an external monitor for your MacBook Pro. A Google for "target display mode" will show you how. I think, but I'm not certain, that the 2013 is right on the cusp of being able to do this, and you might have to update firmware.

quote:

3) Sell iMac and buy 4K monitor then use MBP exclusively.

+1

I enjoyed iMacs but I never see myself getting another one.

Either use your MBP with a monitor or get a Mac Mini and do the same.

I’d consider the Mac Mini as well.

I have a 2013 iMac that’s still a screamer, of course, I upgraded the RAM when I bought it so it may perform differently.

That iMac would make one heck of a digital photo display... just a thought.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
I enjoyed iMacs but I never see myself getting another one.

Either use your MBP with a monitor or get a Mac Mini and do the same.

This. The combo of great screen options and a portable computer is a no brainer to me.

I also found this device to use as a connection device for MBP. Makes it way easier to connect to ethernet, peripherals, monitor, etc. all with a pair of USB-C connectors plugged in before powering back up each time.

Here is the USB-C docking station I mentioned earlier in the thread. Normally, it's $60 but instant coupon makes it $45.

quote:

Originally posted by jbcummings:
I’d consider the Mac Mini as well.

If you're going to have a dedicated desktop computer, the Mini is the best option. The new ones are fully updated with quad or 6 core processors, 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports, plus an assortment of legacy ports, all on the latest version (HDMI 2.0, e.g.). You can upgrade the RAM yourself, but that's the only thing user-upgradeable.
 
The best thing, IMO, about having a Mini (vs iMac) is the ability to choose your own monitor. The iMacs top out at 27", and there are plenty of larger monitors available with true 4K resolution. I use a 32" monitor with my Mini, running at 3840x2160. And down the line, when better monitors become available or less expensive, you can swap out just the monitor and keep your Mini.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
I enjoyed iMacs but I never see myself getting another one.

Either use your MBP with a monitor or get a Mac Mini and do the same.

This. The combo of great screen options and a portable computer is a no brainer to me.

I also found this device to use as a connection device for MBP. Makes it way easier to connect to ethernet, peripherals, monitor, etc. all with a pair of USB-C connectors plugged in before powering back up each time.

Thats cool, but I have a 2014 MBP and have kept it so far, partly because it has plenty of different connections available.

I just sit down at my desk and plug the power & monitor connection, then use my MBP and external monitor as duals, and can switch the external back and forth to a company iMac (which I actually loath to use, as they bought a normal spinning drive and my MBP has a SSD). Even though the company iMac is less than a year old, it's slow as frack, I really hate it.

If your iMac has less than 8GB ram, then upgrading it to at least 8 will make a big difference. If it's already at 8, going higher will not help much for everyday use.

SSD's are cheap now. Get a third party Samsung drive, and as long as you're running 10.10.4 or above, the OS will support TRIM on third party drives.

I am happily running a mid 2010 27" i7 iMac. It has a 1TB SSD with 16GB ram, and I wouldn't consider it slow for office/browsing tasks. You could probably get a decent SSD and the necessary cable from OWC for less than $100 and have a machine that feels noticeably faster.

The 2015 MacBook Pro does NOT have USB-C ports. It has 2 - Thunderbolt 2 ports, 2 - USB 3 (up to 5 Gbs) ports, HDMI port, & a SDXC card slot.
MacBook Pro Specs

Apple has a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter that is supposed to be bi-directional allows a Mac (w/ macOS Sierra & Thunderbolt 2 port) to connect to new Thunderbolt 3 devices.
Apple Thunderbolt 3 to 2 Adapter
2 caveats - it doesn't supply power as a pass through & it doesn't support Mini DisplayPort.
Adapter Support page

With that, you should be able to connect a Thunderbolt 3 dock (powered) using this adapter with the limit of Thunderbolt 2 data transfer speed (20 Gbps).

I have a mid-2011 27” iMac that gets pretty heavy use every single day and it still cruises right along.

I did upgrade to 16GB ram, though. Maybe try a ram upgrade first.

I was just thinking the other day about how it’ll turn 8 next month, which is a thousand in computer years. Pretty remarkable.

I’ll be buying a brand new one the day she ultimately dies.

I have the same basic combination of a late 2012 iMac and 2015 MacBook Pro. The iMac is getting a little long in the tooth and I have more frequent glitches. An iMac looks like it is cheaper than a Mini plus comparable 27" monitor. Of course, you have more flexibility if your monitor and computer are separate units. Not sure how much difference it makes if you get a 7-year useful life out of the iMac.

OP, option 3. Then replace the MBP in a few years with a refurbished MBP.

quote:

Originally posted by Copefree:
I have a mid-2011 27” iMac that gets pretty heavy use every single day and it still cruises right along.

I did upgrade to 16GB ram, though. Maybe try a ram upgrade first.

I was just thinking the other day about how it’ll turn 8 next month, which is a thousand in computer years. Pretty remarkable.

I’ll be buying a brand new one the day she ultimately dies.

I have the same machine. Upgraded RAM as well. Still cruising along.