Getting a 5K iMac and need some help deciding between the 290 and 295X. My gut says to upgrade to 295X as I'm already upgrading CPU to i7, going 24GB ram and 512GB SSD - but my main concern is fan noise.
I currently use a 2011 Mac Mini with Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics which many people consider underpowered, but to this day I think it meets my graphic needs fine. I rarely play games, and when I do it's something like The Sims or Sim City. However I do a lot of DAW work (audio production) and run a lot of VSTs - the main reason I'm upgrading (can't wait to see Ableton on the retina screen!) But as I understand, this benefits most from the CPU bump. I also do web design, so some Photoshop but mainly just editing code, and some Plex transcoding every now and then.
The GPU upgrade would mainly be for future proofing in my case, as I suspect the 290 will meet my current needs. I plan on having the iMac for 3-4 years - the 290 is already 3 years old and I'm already coming from a 4 year old GPU! Though I don't want to upgrade if the fan noise will increase in general over the 290, doing every day things and my DAW work. I've read the fan absolutely roars up in the 295X but this is with games and thermal throttling at high FPS settings... I haven't seen much on the difference between the two cards outside of gaming.
So I guess my main question is if I'll see any extra fan noise / throttling / heat according to my usage habits? Thanks!
I currently use a 2011 Mac Mini with Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics which many people consider underpowered, but to this day I think it meets my graphic needs fine. I rarely play games, and when I do it's something like The Sims or Sim City. However I do a lot of DAW work (audio production) and run a lot of VSTs - the main reason I'm upgrading (can't wait to see Ableton on the retina screen!) But as I understand, this benefits most from the CPU bump. I also do web design, so some Photoshop but mainly just editing code, and some Plex transcoding every now and then.
The GPU upgrade would mainly be for future proofing in my case, as I suspect the 290 will meet my current needs. I plan on having the iMac for 3-4 years - the 290 is already 3 years old and I'm already coming from a 4 year old GPU! Though I don't want to upgrade if the fan noise will increase in general over the 290, doing every day things and my DAW work. I've read the fan absolutely roars up in the 295X but this is with games and thermal throttling at high FPS settings... I haven't seen much on the difference between the two cards outside of gaming.
So I guess my main question is if I'll see any extra fan noise / throttling / heat according to my usage habits? Thanks!
