I need to replace my 2019 imac 27", what would be a comparable replacement

The obvious replacement is a Mac mini or a Mac Studio depending on what software you expect to run. Just add your own display (and maybe also speakers).

Monitor option include but are not limited to:

5K Apple Studio. Quality display with high quality built in speaker array and force-cancelling woofer by Apple.

5K BenQ PD2730. Quality display with basic built in stereo speakers.

Asus Pro Art 5K. The most affordable 5K monitor I know of, but you will need to purchase separate speakers.

Something 4K - relatively cheap, but a step down in quality from your 2019. Popular with Mac Mini owners.

But now for the elephant in the room... why is your 2019 27" iMac slow? My 2018 Mini is still going strong.

If your iMac was configured with the 1TB Fusion Drive then the drive might by the problem. If you don't need to run Tahoe anytime soon you could try buying a cheap external USB-C SSD and then installing MacOS onto the external drive as your new startup disk. How to use an external storage device as a Mac startup disk - Apple Support

If your iMac still has the factory default 8GB RAM you could try adding an extra +8 or +16GB from OWC (macsales).

If none of the above are true I would suggest running Etrecheck and posting the results.

-g wrote:

iMAC PRO

That's an Intel-based computer. It used Xeon workstation processors and cannot upgrade past macOS 15 (Sequoia).

It also does not look like the best option should the OP be looking to replace the 27" 2019 iMac with a Mac that has a much faster CPU. (Not that the CPU is the only determinant of system performance – or even always the main one. Having a fast startup drive, and "enough" RAM for the workload you are running, can often be more important.)

MacTracker shows that on single-core CPU benchmarks,

• The iMac Pros had scores of 1,071 – 1,127.
• The 27" 2019 iMacs had scores of 1,336 – 1,610. (They scored better than the iMac Pros.)
• The M4 and M4 Mac minis had scores of 3,748 – 3,841. (Leaving the iMac Pros in the dust, for any task that would work a single CPU core long enough to be noticeable on a human timescale.)

On multi-core CPU benchmarks,

• The iMacs Pros had scores of 7,339 – 9,610
• The 27" 2019 iMacs had scores of 3,423 – 4,843
• The M4 Mac minis had a score of 14,467
• The M4 Pro Mac minis had scores of 20,168 – 22,495

they won't have slow fusion HDD

That is correct. The 2019 iMacs came with Fusion Drives or with SSDs. iMac Pros don't have internal mechanical hard drives or Fusion Drives. Neither do Apple Silicon Macs.

iMac Pros have T2 chip so they will run latest macOS 26 Tahoe

They have a T2 chip, but will not run macOS 26 Tahoe. Only four models of Intel-based Macs received Tahoe, and they were all models that were discontinued after the first wave of Apple Silicon Macs came out. Apple has said that macOS 26 is the last major version that will run on any Intel-based Mac.

I recall they will also run Mojave, but I've not actually confirmed that

MacTracker says they originally shipped with macOS 10.13.2 (High Sierra).

if are considering silicon M series, i would search IMAC SCREEN ISSUES...

Of course, if you bought a Mac mini or Studio, and "bring your own screen", it would be impossible to suffer from any "iMac screen issues" (real or otherwise).

Before you spend a lot of money on a new Mac we should try to find out why your current iMac is performing so below normal. That's a relatively new Mac and should be working better than it is.

Do you have a Fusion Drive?

What system are you running?

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

How much free space do you have on your boot drive?

What is running slow: the boot time or app loading time?

When did this begin?

Please download and run Etrecheck.  The free version is sufficient.

Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Copy the report

and after clicking on the Reply button use the Additional Text button to paste the report in your reply.

Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine the cause of the problem.

Apple never released 27" iMacs with Apple Silicon processors. They discontinued the final (2020) 27" iMac at the same time that they released the 27" Apple Studio Display and the first Mac Studios.

The closest replacement for a 27" 5K Retina iMac would be the combination of

• A M4 Mac mini, M4 Pro Mac mini, or M4 Max Mac Studio.
• A 27" 5K Apple Studio Display
• An Apple Magic Keyboard
• An Apple Magic Mouse

One issue with a straight component-for-component upgrade:

• An Apple Studio Display starts at $1599 USD.
• An Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad for Mac models with Apple silicon (USB–C) - US English - White Keys is $179 USD.
• An Apple Magic Mouse (USB-C) – White Multi-Touch Surface is $79 USD.

By the time you buy them, you've spent $1,857 (before tax) – which used to be enough to purchase a fairly decent 27" 5K Retina iMac. Except that you've still got to buy the computer.

27" and 32" 4K monitors do not have the same pixel density as 27" 5K ones, and are not as sharp, but there's a lot more selection and a wider range of prices. Some decent 27" 4K monitors with IPS panels and 100% or near-100% coverage of sRGB go for as little as $300 – $400 USD. So a lot of Mac users are now going with third-party 4K monitors.

These days, there are a handful of third-party 27" 5K (5120x2880) monitors. I haven't kept up with prices, but I believe they are still significantly more expensive (on average) than 27" 4K monitors.

