I need help deciding on a new iMac...

Note that you will have to upgrade all your apps - possibly with subscriptions. Whatever ran on the old iMac, will not run on the new one.

if you are going to run Adobe Photoshop, definitely get at least 16 GB of RAM.

Note that the base 24” iMac just has the two multi-purpose USB-C (USB, USB4, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt) ports and a headphone jack. Higher-end ones add two USB-C(USB only) ports. You can get third-party hubs and docks ranging from inexpensive powered USB-A hubs to high-end Thunderbolt docks, but don’t forget to plan for how you are going to plug in accessories.

If you need more real estate on your monitor than the 24" model will provide you can get more bang for you buck by going with a Mac Mini M2 w/ 16 GB RAM, 512 SSD @ $999 and a 27" or 32" monitor w/speakers @ ~ $300-600 for a total of $1600 or less.

As was mentioned by Keith upgrades to current apps can get quite expensive.

For Photoshop you might look at Affinity Photos (they have a demo version). It's considered quite good. I used to use Photoshop but went to Photoshop Elements which suits my purposes well as the only thing I used with Photoshop and PE lacks is conversion to the CMYK color profile.

For Office apps give the open source, free LibreOffice a try. It can open, edit and create MS Office documents and save them to Office formats or it's own format.

Just some food for thought.

I agree with the 16 GB decision. Also I recommend getting at least a 512 GB SSD, preferably a 1 TB SSD.

Additional food for thought can be found in this topic: Decisions about a new iMac

I want to second OldToad's choice of Affinity Apps. I have the whole suite of them Publisher (desktop publishing), Designer (vector based drawing), Photo. They are easy to use and not as expensive as the Adobe subscription. You can purchase them for a one time fee.

Hope this helps.

Paul

Good thinking on the RAM upgrade.:)

If you go with an iMac, be sure to get the extended Apple care...

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255220596

Or go for a Mini & chose any display you like.

Be sure to get the extended AppleCare...

Persistent horizontal lines appear on iMa… - Apple Community

Hi TheDins,

Congratulations on keeping the graphite running for all this time. That’s amazing! What are you going to do with it when you’ve purchased your new iMac? Why wouldn’t you just get a MacBook Air? And finally, do tell what you decide to buy when the time comes. Very intriguing!

regards,

DC