Base Level iMac 27inch 5K

[TJK1965]

I currently have a 2009 iMac 27 inch which is starting to show her age, slow-downs, screen seems dimmer, etc. I was at Best Buy and noticed that the Late 2015 iMac 27 5K screen is on sale ($100 off). The base model is $1,699 which comes with the standard 7,200 RPM HDD. Nearly every article I read states that you should upgrade to the 1 Terabyte Fusion Drive, on sale for $1,899. I rather use the $200 difference to get extra RAM. Is it really that much difference upgrading to the fusion drive? I understand that the fusion drive is only 24GB SSD and the HDD is only 5,400 RPMs This seems it could eventually be slower. Is the 7,200 HDD that much slower. What I mainly use my computer for is standard things, internet, email, Word documents, and primarily Excel files (I am an accountant). The 27 inch helps with spreadsheet viewing. I don't do video editing, major photo editing, or any type of gaming.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Matty]

Hello @TJK1965, Thanks for the question. Below is just my option. Others may vary to me.

Nearly every article I read states that you should upgrade to the 1 Terabyte Fusion Drive, Is it really that much difference upgrading to the fusion drive?

Even while writing this comment i'm still torn on what to say. For me, i would say either keep the stock HDD (7,200rpm) or upgrade to the 256GB Flash storage for $200 extra

The fusion drive is definitely nice addition and it does make boot up A LOT quicker but i don't like this half SDD and half HDD set up. Feels weird to me. Either Flash storage (256GB) or HDD (7,200 rpm)

What I mainly use my computer for is standard things, internet, email, Word documents, and primarily Excel files

The iMac comes standard with 8GB RAM. I would say this is perfectly enough for your needs. No need for 16GB. Rather spend the money on the Flash Storage upgrade. I can't see Excel using more than 8GB of RAM. unless you doing stuff for NASA or something haha

Hope this helps.