iMac Buyer's Guide: Is the 5K iMac Right For You?

[MacRumors]

The new Retina iMac, also known as the iMac with 5K Retina display, came at a time when the iMac line needed an infusion of something new, something dramatic -- after all, it's difficult to get really excited about another speed bump. The last time Apple made a major change in the iMac was in late 2012, and that was when Apple shrank the iMac to 5mm at the edge, a change that was nice, but a thinner iMac wasn't on most people's wish list.

The Retina iMac is the change in the iMac lineup we've all been waiting for, but it's not quite the computer for everyone -- yet. This buyer's guide, and the video below, take a look at what needs to be considered when deciding to buy the Retina iMac.

What is the iMac with 5K Retina display?

The Retina iMac looks like your typical iMac from the outside. The key difference is the screen; you'll notice that it shows amazing detail, and images look crisper and cleaner on the Retina iMac than on a standard iMac.

Apple calls a display "Retina" when a user, at a typical usage distance, can't discern the individual pixels on the screen. The Retina iMac achieves this with a 5120-by-2880 pixel resolution. A standard 27-inch iMac has a resolution of 2560-by-1440. That's a lot more pixels (four times, to be exact) on the Retina iMac.

Screen resolutions compared with the Retina iMac​

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If you're still trying to wrap your head around the enormity of the Retina iMac's resolution, Apple provides a sample 5K image that you can look at on your Mac. The Retina iMac can show this complete image on its display.


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Article Link: iMac Buyer's Guide: Is the 5K iMac Right For You?

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Nice. Thanks for the comparison between the Mac Pro and iMac 5K.

I need to think about whether I'll need the additional cores offered by the Mac Pro.

Or if I'd be better off with a Retina MacBook Pro.

Speaking of which, can you compare the Retina MacBook Pro to the iMac 5K?

If you own an iMac that's more that four years old and you've been holding out for a game-changing upgrade, the Retina iMac fits the bill.

Hah. It turns 8 this year. It's officially obsolete in 11 weeks. But it still works great, even with Yosemite (it's actually better with Yosemite than it was with Lion - Maverick.)

 

[afawcett]

I understand that many users would be benefit from this, but I would love to see an iMac that would accept HDMI for Target Display Mode. I run a second monitor for my 360, but would love to free up a little more space in my room. Other than that I love my 22 inch 2012 iMac.

 

[Robot Overlord]

I was ready to buy one of these when they launched, sadly using my current (ancient) 27" in target display mode as my MacBook external monitor is part of my workflow, so for me the 5K was not meant to be.

Also, check them out in the apple store before you buy. I was expecting a night and day display difference, but unless I got very very close to the screen and looked very hard, I couldn't tell a difference.

 

[Berti10]

I think the Retina 5K iMac ist Most suitable for Engineers or People who work a lot with Vector-Bayer programs like AutoCAD. On lower Resolution Displays thin Vector Lines simply dissappear, because as a Vector the thickness of that line Switches directy from Black to white, rather than a picture with a few greyscales in between. I had a lot of trouble because of that.

 

[Zheray94]

The content here has really been improving lately, in my opinion. Great article.

 

[Makosuke]

Admittedly, I fit into the category of "several-year-old 27" iMac, looking to upgrade" (though prior to that I'd always bought pro towers), so I'm a prime candidate. That said, man is that a heck of a computer.

Speed and impressive GPU performance for an all-in-one aside, the screen is just flat-out gorgeous. I imagine some people with worse eyes, or who sit way back from their desk, might not notice it as much, but it looks absolutely stunning to my eyes from where I usually sit.

Relatively high-res photos in particular look stunning, and text is markedly sharper and clearer.

Also: There isn't much need, but running a modern racing game at 5K for a bit to try it out looks unbelievable, and shockingly enough the GPU was actually keeping the framerate smooth (though the fans sure spooled up).

 

[Mums]

It really bothers me that the 2013 Mac Pro might not support upcoming 5K Apple displays. The Mac Pro is definitely a powerhouse, but this first generation cylinder Mac Pro was released prematurely without a matching screen available.

I've had to use an ASUS, which is okay, but feels and looks cheap compared to Apple stuff, and up until today I was experiencing screen-tearing issues with it due to Apple not updating firmware drivers for certain 4K screens.

