Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iMac 5k question
- Thread starter foster26
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Is there any option at all to get the 5k to work as I dont want 2 monitors . Maybe I should consider getting a mac pro?
iMac is computer not a monitor.
I assume your dell is running windows, so run Parallels or VMware on the iMac.
One screen on the desk.
I assume your dell is running windows, so run Parallels or VMware on the iMac.
One screen on the desk.
Nope, you cannot hook up your Dell to the imac. You will either have to run both machines side by side using separate monitors or run the windows app in via parallels on the imac
How well does that work? So basically I have the dell desktop running and connected to a lan line and I can use it?
He means running Windows in a VM on the iMac, assuming you run a few apps that don't have Mac versions.
I hope you realize that if you get the iMac it would most likely replace your Dell, not supplement it.
Last edited:
The Non 5k iMac can be used as an external display though. Saying this as you havent purchased yet.
Or us others have mentioned use a VM ware or Parallels as a virtual windows machine on the iMac.
2560x1440 monitors are readily available from Dell and other manufacturers. There's no need to get an expensive iMac just to use it as a display.
I want the new imac 5k to use as my main computer, but just have some applications that i run on windows , like quickbooks and few others.
This information is quite misleading considering the OP clearly states that he would be using a Dell (PC).
While the older iMac can be used as a secondary monitor using Target Display mode this feature is only compatible when being driven by another Mac that is compatible with Target Display mode. The OP most certainly can not use a Dell to drive the older iMac with Target Display mode.
I would consider the following to be viable options for the OP:
1. Get a Mac Mini or a Mac Pro and then get a separate monitor. If the monitor has multiple video inputs (many non Apple monitors do) then he could hook up both his Dell and his Mac to it. This solution would require two separate keyboards, mice, etc.
2. Get a Mac Mini or a Mac Pro and then get a separate monitor and a compatible KVM switch. This solution would be more elegant and would share a single mouse and keyboard.
3. Get the iMac 5k as you are originally interested in and then use RDP to control the Dell (headless). This will not work well for any type of serious usage and it would most certainly not work for any type of gaming.
4. Get the iMac 5k and then use Parallels or Fusion to run Windows as a VM and transfer over all of the information from the Dell to this VM. Then you can get rid of the Dell all together and have a single computer.
Depending on the OP's usage patterns Option #4 is probably the most economical and in my opinion the best option to go with. If there is an absolute need to maintain the Dell computer separately then I would suggest Option #2 as being the best way to go.
Get the 8 GB model and upgrade the RAM yourself. You should also configure with a 256 GB SSD instead of Fusion to increase system speed.
Thanks for the suggestions but what do i do when i need more space? Can i add another hard drive inside it?
No, you cannot add hard drives internally to the Mac. You can eventually replace the built in hard drive with a larger one down the road, but unless you are a Mac tech and work on these things often, I wouldn't recommend it. Just order one with the largest hard drive you can get if you are worried about storage, or just hook up an external drive to it. Most people worried about storage find themselves not even utilizing 10% of their current storage. Find out how much data you are using now. Video and RAW pictures will take up the most room. I'm currently at 10TB of data myself.
You can load Windows on a Mac via either a virtual machine or through Boot Camp. Either way, the iMac would replace your current Dell. When you load Windows on a Mac, it performs no different than if it was a normal PC.
Would a normal average user notice a big difference in the late 2013 imac vs the new 5k imac? Another words is it worth spending another 500-600 to get the latest unit? Just trying to decide if I go with last years or current model.
Thanks
These are the 2 I am considering,
27-inch iMac
Item Price: $2,849.00
Quantity (27-inch iMac)
Line Price: $2,849.00
(27-inch iMac)
Part number: Z0PG
Available to ship: 2-4 business days
Hardware
$2849
3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB
512GB Flash Storage
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
Accessory Kit
OR
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
Item Price: $3,299.00
Quantity (27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display)
Line Price: $3,299.00
(27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display)
Part number: Z0QX
Available to ship: 5-7 business days
Hardware
4.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
512GB Flash Storage
AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
Accessory Kit
Thanks
These are the 2 I am considering,
27-inch iMac
Item Price: $2,849.00
Quantity (27-inch iMac)
Line Price: $2,849.00
(27-inch iMac)
Part number: Z0PG
Available to ship: 2-4 business days
Hardware
$2849
3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB
512GB Flash Storage
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
Accessory Kit
OR
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
Item Price: $3,299.00
Quantity (27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display)
Line Price: $3,299.00
(27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display)
Part number: Z0QX
Available to ship: 5-7 business days
Hardware
4.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
512GB Flash Storage
AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
Accessory Kit
Last edited:
The biggest difference is simply ... the screen.
Performance wise, I don't think you'll notice the difference between the 2 iMacs.
Big User interface performance improvement is OS X over windows.
I'm using a 2010 MacBook & have a powerful HP laptop (Z15). The MacBook is easier to use (mainly the trackpad). Compressing video, the Z15 would win.
I also use a 2009 iMac. Still plenty fast (would love a retina iMac ;^) ).
I suspect that running your windows programs (Quickbooks) would be faster that your old Dell. But not sure if you could really tell the difference though.
