Unimpressed with my new iMac performance :(

strandroad

I got myself a new iMac, a basic model, and after several days of use I am seriously surprised as to how slow it is. You can count quite a number of seconds before something opens... I'm talking Mail or system preferences, nothing heavy. It just feels sluggish. I haven't used OSX hardware for a few years and it's such a disappointment It didn't use to be a problem. My Windows 10 laptop is flying in comparison and it cost less than a half than what the Mac costs, plus it has touch, hi res and hybrid form factor!

I'm aware it's a basic model and I could spend another several hundred for fusion and faster clock but I would expect a lot better from Apple to justify its e1300 price tag.

Can anyone relate? I don't think there's anything wrong with the machine as such, it works as designed but I feel like a chump.

Oafley Jones

mhge wrote: »

I got myself a new iMac, a basic model, and after several days of use I am seriously surprised as to how slow it is. You can count quite a number of seconds before something opens... I'm talking Mail or system preferences, nothing heavy. It just feels sluggish. I haven't used OSX hardware for a few years and it's such a disappointment It didn't use to be a problem. My Windows 10 laptop is flying in comparison and it cost less than a half than what the Mac costs, plus it has touch, hi res and hybrid form factor!

I'm aware it's a basic model and I could spend another several hundred for fusion and faster clock but I would expect a lot better from Apple to justify its e1300 price tag.

Can anyone relate? I don't think there's anything wrong with the machine as such, it works as designed but I feel like a chump.

5400rpm hard drive shouldn't be offered in my opinion. It's horrible and an embarrassment for a 2015 machine at its price point. You'd get better advice in the Mac forum.

strandroad

Oafley Jones wrote: »

5400rpm hard drive shouldn't be offered in my opinion. It's horrible and an embarrassment for a 2015 machine at its price point. You'd get better advice in the Mac forum.

Thank you, I should have posted there I suppose. Can I please ask a moderator to move?

FourFourRED

Oafley Jones wrote: »

You'd get better advice in the Mac forum.

Let's be honest, there can be no advice given here. The base model iMac ships with a sluggish hard disk drive and also the very base model comes with a 1.6 ghz processor. The same processing power that a MacBook Air offers. (The MBA has flash storage which will make it significantly faster than what you have!). Nothing is going to make it faster.

How long do you have it OP? Can you return it?

4068ac1elhodqr

The 5,400rpm optical disc is the likely cause. I've a very basic MacAir 1.7 (SSD) core-i3, that totally wipes the floor with my other (PC) xps 4-core-i7 even with it's 7,200rpm and 3gb dedicated graphics.

If less than 14/30 days old perhaps ask to switch to another mac with a solid-state disc, there may be a no quibble returns policy, or perhaps some sort of small fee for a return. Depending on the supplier's own terms and consumer laws.

4068ac1elhodqr

_

strandroad

I have it from Currys, bought just one week ago, and yes I would invest in an upgrade at this stage. Will they take it back though based on this? I don't think they offer fusion (that's Apple speak for SSD right?) though.

I did read quite a bunch of reviews actually, but the feckers typically do not review base models... for a reason I suspect now!

ETA: seems that Currys accept "as new" only returns.

galljga1

You could probably get the upgrade done independently for less than returning the unit and paying for an upgraded model. It is pretty straight forward to do it yourself, at least it was in 2010 when I last opened up an iMac. It has possibly changed as I am reasonably certain that I cannot easily upgrade my current Macbook air (Nov 2014).

4068ac1elhodqr

http://www.currys.ie/content/Returns-Policy/1939

Blazer

Macs are normally not covered as they have a seal on them.
However if you buy direct from apple you have a 30 day return policy.
I had bought a macbook pro from harvey normals and its not covered under their return policy due to this seal.

strandroad

Thanks everyone for your support Yes I reviewed my options and looks like I'll keep it and treat it well to probably resell in the future towards an upgrade.

I am still gobsmacked at the staggeringly bad value. It's built so well and then bummer! For more than a grand you would really expect all the basics to be completely fluid, and the hiccups to start with the heavier lifting. Lesson learned...

squonk

Just like an iOS device I really think that Macs only start to represnt good value at the mid to high end level. If you'd spent a fortune and bought yourself an iMac 5K you'd be here singing it's praises but, like others have said, Apple really shouldn't be selling a machine with a spec like yours as a base model these days. It's a waste of money IMHO. I've always taken the view when buying macs to go big or go home. I now wouldn't mind a MacBook Pro but the cost of going big in the current exchange rate climate is giving me pause for thought!

adox

Wow I never realised that a 5400rpm came with the new base model. That is really poor form.

Has the SSD part of the fusion drive been reduced dramatically as well? cant find it on the specs but a quick google seems to suggest so.

Zcott

adox wrote: »

Wow I never realised that a 5400rpm came with the new base model. That is really poor form.

Has the SSD part of the fusion drive been reduced dramatically as well? cant find it on the specs but a quick google seems to suggest so.

It's been reduced from 128gb to 24gb, but as a result it's much cheaper too. And still pretty quick alright.