[Closed] Considering buying an Imac - daft or a good move?

https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac

Chromebook.

Spend £1200 quid on a PC with an SSD, read a how to on windows updates and use windows built in security

https://www.lifewire.com/patch-tuesday-2625783

Updates 2nd Tues of the month unless something is very critical which you should install

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-schedule-windows-updates-windows-10

As a personal device...nope. Use them at work and seem more problematic than my windows 10 home pc - both do very similar jobs but pc is evening and Mac during the day.

Properly expensive and I don't think it is any better.

Nothing wrong with it other than price for me, but it does nothing better or worse than my pc (which did cost 3 times less and is 6 years old, not 1 year).

A lot depends on what you are going to use it for and what you want to get out of it.

I use both a Windows laptop (work & home) and an iMac (home), and for basic user experience then the Mac is a nicer product to use - both the hardware and the OS.

However, I do like W10 a lot more than previous versions of windows, and it's defo a step in the right direction from Microsoft.

As far as longevity goes my iMac has been great. I bought the then top of the range i7 27" iMac in 2011 (it was basically free as I received a golden handshake for completing my NQT year at a school & got an educational discount). Over the last 7 years I've maxed out the RAM and upgraded to a decent size SSD. I've also made sure to keep on top of OSX updates. It seems to be running as well as ever, and (touch wood) has given me no problems.

Computer years are like dog years, and so I think that 7 trouble free years from a desktop computer is pretty good!

I don't give it too hard a time, but it occasionally gets used for some quite CPU intensive image/video work, and its main use is as a music production machine in my little home studio. I've got Ableton live 10 running, and it will happily do multiple tracks with loads of VSTs running with pretty low latency.

But to be fair my personal Windows laptop has been great too (I'll leave my shonky work laptop out of this as it's been a bit crap, but that's down to them buying the cheapest hardware they could get away with).

It's a refurbed ex-business HP Elitebook i5 (quadcore I think, so gen 3 or 4). I upgraded it to W10, and again maxed out the RAM and installed an SSD. The solid drive makes a massive difference to startup time. It's practically instant. It happily deals with large, multiple layer Photoshop work, ad 3D modelling for 3D printing, and again is happy with running CPU hungry music software when I'm playing stuff live.

I don't use it on the internet that much (use the crappy work one for that!), keep my anti-virus up-to-date, and I've stopped auto updates, so I can do them manually as and when they're needed.

I have a Macbook pro as my personal PC. Whilst it's been pretty good, I wouldn't buy another. When I bought it, Windows laptops were struggling to keep up with what Apple were producing, IMO. Nowadays, windows lappys are just as good and, personally speaking, I find the limitations of software availability for Macs too much of a faff (CAD and GIS software). This may not affect you as much but it's a biggie for me.

As others have said, learn how to run windows right and it won't be an issue. My Mac still requires regular updating as well.

Are you running third party anti virus? That causes more problems than in solves imo. Use the built in Windows one. Fit a solid state drive and it'll boot and run much quicker. Spend the other £1000 on something else 🙂

iMacs are brilliant. I have one for home and one for work. Super reliable and a joy to use. Many many haterz but most of them have only ever walked past one in Curry’s.

I was a Windows user for years and switched to a Mac for home use 4 years ago (still use Windows daily in work).

It's good for regular browsing, but when I do come to do something less common I still find MacOS frustrating at times and have to resort to Googling stuff which I'd just be able to figure out for myself in Windows.  Such as 2 days ago trying to navigate to a specific folder in terminal, where part of the file path contained a space.   Turns out you need to escape spaces with "\", but the real annoyance is that there's no option from Finder for "open terminal here" like you have in Windows.

And my Mac still seems to ask for updates constantly.  Depending how you're using it you might find that switching is more hassle than it's worth.

And my Mac still seems to ask for updates constantly.  Depending how you’re using it you might find that switching is more hassle than it’s worth.

