Older iMac query

[mstphoto]

I wonder if anyone can help me.
I have the chance of a late 2013 27" iMac.
It has 32Gb RAM, ITb SSD drive and the OS is Catalina 10.15.7
Question is, will this run the latest Adobe CC and other up to date software packages?
Anything else I need to consider?
TIA

 

[Deleted member 95430]

For free? If so take it and use it till it no longer works with your software

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-and-macos-catalina.html

Adobe have good documentation on wether it will work or not

I wouldn’t pay for this, my 2014 macbook will no longer upgrade to the latest os Ventura.
The imac is on its way out if you are wanting to stay up to date. Itll work great if you stick with some older software and you dont need new features

 

[cymruchris]

I've got a 2013 Macbook pro running on whatever silly name operating system Apple has as the latest version that runs everything nicely - so I'd go for it without question if it was a really good deal.

 

[Norkie]

You may find that your iPhone (if you have one) may not synch with the iMac. Music and Calendar for example.

 

[the black fox]

That’s the same spec as mine , the o.s can no longer be updated , L.R & PS are stuck at mid 2022 and won’t update further . BUT it runs and works with no problems ,produces superb photos . So what’s not to like

Having the latest updates is great IF your going to use what they contain ,if not then go for the older one it will still be a good machine when this years latest models are residing at the rubbish tip

 

[the black fox]

You may find that your iPhone (if you have one) may not synch with the iMac. Music and Calendar for example.

Err mine does ,see above post I.phone 12 .

 

[rob-nikon]

That’s the same spec as mine , the o.s can no longer be updated , L.R & PS are stuck at mid 2022 and won’t update further . BUT it runs and works with no problems ,produces superb photos . So what’s not to like

Having the latest updates is great IF your going to use what they contain ,if not then go for the older one it will still be a good machine when this years latest models are residing at the rubbish tip

This is good advice, although if you’re paying adobes subscription price you really want the new updates as that’s what you’re paying for. Recent updates like subject/background/sky masking (I can’t remember when they appeared) have been huge for me. New camera models are added only to the newer versions. It may not be an issue now but one to consider in the future.

If I’d have stayed with my 2012 iMac then I wouldn’t have been able to get the updates. The biggest change for me was my 21inch iMac was getting slow and couldn’t be upgraded further.

Like others have said with the move to apple chips the older intels aren’t really worth buying. I’d not pay for one of this age. Maybe id pay if it was a slighty newer version that’s still supported but that support will soon go on the intels.

 

[mstphoto]

Thanks for the valuable info, Guys
Looks like I'm going to pass on the offer.
It is being sold for £350 ono so probably £300 or less if I haggle.
As has been said, no point in having an Adobe subscription and not being able to run the latest version.

One last question - can Catalina 10.15.7 be updated to a newer operating system and is it worth it?

 

[GeeJay57]

Thanks for the valuable info, Guys
Looks like I'm going to pass on the offer.
It is being sold for £350 ono so probably £300 or less if I haggle.
As has been said, no point in having an Adobe subscription and not being able to run the latest version.

One last question - can Catalina 10.15.7 be updated to a newer operating system and is it worth it?

Short answer, no it cannot be updated past Catalina which is the last version to support iMacs up to 2013..

macOS - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Big Sur (MacOS 11) was the next OS and support for pre 2014 iMacs was dropped.

The only way to run later versions of MacOS on these legacy iMacs (mine is a Late 2012, so also ‘stuck’ on Catalina) is to use a software hack called OpenCore. This is not something I’ve done or plan to do.

The new M2 Mac Mini with a decent monitor looks like an interesting option

 

[Deleted member 95430]

The new m2 mac mini is actually a great deal if you have a monitor, keyboard and mouse

 

[dolina]

Thanks for the valuable info, Guys
Looks like I'm going to pass on the offer.
It is being sold for £350 ono so probably £300 or less if I haggle.
As has been said, no point in having an Adobe subscription and not being able to run the latest version.

One last question - can Catalina 10.15.7 be updated to a newer operating system and is it worth it?

Unofficially using a hack you can update it to macOS Ventura.