All good news ....... and just what I would have expected! 😅

With regard to your old iMac - I suggest that you buy good quality SSD to use externally to boot it.

The procedure is set out here:- How to use an external storage device as a Mac startup disk - Apple Support

The one I use is made by Lacie

LaCie Mobile Drive Secure USB-C 2TB with Rescue - Apple (UK)

I was amazed by the improved performance of my 27 inch iMac once I had done this. Well worth the relatively modest investment, in my opinion! Is this something which you might contemplate?

Please advise. Thanks.

Another response to your original topic:

I need to replace my 2019 imac 27", what would be a comparable replacement

My iMac 27" has gotten so slow I can barely use it.

There is nothing comparable. All new Silicon Macs will run circles around that machine. I have an i9 2017 iMac with a 1 TB internal SSD and it's left in the dust by my new Mini M4.

So if you want to be capable of running all of the new systems get a new Silicon Mac. I got the following: a 10 Core Mac Mini M4 with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD ($1084) with a 32" LG 4k monitor ($331) from Amazon.com)  is $1415 which is $541 less than a similarly configured new 24" iMac ($1956)  re 07/2025. Keep your keyboard and mouse from your current Mac for use with the Mini. 

I got the above Mini with a 32" LG 4K monitor w/speakers for only $60 more than the 27" (didn't know the Mini had a speaker). There are many monitors available in 27" size on up for $100 to $500 depending on what features you want.

Just some food for thought.

iMAC PRO

iMacPro all ID as 2017 hardware but later units were manufactured in 2019 -- they won't have slow fusion HDD -- check the fourth character from left in the serial # to verify year, 2019 is most desirable

iMac pros have a dark gray case (not the normal silver aluminum color)

iMac Pros have T2 chip so they will run latest macOS 26 Tahoe

I recall they will also run Mojave, but I've not actually confirmed that

expect to pay $650 or more (probably more) for used 27" imacpro

if are considering silicon M series, i would search IMAC SCREEN ISSUES...

if you want to upgrade your 2019 -- buy a Thunderbolt 3 external M.2 enclosure, NVMe PCIe M.2 2880 SSD -- and clone your system over -- or flip the main board and upgrade the Apple SSD to larger...

Are you web on the idea of an iMac. I went with a mini. Hardly any space on the desk and you have more flexibility when it comes to displays, particularly if you do not need/want to spend what it costs to have a built-in Apple display. Several other pros and cons but I thought I'd toss out the idea. Of course always go with more than base when it comes to memory and drive size. I have 24GB RAM in my mini and it isn't unusual for 70% to be used with mostly a web browser with many windows.

tech specs Manuals, Specs, and Downloads - Apple Support

Please download and run Etrecheck.  The free version is sufficient.

Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Hello Old Toad 😊

The wife of one of my neighbours has just purchased an Apple MacBook Air to replace a rather old Apple iPad. I mentioned these ASC forums to him as a great place to satisfy queries about Apple products. I also mentioned that quite often EtreCheck is suggested as a great tool to help in the diagnostic process, just as you have done here.

However, neither he nor I have been able to find any evidence to substantiate your claim that the product is recommended by Apple Support. Please will you advise where you have seen this recommendation?

Thank you.

I replaced my iMac 2019 with a mac Mini M4 and Studio display. But there are less expensive alternatives although not as nice.

Another relevant question would be why your 27" 2019 iMac has gotten so slow. That machine is not as fast as current Apple Silicon Macs – but it still has pretty decent specifications.

Slowdowns could be due to causes like

• A failing drive – especially if you have a 1, 2, or 3 TB Fusion Drive with a mechanical hard drive component
• A drive that is too full – if there's not a lot of free space, it becomes harder to efficiently manage the rest
• "Antivirus", "security", "cleaner" and similar apps
• A 1 TB Fusion Drive that only has a very small SSD to help speed up accesses to the drive

It's not out of the question that the slowdowns could be due to some cause that could be easily fixed.

Etrecheck is an app. Its an application that runs on a Mac.

As was mentioned by old toad is is made by a contributor in the forums and is very trustworthy. There is no reason to doubt it. It does not collect personal data or cause any issues when running.

click here ➜ Using EtreCheck - Apple Community

Servent of Cats

>>(iMac Pro) cannot upgrade past macOS 15 (Sequoia).

thank you for catching that -- could swear I read that multiple places, including Apple -- but appears you are correct on review: macOS Tahoe is compatible with these computers - Apple Support

Two of my friends have done exactly the same as you - and are delighted with their new set-up!

I hope you will be equally pleased. 😊

Have you managed to transfer all your data and photographs to your new 'Mini'?

Just wondering ...... what have you done with your 27 inch iMac?

tbirdvet wrote:

I know all about external drives. I have several TB drives that I use to boot. In the case of my iMac it is an I9 with a 1TB SSD drive so an external boot drive would provide little benefit.

Thank you so much for responding! 😊

I confess that I am now just a little confused! At the beginning of this thread you stated: "My iMac 27" has gotten so slow I can barely use it."

Have you, perhaps, now wiped the internal SSD clean and started from scratch, now that you have a replacement Studio display and a Mac Mini?