Question on Retina Performance

patrickdunn · Oct 31, 2014

Thinking of upgrading from a 2010 Macbook Air with a C2D, SSD, 4GB of ram to a riMac with i7, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD and M295X. Not really worried about money.

My concern is the current Retina iMac is a "proof of concept". I don't know which way to think. On one hand I read the forums and I see many picky people on here (soft buttons on iPhone, light bleeds, yellow iPad screens), basically whom I feel are making mountains out of mole hills. When I see stutter issues, graphics issues, etc., I wonder is it the user or the machine? I would drop $3200, hoping for it to last 3-4 years.

My Air is beach-balling like crazy and I've wanted an iMac for almost 3 years now. I would edit RAW photos, browse the internet, play lightweight games on Windows like Southpark and Roller-coaster tycoon, slap together some iMovies, and do my taxes.

Those with an riMac, think I will notice the issues mentioned within the forum; or is the lag coming from "finicky" people working with 5K movies, while multitasking in AutoCAD, and calculating data from CERN at the same time?

steve62388 · Oct 31, 2014

For what you're wanting to do the riMac could handle this easily. It should last you the three to four years you're asking for too. What might be a more pertinent question is 'do you need a riMac for this at all?'. You might get away with a lower spec.

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Mind you, if you want shiny shiny then riMac would be nice.

poematik13 · Oct 31, 2014

you don't need a retina for the stuff that you're doing. the 2013 model will suffice.

tillsbury · Oct 31, 2014

patrickdunn said:
Thinking of upgrading from a 2010 Macbook Air with a C2D, SSD, 4GB of ram to a riMac with i7, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD and M295X. Not really worried about money.

My concern is the current Retina iMac is a "proof of concept". I don't know which way to think. On one hand I read the forums and I see many picky people on here (soft buttons on iPhone, light bleeds, yellow iPad screens), basically whom I feel are making mountains out of mole hills. When I see stutter issues, graphics issues, etc., I wonder is it the user or the machine? I would drop $3200, hoping for it to last 3-4 years.

My Air is beach-balling like crazy and I've wanted an iMac for almost 3 years now. I would edit RAW photos, browse the internet, play lightweight games on Windows like Southpark and Roller-coaster tycoon, slap together some iMovies, and do my taxes.

Those with an riMac, think I will notice the issues mentioned within the forum; or is the lag coming from "finicky" people working with 5K movies, while multitasking in AutoCAD, and calculating data from CERN at the same time?

Yes, perhaps some are from those people. Many are also from people who make a living by complaining about Apple products (just read any of the comments on here after any new release). Many are from people who can't afford one and are justifying their decision. Many are from people who recently bought the previous model and don't want to pay for the upgrade.

The machine you're suggesting is excellent. I'm typing on one now (but with the 1Tb SSD). It runs like a rocket, compared to my maxed-out rMBP. Compared to a C2D Air it will blow you away.

If you made the old Air last four years, you'll get at least that out of of the iMac.

firsmith · Oct 31, 2014

poematik13 said:
you don't need a retina for the stuff that you're doing. the 2013 model will suffice.

If the 2013 model was actually discounted to reflect the fact it's 12months old, that makes sense. But when it's priced like it was when new (at least in Canada), getting the RImac is a better value.

robgendreau · Oct 31, 2014

I love criticizing Apple. Sheesh, I pay that much for kit I figure I'm entitled.

But you really need to take a breath. I'm still waiting to see issues forumistas were moaning about on my 2009 MBP, iPad, 2010 iMac, and now my riMac. Jeez, after reading one oh my Gosh! thread about stuttering I tried the same file on that 2010 iMac, and got exactly the same result. So after reading about it in the iMac forum turns out it's gotta be a Yosemite or Preview issue. BFD.

I love the screen; my 2010 keeps getting dust issues and as my photo files get bigger and bigger I just needed an upgrade. This rocks, and if you haven't experienced the joy of SSD on top of all that you're in for a treat.

You get a warranty. Yes, something better will come out a year or years from now; always does. Don't fret; you don't need it and could live happily with a refurb. I buy cars that cost a lot less than this machine, but sometimes it's nice to sort of have 2014 sportscar too. And my eyes are already thanking me.

FredT2 · Oct 31, 2014

robgendreau said:
I love criticizing Apple. Sheesh, I pay that much for kit I figure I'm entitled.

But you really need to take a breath. I'm still waiting to see issues forumistas were moaning about on my 2009 MBP, iPad, 2010 iMac, and now my riMac. Jeez, after reading one oh my Gosh! thread about stuttering I tried the same file on that 2010 iMac, and got exactly the same result. So after reading about it in the iMac forum turns out it's gotta be a Yosemite or Preview issue. BFD.