Don't they update via telepathy and the shizzle and that? Like magic?

I've got no problem with the updates, it just seems to be one of the main things everyone bigs up about MacOS over Windows!  It's not much different in my view.

I find osx infuriating to use. Perhaps it's years of Windows use but after 3 years with a Mac I gave up and went back to windows.

Little things which windows can do and I use all the time, particularity browsing folders in explorer, copying folder locations, opening new windows in specific locations etc... Are impossible/infuriating in Mac.

Look at £1200 windows based all in ones and you'll get a much better spec with an ssd.

take ages to start up

As above, fit an SSD (plus boost the RAM to 8GB if it doesn't already have this).

constant updates

Regular updates are once a month (and MS critics constantly complain that this is too slow).

anti-virus and those updates don’t seem to gel until a few days have past

As above, ditch the 3rd party anti-virus and use the built-in one.

there’s no option from Finder for “open terminal here” like you have in Windows.

Finder > Services > Services Preferences

In 'Shortcuts' tab, tick 'New Terminal at Folder' to add to context menu.  You can even add a keyboard shortcut if you want.

<p>As a lifetime Windows user I hate Macs on a similar level to Linux. A lot of stuff seems counter-intuitive and generally awkward when you are so used to doing things a certain way. I'm sure a lifelong Mac user would feel similarly gfoing the other way.</p><p>As said, get an SSD (you can get a 500GB Samsung for about £81) and a bit more RAM if it's struggling. A fresh copy of Windows never does any harm either if it's an upgrade or OEM install you are using. And ditch 3rd party AV.</p>

I wouldn't buy anything these days without an SSD.  Before you take a punt on a new computer stick an SSD in your current one.  It really will feel like a new PC and all the things you've mentioned that annoy you will disappear.  I upgraded the wife's laptop the other week. Free cloning software made it a breeze and cost me £80 for 512GB drive.

If you do go with an iMac, at least make sure it's got the Fusion drive, not just the base model with a standard drive.

Is the in-built available stuff on win 10 easy to find? Current 3rd party is up for renewal and if in-built is decent, I'll use that instead...

All I can say is my 2009 iMac is still working perfectly.

The only problem is Apple has obsoleted it, so OS upgrades are not available.

Considering a move to Linux.

Is the in-built available stuff on win 10 easy to find?

Press start/windows key and type security

I have used Mac desktops for 20 years but use Windows laptops.  Current laptop is an SSD with WIndows 10 and it boots up in 4 seconds and generally runs more quickly than my 7 year old iMac.  When the iMac dies I will get a windows machine.  I like the built in nature of the iMac with no need for base unit but I see many manufacturers have copied that approach so I would just get a Windows machine now

What should I be looking for or is it a bad move?

The question is always - who will I ask when I have problems?  If that person uses a Mac then get a Mac.  If they use Windows then use Windows.

oh, and get an SSD

@MrPotatoHead where did you get the SSD and cloning software?

s the in-built available stuff on win 10 easy to find? Current 3rd party is up for renewal and if in-built is decent, I’ll use that instead…

Same here, it might very well be that thats causing the probelm, my 3rd party AV is avast BTW.

Before you take a punt on a new computer stick an SSD in your current one.

I'll look into this.

It may be those two things that are causing issues.

Is the inbuilt AV as good as the 3rd party ones?

As a lifetime Windows user I hate Macs on a similar level to Linux. A lot of stuff seems counter-intuitive and generally awkward when you are so used to doing things a certain way. I’m sure a lifelong Mac user would feel similarly gfoing the other way.

Not really .or its different.. I used Linux/UNIX as my main systems for years at work alongside Windows.

The biggest and hardest change for me with the MacOS is that you don't tell it HOW you want to do something but WHAT you want to do.  Thats a bit of a generalisation but the biggest battle when I started was stopping looking for menu's and just try and work out how I'd try and accomplish something..  even stuff like mounting an external disk... the Mac just does it and doesn't tell you... so you have to just accept that.

