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Convince me to wait for Retina iMac

E

earthbound

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 12, 2007
34
0
Hi everyone,

I pulled the trigger on a refurb 27", 3.5 i7, 3TB fusion, 4GB VRAM last night but (of course) today a rumor has surfaced at the possibility of a Retina iMac this fall. I'm quite certain that I won't wait, but anyone wanna give me good reasons to convince me to wait for a Retina iMac instead?

My reasons for going with the current gen iMac:

  • I don't know if want to buy a Rev A product
  • I have heard of lag issues in retina MBPs and I'm afraid of the possibility that the issue will also be present in retina iMacs - I would rather have no lag than higher resolution
  • Price increase on the new retina iMac

What I plan on using the iMac for:

  • editing photos in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom
  • light movie editing in iMovie and Adobe Premiere Pro

Thanks all in advance! :)
 
Last edited:
earthbound said:
Hi everyone,

I pulled the trigger on a refurb 27", 3.5 i7, 3TB fusion, 4GB VRAM last night but (of course) today a rumor has surfaced at the possibility of a Retina iMac this fall. I'm quite certain that I won't wait, but anyone wanna give me good reasons to convince me to wait for a Retina iMac instead?

My reasons for going with the current gen iMac:

  • I don't know if want to buy a Rev A product
  • I have heard of lag issues in retina MBPs and I'm afraid of the possibility that the issue will also be present in retina iMacs - I would rather have no lag than higher resolution
  • Price increase on the new retina iMac

What I plan on using the iMac for:

  • editing photos in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom
  • light movie editing in iMovie and Adobe Premiere Pro

Thanks all in advance! :)
Click to expand...

I think you should stick with what you got. My concern with the Retina iMacs is the 6400x3400 resolution running at a HiDPI mode of 3200x1200 and if it will tax the system. That is a crazy amount of GPU power be devoted to running a display.

I have a 2012 Retina Macbook Pro 15" and I love the display, don't get me wrong. :)

When I first got it you could tell the software wasn't optimized and things were laggy all over. It has gotten a lot better but there is still UI lag with applications like Lightroom especially running at 1920x1200 HiDPI mode even with the newer 2013 models that have the HD5000 and GT750m GPUs.

I'm not saying this will happen with the Retina iMacs but I'd would wait for reviews. The other problem with the Retina MacBooks if you look back to the 2012 release there was terrible image burn in with the LG panels. Mine had an LG panel and my local Apple dealer swapped it out with a Samsung one. I was lucky but other people have been turned away in hopes of getting their's replaced.
 
Woodcrest64 said:
When I first got it you could tell the software wasn't optimized and things were laggy all over. It has gotten a lot better but there is still UI lag with applications like Lightroom especially running at 1920x1200 HiDPI mode even with the newer 2013 models that have the HD5000 and GT750m GPUs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's the lag that worries me the most. I can't believe there's still lag in the post-rev A rMBP models. I may just keep the refurb and upgrade to retina iMac a few years from now when hopefully this issue is solved.
 
How long can you wait, looks like you have or will have the iMac in your possession. Use and enjoy it now and if/when Apple rolls out a retina based iMac then you can decide to sell your current setup if you wish to get it.
 
I would keep your order of the refurb.

I think the first generation of the iMac Retina will, when it comes, be slower than a top end current imac because the GPU will use a lot of its abilities to display so many pixels. So, unless you are willing to pay for the absolute top model, when that comes out, presumably it will be much more expensive than the current maxed out iMac as well, you will sacrifice a lot to get the pixel density. Just look at the first generation retina Macbook Pro's, the screen res does drain a lot of its perfomance...at least from what I heard (I don't own one myself)

So either prepare to pull up a ton of money, or wait for the retina iMacs 2nd or 3rd generation.
 
Buy now, set aside a couple hundred bucks for a sell-then-upgrade plan if something comes along that you want.
 
Agree with everyone else.

Stick with the refurb and if it turns out the Retina iMacs are what you want, sell this one and upgrade.

In my case, I am waiting for a new Mac, just hope my present iMac will hold out that long.
 
Keep what you ordered. iMac's keep their value. You'll get your money's worth of usage easily. I have a late 2013 27" model and will use it until the 2nd Gen iMac Retina.

Remember the 1st Gen Macbook Pro Retina's were horrible...
 
I have a feeling we are in for a very long wait for imac retina, regardless of the Yosemite reference. Just a hunch.
 
Wait..... PLEASEEEEEEE, do it for me. I will be your best friend.


No really, Just by this posting this you make it clear you are able to wait. If it's a want and not a need to get a new computer right now, wait until it is a need.
 
A Rev A Retina iMac?

Well the resolution would be insane... Not sure if modern day GPUs could handle that, if you did run it at the full 6000xwhatever it would just be for text. No gaming at all.

Honestly, it's taken two years for the RMP to eliminate the scrolling problem (almost). Why be Apple's test subject for a new iMac? (Besides... a display with that many pixels would be a fortune to replace.)
 
My opinion. Do not buy an iMac.

Wait for the Apple Thunderbolt Display with Retina Resolution and then probably buy a MacBook Retina that is capable to drive such a monitor.

a) You stay mobile.
b) You might connect something else to the monitor in the future.

