Yes, the Studio would be vastly overpowered for me, my sole uses for the iMac are internet, running a local Plex server and uncompressing. Thanks for all the replies, it has helped making a decision although has confused my processes even further but that is the fun of all this I guess!

In the case of the Studio Monitor you will get an extra 6 inches, much better speakers, cam (once they update the firmware apparently), and other functionalities.

Another reason to just upgrade the whole setup and be sure everything works perfectly. Assuming the setup works now, it might get broken by future software updates or be plagued with instability issues. You might end up happier with a Mac mini + Studio Display than plugging a Mac Studio to an old iMac (hopefully at least 4K model?) and the price would be more or less the same (especially if you recoup a few hundred bucks by selling your old iMac).Ĥ. Spending so much on the Studio seems to cut into your budget. Maybe in generations past you could've swapped the HD or RAM or even processor and kept it going, but those days are long gone.ģ. If you keep a machine for a decade you are more likely going to face the scenario of the hardware failing and your 'future proof' machine becomes a paperweight - especially on the current Macs which have 0 user replaceable parts. By upgrading every 3 years or so you reduce the risk of hardware failures. The machine you get 3.5 years from now will have updated codecs and technologies even the Mac Studio won't have.Ģ. Same 'price' in the end but the advantages are huge.ġ. I agree with TechnoLawyer here, I don't understand why anyone would buy on expensive machine and keep for 10 years when they can get a machine for 1/3 the price and upgrade every 3.5 years.

Used late 2013 imac