I found the mac more intuitive once I got over trying to find explicit menu's.. and trying to fight it.

I've not really got on with windows 10... but I've put in almost no effort.

All that said though the value of buying an iMac today is really in the ecosystem.  If you have iPhone etc. then it's more worth the premium.

(Written on a 11 yr old iMac)

We got an iMac a month ago, the 21” retina one, also got the ms office package, some extra speed/memory and AppleCare for 3 years. Very pleased with it , love the clear bright display , easy to use and speedy. Got using unidays account and it came with free beats headphones so once these flogged and the unidays discount the price was a bit more bearable.  Prefer it to the old windows thing it replaced.

Is the inbuilt AV as good as the 3rd party ones?

Yes swap them and see

even stuff like mounting an external disk… the Mac just does it and doesn’t tell you… so you have to just accept that.

I'm sure I had to do that in Linux about 10 years ago.... Amazingly Windows seems to manage that unless it's something fairly obscure.

If your not speaking/typing into search/menu then try that takes you to what you might need most of the time.

The real answer is to buy my Mac Mini and get the screen of your choice. The problem with new iMacs is that once you buy it you can't upgrade it as memory is soldered in, plus it's a bit of a sod to open up to change drives. I do like them but I have 3 Mac Minis instead.

+1 for the SSD. I did this about 4 years ago and it made a huge improvement.  My BIOS date is 26/12/2007 and I'm running an Intel quad core processor also released in 2007 with 3GB RAM, Windows 10 and I'm finally looking to replace it with another Windows PC at Black Friday.

Also have a 2017 MacBook Pro for work, iPad, iPhone and iWatch which are all great but I can't justify £1,749 for a 27" iMac

I got an iMac last year and it's brilliant. Not sure what the stuff is before about issues...what issues? Also support...the Apple hotline has been great on other older Apple products I have...sure if it is a hardware fault and you're out of warranty you'll have to pay to get it fixed, but I've used the Apple hotline on a couple of things like problems with WiFi and a few other things with other devices and they've been great.

Intuitiveness can be learned. I've spent a few months now on Windows 10 after my work laptop has been updated to it and I bought my daughter a WIN 10 machine for school and WIN 10 is a big step backwards form the previous version of Windows in my opinion. It's taken a lot longer to get used to going from the previous version of windows I was running to Windows 10 than it took me to get used to OSX when I got my first MacBook.

If you want a desktop then an iMac is very very good...however...

The smaller screen models were updated a year or so ago and they basically have the internals from the MacBook range, and are now not upgradable. I was originally looking at one with upgraded HDD and RAM and it came out a few hundred quid less than the start of the larger screen models, which have a much better screen, self upgradable internals, much better processor and GPU hardware, so I just bit the bullet and got the mid level larger screen iMac. I know it will last at least 10 years (my brother is still running his old MiniMac for pretty heavy duty photography and video editing duties - just upgraded RAM and HDD to an SSD) so the 'investment' is worth it I think.

Don't get hung up on the operating system wars, there are lovers and haters of all operating systems even within those 'in the know'. When my work laptop was getting upgraded I took it to our IT people and in one room were 6 or so geeky technicians and across that population there were those who loved their particular OS and hated all others, a fairly even split across WIndows, Apple and Linux.....

But i'd recommend an iMac for sure. A super capable machine....uber reliable, fast as **** even with a mechanical HDD (mine is a hybrid drive), will be extremely reliable, build quality is second to none, upgradable and still looks like a nice bit of kit in the corner of the room. Their only downside is price, but compared to a similarly spec'd Windows machine they're actually comparable.

I switched from Windows to Mac about six years ago. It definitely took a while to adapt. I wouldn’t go back though. I have a 27in iMac and it’s brilliant. Fantastic screen, lightening fast and I like the in-built apps like photos (although maps not so much).

I bought this iMac from the referb store. It’s still a lot more cash that a similar spec-d PC, and quantitively it’s hard to justify the difference. Qualitatively, I much prefer it.

