current imac upgrade

[nxt4n]

my parents are allowing  me to upgrade my current mid 2011 21.5 inch imac 12gb ram sometime in the near future ,

i will probably have a budget of upt to around 1800 british pounds however im not sure wether i want to make the change to windows as i am pretty deep into the apple ecosystem as i have a gen 1 apple watch , iph 6s, apple tv,  ipad air 2,

if i build a windows pc will it affect this ecosystem much and any sugggestions of what i should get ( already have peripherals gaming mouse and keyboard)

[tom_w141]

You can build a very good windows PC compared to the Apple equivalent at that budget.

 

EDIT: As for the ecosystem not really. The watch and phone work well together but using a windows PC shouldn't affect them you can still have iTunes. The apple ecosystem works best for its portables rather than the computer.

 

Reply with your intended use maybe? If gaming then definitely get windows

[ImNotThere]

I dont have a build handy but i did the switch from apple to windows and sure there are differences but you get used to it quickly, id dive headfirst and get a kick ass rig for 1800 quid 

[Zando_]

For gaming, definitely get a PC. As for upgrades for your iMac, the model year you have is the last one to not have the screen glued in (it's held I with magnets), so if you're up to it, I'd try and dissect it and install a large (so you never have to do it again) SSD. Unless you already have, then there's not much you can do. 

 

 

For a gaming PC, what games do you play, at what resolution, and what colour scheme do you want?

[nxt4n]

Just now, Zando Bob said:

For gaming, definitely get a PC. As for upgrades for your iMac, the model year you have is the last one to not have the screen glued in (it's held I with magnets), so if you're up to it, I'd try and dissect it and install a large (so you never have to do it again) SSD. Unless you already have, then there's not much you can do. 

 

 

For a gaming PC, what games do you play, at what resolution, and what colour scheme do you want?

i think i didnt describee it right , im trying to get rid of the imac as its slow even after the ram upgrade for my likings , so i want to get something new but im unsure what to go with because of all of my other apple i devices 

[tom_w141]

Just now, nxt4n said:

i think i didnt describee it right , im trying to get rid of the imac as its slow even after the ram upgrade for my likings , so i want to get something new but im unsure what to go with because of all of my other apple i devices 

Read my reply since I edited it.

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, tom_w141 said:

You can build a very good windows PC compared to the Apple equivalent at that budget.

Though I'm an Apple fanboy, for gaming, there isn't any Apple equivalent, and the OK ones are way out of this price bracket. 

2 minutes ago, ImNotThere said:

I dont have a build handy but i did the switch from apple to windows and sure there are differences but you get used to it quickly, id dive headfirst and get a kick ass rig for 1800 quid 

And he still has the iMac, so he's not completely out of it. I work on an iMac at work, and also have a MacBook Pro (with Win10 in boot camp so I can play some older games), but at home it's all PCs. And like you said, you get used to it pretty quick, and if your PC is having problems, you can fall back on the Mac. 

[tom_w141]

Just now, Zando Bob said:

Though I'm an Apple fanboy, for gaming, there isn't any Apple equivalent, and the OK ones are way out of this price bracket. 

And he still has the iMac, so he's not completely out of it. I work on an iMac at work, and also have a MacBook Pro (with Win10 in boot camp so I can play some older games), but at home it's all PCs. And like you said, you get used to it pretty quick, and if your PC is having problems, you can fall back on the Mac. 

Agreed, love my iPhone but the only mac I'd ever consider (beautiful OS btw) would be a MacBook for productivity purposes - after all its good for those tasks and hey if I can't game on it then there is no incentive  

[ImNotThere]

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/GrjRXH

This is vaguely my current setup with a few differences and this is just over a grand i believe

[nxt4n]

Just now, tom_w141 said:

Read my reply since I edited it.

well i would like to get the best possible option for my money so possibly 4k/1440p i wont be playing all of the latest games as i have a good ps4 setup with astro a50s etc , but there are demanding games i would like to play on pc such as ark survival  , and i would like to keep the scheme to something simple

[Gaurav S Rao]

6 minutes ago, nxt4n said:

my parents are allowing  me to upgrade my current mid 2011 21.5 inch imac 12gb ram sometime in the near future ,

i will probably have a budget of upt to around 1800 british pounds however im not sure wether i want to make the change to windows as i am pretty deep into the apple ecosystem as i have a gen 1 apple watch , iph 6s, apple tv,  ipad air 2,

if i build a windows pc will it affect this ecosystem much and any sugggestions of what i should get ( already have peripherals gaming mouse and keyboard)

You can build a High End gaming/rendering/streaming rig, with a AMD Ryzen 7 1700/1700X/1800X 8 Core and a GTX 1080 TI and 16-32GB RAM,Overclocking motherboard with SLI support for how much you have for spending just on your iMac

 

The most you can probably do to your iMac is a 250€ upgrade

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, nxt4n said:

i think i didnt describee it right , im trying to get rid of the imac as its slow even after the ram upgrade for my likings , so i want to get something new but im unsure what to go with because of all of my other apple i devices 

Ohhhh..... What are the specs of the iMac, and what are you using it for? We've got one that crawls at work when it should be more powerful (2011 iMac, i5, 16GB RAM), so I'm highly suspicious that it has a 5400rpm drive. 

