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[Gaming] Returning iMac 5k for iMac 2013?

'ello fellow gamer, I have come to give my opinion on the matter!

I own the late 2013 model, Haswell processor, 2 GB video memory, 16 gb ram, i7, you know, the works.

I mostly play League of Legends/Netflix/Civilization. I've had all 3 running for over an hour without even hearing the fan, and when I do hear the fan, it is only for like 30 seconds at most, then it goes down. I've heard that the 5k makes more sound more often? So I'd go with the late 2013 model.

Game ON!
 
Which build version of windows 10

TerrorOFdeath said:
I honestly don't know what all the fuzz is about.

I too have an 5k rImac. mx295/i7/512SSD/32GB.
On this forum I read so much complaints about it.. jeez not being Nvidia, being louder, not being able to play in 5k.

Most of the complainers just have no Idea of how things work sadly, no offense.

Its AMD firstly, of course the fans are louder because AMD ist hotter than Nvidia. Then there is the gaming fact.

I too only game WoW. And i wasn't happy with the experience while gaming with the fans etc. But thats pretty much it. Had also tu turn it down to 2560x1440. But thats ok, because you can't play on 5k. We are just about 2 years ahead of time with the 5k ;)

However i decided to install Windows only for playing WoW. For everything else its still OS X and believe me i do a lot else :)

What should i say.. installed Windows10 and the difference is HUGE. Same settings in WoW also 2560x1440. While in OS X i was getting about 100 frames (and at times it dropped to 30-40 and was tad lag) in Windows i had 400!! Thats 4x improvement.

I now am able to play at Ultra Settings everything maxed out. I even could play at 4K but Im not doing it. In OS X if you decrease the resolution from 5K, in every step the picture becomes more blurry even at 2560x1440. But not in Windows! At 2560x1440 it looks exactly like 5K on OS X.
AND the best of all! It doesn't get as noisy as in OS X. Even after playing straight for 5h. In OS X I start the game and the fans go BRUUUUM.

And my brother has the last Modell with Nvidia 7Series, maxed out everything and he is getting lower frames than I am. Not only that, the feeling of gaming is much snappier with my rImac.

Just awesome! Couldn't be happier :D

Tod
Click to expand...

Which version of windows 10 you download? Amd drivers are not supported on the web site of amd. I am thinking to download the preview of windows 10 if is true that the games running better there.
 
Im using the preview of win10. you can download it for free on MS Website.
There is a driver on the Bootcamp Driver package and the amd graphic card works. However i decided to install the newest one. Wouldnt recognize at first, so i had to change the code and now it works. But wouldnt probably succeed a second time, was to late and to be honest its lucky that it works :)
But dont worry, theres a new driver on the Way, and it looks AMAZING! Cant wait - 9th!
http://videocardz.com/54128/amd-announces-catalyst-omega-drivers-with-virtual-super-resolution
 
TerrorOFdeath said:
Im using the preview of win10. you can download it for free on MS Website.
There is a driver on the Bootcamp Driver package and the amd graphic card works. However i decided to install the newest one. Wouldnt recognize at first, so i had to change the code and now it works. But wouldnt probably succeed a second time, was to late and to be honest its lucky that it works :)
But dont worry, theres a new driver on the Way, and it looks AMAZING! Cant wait - 9th!
http://videocardz.com/54128/amd-announces-catalyst-omega-drivers-with-virtual-super-resolution
Click to expand...
I tried I download the preview not from Microsoft but from another torrent site but dint recognize the boot camp driver and also the official amd driver so I unistalled it. I am gonna wait for 9th. Thank for the tip
 
silvetti said:
I have a iMac 27 2013 and if I play any game at 1080p resolution (to get higher fps) it looks like ****.
You should always play or use the screen at native, in my case 1440p.

So I completely understand the problem with 5k screens.
Click to expand...
NO You don't.
5k > 1440p is exact 4 Pixel > 1 Pixel.
In Your case in 1440p > 1080p = 1.8 Pixel > 1 Pixel.

As CuteBaby tries to explain. WOW is a special case where the game does not truly run in 1440p as it runs in retina mode. For that reason in Windows WOW looks good in 1440p on 5k iMac.
 
It would be nice if someone provided screenshots of this blurring on OS X, along with a screenshot from the Windows version so we can all understand what this is all about.
 
Frozone9 said:
NO You don't.
5k > 1440p is exact 4 Pixel > 1 Pixel.
In Your case in 1440p > 1080p = 1.8 Pixel > 1 Pixel.

As CuteBaby tries to explain. WOW is a special case where the game does not truly run in 1440p as it runs in retina mode. For that reason in Windows WOW looks good in 1440p on 5k iMac.
Click to expand...