I don't have a fusion drive, so can't give a valid opinion. But seems like a good compromise.
I have a 2 TB spinning drive in my iMac.
I have a 240 GB SSD in my MacBook.
MacBook definitely faster. No surprise!
If 512 GB is more than enough space, then go SSD option.
Video uses up a lot of space.
Get the 512GB SSD. You will not be sorry. It is a better quality than the 256GB and faster too. It will be a Samsung drive. 256GB can either be Samsung or a different brand, I forget which.
4. Get the iMac 5k and then use Parallels or Fusion to run Windows as a VM and transfer over all of the information from the Dell to this VM. Then you can get rid of the Dell all together and have a single computer.
4. Get the iMac 5k and then use Parallels or Fusion to run Windows as a VM and transfer over all of the information from the Dell to this VM. Then you can get rid of the Dell all together and have a single computer.
OP I have a base retina imac made up to 16 gig ram bought from Crucial. Adding extra ram yourself is really easy, and much cheaper than buying it in from Apple.
I still have to use some windows only software, including quickbooks. I use Parallels, and moved my Windows license to the imac accordingly. The Windows virtual machine is always running via parallels and quickbooks appears as an icon in the quick launch bar at the bottom of the screen. It flips open the moment I need it, and is seamless in use with apple only iMac software.
You may want to consider that performance includes your use of the iMac in everyday use, rather than just numbers. In that case consider the resolution and clarity of the retina screen. It allows you to have more documents open and visible in the screen and the text is ultra clear and soooooo easy to read. Productivity goes up as a result because I am not constantly clicking between screens, they are all there in front of me.
This often gets overlooked in the debates that rage around performance on these hallowed pages.
The spec of your machine should depend entirely upon what you need it for. If it's office style apps - word processor, email, internet, accounts etc, the base model is more than up to it. I use mine for all that plus lightroom and other graphic work (hobby) and it is absolutely fine. It is a significant improvement over my PC despite being "only" the base model!
Best if luck with it whatever you decide.
I still have to use some windows only software, including quickbooks. I use Parallels, and moved my Windows license to the imac accordingly. The Windows virtual machine is always running via parallels and quickbooks appears as an icon in the quick launch bar at the bottom of the screen. It flips open the moment I need it, and is seamless in use with apple only iMac software.
You may want to consider that performance includes your use of the iMac in everyday use, rather than just numbers. In that case consider the resolution and clarity of the retina screen. It allows you to have more documents open and visible in the screen and the text is ultra clear and soooooo easy to read. Productivity goes up as a result because I am not constantly clicking between screens, they are all there in front of me.
This often gets overlooked in the debates that rage around performance on these hallowed pages.
The spec of your machine should depend entirely upon what you need it for. If it's office style apps - word processor, email, internet, accounts etc, the base model is more than up to it. I use mine for all that plus lightroom and other graphic work (hobby) and it is absolutely fine. It is a significant improvement over my PC despite being "only" the base model!
Best if luck with it whatever you decide.
Whilst I'm all for SSDs, I just thought I'd pitch in here. The Fusion drive has very similar read speeds to an SSD, alongside reasonably fast write speeds.
Basically a Fusion drive uses the 128GB SSD as a middle-man. When you save a 20mb photo, it'll save to the SSD super-fast, then later move it to the spinning drive if you don't view it again for a long time, effectively hiding the slowness from the user. It's a clever idea to keep storage prices down and compete with the PCs offering 2-3 TB of storage (average consumers will just go for bigger numbers - "Flash storage" means nothing to them) but, ultimately, it's a temporary hack until Flash storage comes down further in price.
I went for the 512GB SSD in the 5K iMac because, for me, external (and eventually cloud) storage is the way forward. I don't want an iMac with all my stuff on - that's too limiting. I want a server in my home with all my stuff on, and my iMac to simply be one way of accessing the content - same for my iPhone, iPads, MBPs, etc.. I need a bit of space for device specific things like apps, games, device-specific working files, etc, but 512GB more than covers that, again, for me.
Also worth noting that if you use Bootcamp on a Fusion Drive Mac, you're entirely relying on the spinning disk whilst in Windows. You're now in the situation where you've spent £2,500 on a mid-range desktop and have a bottleneck from the late 1990s. Not cool. The other downside to Fusion Drives is that you have a spinning disk in frequent use in your Mac - this will increase noise and heat vs. an SSD.
It's your money, so it's your decision. Just be aware of the drawbacks of each option. A Fusion Drive is the only solution for someone who needs 3TB of onboard storage in their iMac. It's also a considerable performance jump over the regular HDD in the 2013 model. The SSD option provides even better performance, but at a significant cost and unfavourable storage sizes.
As for your question of 2013 vs. 5K iMac. No-one here should be answering that for you. If you feel that a 5K screen, a slightly better processor and slightly faster graphics performance is worth $500 to you, then go 5K. If it's not, go 2013. To help contextualise $500, though, remember that a 5K screen alone will set you back $2,500 at the moment - the same price of a 5K iMac.
Think about what you need, don't just post randomly specced iMacs on here and ask for a yes/no from people, because only when you get to the maximum spec will you get a unanimous 'yes'
