To be honest, I was about to give in during the summer and put down closer to $3000 for a loaded rMBP. I'm glad my patience persevered and am happy that I waited for the new iMac as it will be better utilized by me than the rMBP. I ordered the i7 3.4 GHz, 16GB RAM, 1TB Fusion Drive, and the 680MX. With a student discount, it ended up setting me back $2800 (educational discount and all)-not bad considering it will offer me much more oomph in terms of graphical and computer processing than the rMBP, and still ended being cheaper than rMBP even with the educational discount applied to that. I really didn't need a laptop. At the same time, I question such hedonistic spending, and wonder, did I really need to order such an extravagant iMac. I really could've settled for the 21.5", but realized since the iMac will be my only multimedia machine (e.g., playing modern and demanding Steam games, watching TV shows/movies, and consuming other content), I figured I'd go all out and treat myself since I don't spend this kind of hard earned cash everyday, and this will be my machine hopefully for years (4-5) to come as I don't on upgrading often. I wanted to future proof my purchase, but I still find the 21.5" design appealing and am slightly worried as to whether or not I made the right choice. I know the 680MX will destroy the GT 650M in terms of gaming, but I feel it would have been better to be fiscally responsible with money, and the 21.5" with the GT 650 is perfectly capable of driving modern gaming titles with suitable performance (I wouldn't have minded tweaking the settings a bit). I'm still not 100% convinced I need the 27". How do you guys justify your 27" purchase with all the bells and whistles, and were you compelled to purchase such?