Amazon this week is still hosting a record low deal on Apple's 512GB 27-inch 5K iMac with 6-core CPU. You can get this 2020 model for $1,699.99, down from $1,999.00, after an automatic coupon worth $199.01 is applied at checkout.
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This sale is particularly notable because it knocks down the 512GB 27-inch iMac to the same price level as the 256GB model. It's also the best price we've ever tracked across all of the major Apple resellers online. The iMac is ready to ship today with Amazon's typical free shipping for all Prime members.
You can keep track of ongoing sales on Apple's iMac line by visiting our Best iMac Deals guide. There, we keep track of the best iMac offers from Amazon, Adorama, B&H Photo, and other retailers, so be sure to check back often if you're shopping for an iMac for the first time, or thinking of upgrading.
Top Rated Comments
Note that a mid-2009 iMac with "2 x 2.3" gets a Geekbench 5 score of 547.
The mid-2020 "6 x 3.3" model you mention here gets a Geekbench 5 score of 6100.
People do not store as much of their data on their computers anymore.
A 2007 HDD and a 2020 SSD are also different in terms of speed and reliability.
I'm pretty sure you can get a used 2007 iMac for $100 if you really feel there isn't much improvement.
It's remarkable how little Macs have improved over the last 14 years, because I bought that computer in 2007.
I think people give Intel too much crap for the limited improvement.
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]2007 iMac for $2000[/TD]
[TD]2021 iMac for $2000[/TD]
[TD]% Change[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Memory[/TD]
[TD]6 GB[/TD]
[TD]8 GB[/TD]
[TD]33% Improvement[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Storage[/TD]
[TD]1 TB[/TD]
[TD]512 GB[/TD]
[TD]50% Worse[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Compute[/TD]
[TD]2 x 2.4 = 4.8[/TD]
[TD]6 x 3.3 = 20[/TD]
[TD]316% Improvement[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Moore's Law says that today's iMac should be 2^(14/2) = 128x better, so yeah, by that metric, the compute hasn't improved by anywhere near as much as it should, but really? We want to blame Intel for how minor the improvements have been?
Before I had the 2007 iMac, I had a 2002 eMac.
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]2002 eMac[/TD]
[TD]2007 iMac[/TD]
[TD]x Change[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cost[/TD]
[TD]$800[/TD]
[TD]$2000[/TD]
[TD]2.5x[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Memory[/TD]
[TD]256 MB[/TD]
[TD]6 GB[/TD]
[TD]24x[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Storage[/TD]
[TD]60 GB[/TD]
[TD]1 TB[/TD]
[TD]17x[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Compute[/TD]
[TD]1 x 800 MHz = .8[/TD]
[TD]2 x 2.4 = 4.8[/TD]
[TD]6x[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
I realize I went from a budget model to a mid-tier model, but holy crap - across the board I got a computer that was many times better despite only being 5 years newer.
Such improvements just haven't happened since. It's not Intel's fault - Intel is doing way better than the other components. Memory and Storage just aren't improving like they used to...
Or maybe they are. I can buy comparable parts in much smaller form factors at much lower prices than before. See, for example, my Raspberry Pi. Maybe I should compare a current top end Raspberry Pi against the brand new iMacs...