New iMac 2017 from iMac 2010

[Julia123]

Just to make sure I am on track, this new internal SSD will alleviate the need to do that anymore as long as I have the disk space?

Yes. There is no advantage to using separate drives.

Thanks! It looks like I will be spending more than I planned but then I won't be needing any new externals for awhile so that is good.

Hah, funny timing, to see this thread right after writing my own 2010-to-2017 thread.

I couldn't find that thread---- Where is it?

[mhschmieder]

Julia, I've been spreading my 2010 to 2017 story amongst several topics. The main new one that I started is the one related to current external drive choices, as I have strictly used internal drives for the past seven years.

[GwinnerStudios]

I'm transitioning from a Late 2009 iMac with 12gb ram, which still works fine, unless I get to the mix process of a 10 song Album using chunks for songs rather than a song per session. I'm looking at the Rumored Early 2018 iMac Pro versus the Current Mid 2017 iMac.

Thoughts about longevity:
1.) This one lasted 8 years - still works - only has 1 FW800 port for my Glyph Raid and UAD.
2.) I imagine my next purchase will last at least that long.
3.) I can still sell my current iMac on eBay for around $450 - or Use it as a 2nd monitor under target mode.

I called Motu Tech support - They said I would be fine with the latest Quad Core I7 at 4.2 GHz (No need for 8 cores really) and I should max out the ram and use a SSD for the system drive. They mentioned using two separate drives for system and playback would be a best practice.

The 2017 Model with 64gb Ram can be bought for around $4100.

The Base iMac Pro Model (Probably 8 core with 16gb ram or 32gb ram) is rumored to start at $5000 - Adds two more TB3 Ports and 10GB ethernet (Maybe more Dante Channels at 192 KHz).

[mikehalloran]

Don't plan to use your old iMac as a second monitor in Target Mode. Every time I fire one up in TM, the fan noise is pretty bad so I leave it on long enough to do what I need and exit.

Excellent 3rd party backlit LCD, HDMI monitors exist in the $200 range. They are so energy efficient that they run cool to the touch. A $5 adapter lets them plug into the Thunderbolt ports — the same adapter lets you plug one into the Mini DVI port on your 2009. No drivers necessary.

I have such a setup on my 2010 right now plus a 2nd HDMI monitor connected through an adapter to a USB port using the Display Link driver.