what is the best simple second hand imac

i would highly recommend 2019 iMac hardware on a budget

2019 runs Mojave 10.14.6 to Sequoia 15.7, and there are plenty of used parts -- try finding a used screen for silicon iMac and you will pay an arm and a leg for it

I would avoid anything with HDD (spinning hard drive) -- remember an Apple fusion configuration is actually 3 percent tiny fast SSD and 97 percent slow HDD

I would also avoid any machine with minimum RAM (8gb) -- 16gb or better, 32 minimum if you run photoshop or video apps

NEVER BUY A USED COMPUTER?

I can only comment for Apple computers, iMac

if you are the type of person that never buys a car (except from a branded dealer) -- then buy a new computer

BUYING A USED iMAC is a lot like buying a used car -- except a lot less can go wrong

generally all I do is look at a DriveDX report for Drive Health and Power On Hours

I look for at least 98% health and under 5000 power-on hours, no fail flags

if that checks out

and it looks good overall

it come down to the seller, their story, would you buy a used car from them?

i've bought more than a dozen used 2019 iMacs off local ads, including eBay, and never had issues with them following drive health, hours, seller vibe -- i've walked away from a couple deals based on the latter

a factory configured 2019 iMac i3 Intel processor, 8gb RAM, 1tb HDD is the base model (but it is a very slow, frustrating user experience for the spinning mechanical hard drive)

some starting points:

i would offer $100 for one in good condition -- these are "HDD only" units -- I recently bought 4 of these for $200 (to part out their screen assemblies)

i5 with fusion ssd/hd and 8gb RAM next -- about $200 in good condition

i5 with 16gb RAM and Apple SSD (no fusion HDD configuration) about $300-$400 and up in good condition -- depending on size and health of its SDD

if you find one with a chipped screen, used screens are about $200, plus install, you could argue price or keep looking -- there are a lot of great used 2019 iMacs out there and they run Mojave to Sequoia quite well...

PS:

I think 10 years is unrealistic -- 2019 running Sequoia should be good a few more years based on security updates -- I'm still using 2011 hardware and Snow Leopard successfully -- they just don't surf the Internet or run modern apps anymore

Jbedwell7 wrote:

Thanks for all your replies. I mean simple in that I don’t need it for photo editing, film editing or really even watching movies etc. I just want to use it to write up my patient notes, access the calendar and use safari - that’s it. Thanks for the advise on buying refurbished rather than second hand - I’m just wondering what would be best use of my money as preferably I don’t want to spend over £400.

If your budget is that low, and your needs are that simple, you may be better off looking at Windows PCs.

Apple doesn't really try to go after the extreme low end of the market. Even low-end Macs have very-high-speed Thunderbolt ports, and even entry-level 24" iMacs and MacBook Airs have Retina displays. If you look at low-end Windows PCs, you may see that they lack features like that but also have prices lower than those of Macs.

Just be careful. I've seen "budget" Windows 11 PCs that have as little as 4 GB of RAM, and whose startup disks are really just memory cards. You do not want one of these and the extreme compromises that those price point design choices entail.

Jbedwell7 wrote:

I am looking for a very simple IMac for use of apps such as word, calander and Safari. I don’t need anything fancy but could do with these apps being able to work on the system well for another 10+yrs. any suggestions on which model year would be really helpful. Thanks a lot.

If you want to use the computer for another 10+ years, you need to buy a new one today. Others have offered good advice on that, noting that the Mac Mini is probably the lowest cost option.

Some data points: I have a 2010 MacBook Air (it was the highest end model when purchased new), a 2013 MacBook Air, and a 2015 iMac. The 2010 MacBook Air is usable but very limited and it is slow. The 2013 and 2015 Macs had to have their internal drives replaced with new SSDs but are usable, but the old operating systems (Big Sur and Monterey) limit what they can do.

I would never buy a used Mac from eBay or any other seller than OWC or Apple. There is an Apple Authorized Service Provider in my neighborhood and from time to time they have offered some great deals on moderately recent models of refurbished Macs. These sellers' products come with a warranty, in my view it's the only way to get a used Mac.

Your price point is so low I would suggest getting a lower cost PC. But lasting for 10+ years might be unobtainable.

For 400UK pounds (about $540 USD) honestly you don't have adequate funds and need to either save more money or increase your budget. Also, that means you would need to buy from macsales.com or some UK equivalent.

I would not purchase any iMac older than 2021 because 2020 iMacs are the last versions that will run the current version of Mac OS. Buying an earlier model year will mean the computer will have a much shorter usable life as updates simply will not be available.

Another option is looking for a Mac mini. You can get a new MacMini with 512GB of storage for $799, add $100 for a display and $50 for a keyboard and mouse and you have a brand new computer that has a 1 year warranty, is eligible for AppleCare (strongly suggested) and the peace of mind that the device will last for years to come. If you don' have the cash, remember Apple offers 12 month no interest financing.