I would never buy an iMac. Even a Mac Mini with external display might be a better choice. Combining display and computing hardware was always a bad idea.

PS: Apple will sell a new Display for the MacPro. The third-party display situation is bad right now.
 
Wait. Worst case scenario is that the R iMacs cost more money, but that means they will discount the current models and probably bump the specs a little. It all comes back to how much you need it now, but I'm always a fan of waiting for the newest if you're within a few months.
 
pmau said:
My opinion. Do not buy an iMac.

Wait for the Apple Thunderbolt Display with Retina Resolution and then probably buy a MacBook Retina that is capable to drive such a monitor.

a) You stay mobile.
b) You might connect something else to the monitor in the future.

I would never buy an iMac. Even a Mac Mini with external display might be a better choice. Combining display and computing hardware was always a bad idea.

PS: Apple will sell a new Display for the MacPro. The third-party display situation is bad right now.
Click to expand...

Except you cannot get nearly as much power from a Mac Mini or rMBP. Believe it or not, that can be a deciding factor for some, including myself.
 
You already pulled the trigger. Have fun with your new machine!

When the updates happen, you can always sell and upgrade if you feel it's worth it.

I'm waiting. The 860m is worth waiting for, in whichever machine they put one in. I have no interest in gaming on a Mac, so the retina iMac sounds f'in awesome to me.
 
earthbound said:
Hi everyone,

My reasons for going with the current gen iMac:

  • I don't know if want to buy a Rev A product
  • I have heard of lag issues in retina MBPs and I'm afraid of the possibility that the issue will also be present in retina iMacs - I would rather have no lag than higher resolution
  • Price increase on the new retina iMac
Click to expand...

These are excellent reasons to stick with what you have. No guarantee a Retina iMac is even available this fall. The resolutions listed in Yosemite could easily be for a new Thunderbolt Display which would make more sense marketed as a premium display for Mac Pro owners.

And yes, the Rev A rMBP graphics performance was hurt by the display (I had one). And yes, even if a Retina iMac is released in 2014, expect to pay a hefty premium for it at first with the 27" easily starting at $2,199 or more.

I bought a 27" Haswell iMac in March and my plan is to wait for the Rev B Retina iMac with a lower price point (my 13" rMBP I bought on day 1 dropped in price by $400 in just 1 year...brutal for resale). I'm guessing this would come in late 2015/early 2016. That would give me a solid ~2 years with my current machine.
 
Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts! :)

Despite my thread's title, I think now I'm even more convinced to stick with my refurb that is coming on Monday. I think the refurb will serve me well for the next few years, and like some of you mentioned, I have the option sell it to fund a newer purchase. Hopefully by the time I want to upgrade, retina iMacs, 4k, and other currently developing technologies will all be solid and mature.

@pmau, I've thought about going with the Mac Mini before, but decided against it because I can't have 3TB fusion (I don't have the courage to install this myself), more than 16GB ram, or a dedicated graphics card. With rMBP + external display, it may have more power than my current 2011 MBA, which is becoming insufficient for larger photo/video projects for my purposes; but it's heavier, expensive (I don't want/need to carry a powerful $2000+ laptop when I travel), and I have to deal with plugging/unplugging hard drives and other peripherals. I've considered getting thunderbolt dock and external raid arrays for speed, but for the cost I might as well use the money to buy a new machine. Overall, the iMac leaves me more room to grow into and gives me the power I need, and my current MBA keeps me mobile.
 
If you need a new computer now, buy one now. If you don't, wait.

If you are waiting for something that will come sooner or later, you may or may not have a long wait.
 
I think those who hold out for a retina iMac will end up feeling like the regulars on the Mac mini forum.
 
earthbound said:
[*]I have heard of lag issues in retina MBPs and I'm afraid of the possibility that the issue will also be present in retina iMacs - I would rather have no lag than higher resolution
Click to expand...

Remember that the rumours of lag issues in the first rMBP's were just that, rumours. They were, in the main, from sources such as paid Windows trolls, and zero-post members who didn't have the rMBP or hadn't used one.

Yes, there were issues with Safari and some other software when Retina first came out. These were quickly solved a month or two after the initial release of the software. It is unlikely this will be repeated as badly as the apps are now Retina-aware and the iMac 5k is just the same as the MBPs.

There were also some issues with rMBPs that had too much or wrongly applied thermal paste. These would overheat and therefore throttle badly. If you are unlucky enough to get a badly manufactured computer of any brand or type, you just return it or get it repaired within the warranty period. You will easily be able to tell, as you can compare temperatures with other users. Some users have reported temperatures up to 100C on a retina MBP. Even running Handbrake for an hour solid, or 3d games, or FCPX rendering, I can't get any part of my rMBP above 75C. If yours is running 100C then you should get it fixed. This would apply to any badly made iMac or MBP or anything else.

In short, there was no lag issue with the rMBP. There never was, and there hasn't been since. The very early reports to date indicate that the 5k iMac runs smoothly even without the GPU upgrade. I can't believe Apple would launch a machine with such an issue.
 
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