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kathyricks

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 26, 2012
292
20
Anyone have a ball park estimate? Surely some of the hardware guru's here should have a rough idea? I ask because I'd like to know if the price would likely be less than the cost of a base model ($2,999) Mac Pro desktop coupled to a reasonably priced 25-30" 4K monitor? Thanks.
 

shokunin

macrumors regular
Jun 7, 2005
218
48
I think a 5K iMac (base price) would be slightly less than a combination of base Mac Pro and 4K IPS panel monitor. However, there is huge difference between 4K and 5K. 4K (3840*2160) is 8.3 megapixels. 5K (5120*2880) is 14.75 megapixels. That's 78% more pixels, you can add a 4K monitor and all the pixels on a 15" MBPr and still have less pixels than a 5K monitor.

I can see Apple charging at least $1000 premium on the 5K monitor. There may be other prequalifiers that will push the price higher, only available with highest CPU option and highest GPU choices.
 

iMcLovin

macrumors 68000
Feb 11, 2009
1,963
898
I would suspect something about 7000 USD for the absolute high end BTO, which is what I am gonna get. But the average price per current models I would say a +2000 on each model to get 5k screens.

My prediction: IF apple will release an 5k iMac this year, the price increase will be too large for a general consumer machine. So, it will be a second line of iMacs called iMac retina or iMac Pro, like what happened to the laptops in the beginning. And then they will slowly phase out the current/regular iMacs over the years (less and less updates) and the day 5k screens are cheap enough to sell for a consumer friendly price they will become the new standard.
 
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Malus120

macrumors 6502a
Jun 28, 2002
676
1,401
Personally I think (hope) Apple will keep the prices at a relatively sane level not too far from where they are now. Honestly speaking, the margins Apple must be making on the current iMacs (given the depreciation in the cost of 27" 1440P screens and other components) is large enough that they can afford to reduce their margins a bit to wow the consumer.

Heck, 4K panels have come down in price enough that with the volume discounts Apple gets, even a 5K display shouldn't be insanely expensive (for Apple) (I hope).

I'm honestly going to be pretty disappointed with Apple if they do something stupid like have the base retina iMac start @3-5K USD. That's just way too much for most people to spend on a computer these days, let alone one where you need to BTO for extra cost to get the most out of it.

If 5K displays really cost that much then Apple was dumb for not just moving the iMac to 4K for now(where prices have begun to come down to level mere mortals can afford).

Anyway, just my 2 cents, but if its priced @$4000 or something, I'm selling my iMac and hackintoshing it until prices come down to reasonable levels :p

So, to be clear, I'd like to think $2200-$2700 base.
 

Mac32

Suspended
Nov 20, 2010
1,263
454
Maybe we'll end up with two product lines: iMac and iMac Pro
The iMac Pro obviously using a retina display, and an AMD GPU which is geared towards professional photo and video work (not gaming like Nvidia Maxwell). On the other hand there will be the standard iMac line, which is better for light gaming and basically normal computer usage.
I have a feeling that the retina 27'' model will be quite expensive, and Apple might put on a "Pro" label on it to justify the price. Then again, maybe not...who knows... :)
 

c.s.

macrumors 6502
Nov 11, 2007
259
213
If it's 4k, I'd guess it starts at $2999. If it's 5k, $3999.

Because of the cost of 5k, I'm guessing it's really going to be a 27" 4k panel scaled instead of a 27" 5k with pixel doubling. I doubt we'll be able to see the difference on a 27" display.
 

omenatarhuri

macrumors 6502a
Feb 9, 2010
893
808
If it's 4k, I'd guess it starts at $2999. If it's 5k, $3999.

Because of the cost of 5k, I'm guessing it's really going to be a 27" 4k panel scaled instead of a 27" 5k with pixel doubling. I doubt we'll be able to see the difference on a 27" display.
Yep.

The only 5K screen I've seen out there is the Dell monitor, and the price on that thing alone is 2500 USD.

It really would be quite incredible if Apple could use it at the normal price point of iMac 2000-3000 USD.
 

kstab

macrumors newbie
Dec 24, 2012
7
0
I estimate that the price difference would be almost the same as for the MacBook Pro / MacBook Pro Retina,

i.e. 200-400 USD.
 

