What 2019 iMac Did You Order?

[Spudlicious]

I bought:

27 in 3.7 GHz 6-Core
16 GB memory
512 SSD
Radeon Pro 580X with 8GB of GDDR5 memory

I had a hard time deciding between SSD and fusion and decided to go with 512 SSD for $90 more.

Shipping Date: Expected by Sept 22

Good spec, I'm certain you'll be pleased with it. Sickening delivery delay, just hope you get a pleasant surprise. I wouldn't cancel because you can't assume any new model iMac will be an improvement for you - a bumped up CPU doesn't mean a lot to most of us - and the price and delivery times could be hurtful.

 

[TVreporter]

I really need one for (digital) school purposes asap, so I would wait but not sure when they'd arrive even if they are announced in September.

Well as the saying goes, if you need it now, buy it! Just seems like a long wait though which often indicates a new one is on the horizon.

I have the i5 2019 model with similar specs - upgraded to 40G ram after it arrived. It's great and will serve me for years! You will love it.

 

[Neil27]

Replacing a now dead Mac Pro 5.1 with a -
21.5 inch iMac
i5 six core
32gb Ram
1 tb ssd
AMD Radeon Pro 560x

Update - after 2 hours of running the iMac, still under warranty went kaput, fortunately the seller agreed to a swap, so now decided on a 6.1 Mac Pro, 6 core, dual D500, 64Gb ram, 1 td SSD. I‘ll be leaving this thread shortly. ??

 

[iNICK20]

Good spec, I'm certain you'll be pleased with it. Sickening delivery delay, just hope you get a pleasant surprise. I wouldn't cancel because you can't assume any new model iMac will be an improvement for you - a bumped up CPU doesn't mean a lot to most of us - and the price and delivery times could be hurtful.

I wanted a new iMac 27in because of edu pricing and free AirPods, but because of the shipping delivered date of September 11th. I had to go with a refurbished one that will be here Monday.

 

[marshallfox]

I ordered a 27" i9 on June 24th with expected delivery 7/24-7/31. It just shipped from Shanghai China with a delivery date of this Friday 7/17.

Replacing a 2015 i5 27" with 1TB fusion drive with:
2019 27" i9
8GB Ram (Have 64GB on deck ready to be installed upon arrival)
1TB SSD
Radeon Pro 575X

 

[Spudlicious]

I ordered a 27" i9 on June 24th with expected delivery 7/24-7/31. It just shipped from Shanghai China with a delivery date of this Friday 7/17.

Replacing a 2015 i5 27" with 1TB fusion drive with:
2019 27" i9
8GB Ram (Have 64GB on deck ready to be installed upon arrival)
1TB SSD
Radeon Pro 575X

Nice spec, and an encouraging delivery date. Out of curiosity are you handing on/selling the 2015 iMac? It's far too young to scrap.

 

[marshallfox]

Nice spec, and an encouraging delivery date. Out of curiosity are you handing on/selling the 2015 iMac? It's far too young to scrap.

Thanks, I'm giving it to my cousins who are YouTubers: SkulkPack Reacts. Their computer went up so this will tide them over.

 

[Samantha124]

I ordered a 27" i9 on June 24th with expected delivery 7/24-7/31. It just shipped from Shanghai China with a delivery date of this Friday 7/17.

Replacing a 2015 i5 27" with 1TB fusion drive with:
2019 27" i9
8GB Ram (Have 64GB on deck ready to be installed upon arrival)
1TB SSD
Radeon Pro 575X

I’m going to hold out hope I’ll get mine a little early too, either way it gives me something to look forward to getting

 

[SkiHound2]

I bought:

27 in 3.7 GHz 6-Core
16 GB memory
512 SSD
Radeon Pro 580X with 8GB of GDDR5 memory

I had a hard time deciding between SSD and fusion and decided to go with 512 SSD for $90 more.

Shipping Date: Expected by Sept 22

I have two GUESSES: One is that the pandemic has made the process of getting build to order iMacs very slow. My 2nd GUESS is that the expected date is so late because they anticipate releasing new models and want to effectively stall people till the new models are available. I ordered a BTO and it arrived within a week or two. Waiting till 9/22 is really pushing it, especially for folks that will be buying for education. And my guess is that a lot of folks are going to be buying some kind of system for education this year. My gut goes with the second guess. The 2019 you ordered is a nice computer, I have one with a 1TB SSD and self installed 32gb of ram. Far and away the nicest computer I've ever used. But it's getting pretty late in the product cycle.

 

[iNICK20]

I have two GUESSES: One is that the pandemic has made the process of getting build to order iMacs very slow. My 2nd GUESS is that the expected date is so late because they anticipate releasing new models and want to effectively stall people till the new models are available. I ordered a BTO and it arrived within a week or two. Waiting till 9/22 is really pushing it, especially for folks that will be buying for education. And my guess is that a lot of folks are going to be buying some kind of system for education this year. My gut goes with the second guess. The 2019 you ordered is a nice computer, I have one with a 1TB SSD and self installed 32gb of ram. Far and away the nicest computer I've ever used. But it's getting pretty late in the product cycle.

Is the SSD that much better? I went with the Fusion drive 2TB, because I was told the SSD is 128Gb inside. I needed space and didn't wanna spend extra for only 512Gb. My current Windows PCs, don't have PCIe SSDs, only sata SSDs inside.

