5K iMac

[MaliciousDesign]

Hey All,

For my upcoming 30th birthday, I am thinking of splurging on a 5K iMac. I currently own a 27inch iMAC from 2010 and it's time for an upgrade. My only concern is the release of the updated 5K iMac, if that is something realistic to expect. I know the "Haswell" processor and "Skylock" might be coming, but realistically, how long until they are integrated into the iMac 5K.

Thoughts? Should I buy now or wait? Also, I thinking of upgrading to the i7 and the 16 GB processor. What is a good configuration? I am not a video editor or heavy digital user in that regard.

--Eddy

 

[Inksworth]

For what it's worth, I'm in a very similar position as you are. I'm waiting at least until WWDC this summer to see if they end up updating the Magic Mouse/Trackpad and/or the keyboard to have the backlighting that was in a rumor a few weeks ago.

Broadwell, from my observations, won't really be a huge deal for the iMac. Not enough for me, anyway. If it comes to it, Skylake will be a really neat upgrade for a number of reasons (new Thunderbolt, hopefully displayport 1.3, etc..) which will let you have faster external devices and higher resolution external monitors (hopefully). Really, I'm just hoping for a Skylake + nVidia release sometime this year. I've heard many say AMD will stick around for likely two years, though. I'll be happy so long as I can reasonably play current games.

I'm pretty happy with my Macbook Pro at the moment, so I'm able to be patient for my part.

 

[redheeler]

"Skylake". If you do decide to wait, expect to wait until the fall for the next update.

 

[edjrwinnt]

I upgraded from a late 2009 i5 and I love my newer retina imac i7, but it was not that big of a leap, especially for $2,700. I still use my old imac at work right now as a second computer.

I think in retrospect that it would have been okay to wait.

 

[MaliciousDesign]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Excuse my mis-labeling of the new processors. My current iMac is a little too laggy for my taste, and I wan't something that is smooth and where the text is clear.

 

[aevan]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Excuse my mis-labeling of the new processors. My current iMac is a little too laggy for my taste, and I wan't something that is smooth and where the text is clear.

Then get the iMac 5K. Whatever upgrade comes with the next version, it won't make this generation less awesome. And it is awesome, let me tell you. Especially now after 10.10.3 fixed some of the lag base models had.

Even months after getting it, whenever I sit down to use it, I have a small "whoa" moment. I love each one of these 14.7 million pixels, and the computer is really fast and silent.

 

[Pieterr]

HAlso, I thinking of upgrading to the i7 and the 16 GB processor. What is a good configuration? I am not a video editor or heavy digital user in that regard.

Select the standard 8GB RAM. You can add 16GB later if needed yourself and much cheaper than if bought at Apple.
For CPU and/or GPU upgrades, see http://barefeats.com/imac5k6.html
I opted for the standard configuration and it's a great machine.

 

[Guardsix]

Wait until Christmas if you want, but you could be playing with the best dang computer this side of Mars if you bought now!

I thought about waiting also, but I'm glad I didn't. I bought the iMac 27-inch Retina, 4GHz intel Core i7, 8GB Ram, AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4MB graphics card and added 16GB of memory about a week or so ago.

I've been smiling every day since then. There's always going to be something slightly better down the road

Now is the best time to do anything as far as I'm concerned.

 

[aevan]

Select the standard 8GB RAM. You can add 16GB later if needed yourself and much cheaper than if bought at Apple.
For CPU and/or GPU upgrades, see http://barefeats.com/imac5k6.html
I opted for the standard configuration and it's a great machine.

Yeah, I can happily say that base model iMac 5K is now a smooth and fast experience, after 10.10.3 - I was happy before, now I'm really happy It is fast and quiet and cool - I never hear the fans, temperatures rarely hit 60 degrees - even when playing some games. I played an hour of Heroes of the Storm in 1440p yesterday and the gpu was around 60 degrees and I couldn't hear the fan.