The whole thing has been a great frustration involving glitchy / jumpy windows and images on the screen. I miss the holistic approach Steve Jobs took with everything and made it "just work".

 

[IJ Reilly]

I was ready to buy one of these when they launched, sadly using my current (ancient) 27" in target display mode as my MacBook external monitor is part of my workflow, so for me the 5K was not meant to be.

Also, check them out in the apple store before you buy. I was expecting a night and day display difference, but unless I got very very close to the screen and looked very hard, I couldn't tell a difference.

Likewise. I tried an A/B comparison side-by-side in the store. Only in apps optimized for Retina (such as the Finder) could I see any difference, and that was only with getting right on top of the display, much closer than I'd normally do for real work. In non-optimized apps you're seeing pixel-doubling. Seems to me the Retina iMac occupies the awkward prosumer category: more than most people need in an AIO Mac, and less than many would want for display-intensive work in optimized apps.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

I understand that many users would be benefit from this, but I would love to see an iMac that would accept HDMI for Target Display Mode. I run a second monitor for my 360, but would love to free up a little more space in my room. Other than that I love my 22 inch 2012 iMac.

The first DisplayPort-equipped 27" iMacs had Target Display Mode that would work with a DP-HDMI adapter, so you COULD plug an HDMI device (such as an Xbox) in. But that went away with Thunderbolt. I wish it would come back. Hell, I'd accept the 5K iMac allowing 1080p HDMI input, not even going for the full 5K over Thunderbolt or anything. (Although obviously that would be better - even 4K over HDMI or DisplayPort would be a nice bonus.)

 

[Olivier Giround]

The 5K iMac is right for people with more dollars than sense.

 

[Achiever]

A good article, but I note one error: the article states that all iMacs have 2 Thunderbolt ports, but that they are not Thunderbolt 2 ports. While this is true of the non-retina iMacs, according to the Apple Tech Specs page, the Retina iMac's Thunderbolt ports are Thunderbolt 2.

 

[Nunyabinez]

Also, check them out in the apple store before you buy. I was expecting a night and day display difference, but unless I got very very close to the screen and looked very hard, I couldn't tell a difference.

Likewise. I tried an A/B comparison side-by-side in the store. Only in apps optimized for Retina (such as the Finder) could I see any difference, and that was only with getting right on top of the display, much closer than I'd normally do for real work. In non-optimized apps you're seeing pixel-doubling. Seems to me the Retina iMac occupies the awkward prosumer category: more than most people need in an AIO Mac, and less than many would want for display-intensive work in optimized apps.

While you may have to work to see the difference from just a glance, I can tell you from my experience that your eyes can tell the difference whether you can detect it or not. I use my computer for hours on end. At work I have a 2011 iMac. Great machine, love it. At home I have an iMac with Retina. After a few hours of work I find myself repeatedly taking off my glasses, rubbing my eyes, and taking breaks because my eyes hurt. At home, I go for hours and my eyes feel great.

Now, everyone's eyes are different and there are likely other environmental factors that may be at play (lighting for one), but when I'm looking at a word doc on my work machine it is clearly pixelated text. On my home machine, it looks just like magazine print.

That may not justify dumping a perfectly functional machine, but I love my iMac with Retina like no machine I ever owned.

 

[nutmac]

The 5K iMac is right for people with more dollars than sense.

Care to elaborate? The price of non-retina iMac with a spec closest to entry-level 5K iMac spec (3.5GHz i7, 1TB Fusion drive) is $2399. And even if you forego 3.5GHz i7 upgrade, you are looking at $300 price difference, which is the same as entry level 13" MBA vs. 13" rMBP. $300 for retina screen, faster CPU and GPU, and Thunderbolt 2 doesn't seem all that bad.

 

[AlecZ]

I just want the retina iMac's specs in a Mac mini.

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The 5K iMac is right for people with more dollars than sense.

It's the same price as a 5K display by itself. I'd call that very cheap for what it is.

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It's kinda sad how this beats a low-end Mac Pro in multicore performance, comes with a display, AND is cheaper. So what, the Mac Pro is only better in terms of GPU performance? It's got 2013 parts and is still sold at the same price as when it was new.

