Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovejedd
I was planning on getting a 2020 Mac Mini and doing aftermarket upgrades but apparently, Apple's gone the soldered route for storage and the RAM is very hard to replace. To get 16GB/1TB is $1400 and even 16GB/512GB is $1200.
Sadly, I think the iMac features soldered RAM as well
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Replacing RAM on the 2017 or later Mac mini or 27” iMac is a DIY job, and it is not soldered. I don’t think that has changed with this new one, it’s the same outside with upgraded internal components.
Watch the respective memory install videos here:
https://macsales.com
The 21.5” iMac is not so DIY. The RAM is not soldered, but you have to pull the glass off to get at it (macsales, maybe Best Buy can do it).
8GB is fine, any reasonable person would get that and then upgrade the RAM, as it is much cheaper than buying it configured with more from Apple. And except for people who need performance, it will be just fine for web surfing email FaceTime etc. It’s nice to have a bigger screen and to know you can upgrade RAM easily when you need to.
But the lowest tier model doesn’t offer any storage options, Fusion drive options having been killed off. With only 256GB, I would have difficulty recommending that to anyone, even if external storage is cheap and can be acceptably fast.
The Upgrade podcast folks suggest that there will not be a major iMac Pro, given the migration to ARM CPUs. I think this is plausible: The Mac Pro line will be the last to migrate. They also think 21.5” will be replaced and get ARM before that, and it should be a better value than the current line up is, whether there will be lower price points remains to be seen.
It will be interesting to see if the ARM-based developer mini will be followed by an official release. I would certainly be interested.
So as the new iMac is mostly to serve Pro users who actually need the performance and can justify paying for it, of course this leans in that direction. The nanotextured option is another example of who this Mac is for.