I tip my hat to you.
Thank you for explaining without calling me an idiot or ******* as it is usual in these types of forums ;)
 
I don't understand why x-plane 10 I have better fps on OS X instead of windows 8.1. Everybody says that the games running better on windows but in my case i see the opposite. Even the browser doesn't run as snappy as on OS X. Maybe cause of the drivers? I have the stock from boot camp drivers. I tried to update from the amd site without any luck.
 
I will have my 5k next week and I will try to test some workaround but anyone has tried to set the desktop at 1440p and to run the games in "windowed full screen" mode ?
 
I run Diablo 3, not World of Warcraft, and have a 2013 27" iMac with the base GPU and the 27" riMac with the M295X. Both have the i7, SSD and 16GB of RAM.

Selecting 5120x2880, the image looks pretty astonishing and so far I have not seen any stuttering like I sometimes did on my 2013. The fan starts as soon as the game loads (even just sitting in Sanctuary) and is about as loud as my 2013 is when doing a Handbrake encode (so not loud, but noticeable). Never heard the fans on the 2013 when playing.

2560x1440 does look a bit fuzzy, I think. I have not run both side by side (and now can't - I restored the 2013 to factory image), but I would guess the 2013 was a bit sharper (but not even close to the riMac at 5120x2880).
 
largefarrva said:
What's your fps playing at 5k with settings set at good? Assuming you have the 295 gpu.....what cpu do you have? The i7 or i5?
Click to expand...

Never did get a reply to this question, but since we just ordered our iMacs with i7 and 295 video card I'll be able to answer it myself in a couple weeks.
 
Just to throw it out there, came across this thread while tinkering with my new 5k RiMac. I attempted the suggested workaround and noted the following:

[bone stock i5 machine w/ M290x]

Was able to option/scaled and set at 2560 x 1440. Ran the terminal command followed by the check and got the error message. Went back into display properties and noticed that it had gone from "scaled" back to "choose best"

Do I somehow need to elevate permissions to push the command through, or is something else going on?

Either way, I play at 3330, and while I'm not doing current progression [I've been away awhile] with most settings on good/ultra [minus shadows and draw distance] I get 48+FPS with occasional dips to 42, but still very playable. WoW isn't exactly a twitch FPS ;)

As far as temps, it's not UNCOMMON for diode temps to be much higher than proximity temps..and while I don't have any documentation to back this up, the general consensus from my google-fu indicates it's PROXIMITY temps that thermal safety limits are written to

[note: That is MY UNDERSTANDING on the subject. If you have documentation that proves contrary PLEASE post it for academic purposes]

What I CAN say is that I set the fan to 2k RPM and my CPU never goes over 58c [I'm sorry, I'm not paying for iStat] Air temps out of the back FEEL low 70c range (I hate to admit this, but I KNOW what 96c feels like out of the back of a notebook. . dang mobile fermi cards and MSI bad thermal paste jobs) Of course, I'm running the M290x...


Fan noise: You want more frames? get SMC Fan control and crank the fan UP. buy a nice comfortable set of headphones or a decent set of speakers.

It never ceases to amaze me how SOME people [not necessarily in this thread, just a generalization based on experience] will complain on one hand about how hot a machine is getting while performing "x", and then complain that they can't get the fan any quieter in the next sentence ><

My new shiny can get loud. . but nowhere NEAR as loud as the reference GTX780Ti in my Windows desktop when I'm pushing it..
 
Take a look at that, I played a bit with the settings yesterday, if you want to play WoW in 5k just put everything on ultra except shadow and water (stick to the minimum, even at fair the fps will drop to 15/20)

If you do this you'll get 40ps average in the garrison and 50+ in the quest zones, not too bad eh ?;)
I set also the max fps to 58.5 (no way to set it sharp 60) and the temps with the fans runs colder and quiter

 
Does anyone know if the lower retina GPU will still outperform the 2009 iMac 5750 at 2560x1440 and 1080p?

My 2009 died and I'm thinking I can get the base model retina iMac and still end up with better gaming performance - true?
 
akm3 said:
Does anyone know if the lower retina GPU will still outperform the 2009 iMac 5750 at 2560x1440 and 1080p?

My 2009 died and I'm thinking I can get the base model retina iMac and still end up with better gaming performance - true?
Click to expand...

All modern mac desktops are better than the iMac 2009 at this point. Hell, I had one and it barely played anything well. Runs super hot and loud as well, and now people complain about iMac 5K's heat and noise! :mad:

A huge upgrade in GPU performance for you as R9 m290x is basically HD 7970m. Here's a comparison. http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-M290X-vs-Mobility-Radeon-HD-5750

So yes, game on!
 
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