Intuitiveness can be learned.

Intuitiveness doesn't have to be learned, it's intuitive. MacOS is not intuitive for someone used to Windows. It's an excellent OS, but it's not intuitive in the way that fanbois insist.

I liked mine, as someone who works with Microsoft stuff all day and fancied a change for personal computing. They're actually not bad value compared to an equivalent screen and the computer gubbins inside.

If you're someone who can get through a day using Windows without referring to a Dummies Guide you're smart enough to switch over. No, not everything is the same, but easy enough to figure out.

I got rid because the hardware inside was a bit too slow after 5 years and even with the decent amount I got secondhand for it, couldn't justify the cost of the new 27" ones.

Amazon-480GB Sandisk SSD with SATA USB lead for £80. Ended up using some cloning software called EaseUS which did the job.

What is this forum coming to?

33 posts in and no one has yet suggested he just buy a lady shave instead

Pcpartpicker.com, Samsung drives are best. I think aria are doing the 500gb ones for £81. Has its own clone software.

And yeah. Intuition is not learned, that's kinda the point. I'm not saying OSX is bad, it just has its frustrations in the same way that Linux does.

Windows 10 works the same way all other versions barring 8 did. Or is operated rather. No big mystery. Metro is no sad loss either, was crap on anything other than a tablet or touchscreen.

Amazon-480GB Sandisk SSD with SATA USB lead for £80. Ended up using some cloning software called EaseUS which did the job.

This is typically the go-to solution.

However, I'd personally install a fresh build of Windows and shift the data, well unless you're stuck with poor internet speed.

I built my own pc for around 1000, the thing is a beast, however the normal user experience is not as fluid or "nice" as my 4 year old Macbook pro retina.  On the other hand it did cost just over half of what my macbook cost and it can play games. I am finding that the current pricepoint of apple devices only makes sense if you are intending to keep the device for 4+ years.

Also, whilst the price is attractive, I'm not sure I like the 21.5inch screen, seems too small.

As for the OPs orginal question.

Macs are lovely things, not sure I'd drop £1200 on the one in the link, reasons:

Its a 7th gen i5, I know they're very current, but for £1200 I'd want the 8th gen, 7 to 8 isn't some incremental scheduled marketing job. 8th Gen CPUs are really a level up.

It's got a 1tb HDD, so it's going to be no quicker than your current machine in the areas that most consumers care about, start-up and initial performance.

Not that they're terrible value these days, but you should be able to find a great 8th Gen i5 based PC with a 500GB SSD and a 4K monitor for about the same price as above.

Updates in Win10 should be pretty seamless if you let it just do it's thing,  they're a bit of a pain if you're stuck with poor bandwidth and most browse though, but even Macs need updates, just not as many, because less people are trying to attack them.

AV, either ditch the bolt-on, especially if it's a free one. If you have good back-ups use Defender, if you've got critical data and/or high-risk user and want great support from your AV provider, buy ESET, none is better.

I've got an old ish laptop with i5, Win 10, 8GB ram and a hybrid HD.

Boots in about 12 seconds and has never put a foot wrong despite being used every day.

The missus is a real Apple fan boi (gurl?) and has the latest imac huge thing after upgrading from her not late 2013 one with smaller screen and no SSD. I tried the old one and despite it being nearly 150% faster in terms of processor power, it simply isn't as intuitive and user friendly as windows.

Even tried it twice just to make sure I wasn't being irrational. Second time I gave it a few weeks and still the same outcome.

Sure, it works well with other apple devices and itunes is a breeze but, not for me on the whole.

It is now sat in its box waiting to be sold, but can't be arsed sorting it out.

It's not a cheap alternative but I got a Dell  Precision All in One 5720 (XPS 27)

/en-uk/work/shop/workstations/precision-workstation-aio-5720/spd/precision-5720-aio/xctop5720emea

Comes in lots of guises (touch/non touch).

