Apple - 21.5" iMac® - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive - Silver

I just wanted to share that I started off with the Macintosh and the Color Mac and the Power books, (and I was one of the ones that bought a Newton :( But when Macintosh started to incorporate Windows into their operating system (does anyone else remember when you could flip a switch on the Mac and it would run the Windows operating system) I decided to switch to Windows and never looked back until now. Recently I upgraded to Windows 10 on my computer and OMG, the system is constently upgrading!!! i could never use my computer when I wanted to, since it was either shut down after having updated or i had to log on and wait 15 minutes while it upgraded all of my files. The final straw was when i needed to print out some fast movie tickets so we could just make a late movie, and we missed the movie because I could not get the computer to bypass the stupid updates. I tried turning off the computer and not leaving it on, but when I turned it on, it would search for updates and then turn my computer off to update while I was using it. I am sure that there is a way to delay the updates, but honestly windows is on its way out, and as it was 30 years ago, I am going with the winning team. I found this computer on Best Buy, and it was $200 off and also had an open box deal for another $100 off. I was unsure of the difference between open box and open box geek squad certified, so I googled it, and the consensus was that it is worth the extra couple of dollars to make sure you are not getting a customer return that is missing the power cord or other accessories. Also, the computer is supposed to be wiped clean and tested. I decided that all that is worth a little bit more money. The nice thing about the iMac is that you really don't need to buy virus software, and i figured the time savings in having a computer to use when I need one, and not having to shell out $75/yr for Virus Protection, so makes up for the higher cost of the iMac over a Windows computer. I did my homework, and the consensus was that whatever iMac you buy will outperform a windows machine, since it is not running the virus protection or updates in the background. 2nd, the quality of the iMac is superior to any windows computer, and every review was the same that they would feel completely comfortable buying a used or referred mac for cost savings and would never do this on a Windows. Although I like Amazon to buy appliances, Best Buy is generally the best place to buy a computer, since you can purchase the 2yrs no accident protection on a desktop for about $99, The one thing that I was worried about was that back when I had first purchased my Macintosh, the accessories like printers, mouses and keyboards were all pro priority. Not the case anymore. All (and I mean all) of my windows accessories work on the mac. This includes my brother printer, scroll mouse, keypad and my hard drive. This was something I was not expecting, so was a nice added benefit. Honestly I could not be happier with my new Mac.

So I have always had Windows computers and I wanted something different and I also wanted something that was going to be well built and easy to maintain. (no I'm not a "dumb pc user" I have programmed in a Windows environment for a long time. I have purchased Windows computers with the same price tag, but not of this quality. Everything is so easy to use and synced up so well. I have my messages from a few different sources including Facebook so friends and family can reach me (which is like a feature on Linux environments.) Everything from the mouse and keyboard to the screen is just amazing. I was actually blown away by the speakers because I have always had to by speakers for my computers and the speakers have such a good range of sound and I use professional studio monitors by JBL for music production. Of course they're not rattling the windows, but they're great! The e-mail client is easier to use than outlook and it makes you actually WANT to use it. It is similar to Thunderbird on Ubuntu. I rated it 5 stars I don't understand why you would rate it 4 stars because it's not a 4k. It's not like that was a surprise, it also doesn't include a fusion drive, but it's still plenty fast for my needs.

For starters, the price is great. You are looking at half the price, with the sacrifice of portability with the MacBooks. I personally didn't take my macbook on the go very much, so not a big deal. You can still easily move from room to room, as long as you have a table to set up. It is lightweight, so portable for anyone of any age really. The size and clarity of the screen is incredible. When it comes to speed, I think I would have preferred one a little faster considering the programs that I run on a regular basis, such as Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop being that there is a lot more data that is used for these programs. I can still manage quite well. The setup itself is simple, it runs you right through everything. They also include a quick start guide for those who are not used to apple computers. The magic keyboard and mouse are very nice, as it is just bluetooth/wireless, instead of adding more cords [also comes with a cord to charge your keyboard and mouse] There are plenty of usb ports on the back side, as well as an sd card slot, which is great for anyone who is into photography such as myself. Overall, the amount of storage is extravagant for the average user, and the speed is quite decent for the amount of money you are spending. I'm guessing with how long my macbook lasted me [six years, probably more if I get it checked out], I'm thinking this could last me 6 or more easy.