CWallace

macrumors G4
Aug 17, 2007
11,962
10,619
Seattle, WA
Dell's UP2715K "5K" monitor has a $1500 premium (at list) over their U2713H so I figure Apple will want at least $1000 more for the upgrade.
 

wmy5

macrumors 6502
Oct 27, 2012
328
51
upstate NY
$3,999 for an iMac? Impossible.

Please keep in mind that iMac, like MacBook Air, is a consumer machine. Even if it's equipped with a 5k panel, it wouldn't be that expensive. Back to 2009, though the first gen. of 27" iMac was with the highest 2560x1440 LCD display, its price was still well below $2,000.
 

Moonjumper

macrumors 68030
Jun 20, 2009
2,740
2,908
Lincoln, UK
Maybe we'll end up with two product lines: iMac and iMac Pro
The iMac Pro obviously using a retina display, and an AMD GPU which is geared towards professional photo and video work (not gaming like Nvidia Maxwell). On the other hand there will be the standard iMac line, which is better for light gaming and basically normal computer usage.
I have a feeling that the retina 27'' model will be quite expensive, and Apple might put on a "Pro" label on it to justify the price. Then again, maybe not...who knows... :)

I think they will be consistent with the MacBook Pro and call it "iMac with Retina display".

"with Retina display" is something they can drop once it becomes standard across the range. "Pro" is a differentiator that would be difficult to drop later.
 

Georgio

macrumors 6502
Apr 30, 2008
369
38
Essex, UK
Whatever the final price of the iMac Pro or whatever it will be called, bear in mind that if you guys in the States pay $3999 for it, in the UK it will cost us that in pounds, so roughly $6,426.491... :(
 

lowendlinux

macrumors 603
Sep 24, 2014
5,438
6,732
Germany
Maybe we'll end up with two product lines: iMac and iMac Pro
The iMac Pro obviously using a retina display, and an AMD GPU which is geared towards professional photo and video work (not gaming like Nvidia Maxwell). On the other hand there will be the standard iMac line, which is better for light gaming and basically normal computer usage.
I have a feeling that the retina 27'' model will be quite expensive, and Apple might put on a "Pro" label on it to justify the price. Then again, maybe not...who knows... :)

Both companies have their workstation cards in the Quadro and FirePro neither is "better" with every application and workstation cards are not the only supported cards.

Adobe tested laptop and desktop versions of the following cards. Be sure to download the latest driver for your specific model (Laptop and desktop versions have slightly different names.)

nVidia GeForce: 400, 500, 600, 700 series
nVidia Quadro: 2000, 4000 (Windows and Mac OS), CX, 5000, 6000, K600, K2000, K4000, K5000 (Windows and Mac OS)
nVidia GRID K1, K2
AMD/ATI Radeon: 5000, 6000, 7000, R7, R9 series, 7950 Mac OS
AMD/ATI FirePro: 3800, 4800, 5800, 7800, 8800, 9800, 3900, 4900, 5900, 7900, W8100, W9100
AMD/ATI FireGL: W5000, W7000, W8000
Intel HD Graphics P3000, Intel HD Graphics P4000, Intel(R) HD Graphics P4600/P4700, Intel HD Graphics 5000

Note: AMD/ATI 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 series, nVidia GeForce 7000, 8000, 9000, 100, 200, 300 series and Intel HD Graphics (First generation) cards/GPUs are no longer being tested and are not officially supported in Photoshop CC and CC 2014. Some GL functionality is available for these cards, but it's possible that newer features don't work.

http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cs6-gpu-faq1.html

This list is for Ps which doesn't use much GPU acceleration.