 

[Arcade]

My first iMac 21.5"

Hardware

• 3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz
• 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
• Radeon Pro 560X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory
• 256GB SSD storage

 

[SkiHound2]

Is the SSD that much better? I went with the Fusion drive 2TB, because I was told the SSD is 128Gb inside. I needed space and didn't wanna spend extra for only 512Gb. My current Windows PCs, don't have PCIe SSDs, only sata SSDs inside.

If you read threads on these forums, the answer is yes. A pure SSD will yield optimal performance and has the advantage of not using a mechanical drive. So it should be more reliable, generate a little less heat, and be a little quieter. But lots of people have been very happy with their fusion drives. I had one in a 2012 Mac Mini that served me very well. Macos is pretty good about putting the system files and other most used files on the SSD. The majority of folks who buy iMacs buy the stock configurations, and most of them are happy. Also, most folks who frequent these forums are into the technology at a level most day-to-day users aren't. For the vast majority of folks who are doing web surfing, watching videos, using email, and doing the typical work related tasks, almost any system will be absolutely fine. Folks doing a lot of heavy duty video or music editing and rendering can use pretty all the power they can get. I do quite a bit of image editing and decided to go for the 1 TB SSD. I wanted to be able to keep a substantial library of images on the SSD for fastest access. Eventually I move them from the system drive to other storage. So?

 

[Neil27]

My first iMac 21.5"

Hardware

• 3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz
• 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
• Radeon Pro 560X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory
• 256GB SSD storage

Nearly the same as mine, although I managed to convince the wife I needed 32GB ram and 1 tb SSD drive, I think I got away with it ???

 

[jlseattle]

I ordered a 27" i9 on June 24th with expected delivery 7/24-7/31. It just shipped from Shanghai China with a delivery date of this Friday 7/17.

Replacing a 2015 i5 27" with 1TB fusion drive with:
2019 27" i9
8GB Ram (Have 64GB on deck ready to be installed upon arrival)
1TB SSD
Radeon Pro 575X

Interesting. I got the same spec with 2tb SSD and upgraded graphics card. It's coming on the 17th from Ireland.

 

[memo90061]

Hmm. I really want to buy one, but the waiting times are scaring me. I just sold my computer, and need one ASAP! Want one with i9.

 

[Samantha124]

Hmm. I really want to buy one, but the waiting times are scaring me. I just sold my computer, and need one ASAP! Want one with i9.

I know what you mean...those shipping times. The dates push further out by the day.

 

[Biro]

I know what you mean...those shipping times. The dates push further out by the day.

It sounds like Apple is trying to tell you guys something. If you have anything else you can limp by on for a few months, I would wait. Chances are, the ARM chip will be better than an i9 anyway.

 

[memo90061]

I need a computer ASAP. I don't have anything, and don't know what to buy.

 

[Samantha124]

Interesting update for you guys, my card was charged yesterday, and now today it says preparing for shipment. Sounds promising considering I had a September delivery date.

 

[memo90061]

When did you order?

 

[Applefan2015]

just seen this thread, purchased mine early 2019.

• Intel Core i5 9th Gen processor.
• Hex core processor.
• Processor speed 3.7GHz.
• 8GB RAM DDR4.

Hard drive:

• 2TB .

Graphics:

• AMD Radeon Pro 580X graphics card with 8GB memory

I know the memory can be replaced easily, how about changing the fusion drive to SSD? Worth doing?

Is it possible to change the CPU?
[automerge]1595015243[/automerge]

Nearly the same as mine, although I managed to convince the wife I needed 32GB ram and 1 tb SSD drive, I think I got away with it ???

What do you use it for?

Also how did you explain to your wife why you need it? ???

 

[Samantha124]

When did you order?

July 10th

 

[Biro]

I know the memory can be replaced easily, how about changing the fusion drive to SSD? Worth doing?

I bought the same set-up as you, except I ordered mine with a 1tb SSD from the start.

Given that you have the 2tb Fusion Drive, That means you have 128gb of SSD anyway. That's enough for your operating system and your most-used files. I say you might as well keep that at this point. You're already enjoying fast boot-up and rapid access to what's most important. If you really want more solid-state storage, add an external drive.

Meanwhile... I was going to upgrade my 8gb of RAM of 32gb. But when I went to the OWC website (highly recommended), they had a sale going on. I was able to pick up 64gb of RAM for the price of 32gb. And so I'm running 64gb with the six-core i5 chip in my iMac now. It works great. Even the 580X GPU is just fine with 8gb. No need for an i9 chip even though I do heavy photo and moderate video editing.

 

[Applefan2015]

Thanks for your reply @Biro very helpful ?

If you really want more solid-state storage, add an external drive.

Which external SSD would you recommend?

How about using it as a boot drive, would you recommend that?

 

[Biro]

Thanks for your reply @Biro very helpful ?



Which external SSD would you recommend?

How about using it as a boot drive, would you recommend that?

Here's a piece that may help you decide. The Samsung drives get great reviews:

Best portable SSDs of 2024

Transfer files on the go with the best portable SSD

www.techradar.com

Meanwhile, given that you have 128gb of SSD already (and that's where your operating system lives), I personally don't see the purpose of using the external drive as a boot drive - unless you need to, say, boot into Windows or have other specialized needs.

Honestly, with a 2tb drive it may take a while to fill it - unless you edit and store a lot of video. And remember: Your OS and most-used files are already on a solid state drive with Fusion Drive. So you are already enjoying the speed that SSDs bring.

But I would recommend using an external drive as a back up. You can set up Time Machine to back up everything from your iMac.