Apple iMac 21.5" 2017, Core i5, 8GB, 1TB HDD, Silver

★★★★☆ 3.7 (50)

Its fully laminated 21.5-inch 1920x1080 IPS display with anti-reflective coating provides a sharp, glare-free image uncommon at this price point. The 7th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB of upgradable RAM handle everyday macOS tasks smoothly, while the 1TB HDD offers ample local storage. This all-in-one is best for students or home office users needing a simple, reliable desktop for web browsing, document editing, and media consumption.

CPU Intel 7th Generation Core i5
RAM 8 GB
Storage 1 TB
GPU Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
Form Factor aio
OS macOS
Apple iMac 21.5" 2017, Core i5, 8GB, 1TB HDD, Silver desktop
50 Overall Score

No current retailer price

Snapshot

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Strong reliability (99th percentile) 99th
  • Strong social proof (84th percentile) 84th

Cons

  • Below average ram (9th percentile)
  • Below average cpu (9th percentile)

What owners think

How owner sentiment changed over time

Exclusive

Based on when customers actually wrote their reviews - so you can see whether early praise held up.

  1. Q4 2023100/1005.0★3 reviews

    Buyers praise the refurbished iMac for looking new and running like a brand-new machine, with great value and performance.

    • Unit looks and performs like new
    • Works great over time
    • Good price for quality
    • Great gift choice for first-time Apple users
  2. Q2 202340/1003.3★3 reviews

    Reviewers in this period had mixed experiences: some praise fast shipping and value, while others report poor performance and defects in refurbished units.

    • Fast shipping and good pricing from retailer.
    • Refurbished unit is slow, buggy, and fails iCloud sync.
    • Desktop performance generally slow, but overall quality acceptable for some.
  3. Q1 202367/1003.3★3 reviews

    Buyers found it a good value for starting a small business, but one user reported severe slowness affecting work.

    • Good value for the price, suitable for small business use.
    • Performance expectations vary: one satisfied, one frustrated with slowness.
    • Performance: computer very slow, impacts basic tasks.
    • Comes with generic keyboard and mouse, appreciated.
  4. Q4 202260/1003.8★5 reviews

    Buyers in Q4 2022 noted functional but sometimes problematic refurbs. Reliability mixed; some units wouldn't update or had broken keys. Non-Apple accessories disappointed.

    • Some units had update failures or non-functional keys; others worked perfectly.
    • Missing Apple keyboard and mouse, replaced with cheap wired versions, disappointed buyers.
    • Good value and condition for the price, especially for learning macOS or music production.
    • Packaging and shipping were fine, but expectations weren't always met.

Based on 5 dated customer reviews, grouped by calendar quarter. Period analysis is in English.

The proof

Performance

Performance Percentiles

CPU 9.3
GPU 44.6
RAM 9.2
Ports 39.9
Storage 46.2
Reliability 99.3
Social Proof 83.6

Specifications

Full Specifications

Processor

CPU Intel 7th Generation Core i5
Cores 4
Frequency 2.3 GHz

Graphics

GPU Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
Type Integrated

Memory & Storage

RAM 8 GB
RAM Generation DDR3
Storage 1 TB
Storage Type HDD

Build

Form Factor aio
Weight 5.7 kg / 12.5 lbs

Connectivity

USB Ports 4
Thunderbolt 2 x Thunderbolt
HDMI 0
Wi-Fi 802.11n
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0
Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet

System

OS macOS

vs Competition

Spec Apple iMac 21.5" Lenovo T Series Towers Legion Tower 5a Gen 10 Dell Desktop ECT1250 HP OMEN GT16-0364 CLX SET TGMSETRTU5204BM MSI Aegis ZS2 A9NVP-1407US
CPU Intel 7th Generation Core i5 AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Intel Core Ultra 7 265 AMD Ryzen 7 8700F Intel Core i9 14900KF AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
RAM (GB) 8 32 32 32 64 32
Storage (GB) 1024 4096 2048 1024 8192 2048
GPU Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Intel UHD Graphics NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070
Form Factor aio mid-tower sff mid-tower mid-tower mid-tower
Psu W - 850 180 850 850 750
OS macOS Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home
Compare Compare Compare Compare Compare
Product CPUGPURAMPortsStorageReliabilitySocial Proof
Apple iMac 21.5" 9.344.69.239.946.299.383.6
Lenovo T Series Towers Legion Tower 5a Gen 10 Compare 73.493.17888.498.170100
Dell Desktop ECT1250 Compare 88.458.781.774.582.87099.1
HP OMEN GT16-0364 Compare 69.789.387.297.953.67099.1
CLX SET TGMSETRTU5204BM Compare 94.989.396.584.299.211.694.8
MSI Aegis ZS2 A9NVP-1407US Compare 92.489.387.290.582.837.399.6

Usage Scores

Overall (49.5)AI/LLM (19.6)Gaming (11.2)Portability (35.8)Creator (17.3)Business (56.9)Developer (34.4)Home Office (50.5)Workstation (31.8)
  • Overall49.5
  • AI/LLM19.6
  • Gaming11.2
  • Portability35.8
  • Creator17.3
  • Business56.9
  • Developer34.4
  • Home Office50.5
  • Workstation31.8

A full written review is coming soon. The specs, scores, prices and charts above are always up to date.

Other Configurations3

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