 

And yeah, you can get a mid range enthusiast (high end to non gamers) PC with that budget. And with a PC, pretty much the only thing you miss is AirDrop (off the top of my head), but I don't think your iMac is new enough to support it with iOS devices. 

[ImNotThere]

Just now, nxt4n said:

well i would like to get the best possible option for my money so possibly 4k/1440p i wont be playing all of the latest games as i have a good ps4 setup with astro a50s etc , but there are demanding games i would like to play on pc such as ark survival  , and i would like to keep the scheme to something simple

The rig i posted above would hit the 1440p threshhold for you and save around 600 pounds

[tom_w141]

Just now, nxt4n said:

well i would like to get the best possible option for my money so possibly 4k/1440p i wont be playing all of the latest games as i have a good ps4 setup with astro a50s etc , but there are demanding games i would like to play on pc such as ark survival  , and i would like to keep the scheme to something simple

To be honest as soon as you mention gaming at all we are talking windows tbh. I can do you a build. Do you need a monitor? Build size small as possible or like a standard desk tower?

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, Gaurav S Rao said:

You can build a High End gaming/rendering/streaming rig, with a AMD Ryzen 7 1700/1700X/1800X 8 Core and a GTX 1080 TI and 16-32GB RAM,Overclocking motherboard with SLI support for how much you have for spending just on your iMac

 

The most you can probably do to your iMac is a 250€ upgrade

Plus, sell the iMac....

 

 

... more moolah!

[nxt4n]

Just now, Zando Bob said:

Ohhhh..... What are the specs of the iMac, and what are you using it for? We've got one that crawls at work when it should be more powerful (2011 iMac, i5, 16GB RAM), so I'm highly suspicious that it has a 5400rpm drive. 

 

And yeah, you can get a mid range enthusiast (high end to non gamers) PC with that budget. And with a PC, pretty much the only thing you miss is AirDrop (off the top of my head), but I don't think your iMac is new enough to support it with iOS devices. 

well ive got the standard i5 mid 2011 21.5 in imac which comes with 4gb ram but ive upgraded it to 12, and i wouldlike to bootcamp on it to play some games but i cant even do tht without using a vm as it is to old:(

[nxt4n]

2 minutes ago, tom_w141 said:

To be honest as soon as you mention gaming at all we are talking windows tbh. I can do you a build. Do you need a monitor? Build size small as possible or like a standard desk tower?

yes i would need a monitor and i would like it to be as small as possible with possibly a nice glass panel:)

[ImNotThere]

1 minute ago, nxt4n said:

well ive got the standard i5 mid 2011 21.5 in imac which comes with 4gb ram but ive upgraded it to 12, and i wouldlike to bootcamp on it to play some games but i cant even do tht without using a vm as it is to old:(

Build windows, sell the imac, ezpz

[nxt4n]

2 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

Plus, sell the iMac....

 

 

... more moolah!

i would sell it  but im pretty sure after i am done with it it is going to be used as a family computer so i cant really do that ... which is a bummer 

[tom_w141]

Just now, nxt4n said:

yes i would need a monitor and i would like it to be as small as possible with possibly a nice glass panel:)

i'll try but its small or glass panel  i'll see if I can compromise

[Zando_]

3 minutes ago, tom_w141 said:

Agreed, love my iPhone but the only mac I'd ever consider (beautiful OS btw) would be a MacBook for productivity purposes - after all its good for those tasks and hey if I can't game on it then there is no incentive  

Yes, macOS is nice! And yeah, unless your doing heavy editing in FCP X, have tons of moolah, or are a cool millennial Photoshop guru, then the MacBook line is the only one that makes sense. iMacs are nice, but it costs a lot to get an SSD, Mac minis are outdated, and the Mac Pro is eeeeeeeeexxxpwnsive! Like some X series CPU with 1080Ti SLI and a custom loop expensive!

[Zando_]

3 minutes ago, nxt4n said:

well ive got the standard i5 mid 2011 21.5 in imac which comes with 4gb ram but ive upgraded it to 12, and i wouldlike to bootcamp on it to play some games but i cant even do tht without using a vm as it is to old:(

It no has bootcamp? It should be able to run the latest macOS, so it should have bootcamp. Not that it'd run any games very well.... unless you play old ones. 

[nxt4n]

Just now, Zando Bob said:

Yes, macOS is nice! And yeah, unless your doing heavy editing in FCP X, have tons of moolah, or are a cool millennial Photoshop guru, then the MacBook line is the only one that makes sense. iMacs are nice, but it costs a lot to get an SSD, Mac minis are outdated, and the Mac Pro is eeeeeeeeexxxpwnsive! Like some X series CPU with 1080Ti SLI and a custom loop expensive!

Yeah and the new macbook pro line is so expensive for the crappy specs inside of it ...

[Gaurav S Rao]

3 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

Plus, sell the iMac....

 

 

... more moolah!

Yeah,that iMac is worth about €300 so €2100 more so add another GTX 1080TI so GTX 1080 TI SLI (though where is the monitor??????)

[Zando_]

Just now, nxt4n said:

Yeah and the new macbook pro line is so expensive for the crappy specs inside of it ...

Build quality, proprietary awesomeness, multiple Thunderbolt 3 ports, great battery technology, beautiful design, and the Apple logo. That's why it's expensive.