Considering on buying my first iMac...

[aznboi91]

Hi everybody,

I'm considering on buying my first iMac!

Any happy campers who bought a late 2013 model recently?

I really like the 27in for its screen size. I think it would make work much more efficient for me in the long run. But I'm torn between the iMac and a 15in MBPr. The retina display is a beautiful, portable powerhouse but I'd need an external monitor for the type of work I'm doing. And I just don't want to mess with wiring and cables...I have a 2009 MBP and this thing is crawling now.

I do minimal photo / video editing but not a lot. I kinda want the best of the best to be future proof...just in case. But is it worth the extra $150 to get the GTX 780m over the GTX 775m? Or perhaps, what sort of applications is necessary for a GTX 780m?

I heard that the write speed is quite quick for the fusion drive but the read speed is essentially a 7200rpm disk drive... Can anybody disprove this? Is there really a noticeable difference between full SSD and Fusion? (Numbers are nice but I'd like you're opinions) Is the fusion drive fast enough for what you do on a daily basis? Or is SSD a must even though I don't think I can't justify a $500 ssd...

Or should I get the 15in MBPr and wait until next year to get the iMac? (Hoping that retina displays are on the way)

Any advice?
Much appreciated. Thanks!

Cheers

 

[kappaknight]

I have a 15" MBP and a 27" ACD. Love the setup...

 

[Mobster1983]

Unless you are traveling with your computer, I would recommend the iMac. I got the 2013 and it is amazing. Core i7, 32 GB RAM (from Crucial), GTX 780M and 3TB Fusion drive.

While the MBP is an awesome machine, the iMac will still be faster in most areas. I do photo and video editing, and the fusion drive works great. You have to realize the way the fusion drive works, so you can manage your expectations. The drive automatically places programs and other items you use frequently onto the 128GB SSD. This means your operating system and the programs you use most will run much faster. Files not used as often will be on the HDD, so read/write will be similar to a standard drive. That said, this is the first iMac to use PCI3, so the read/write speed is nearly twice the last generation. I have made a couple videos so far, and the speed improvement is amazing. The SSD would be faster on some occasions, but to me it wasn't worth the money, since I need a lot of HD space.

I would also spring for the 780m if I were you. The $150 upgrade is quite small when you look at the full price of the machine. I believe Mavericks can also use the memory of the graphics card to increase processing speed now as well.

 

[Bear]

I really like the 27in for its screen size. I think it would make work much more efficient for me in the long run. But I'm torn between the iMac and a 15in MBPr. The retina display is a beautiful, portable powerhouse but I'd need an external monitor for the type of work I'm doing. And I just don't want to mess with wiring and cables...I have a 2009 MBP and this thing is crawling now.

An iMac would be faster and if you don't need the portability would be the better choice and probably cost less.

Or should I get the 15in MBPr and wait until next year to get the iMac? (Hoping that retina displays are on the way)

The iMac screen is already near Retina. I would also not want to see the price of a Retina screen for the iMac right now. I wouldn't make the buying decision based on what might happen next year. Because it may just not happen.

...
I would also spring for the 780m if I were you. The $150 upgrade is quite small when you look at the full price of the machine. I believe Mavericks can also use the memory of the graphics card to increase processing speed now as well.

That's application dependent. Although some video applications already make use of the GPU for some processing. It should be mentioned that some video applications can make full use of an i7 processor.

 

[ioannis2005gr]

If you buy an iMac, read first all available threads about IR, light bleeding, yellowish monitor etc.....you will realize that 27'' iMac monitor is a LG product and suffers from many issues...21.5'' iMac (LG?) appears less monitor problems!

For your safety, choose a full BTO 21.5'' iMac and you will be happier...

PS: I know you can replace (under warranty) your iMac many times till you find a "good" one.....but do you like this "game"? How many times do you accept to "play" this "game"?

 

[MacDarcy]

I think the 27" screen issues are greatly exaggerated. I know many people who've bought one and have ZERO screen problems.

 

[ioannis2005gr]

I think the 27" screen issues are greatly exaggerated. I know many people who've bought one and have ZERO screen problems.

Don't be so sure...

Besides, some customers accept minor monitor issues because they don't really care for "details"....they are amazed by other iMac capabilities...(I think more than 50% of iMac users, correct me if I am wrong).

 

[Bear]

Don't be so sure...

Besides, some customers accept minor monitor issues because they don't really care for "details"....they are amazed by other iMac capabilities...(I think more than 50% of iMac users, correct me if I am wrong).

On the other side of the coin, any issue tends to get overblown on the internet, so it's difficult to know if a problem is really widespread or not.

 

[ioannis2005gr]

On the other side of the coin, any issue tends to get overblown on the internet, so it's difficult to know if a problem is really widespread or not.

