Best low cost iMac

[garmp]

My 2011 iMac is loaded with software that is not compatible with the newer OS's. But firefox & chrome are dealing me fits with websites that won't open, crash or just hang up. Guess I'm in the market for a newer mac. Really want a 27", but cash is tight. What's the best bang for the buck for an old retiree still wanting to go on line on the new one and be able to work with the old Mac. (I do a lot of volunteer work for local causes, posters, handouts, etc. & need to update them at times and/or create new ones).
thanks

 

[honestone]

First, this seems to me more of a software issue, along with maybe the internal drive needing a "cleanup and tune up". What exact Mac OS are you using?

Secondly, need to know the following:

A. Have you ever done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs, from a software perspective? You actually can do a good amount of disk cleanup on your own, and there are a number of excellent products available (both free and commercial) that can help you with those tasks.

B. This is critical: are you making backups to an external device?

C. What third party software do you have? This link will help in determining whether or not some/most/all of it needs to be upgraded to be compatible with the OS you are running:

https://roaringapps.com/apps

D. Your issues with Firefox and Google Chrome could be related to cache issues, and/or needing the latest versions of each. You can get the latest versions from here:

Firefox: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Google Chrome: https://www.google.com/chrome/?bran...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CLTfy_3v09wCFRN7YgodmjMKkA

As I mentioned above, there are a number of excellent programs available for assisting with disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs. I can recommend at least 4 free ones, but it is critical that you have a recent backup.

You can use Disk Utility to check out your internal drive, but 1) again, a backup is necessary, and 2) you need to run it in an "isolated" mode. That can be done by starting up the (hidden) Recovery HD partition/ This link describes how to do that:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

Once you boot to that partition, select the 4th option, Disk Utility, and have it Verify and Repair your internal drive. But again I stress that a backup is critical before doing that.

Once you answer those questions, we can help you better.

 

[garmp]

Thanks for all the info, but that didn't answer my question about the new iMacs.
To answer your questions: running iMac OS10.6.8. Have an Adobe suite CS4 which was licensed to me by my former employer. I retired and couldn't afford to update so stayed with the same software. Don't receive newer versions of files, just basically revise and alter existing ones. I want to keep them and am willing to get a new machine for web browsing, email, etc. No heavy lifting.
Firefox & Chrome say no longer supported. Had many websites crash etc and want them to make travel plans, etc.
thanks

 

[honestone]

The thing is that a new Mac is not going to solve your software issues, especially if you are going to use older software. But if you want to get a new Mac for just EMail, web browsing, and "light" duties, an iMac, while nice machines, would be "over kill". With such "limited" activities, a 13" Mac laptop should be good enough. I have a mid 2017 13" MacBook Air, with a 252 gig SSD, and it easily satisfies my needs. Like you, I mainly use it (and my late 2012 Mac Mini) for EMails, web browsing, Word documents, and not very sophisticated Excel spreadsheets. I run all the latest software, including High Sierra (OS 10.13.6). And Google Chrome (my primary browser) works flawlessly. (I also occasionally use Opera).

If you time it right, you can pick up one of those mid 2017 Mac Book Air machines for $1000. That is the one with the 256 gig (actually 252 gig) internal SSD. They also sell one with a 128 gig (actually 122 gig) SSD, but I would recommend going with the larger SSD.