Extra 4k monitor on the 5k iMac- what to expect?

[cmm]

Anyone using an extra 4k monitor running at retina resolution/ HiDPi with their retina iMac? Which graphics card do you have? Any sluggishness?

I have a 13 rMBP current model with 8gb of ram and base graphics and it's sluggish when minimizing or opening new windows with an extra thunderbolt ACD so I wouldn't dare try a 4k monitor.

Having said that, I was set to buy a Mac Pro with two 4k monitors until the 5k iMac came out. Now I'm stuck. All I do is coding and I want screen real estate for that, technical docs I keep open and a safari window or two. No photoshop and no video editing.

I keep ~10-15 apps open at once and at least 15-20 windows open at one time. Whichever Mac I choose I'm going with at least 16gb of ram this time of 32gb. With my business account they are actually offered me a lower rate than crucial ram on the Mac Pro (although they keep the base ram).

What would you suggest? TIA

 

[thedeske]

Anyone using an extra 4k monitor running at retina resolution/ HiDPi with their retina iMac? Which graphics card do you have? Any sluggishness?

No one is. The rimac can drive 1 or 2 externals at 2560 or less.

 

[robgendreau]

No one is. The rimac can drive 1 or 2 externals at 2560 or less.

Yes, you can run 4K, per Apple: http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT6008

Not sure what the rate is when using 4K, however; think it's 30. And that's at the 4k native resolution of 3840x2160.

 

[thedeske]

Yes, you can run 4K, per Apple: http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT6008

Not sure what the rate is when using 4K, however; think it's 30. And that's at the 4k native resolution of 3840x2160.

I stand corrected

 

[johnnyturbouk]

Talking about pushing the boat out!

 

[EnderTW]

I run it all the time on base model.

It's not sluggish at all, except for mission control animation. Someone hear runs it on the 295x and says they have no lag in mission control, with the 4k. So might be a GPU hog, hoping they fix this over the course of patches, if not, it's not that bad.. it's just noticeable.

However, when I change the 4k monitor to run as 2560x1440, same visual representation of the 5k, it does feel sluggish. Keep it at the 4k Res, visually 1080p, and it'll run smooth.

 

[cmm]

Okay, thanks all, I guess it's the Mac Pro for me. Now I have to decide on which grafx to get in it as well as 32 or 64 of ram