And you could build a more powerful windows machine for less, but it's an Imac equivalent.

I wanted something for the kitchen which was better than a laptop and always out, but not a big box.

I love it.

Again not really cheap but the screen is fab (hardware calibrated) and it actually has a great sound system.

There is also a home version called the XPS 27 (that is the same but not upgradable in the same way as the Precision).

There is also matte-screen non-touch version that I tried that was surprisingly capable but less flashy, and less well built. (Dell Inspiron 27 7000) from Currys etc.

Although I'm a long-term windows user - I don't get the love for Windows 10 - it's quite a messy set-up. But is at least stable.

Would totally recommend one. Quality is superb and the operating system is far superior to any version of Windows, from the most crappy to the fairly crappy.

No they aren't cheap, but I'd still say they are better value for money than any Windows based machine. And there's not the constant wait while the thing updates every few days.

And yes there's a learning curve, but it's not a steep one. You get the hang of things very quickly. Can't see myself ever going back.

Amazingly Windows seems to manage that unless it’s something fairly obscure.

Although I can't remember what windows 10 does... what I'm saying is it doesn't notify you of progress or anything... it just mounts... and you then need to know and go and find the new media.

It's just one example...  but the Mac just tends to do stuff... then you might need to undo it .. if you wanted to mount a fs readonly for example... whereas Windows tends to ask you what you want to do...

I'm not saying either is better ... but the way of just doing was one of the major things I took time to get used to.

there’s not the constant wait while the thing updates every few days

Windows updates once a month.

And there’s not the constant wait while the thing updates every few days.

Once a month unless its critical......

Yes go the Mac route.

Ensure you back it up using time machine.

All photos, contacts etc backed up to iCloud.

All operating system updates are free.

Dont slow down overtime, buy the correct one as you can own one for years and still get a good price for it on eBay.

Loads of support forums and help pages on the Apple site, they will help you get started with a free course.

not as many viruses, in fact lots of Mac users run them with just the firewall turned on.

Go to your local Apple store and get one of the team to talk you through the options and applications.

All operating system updates are free.

As are Windows updates.

not as many viruses, in fact lots of Mac users run them with just the firewall turned on

Lots of Mac users are extremely naive.

Macs aren't bought with the head - they are bought on looks, feel and desire.

You want want - just get one!

I work on a 27" iMac and have a MacBook Pro too.

As for Windows 10 - we have three Win10 laptops at home so I'm not averse to using it. And it's easily the best Win OS so far.

We've found macs to be durable and pleasant to use at work and home. About 15y since we switched from windows (but still use a bit when visiting parents, it seems as crap as ever but no doubt you get used to whatever is familiar). Original reasons for the switch no longer apply but not tempted to change back.

Lots of Mac users are extremely naive.

You do know that trying two different operating systems and deciding which one you prefer isn't actually naivety?

You do know that trying

to quote without context is a really shitty thing to do. Leaves quotes hanging there saying something different to how it was intended,

OP it's only daft if you think the iMac will rock your world. It's just a computer, albeit a prettier one. And it'll annoy you in a slightly different way than your PC 😀

I bought a refurbed iMac earlier this year. Which is probably dafter than buying a new one. Plus for extra daft points it was 8 years old and £700. On the plus side it's iMmaculate, has a great display and when it was released it was the fastest, bestest and fastest Mac you could buy. It still flies and i've had no issues with the freelance design work i threw at it. I don't really use it for anything else though and I've no other apple things - apart from various redundant  imacs - so it's not a lifestyle gadget, just a tool. Bought to make a bit of extra money. It's is a quality bit of kit though, and very pretty.

I've been using macs (and pcs) since the late 80's - that 'mac magic' has long since faded for me - they're simply tools that do pretty much the same things as PCs. There'll always be people saying 'you could get a far better PC for less money' and i'd be one of them, as you can, but there's also this...there's no way on earth i'd buy an 8 year old PC

You do know that trying two different operating systems and deciding which one you prefer isn’t actually naivety?