I would highly not recommend this product if you plan on using it for anything even slightly heavy duty whatsoever. I needed to buy a new computer because, one I had the money, and two my laptop was quitting on me. I blame myself mostly for even trusting Apple with the amount of money I spent on this computer. I even dished out the extra two hundred or so dollars to get the extra .5 ghz or whatever, and the better graphics. This computer lags on just about every move or command I make in Photoshop. I make YouTube videos, and I needed a computer that could handle this sort of work. I regret buying this thing every day I use it. Had I not been so ignorant in my purchase, I would have been able to get a perfectly powerful computer with the money I spent on this thing. It's not like two grand comes walking in the door often for me. I apologize if I am coming off as harsh on this product, but the truth of the matter is, unless you can spend the almost four grand or whatever to get Apple's top spec'd computer, this is not a professional-grade product. This is a consumer-grade product. If all your looking to do is do the usual internet stuff, this computer will be more than enough, but any more than that, this computer will fall flat. Very flat. However, I give it a one star, one because I have to, and two because I really enjoy the iOS. Way over Windows. So there's that. But literally getting yet another computer is something I have to do, to do the real things I need to do. Just make sure to do your research before wasting your time with this thing.

This is definitely not my favorite Apple product. This computer was an emergency purchase to replace my mid-2010 iMac 27". That one was amazing. Maxed out the memory, and got the highest capacity CPU and hard drive and video capabilities. I loved that beast. It was gigantic and not the easiest thing to carry around, but it was a workhorse. Gave me no troubles until about a month ago. Then just died without warning. This 21.5" iMac is okay, but it's nothing like its predecessor that it's replacing. It only has 8GB of non-upgradable memory, and low-grade video card, and only a terabyte hard drive. This machine has crashed on me twice since I bought it, and has had performance issues especially when I try to run Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, and Adobe Lightroom. As soon as I am able, I will be replacing this thing with a brand new MacBook Pro or another iMac. I will say this, though. This thing is a breeze to carry. It's very lightweight, easy to hold on to and tucks neatly under one arm. So portability is on the high end. I can't complain too much. It is, after all, the lowest-end iMac you can get. It's not a dream machine, but it will do for now. It will be good for my wife or kids, once I get a decent replacement. It's good for email, web browsing, video streaming, and photo editing. Just not necessarily all at once.

Been a Mac user for several years now. Hands down the best performance using Photoshop. UNTIL NOW. My 2011 21.5" iMac (12GB RAM/1TB 7200RPM HD) runs Photoshop 5 times faster than the new one. CANNOT UPGRADE MEMORY. Memory is soldered in. In order to get 16GB of memory you have to order from Apple and it is a $200 upgrade. SLOOOWWW 5400 RPM HD. To upgrade the HD is like opening an iPad. Adhesive is required to put it all back together. If you don't mind spending $1300 for a device to surf the internet and check you email then you will be pleased with the model. If you are looking for something you can upgrade go buy an older used or refurbished iMac. Very disappointed in Apple. I see no good explanation for using 10+ year old technology like a 5400 RPM HD in a 2015 computer. I hope this is the last model they do this in or I may be going back to a Windows PC. Oh yeah, to be fair. The new 2015 27" iMac (starting at $1800 is upgradable).

I bought this to replace my prior Mac, which had just celebrated its 9th birthday! Pros: Nice and fast file opening, saving, and other things. It only takes seconds to do what sometimes took a minute or more! Cons: There is NO number pad on the keyboard, and even the arrow keys are tiny and bunched together. I had to buy a 3rd-party keyboard. There is NO DVD drive. I had to buy a 3rd-party drive. While many features in the iWork files are updated, there are LESS fonts, LESS color options (there used to be a grid of about 50 preset colors. This grid is now reduced to about 20 choices.), LESS options for the menu bar. On the whole, customization options are severely restricted. For each and every one of my old files that I open, if I touch it at all, I get a "Do you want to upgrade this file? or I still can't figure out how to change my y-axis range in the new NUMBERS charts. You CAN'T print directly from NUMBERS; but have to go through a "fake" "preview" screen. THERE is NO "page view" in numbers. You can ONLY see your headers and footers in "print preview." The FORMAT, SORT, FILTER, and other features are kind of obnoxious now, but can be gotten used to. I have similar issues with PAGES. Including that text in text boxes has to be reformatted to fit(!), missing fonts that have to be downloaded from the internet, etc. Recommended anyway!

I have used Apple computers all my life, I had the tangerine iMac, the blue laptop, a white laptop in high school and my iMac that got me through college which I still have. I recently had my computer diagnosed to make sure it was running smoothly and with over 5000 pictures, and 23 days worth of music on my computer the Apple tech agent said I hadn't even used half of my memory. It runs amazingly quick and streams videos quickly. My favorite part was having an external hard drive with the lightning port which helps move files quicker. I wish more companies would adapt this because it processes items quicker than a USB cord. It came with a mouse but I prefer the track pad which you have to purchase separately but it's well worth it. The batteries for the keyboard and trackpad (which have to be charged) last a long time so that shoudn't be a concern. I love the display and I've seen the larger one, this one is perfect but if you can and it's a NEED, go ahead and get the larger screen! At work I use Microsoft platform products but it's such a relief to come home to my Apple computer because it runs so much smoother and has no reandom hiccups. If you're reading this and on the fence of whether or not to try the Apple computer try it out at the retail locations and enjoy. You won't be disappointed.