I love the screen; my 2010 keeps getting dust issues and as my photo files get bigger and bigger I just needed an upgrade. This rocks, and if you haven't experienced the joy of SSD on top of all that you're in for a treat.

You get a warranty. Yes, something better will come out a year or years from now; always does. Don't fret; you don't need it and could live happily with a refurb. I buy cars that cost a lot less than this machine, but sometimes it's nice to sort of have 2014 sportscar too. And my eyes are already thanking me.

Thanks for that!

patrickdunn · Nov 1, 2014

firsmith said:
If the 2013 model was actually discounted to reflect the fact it's 12months old, that makes sense. But when it's priced like it was when new (at least in Canada), getting the RImac is a better value.

This was my thought. I paid about $400 more for 4x the screen. After looking at retina vs regular iMac at the apple store, no way I could go with the old screen.

tom0511 · Nov 1, 2014

I also think about going for the riMac.

Here are the options (besides 3rd party RAM upgrade and ACPP as a given):

1. i7
2. m295x
3. 512 SSD

Talking to my "boss" at home, I could justify the price of 2 out of 3.
Main usage is everyday basic work plus some photoshop and lightroom for hobby, not for living.

Any experience/ suggestions/ qualified opinions?

Thanks

DerekS · Nov 1, 2014

tom0511 said:
I also think about going for the riMac.

Here are the options (besides 3rd party RAM upgrade as a given):

1. i7
2. m295x
3. 512 SSD

Talking to my "boss" at home, I could justify the price of 2 out of 3.
Main usage is everyday basic work plus some photoshop and lightroom for hobby, not for living.

Any experience/ suggestions/ qualified opinions?

Thanks

Tough choice. The i7 and m295x can't be upgraded later, so I guess I'd go with those. You could fit an SSD later (with difficulty and a re-taping kit.)
You could also add a thunderbolt SSD later instead.

robgendreau · Nov 1, 2014

The 256 ain't cheese.

Most people could fit all their applications and ~/Library on that. I've got a couple of Adobe suites, tons of other software going back years, big Lightroom and Aperture catalogs, and tons of photos on about 3.25 GB. I could pare that down considerably. And most of that stuff is just sitting there.

I did go with the 512 SSD, but on reflection, and after moving some stuff around, I think I could have saved some money with the smaller flash memory and an external used for a TM backup and some at least USB 3 storage.

tom0511 · Nov 1, 2014

In the end i guess it is just a matter of expectations.

Just to give you a feeling: today, it takes me 2 seconds to jump from one jpeg to the next in windows picture viewer on my current PC.

Honestly, I don't mind if my photo apps are not at light speed, i guess everything I will get will be better performance compared to today.

I just want my riMac to run smoothly and without any lags in basic operations...

tillsbury · Nov 1, 2014

DerekS said:
Tough choice. The i7 and m295x can't be upgraded later, so I guess I'd go with those. You could fit an SSD later (with difficulty and a re-taping kit.)
You could also add a thunderbolt SSD later instead.

Hmmm. But that's not a cheap option. The LaCie LBD2 is great, and faster than the internal 1Tb SSD, but it's over twice the price of the 1Tb upgrade to start with... and you shouldn't forget that relying on external SSD over TB2 to give you significant throughput will limit the amount of other stuff (such as 4k monitors) you can then hang off the TB2 bus.

petvas · Nov 1, 2014

poematik13 said:
you don't need a retina for the stuff that you're doing. the 2013 model will suffice.

I don't understand why people say that. Having a display that looks so great could be reason enough, right?? People look at displays all the time when using their computers, so if the display gets a major update, then this should/must be reason no 1 to get a new computer. The Retina iMac performs very well, and so does the last years model. The big difference is the display.
OP, if you have the money go for it! You won't regret it.

petvas · Nov 1, 2014

tom0511 said:
I also think about going for the riMac.

Here are the options (besides 3rd party RAM upgrade and ACPP as a given):

1. i7
2. m295x
3. 512 SSD

Talking to my "boss" at home, I could justify the price of 2 out of 3.
Main usage is everyday basic work plus some photoshop and lightroom for hobby, not for living.

Any experience/ suggestions/ qualified opinions?

Thanks

If you don't need a lot of processing power, then get 2 and 3. The i7 is certainly great, but the i5 is also a very capable processor.

Seramir · Nov 1, 2014

petvas said:
I don't understand why people say that. Having a display that looks so great could be reason enough, right?? People look at displays all the time when using their computers, so if the display gets a major update, then this should/must be reason no 1 to get a new computer. The Retina iMac performs very well, and so does the last years model. The big difference is the display.
OP, if you have the money go for it! You won't regret it.