Believing the fanbois who say that Macs can't get viruses is extremely naive.

Intuitiveness doesn’t have to be learned, it’s intuitive. MacOS is not intuitive for someone used to Windows. It’s an excellent OS, but it’s not intuitive in the way that fanbois insist.

I'm not sure if this makes me a fanboi then ... but whilst I agree when you are used to windows it doesn't FEEL intuitive my experience was I was asking the wrong questions... it involved a certain abandonment of how do I think I get this to do that... to trying not to think about the HOW.

Even tried it twice just to make sure I wasn’t being irrational. Second time I gave it a few weeks and still the same outcome.

It took me a few months... it started off quite unpleasant... and it wasn't until a friend/colleague basically told me to forget everything I know that it clicked (probably 2-3 months)

Believing the fanbois who say that Macs can’t get viruses is extremely naive.

When was the last time you see a mac with a virus? It's possible, but highly unlikely, plus it's not like OSX is insecure, it's the usual when viruses happen, someone clicked something they weren't meant to other wise it's happy days. Similar to windows, just let the operating system do all that for you.

It amazes me people still worry about viruses these days, just don't install or do silly stuff.

Anyhow, as to the OP, you need to compare like to like.

Is OS X a better operating system, than windows.  - OSX is more polished a bit nicer feeling, slight yes there. Capability wise there's nothing in it, it's really a question of can you get all the software you need on either platform.

When looking at computers, a 1200 quid mac will look nice, but if you are comparing that to a 300 quid pc laptop, you aren't comparing like for like. a 1200 quid mac  v 1200 pc, the pc will win on performance.

Caveat on the performace, for 90% of home use any 64bit computer built this decade, upgraded with SSD and max out RAM should give you a hassle free existence on OS or windows.

Conclusion, it's personal choice.

ps be wary of imac, they are still punting them with traditional harddrives (quite frankly ridiculous at that price point. You'll need to pay extra for a solid state drive. which you'll want. (You can just plug in an external solid state drive via, usb3/firewire/thunderbolt and run that as your boot drive, save a few quid on the apple premium.)

When looking at computers, a 1200 quid mac will look nice, but if you are comparing that to a 300 quid pc laptop, you aren’t comparing like for like. a 1200 quid mac  v 1200 pc, the pc will win on performance.

and for the OP a max of £200 on SSD and RAM, a clean up of windows and tune of the settings etc. will deliver the performance he needs with a grand saved

yip.

Caveat on the performace, for 90% of home use any 64bit computer built this decade, upgraded with SSD and max out RAM should give you a hassle free existence on OS or windows.

When was the last time you see a mac with a virus? It’s possible, but highly unlikely, plus it’s not like OSX is insecure, it’s the usual when viruses happen, someone clicked something they weren't meant to other wise it’s happy days. Similar to windows, just let the operating system do all that for you.

Several this year, but then we've seen hundreds of PCs 'infected.

"someone clicked something they weren't meant to" is how 99.9% of virus happen on PCs too.

MACs are great if you're worried about viruses, because they do have come circumstantial advantages, first and foremost, their rarity meaning people aren't creating viruses to attack them.

They can be a complete pig to fix when they do get them though.

fair do's, never seen one in 20+ years of using macs. tbh I've not seen a windows virus for years aswell. biggest problem with viruses that I can see if the bloatware 3rd party apps slowing down machines!

In general 2018 it's not a concern for the average user.

ps be wary of imac, they are still punting them with traditional harddrives (quite frankly ridiculous at that price point. You’ll need to pay extra for a solid state drive. which you’ll want. (You can just plug in an external solid state drive via, usb3/firewire/thunderbolt and run that as your boot drive, save a few quid on the apple premium.)

The thing is you only need the boot drive very occasionally I just let mine hibernate and it comes back pretty much instantly... my uptime between reboot's is usually months.