1) Plug your desired needs and wants,

into > Mac - Which Mac is best for me? - Apple

2) If you looking to save a few $$$'s on a certified Mac,

go with an Apple Refurb from > Refurbished Mac Deals - Apple

3) Beware when buying a used Mac from a third-party vendor or private seller.

It will turn into a total disaster, if the Mac is not properly prepared by the original owner.

see > What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support

What do you mean by "simple": simple to setup, simple to run?

All Mac are relatively simple to run. However, the one piece, desktop Macs are the easiest to setup. However, they are more expansive that a Mac Mini with a 3rd party monitor.

Also, there's an open source, free app, LibreOffice , that can open, edit and save Word and MS documents in Word/MS format or its own format. It works with all systems.

Also seriously consider den.thed's #3 comment. It's should be your first consideration. Also do not buy from eBay, Craig's List or Amazon. Wherever you buy a second hand Mac make sure it's been prepared according to What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac - Apple Support  and that you can return it for a full refund.

One vendor that I can recommend for refurbished Macs or new hardware is OWC (MacSales.com).

In addition, it appears you are considering a used Mac. If that is the case please only purchase from a reputable source such as Apple's refurbished store (www.apple.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, click the Refurbished store) orwww.apple.com,

NEVER EVER buy a used Mac from any of the following sources:

• Ebay
• Marketplace
• Amazon
• Nextdoor
• Craigslist
• Local PC Store
• friend, neighbor, acquaintance, total stranger etc..

Why, simple Macs need to be properly setup for sale, give away or donation otherwise they will never function correctly. Most of people in the above list never do this. When they sell as "refurbished" this is an almost certain guarantee they use the cheapest parts available. Apple lists precisely how a used Mac should be setup prior to resale in What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac.

If you do not believe me, please carefully search these forums and you will find many many threads from buyers that were not educated prior to buying and have learned after the fact they made a huge mistake.

I'm with rkaufmann87 on budget requirements. You can get the following Mac Mini M4 for $599 US or £425.

View gallery

• Free delivery or in-store pickup
• Free and easy returns
• Apple M4 chip with 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
• 16GB unified memory
• 256GB SSD storage
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, two USB‑C ports, headphone jack

That and a $100US/74£ monitor, and a keyboard and mouse (if you have them already you won't have to buy them but any inexpensive keyboard and mouse will work) and you'll be set to go for £443 + monitor & keyboard & mouse (if needed). The Mini comes with software, Pages, Numbers, Keynote which is Apple's version of MS Office.

However, I'd go with 512 GB SSD or even the 1 TB SSD as you'll find the 256 can fill up fast. Once you order you can't change the RAM or SSD.

If that is still out of you budget range check with the European OWC (MacSales.com) to see what they can offer is a refurbished Mac. They are the premier Mac hardware supplier.

Just some food for thought.

DRIVE DX (free tryout version) -- I don't roll without it -- check my drives frequently...

These are what you DON'T want to see -- the unit may look and feel like a new car on a bootup -- but its internal may be full of dust and its SSD/HDD failing like this 2019 unit I picked up -- 65 percent HEALTH is junk -- 35,000 Power on Hours is an issue no matter how well it was "maintained" or how visually perfect the machine looks.

If the HDD is original to the machine, Power on Hours reflect its hours -- in other words, Drive DX only notes the statistics of the selected HDD/SSD -- if you install a new SSD/HDD it will show 0 hours, 100% Health -- and you won't have a way of checking for original Power on Hours

For what it's worth, that's like asking how long is a piece of string. Microsoft Word is only supported on the three current versions of macOS; Tahoe, Sequoia & Sonoma. So you would at least need a Mac that can run one of those. And no Mac bought today, even a new Mac, will be likely to run available software 10 years from now.

Old Toad wrote:

I'm with rkaufmann87 on budget requirements. You can get the following Mac Mini M4 for $599 US or £425.

While an online currency converter suggests that $599 USD = £442.95 GBP, that entry-level M4 Mac mini would cost a U.K. buyer £599.00 if purchased new from Apple's U.K. site.

Part of the difference may be due to the way the U.S. and U.K. handle sales/VAT taxes.

• In the U.S., there is no VAT built into list prices, but States and localities frequently impose sales and use taxes that must be paid, by retail buyers, in addition to the advertised price.
• In the U.K., VAT is built into the prices of items at various stages of production, and thus is already reflected in advertised prices.

I doubt that there's all that there is to it … but it is what it is.

I recommend avoiding the 2021 M1 iMac 24". There are simply too many similar reports here of video defects in that model. Sure, a few are normal, but when threads have hundreds of "exact same problem" complaints, that's a bit much for my risk-averse mind.