Amazon Renewed iMac MNDY2LL/A 21.5 Inch, 3.0GHz

Dec 2020: I bought this iMac for ~$750 from CTS Warehouse (there’s more than one seller for this item). Overall, I’m pleased with my computer. It looks “almost new” with only a couple of minor smudges from leftover sticker/label glue spots on the back, but pretty solid overall. I haven’t had any problems installing software or registering my system. The retina screen is pretty sweet and had no dead pixels nor other imperfections. I got a Magic Keyboard and Mouse, although these were of the first generation. I didn’t get the Gen 2 Keyboard and Mouse that would’ve come with a 2017 system. The keyboard and mouse were also very, very, very dirty. As in their previous owner ate every meal at his/her computer. In any case, the keyboard didn’t even work. Frankly, it was an insult to include these. I know other people here didn’t get a keyboard or mouse, but I would’ve prefered that to having to deal with someone else’s trash. I ordered a new set from Ebay for an addition $100 to the total cost.

July 2020 Update: My iMac was slow… it took between 3-5 minutes to boot-up and opening files took for ever. Even loading web pages was slow. I started to doubt that the computer’s spec were as the seller described (the “About this Mac” information can be faked). It turns out everything was as descibed, but the computer was still slow. I went to OWC and bought a 32GB RAM Kit and a 480GB SSD Hard Drive (~$250 combined). I watched YouTube videos to learn how to install these myself. It was an involved, but not impossible process for someone without experience. Now my computer is snappy. Boots in less than 30 secs. Web surfuring is fast. Documents load in a flash. A new iMac with similar hardware sells for around $2,300. All together, I spent about $1,100 ($750 on iMac, $250 on upgrades and $100 for a new Magic Key Board & Mouse). I’m pleased with the investment. But it took some work and additional $ to get this system to where I wanted it. Other folks may not be inclined to spend the additional money or time.

Pretty and flawless

For reference, my purchase is for mid-2017 4K i5 3.0Ghz 8Gb RAM model, at $409 US)

Like many other reviewers, when purchasing ‘Renewed’, ‘Refurbished’, ‘Restored’ (insert your favorite term here), I did a lot of research on this and still entered the purchase with a degree of skepticism. After all, how can something previously used or abused arrive in pristine condition? Well, this skeptic is convinced. The iMac arrived well packaged, with power cord & peripherals as promised and looks absolutely stunning. It’s like I bought a new product!! Screen is clean, sharp. No dings, dents or ANYTHING to indicate this is other than new. WOW!

To address some of the comments I’ve read that resulted in reduced stars:

1. The seller text is very specific. You will likely receive a non-Apple keyboard and mouse, of varying qualities. Individual perceptions differ, so opinions are all over the board. But they work and are clean. Mine were wired vs wireless. Don’t care either way. The system came up when they were attached.

2. Y-E-S. the device is slow. C’Mon guys. It has a 5400 rpm platter drive. What else would you expect? Is this a stopper? Absolutely not. Connect an external SSD, and either set that as the Startup Disk or press Option key on boot and select the external SSD to boot from. (I’ve read you need to ensure the drive is formatted as GUID). My plans is to get a Thunderbolt enclosure and a NVMe Pcie from Intel, 1Tb. Currently $45 & $87 US, respectively. Very cheap upgrade to go from 1 min 40 sec (approx) to 10-15 second boot time and improved zip with app launch and drive access times.

As I read in many reviews, the display is crisp, bright and gorgeous. No eye strain. I’m running at 50% brightness. Detail is incredible!

Initial attempts to connect an Apple wireless (Bluetooth) keyboard and trackpad, both gen 1, failed. Realized I had to shut them down like a PC — hold power button for 10-15 seconds, then power on with a quick press. After that, no issues connecting. Wireless works great – all bars. Of course, distance from AP will dictate signal strength and internet response speed.

3. Many of the negative reviews are not about the operation or condition of the product, but focus primarily on 1 of 3 things – shipping damage or delivery, missing components or boot/operational issues.

Taking these one at a time:

– Shipping damage is beyond the control of the seller. Working with the shipper should resolve the complaint.

– Missing components. Contact the seller. From what I’ve read, when this occurs, the seller is good to their word and supplies the missing items

– Boot to black, boot issues in general, operational issues. Yes, it should reliably boot up. But before screaming too loudly, either reformat/reinstall the OS yourself or ask a techie friend to do this for you. I’m guessing that at least 8 times out of 10, this will fix the issue (from my experience with computers over 20+ years).

Honestly, I don’t think you can find a better deal for a quality iMac running 7th gen Intel i5 at 3.0Ghz, with discrete graphics. I am a light gamer and have yet to test this device thoroughly, but from lots of online reviews, I expect to be able to get between 25 to 60 fps when I don’t push beyond medium graphics settings. Without huge graphics horsepower, ultra graphics settings are out. Apple does not advertise this as a Gamers computer.

The only complaint I have is that I bought it for $409, and the next day, the 1 remaining device was advertised for $379. Today, I see 5 (?) devices available, and the price is $369. But in the overall scheme of things, even the price I paid is a great deal.

So really, no complaints. One of the best deals I’ve made. I hope this review helps you make a decision.

Good luck with your purchase!!

J’ai pioché deux soirées pour avoir l’assistant de transfert et je ne peux toujours pas d’y accéder, malgré le visionnement des YouTube’s pour le transfert de PC vers mon IMac! Donc je ne peux pas évaluer cet achat adéquatement! Désolée!