That iMac's turning 10 at the end of the year.

But at £300 or less if you haggle you may want to get it to see if Macs makes more sense than Windows. If not then sell it at a small loss.

I have the year model before that and I am waiting for Apple to replace it with a 2023 iMac 27" M2 Pro then keep it until 2033.

 

[mstphoto]

Unofficially using a hack you can update it to macOS Ventura.

That iMac's turning 10 at the end of the year.

But at £300 or less if you haggle you may want to get it to see if Macs makes more sense than Windows. If not then sell it at a small loss.

I have the year model before that and I am waiting for Apple to replace it with a 2023 iMac 27" M2 Pro then keep it until 2033.

Cheers dolina.
I actually stuck with PC in the end.
So far so good

 

[the black fox]

Had a look at the Mac mini 2 and it seems the base model isn’t that good , you would need at least the next version up which raises the price further . ,to much other stuff goin* up in price to bother at the moment

 

[GeeJay57]

Had a look at the Mac mini 2 and it seems the base model isn’t that good , you would need at least the next version up which raises the price further . ,to much other stuff goin* up in price to bother at the moment

Yep.

From a couple of YouTube videos I’ve seen on the M2 Mac Mini, it looks like the £649, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD base model has been ‘handcuffed’ on SSD data rate to being 30-50% slower that the previous M1 version. It’s a £200 bump in price to go to up to 512GB and £1399 to get one with 16GB of RAM.

New 256GB Mac Mini and 512GB MacBook Pro Have Slower SSD Speeds Than Previous Models

While the new Mac mini with the M2 chip has a lower $599 starting price, the base model with 256GB of storage has slower SSD read and write...

www.macrumors.com

 

[dolina]

Yep.

From a couple of YouTube videos I’ve seen on the M2 Mac Mini, it looks like the £649, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD base model has been ‘handcuffed’ on SSD data rate to being 30-50% slower that the previous M1 version. It’s a £200 bump in price to go to up to 512GB and £1399 to get one with 16GB of RAM.

New 256GB Mac Mini and 512GB MacBook Pro Have Slower SSD Speeds Than Previous Models

While the new Mac mini with the M2 chip has a lower $599 starting price, the base model with 256GB of storage has slower SSD read and write...

www.macrumors.com

In truth that "handcuffed" would not matter to the target buyer of the base model Mac mini M2.

Are the typical use case of a $499 Mac mini be moving multiple GB of data at a professional volume?

 

[GeeJay57]

In truth that "handcuffed" would not matter to the target buyer of the base model Mac mini M2.

Are the typical use case of a $499 Mac mini be moving multiple GB of data at a professional volume?

Not $499 in the UK, typically £649 ($785), but you raise a good point.

I guess for many, perhaps most home/office users, the reduced SSD performance may not be an issue. Nevertheless, it is a reduction in spec compared to the previous model and is perhaps reflected in the lower price compared to the M1 version.

 

[dolina]

Not $499 in the UK, typically £649 ($785), but you raise a good point.

I guess for many, perhaps most home/office users, the reduced SSD performance may not be an issue. Nevertheless, it is a reduction in spec compared to the previous model and is perhaps reflected in the lower price compared to the M1 version.

All companies have performance / use case groups that determine how best to address the needs of their future customers.

It was pointed out to me that there are many YouTubers who make regular 5-30 mins 4K videos. On a weekly or even daily basis.

I cannot imagine someone making a living on YouTube that makes that much videos would buy a crummy base model £649 ($785).

>80% of buying that would be using it like a home toaster or home refrigerator. Commercial kitchen equipment heat & cool faster but because of the volume of use of it.

Although I do believe that M1/M2 base models with 8GB/256GB should be increased to 16GB/512GB at the same MSRP. But in light of rising cost of BoM, logistics and other supply chain challenges may have delayed such plans to next decade.

To be frank... most people would be good with ~0.5GB/s SSD throughput than ~7.5GB/s. ~99% of people would not even notice it.

The fight should be on latency & response time. So the millisecond you touch the icon it loads in under 1 second.