What are you doing in this case?

Safe side....you buy an 21.5 full BTO iMac and you are done!

 

[Bear]

What are you doing in this case?

Safe side....you buy an 21.5 full BTO iMac and you are done!

Unfortunately, the 21.5" iMac doesn't meet my needs.

Unless you have had a 27" with a screen problem, maybe you should stop posting about a problem you didn't experience yourself.

 

[ioannis2005gr]

Unfortunately, the 21.5" iMac doesn't meet my needs.

Unless you have had a 27" with a screen problem, maybe you should stop posting about a problem you didn't experience yourself.

I won't stop talking about a problem which may affect other customers' pocket! Sorry, this is very ridiculous and APPLE has to fix it before more and more customers become really angry!

PS: An 27'' iMac sounds perfect! BUT, I will stay on safe side.....this is my concept and I will support it!

 

[Bear]

I won't stop talking about a problem which may affect other customers' pocket! Sorry, this is very ridiculous and APPLE has to fix it before more and more customers become really angry!

PS: An 27'' iMac sounds perfect! BUT, I will stay on safe side.....this is my concept and I will support it!

So to be clear, you have not experienced this issue yourself?

 

[ioannis2005gr]

So to be clear, you have not experienced this issue yourself?

Yes, I admit it! That's why I am not answering this POLL, too.

I was ready to buy an 27'' iMac but when I read all these monitor issues, I felt very annoyed and I believe APPLE will not fix them unless more and more customers complain about...

 

[Bear]

Yes, I admit it! That's why I am not answering this POLL, too.

I was ready to buy an 27'' iMac but when I read all these monitor issues, I felt very annoyed and I believe APPLE will not fix them unless more and more customers complain about...

So how do you know that the 2013 iMacs have the same issues (and the same severity of of the issues) as the 2012 iMacs? And how do you know how widespread the issue is since people like you see an issue and repeat it as if it's worse than it is?

To give an example, my Electric tea Kettle had many bad reviews on Amazon and people stating it only lasted 2 or 3 months. They were apparently abusing the tea kettle. I'm not exactly gentle with mine, but it is about 8 years old now and still working fine. And I know others with the same model and still no issues.

 

[ioannis2005gr]

So how do you know that the 2013 iMacs have the same issues (and the same severity of of the issues) as the 2012 iMacs? And how do you know how widespread the issue is since people like you see an issue and repeat it as if it's worse than it is?

To give an example, my Electric tea Kettle had many bad reviews on Amazon and people stating it only lasted 2 or 3 months. They were apparently busing the tea kettle. I'm not exactly gentle with mine, but it is about 8 years old now and still working fine. And I know others with the same model and still no issues.

About your tea kettle. You risked it and you won! But it isn't the same every time...I prefer the "safe side" when I know a low quality issue.

About my experience on 2013 27'' iMacs. I read all (all!) the threads carefully. I pick up monitor issues in discussions with other subject and I caution the people (I give links in MacRumors and I let them read the monitor problems by themselves). I will change my mind when I understand that this problem is fixed! Can you imagine when? Never...because it is cheaper to place monitors under warranty than to change LG contract for a more expensive contract such as SAMSUNG (the "enemy"...).

 

[Bear]

About your tea kettle. You risked it and you won! But it isn't the same every time...I prefer the "safe side" when I know a low quality issue.

Actually I had the Tea Kettle before I ever saw the reviews as I bought it in a local store on the recommendation of a friend. I only found out about the bad reviews when I was recommending it to another friend (who still has theirs as well).[/QUOTE]

About my experience on 2013 27'' iMacs. I read all (all!) the threads carefully. I pick up monitor issues in discussions with other subject and I caution the people (I give links in MacRumors and I let them read the monitor problems by themselves). I will change my mind when I understand that this problem is fixed! Can you imagine when? Never...because it is cheaper to place monitors under warranty than to change LG contract for a more expensive contract such as SAMSUNG (the "enemy"...).

You have no experience with 2013 iMacs. You have only what you read including people thinking they may have the same issue as the 2012s.

 

[ioannis2005gr]

Actually I had the Tea Kettle before I ever saw the reviews as I bought it in a local store on the recommendation of a friend. I only found out about the bad reviews when I was recommending it to another friend (who still has theirs as well).

You have no experience with 2013 iMacs. You have only what you read including people thinking they may have the same issue as the 2012s.

This is your conclusion. It is not true.
I discuss with customers who have already bought new iMacs.

You can check around and read what they have experienced instead of blaming me...

PS: If you had had problems with your tea kettle, would you have blamed your "friend" who suggested it to you? (human nature, eh?)

 

[ioannis2005gr]

You have no experience with 2013 iMacs. You have only what you read including people thinking they may have the same issue as the 2012s.