The display on the 2012-2013 iMac are already great though. Plenty great to look at it all day long. I've seen the Retina in person and while it's nicer, I still think the display on the 2013 iMac is brilliant.

Upgrading to the Retina version is more costly, and people will experience different outcomes of perceiving the Retina display versus non-Retina. Some may notice a huge difference while others won't.

The Retina also apparently has performance issues with the base model. So you most likely have to upgrade the GPU and CPU in order to combat that (even though you may not need those upgrades for the tasks you do), which makes it even more costly.

petvas · Nov 1, 2014

Seramir said:
The display on the 2012-2013 iMac are already great though. Plenty great to look at it all day long. I've seen the Retina in person and while it's nicer, I still think the display on the 2013 iMac is brilliant.

Upgrading to the Retina version is more costly, and people will experience different outcomes of perceiving the Retina display versus non-Retina. Some may notice a huge difference while others won't.

The Retina also apparently has performance issues with the base model. So you most likely have to upgrade the GPU and CPU in order to combat that (even though you may not need those upgrades for the tasks you do), which makes it even more costly.

I had the late 2013 iMac and for me the difference is big. My eyes thank me every day for this purchase..

The only performance issues involve lag in Mission Control and affect all Retina Macs. Macbook Pros, iMacs, independent of configuration have this issue.
It's a Yosemite issue that needs to be fixed.
The performance of the base model is great.

tillsbury · Nov 2, 2014

petvas said:
If you don't need a lot of processing power, then get 2 and 3. The i7 is certainly great, but the i5 is also a very capable processor.

I'd probably agree with this. 256Gb is a very limiting drive, and you can't upgrade the GPU at a later date. If you really can't stump for the i7 then skip that first off (and the RAM). You will be able to upgrade (with difficulty, or by getting a repair shop to do it) the processor at a later date should you wish.

tom0511 · Nov 2, 2014

Thanks to all of you for the given advice.

I think, it will be base config with 512 SSD. This should be more than sufficient for what I am doing today and my user behavior has not changed dramatially in the last decade, so why should it in the next 4 - 5 years?

If we are seeing some Black Friday deals on the riMac (very unlikely though), I might possibly upgrade to the better GPU or go for 1TB SSD.

However, as far as I can judge my buying behavior, there might be one or the other last second click to upgrade just before I am pulling the trigger...

DerekS · Nov 2, 2014

If your parameters have changed and you can only get one upgrade now, I say gpu.

tom0511 · Nov 2, 2014

DerekS said:
If your parameters have changed and you can only get one upgrade now, I say gpu.

Parameters haven't changed, just trying to figure out what I really need...

Based on user feedback in this forum, the 290 seems to run the thing pretty smooth basically. I never considered a second screen nor do I or will I do any heavy video stuff, so why spend money on things not necessary?

dandrewk · Nov 2, 2014

I get a kick out of responses that say "you don't need the UHD screen", when one of the first requirements of the OP is editing RAW images. I think some folks are desperate to justify their "no buy" decisions.

Two facts:

1. EVERYONE can benefit from the retina screen. Yes, even those who only web surf. And it's only a matter of time before a huge volume of UHD content will be available on the web. Check out some of the UHD content currently available on YouTube and try not to be blown away.

2. Once you go Retina, there's not going back. After a few days using a riMac, try going back to an older version. You will wonder how you ever put up with that dull, blurry screen.

patrickdunn · Nov 2, 2014

dandrewk said:
2. Once you go Retina, there's not going back. After a few days using a riMac, try going back to an older version. You will wonder how you ever put up with that dull, blurry screen.

Exactly why I ordered one. I went to the Apple Store and after looking at a Retina screen, there was no going back.

Crunch · Nov 2, 2014

DerekS said:
Tough choice. The i7 and m295x can't be upgraded later, so I guess I'd go with those. You could fit an SSD later (with difficulty and a re-taping kit.)
You could also add a thunderbolt SSD later instead.

That's not true. The CPU is NOT soldered on and can be easily replaced. Well, you'll still have to cut it open and re-seal it, but it is possible. Check iFixit. The GPU I'm not sure about.

tillsbury · Nov 2, 2014

crunch said:
that's not true. The cpu is not soldered on and can be easily replaced. Well, you'll still have to cut it open and re-seal it, but it is possible. Check ifixit. The gpu i'm not sure about.

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tillsbury said:
... you can't upgrade the gpu at a later date. If you really can't stump for the i7 then skip that first off (and the ram). You will be able to upgrade (with difficulty, or by getting a repair shop to do it) the processor at a later date should you wish.

Question on Retina Performance

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