================

The list for Premiere is here and it largely nVidia

http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/system-requirements.html

================

Here is the list for Final Cut which can obviously be updated by Apple and it's largely nVidia because Apple have been using nVidia a great deal in the last couple years.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4664

================

One of the big things done with Maxwell was improve compute. I do think though that if the MP carries AMD in the the second generation then the iMac will like carry AMD this time which would be a nice win for the red team.
 

lostgear

macrumors member
Nov 9, 2010
60
1
I will probably have to eat my words, but I don't think Apple will release a Retina iMac. If they did I would expect the price to be in the £2,500 range, and at that price, the nMP becomes a much more attractive option.
 

xgman

macrumors 603
Aug 6, 2007
5,671
1,378
I think they will be consistent with the MacBook Pro and call it "iMac with Retina display".

"with Retina display" is something they can drop once it becomes standard across the range. "Pro" is a differentiator that would be difficult to drop later.
yes and likely the pro-rata % price increase in a similar way I would think.
 

thedeske

macrumors 6502a
Feb 17, 2013
963
58
$3,999 for an iMac? Impossible.

Uh, you can easily punch up 3949.00 on the current model without insurance.
3349 without the Ram (something I Did twice in the past)

Let's assume the new panel requires a top processor option & a rather pricey GPU, and then add in the cost increase of said new panel. It could get rich in a hurry.

Who thinks Apple will cheat a Mac Pro/4k monitor in an All In One for 3 grand?
 
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Mac32

Suspended
Nov 20, 2010
1,263
454
I think they will be consistent with the MacBook Pro and call it "iMac with Retina display".

"with Retina display" is something they can drop once it becomes standard across the range. "Pro" is a differentiator that would be difficult to drop later.

Agree, makes sense. :)
 

xgman

macrumors 603
Aug 6, 2007
5,671
1,378
I will probably have to eat my words, but I don't think Apple will release a Retina iMac. If they did I would expect the price to be in the £2,500 range, and at that price, the nMP becomes a much more attractive option.

front page today:
Apple is planning to hold its next fall event on Thursday, October 16, where it is expected to introduce new iPads, reports Re/code. The company is also expected to introduce new Retina iMacs and release OS X Yosemite to the public.
 

lostgear

macrumors member
Nov 9, 2010
60
1
front page today:
Apple is planning to hold its next fall event on Thursday, October 16, where it is expected to introduce new iPads, reports Re/code. The company is also expected to introduce new Retina iMacs and release OS X Yosemite to the public.

Nom.......nom........nom.........eating my tasty words............

What will be the cost though........
 

wmy5

macrumors 6502
Oct 27, 2012
328
51
upstate NY
Uh, you can easily punch up 3949.00 on the current model without insurance.
3349 without the Ram (something I Did twice in the past)

Let's assume the new panel requires a top processor option & a rather pricey GPU, and then add in the cost increase of said new panel. It could get rich in a hurry.

Who thinks Apple will cheat a Mac Pro/4k monitor in an All In One for 3 grand?

What I was saying is the situation today is pretty much alike 2009, the year 27" iMac debuted. Back then everyone thought 2560x1440 panel will be expensive, and 1440p monitors like Dell were above $1,000. But base 27 iMac was barely $1,499.
 

Chippy99

macrumors 6502a
Apr 28, 2012
989
35
Personally I think (hope) Apple will keep the prices at a relatively sane level not too far from where they are now. Honestly speaking, the margins Apple must be making on the current iMacs (given the depreciation in the cost of 27" 1440P screens and other components) is large enough that they can afford to reduce their margins a bit to wow the consumer.

Heck, 4K panels have come down in price enough that with the volume discounts Apple gets, even a 5K display shouldn't be insanely expensive (for Apple) (I hope).

I'm honestly going to be pretty disappointed with Apple if they do something stupid like have the base retina iMac start @3-5K USD. That's just way too much for most people to spend on a computer these days, let alone one where you need to BTO for extra cost to get the most out of it.

If 5K displays really cost that much then Apple was dumb for not just moving the iMac to 4K for now(where prices have begun to come down to level mere mortals can afford).

Anyway, just my 2 cents, but if its priced @$4000 or something, I'm selling my iMac and hackintoshing it until prices come down to reasonable levels :p

So, to be clear, I'd like to think $2200-$2700 base.

I think you're dreaming mate. Apple will want to maintain or even increase its margins not reduce them. The retina iMac is certain to be i-wateringly expensive imho.
 
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