Thetics replied on your ....comment on Oct.21st, read here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1656872/

I've read many other comments with evidence of IR in 2013 27'' iMacs (by owners!).

You are always having a blase style when you hear IR, light bleeding etc issues in 2013 27'' iMac monitors.

I understand you want to calm us down but everybody should be aware of these problems.

 

[aznboi91]

Unless you are traveling with your computer, I would recommend the iMac. I got the 2013 and it is amazing. Core i7, 32 GB RAM (from Crucial), GTX 780M and 3TB Fusion drive.

While the MBP is an awesome machine, the iMac will still be faster in most areas. I do photo and video editing, and the fusion drive works great. You have to realize the way the fusion drive works, so you can manage your expectations. The drive automatically places programs and other items you use frequently onto the 128GB SSD. This means your operating system and the programs you use most will run much faster. Files not used as often will be on the HDD, so read/write will be similar to a standard drive. That said, this is the first iMac to use PCI3, so the read/write speed is nearly twice the last generation. I have made a couple videos so far, and the speed improvement is amazing. The SSD would be faster on some occasions, but to me it wasn't worth the money, since I need a lot of HD space.

I would also spring for the 780m if I were you. The $150 upgrade is quite small when you look at the full price of the machine. I believe Mavericks can also use the memory of the graphics card to increase processing speed now as well.

What sort of expectations should I have for the fusion drive? Should I expect to operate similar to that of a 7200rpm HDD but with a boot time is slightly faster?

Also in what ways does Mavericks utilize the discrete graphics card to increase processing speed? I know for sure that I'll feel a speed boost coming from a 5400rpm HDD. I definitely agree that a $1000 SSD is not justifiable...

Thank you for commenting!

 

[costabunny]

What sort of expectations should I have for the fusion drive? Should I expect to operate similar to that of a 7200rpm HDD but with a boot time is slightly faster?

Also in what ways does Mavericks utilize the discrete graphics card to increase processing speed? I know for sure that I'll feel a speed boost coming from a 5400rpm HDD. I definitely agree that a $1000 SSD is not justifiable...

Thank you for commenting!

The fusion drive in our iMac is amazing. It's more than just faster boot times. It keeps the files most accessed along with the main OS files on the SSD part for much faster access.

Our iMac feels like it has only an SSD for nearly all the tasks we do on it. In fact its only when we are using extremely large files that it slows a little (and then still feels faster than a 7200rpm HDD model).

 

[aznboi91]

The fusion drive in our iMac is amazing. It's more than just faster boot times. It keeps the files most accessed along with the main OS files on the SSD part for much faster access.

Our iMac feels like it has only an SSD for nearly all the tasks we do on it. In fact its only when we are using extremely large files that it slows a little (and then still feels faster than a 7200rpm HDD model).

I see...I'm fine with movies and music being slower ... So basically the files I have to work with on a daily basis don't exceed the 128GB SSD it should be running smoothly in SSD speed... But for the files I access less frequently or file sizes being access exceed 128GB in size, I'll experience a drop in speed?

On a daily basis, do you feel like you ever hit speed bumps with your fusion drive? Also, have you experienced any issues with the display?

Thanks for commenting!

 

[costabunny]

I see...I'm fine with movies and music being slower ... So basically the files I have to work with on a daily basis don't exceed the 128GB SSD it should be running smoothly in SSD speed... But for the files I access less frequently or file sizes being access exceed 128GB in size, I'll experience a drop in speed?

On a daily basis, do you feel like you ever hit speed bumps with your fusion drive? Also, have you experienced any issues with the display?

Thanks for commenting!

You pretty much have it there

The screen is superb (in fact I am selling my Mac Pro to buy an iMac for my desk, our iMac is on my fiancés desk.

 

[aznboi91]

You pretty much have it there

The screen is superb (in fact I am selling my Mac Pro to buy an iMac for my desk, our iMac is on my fiancés desk.

How about RAM? Have you maxed it out for your usage?

 

[costabunny]

How about RAM? Have you maxed it out for your usage?

my fiancé has 32GB in the iMac. Never seen a page out and I don't expect to.

for myself I will go with 16GB as I cant see me needing more (I run some small VM's, photoshop, and aperture). for my gaming needs even 16GB is overkill.

It really depends on your usage as to how much Ram to get.

 

[aznboi91]

11 no issues so far... I think its a pretty clear statement here....

----------

my fiancé has 32GB in the iMac. Never seen a page out and I don't expect to.

for myself I will go with 16GB as I cant see me needing more (I run some small VM's, photoshop, and aperture). for my gaming needs even 16GB is overkill.

It really depends on your usage as to how much Ram to get.

I think I'm going to try 8 for now and upgrade it after a week to 24 and see how that goes... I think 32 is over kill for me at the moment