Unless you’re doing intensive processing stuff anything other than a really stupidly cheap computer will do the job.

For years I used current (for the time) spec windows laptops at work and Mac at home.  I still use win7 and win10 machines a bit but not so often.

Personally, I still think MacOS is an easier to use, more intuitive, better designed operating system.  Much less has changed in Mac OS in the last 10 years compared to windows versions which suggests they got it right a long while ago. If you’ve used windows for many years there will obviously be a bit of a culture shock at first but it’s worth it IMO.

The iMac is a lovely thing to look at - build quality is great.  You also get a very well made keyboard and the apple trackpad is by far the best way to perform most general mouse tasks.

I’m only on our second iMac (they keep running well for many years as someone has commented above).  Both times Ive gone for the bottom of the range model as its by far the best value.  The first time I upgraded the hard drive and memory over its life. This time i bought with a fusion drive.  Fusion drive or SSD plus external HD (if you need ore space or online storage) is the way to go now.

The iMac is a lovely thing to look at – build quality is great.  You also get a very well made keyboard and the apple trackpad is by far the best way to perform most general mouse tasks.

you see for me the track pad on anything is just for when you don't have a mouse, it's in the wrong place for just about any task if your using the keyboard a lot,

Have you used the Apple Trackpad?  You sit it next to the keypad in the same place you’d put a mouse.  And because the default apple wireless keyboard doesn’t have the rarely used number pad its a much more ergonomic position.

That said, the large trackpad on a MacBook, below the keyboard is even better - I used to set up my MacBook under a second screen with extended desktop onto the laptop screen.  A really nice way to work.

There MIGHT be an announcement of new iMacs in October if these things matter to you.

Have you used the Apple Trackpad?  You sit it next to the keypad in the same place you’d put a mouse.  And because the default apple wireless keyboard doesn’t have the rarely used number pad its a much more ergonomic position.

As most of the software I use won't load on one no, thought this was the stuck on laptop version....and the number pad is used a hell of a lot!!

Mostly a personal thing but really can't stand having to move my hands inside and in the way to use a pad on most laptops anyway, just not ergonomic for me - that and most of the software I use likes all 3 mouse buttons

The real answer is to buy my Mac Mini and get the screen of your choice. The problem with new iMacs is that once you buy it you can’t upgrade it as memory is soldered in

wrong.

you can change the memory on most iMacs  AFAIK all the current models, it was some of the21.5 models that were fixed like the laptops

(can’t be arsed to go through this list  https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201191#note   )

nobody got laid by having a Dell PC in the corner of the room, the iMac is basically a nice bit of furniture if you can afford it.

from a professional point of view the screens are not a patch on an Eizo CG for colour critical work though they make a nice 4k edit machine if you also have a proper monitor to grade on.

I did not know that. Thanks for pointing it out.

that and most of the software I use likes all 3 mouse buttons

Youre probably a bit of an atypical use case.  I’d be interested to know how the mac versions of that work with a trackpad - they can detect single finger, 2 finder, 3 finger clicks and all sorts of gestures though i’ve Never been completely convinced by some of the advanced options

WRT the OS I still find preview

 I’d be interested to know how the mac versions of that work with a trackpad

They don't bother making one, no point.

I was going to reply to the OP but @hols2 on the first page said what I was going to say pretty much word for word.

Is the in-built available stuff on win 10 easy to find? Current 3rd party is up for renewal and if in-built is decent, I’ll use that instead…

Uninstall the existing AV, Defender will kick in automatically. Doesn't get much easier to find than that.

All I can say is my 2009 iMac is still working perfectly.

The only problem is Apple has obsoleted it, so OS upgrades are not available.

As is my 2008 Dell laptop. Windows 10, all the updates.

Is the inbuilt AV as good as the 3rd party ones?

Depends what you mean by "good."  It'll score lower than some in league tables, because it's designed to prevent viruses with a minimum of fuss rather than score well in league tables.  It's a perfectly competent AV solution and has the benefit of not knocking bells out of your system in order to make itself look good.