 

[IJ Reilly]

While you may have to work to see the difference from just a glance, I can tell you from my experience that your eyes can tell the difference whether you can detect it or not. I use my computer for hours on end. At work I have a 2011 iMac. Great machine, love it. At home I have an iMac with Retina. After a few hours of work I find myself repeatedly taking off my glasses, rubbing my eyes, and taking breaks because my eyes hurt. At home, I go for hours and my eyes feel great.

Now, everyone's eyes are different and there are likely other environmental factors that may be at play (lighting for one), but when I'm looking at a word doc on my work machine it is clearly pixelated text. On my home machine, it looks just like magazine print.

That may not justify dumping a perfectly functional machine, but I love my iMac with Retina like no machine I ever owned.

I suppose it depends on what kind of work you are doing. I wonder if pixel-doubling is going to reduce your eyestrain any.

 

[BC2009]

A good article, but I note one error: the article states that all iMacs have 2 Thunderbolt ports, but that they are not Thunderbolt 2 ports. While this is true of the non-retina iMacs, according to the Apple Tech Specs page, the Retina iMac's Thunderbolt ports are Thunderbolt 2.

Exactly the problem I noticed. The Retina 5K iMac definitely has "Thunderbolt 2" ports on it.

http://www.apple.com/imac-with-retina/specs/

 

[jclo]

A good article, but I note one error: the article states that all iMacs have 2 Thunderbolt ports, but that they are not Thunderbolt 2 ports. While this is true of the non-retina iMacs, according to the Apple Tech Specs page, the Retina iMac's Thunderbolt ports are Thunderbolt 2.

Exactly the problem I noticed. The Retina 5K iMac definitely has "Thunderbolt 2" ports on it.

http://www.apple.com/imac-with-retina/specs/

Thanks for the heads up, we've fixed this oversight.

 

[con19m31]

I suppose it depends on what kind of work you are doing. I wonder if pixel-doubling is going to reduce your eyestrain any.

I went to the Apple Store just to see for myself whether I'd notice a difference between Retina and non-Retina on the iMac. The associate first got a picture on both displays and zoomed in/out etc. I don't work with pictures, so I said I just want to see text since I stare at Xcode and other development tools all day.

Once I saw just text (Pages, browser etc) the difference was very clear to me. It is so crisp on the Retina iMac compared to non-Retina. In my mind, looking at this all day it would be better. Does it help eyestrain.....who knows, but certainly pleasant enough that I WANT one now

 

[IJ Reilly]

I went to the Apple Store just to see for myself whether I'd notice a difference between Retina and non-Retina on the iMac. The associate first got a picture on both displays and zoomed in/out etc. I don't work with pictures, so I said I just want to see text since I stare at Xcode and other development tools all day.

Once I saw just text (Pages, browser etc) the difference was very clear to me. It is so crisp on the Retina iMac compared to non-Retina. In my mind, looking at this all day it would be better. Does it help eyestrain.....who knows, but certainly pleasant enough that I WANT one now

Maybe so, I didn't have a lot of time with the two iMacs. It was difficult enough getting access to one at a time in a crowded Apple Store.

 

[alxhrs]

Use one for a month, then go back to a non-retina 27 inch. It's dramatically different.

 

[chocolaterabbit]

I've only tried it out in a store, but while the difference wasn't night and day like the MBP, it is definitely very noticeable. Especially with text and high res photos, the difference was enough that I can see myself not wanting to go back to a lower res after using the higher res panel for a month.

 

[Santabean2000]

I was ready to buy one of these when they launched, sadly using my current (ancient) 27" in target display mode as my MacBook external monitor is part of my workflow, so for me the 5K was not meant to be.

Also, check them out in the apple store before you buy. I was expecting a night and day display difference, but unless I got very very close to the screen and looked very hard, I couldn't tell a difference.

Our eyes must be different - to me it really was a big difference.

 

[NikeSG]

And shortly after this article was posted, all of the Certified Refurbished 5K iMacs have magically vanished from Apple's site. Heck, I almost bought one.

 

[tillsbury]

Use one for a month, then go back to a non-retina 27 inch. It's dramatically different.

A month! Heck, I used mine for an hour and then plugged in my Dell 30" 2560x1600 display. Waste of time, it's unusable now. The 30" has been gathering dust ever since, will probably go to the boy's computer.