When was the last time you see a mac with a virus? It’s possible, but highly unlikely, plus it’s not like OSX is insecure, it’s the usual when viruses happen, someone clicked something they weren’t meant to other wise it’s happy days.

That's probably the primary cause of viruses on both PC and Mac these days, by a long chalk.  Safe computing practices are arguably more important than AV.  Don't click on links in unsolicited emails, stay off the dodgy grot sites and don't run executable files from torrent sites.  (If you absolutely must do one of those things, that's what sandboxes are for.)

"Yeah but viruses" is a nice stick the Mac users like to use to beat Windows with, but like many such criticisms it's not had much bearing in reality for years.  Time was that decent AV was essential, you'd get it on there before even thinking of plugging in a network cable.  Now it's really a "just in case" safety net.  I can't remember the last time I saw malware in my home network, either live or caught by AV,* it was almost certainly over a decade ago.

(* that I didn't put there intentionally to work on it, anyway)

I use windoze at work and its like stepping back in time to 2009, pile of crock. Mindful the organisation doesn’t want to upgrade to W10 because they don’t trust it and all the shitty bugs in whatever cronky version we run runs well and is easy to manage when it falls over (once a day) excel is particularly shite and almost back to Lotus123 capacity and capability...

I

Hate

It.

I use a Mac for all my personal and home work when WFH and find Apple 200000 times betterer and easier and faster, plus all my devices are apple iSomethings so sync seamlessly and one main point is I don’t get all the crappy updates and virus shite that windoze gets hacked.

I am an AppleFanBoi and more than happy to walk around with one of those little white apple stickers slapped to my forehead.

I too would take a look at what’s particularly wrong with what you have, first and foremost.. once you’ve ascertained the problems then throw that POS in the bin and buy iToys..

🤪🤣🖥💻📲

I use windoze at work and its like stepping back in time to 2009, pile of crock. Mindful the organisation doesn’t want to upgrade to W10

Not tired 10 then, probably still on 7 which was released in 2009??

 plus all my devices are apple iSomethings so sync seamlessly and one main point is I don’t get all the crappy updates and virus shite that windoze gets hacked.

Same here, cross platform synchronisation is great it's what the cloud gives us, apps and programs that share a common data repository and can work seamlessly together regardless of the device OS.

as for updates....

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201222

Seems like they happen monthly, set to auto update or did you turn that off

https://www.howtogeek.com/217131/how-to-control-which-updates-on-os-x-are-installed-and-when/

iMac, iPhone, iPad your good to go, all your data , photos, bookmark all synced across all devices seamlessly.

Not sure how Microsoft deliver that, the windows phone is dead, you will have to bodge something together.

ive never needed to remove bloatware and tune OSX, every free version works out the the box on every release, I’m sure the windows boys can talk you through the steps, don’t mention the browser, it’s a bit of a work in progress.

I use windoze at work and its like stepping back in time to 2009, pile of crock. Mindful the organisation doesn’t want to upgrade to W10 because they don’t trust it

Using an old OS feels like it's an old OS?  Remind me again, where do bears defecate?

I used System 7 the other day, man, it was almost like going back in time.

don’t mention the browser, it’s a bit of a work in progress.

"The" browser?  Man, there's dozens we can choose from.

Just remember that STW doesn’t approve of using Safari as its preferred browser 🤪🤣👏🔥

I don't like particularly Safari.  I am not STW.

The big problem with Windows is that is is an industrial scale hack to maintain backwards compatibility. The bloat and crap that still remains in Windows 10 is it's major downfall and why it is nowhere near as secure as a unix based OS. MS have done a good job on the UI TBH and I can actually use it now, but why oh why does the registry still exist? and C:\Windows\System32 .... ?????

MS should have the guts to rewrite and kill it with fire. Until then it's a security nightmare end of.

Nonsense.