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

[macduke]

I'm going to get one of these eventually. I was pretty well settled on buying one this autumn if they're upgraded with Skylake, but I might wait even longer. The only reason I want to upgrade my 2012 retina MacBook Pro is for the larger screen while retaining sharpness. If I could run 4K at 60fps then I'd be satisfied. Otherwise the thing is working fine. I might wait until Cannonlake in 2016 when I can hopefully get six cores, 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD for under $2500 with my discount. Or maybe an A-series iMac?

 

[rickdollar]

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

Sharp text is the main reason to buy one, IMO. People complain there are not enough apps that take advantage of the display but the text is super sharp weather the app is built for Retina or not. Aside from webpages using low resolution elements, nothing looks bad to me on this machine.

 

[theluggage]

It really bothers me that the 2013 Mac Pro might not support upcoming 5K Apple displays.

What upcoming Apple 5k displays? Until DisplayPort 1.3 / Thunderbolt 3 is readily available there is no interface that will support an external 5k display over a single wire.

The 5k iMac works because Apple can use a non-standard internal connection.

The Dell 5k uses two DisplayPort 1.2 connections (basically, behaving like 2 screens) - so Mac Pro compatibility is a matter of OSX support, not hardware. Apple could go down that route with their own display - but it seems a bit kludgy and, on a MBP or iMac, would knobble all of your Thunderbolt capability.

More likely, they'll hold off until there's a credible 5k-capable interface available - which won't work on any current Mac. Or maybe they're just out of the display market.

Also note the 12" MBA rumours that show it with a new USB 3.1c port as its only interface. If that turns out to be true* then (a) Thunderbolt really will be dead and (b) any new Apple displays will probably have USB 3.1c connectors (which can carry DisplayPort).

I think people over-estimate the importance of Apple displays to the Mac Pro. The Apple Cinema LED/Thunderbolt Display has always been a "prosumer" product that makes more sense as a laptop peripheral than a "pro" monitor. Mac Pro customers are just as likely to get a real "pro" display from NEC, Iiiyama, Eizo et. al.

(*note the if - its still a rumour. Of course, it could still turn out to be a TB3 connector or, since these new connectors are all 'soft', TB3 could end up using the USB3.1c connector).

 

[Mums]

What upcoming Apple 5k displays? Until DisplayPort 1.3 / Thunderbolt 3 is readily available there is no interface that will support an external 5k display over a single wire.

The 5k iMac works because Apple can use a non-standard internal connection.

The Dell 5k uses two DisplayPort 1.2 connections (basically, behaving like 2 screens) - so Mac Pro compatibility is a matter of OSX support, not hardware. Apple could go down that route with their own display - but it seems a bit kludgy and, on a MBP or iMac, would knobble all of your Thunderbolt capability.

More likely, they'll hold off until there's a credible 5k-capable interface available - which won't work on any current Mac. Or maybe they're just out of the display market.

Also note the 12" MBA rumours that show it with a new USB 3.1c port as its only interface. If that turns out to be true* then (a) Thunderbolt really will be dead and (b) any new Apple displays will probably have USB 3.1c connectors (which can carry DisplayPort).

I think people over-estimate the importance of Apple displays to the Mac Pro. The Apple Cinema LED/Thunderbolt Display has always been a "prosumer" product that makes more sense as a laptop peripheral than a "pro" monitor. Mac Pro customers are just as likely to get a real "pro" display from NEC, Iiiyama, Eizo et. al.

(*note the if - its still a rumour. Of course, it could still turn out to be a TB3 connector or, since these new connectors are all 'soft', TB3 could end up using the USB3.1c connector).

Okay 4K. The reason I want an Apple display is so that it plays perfectly with my Mac Pro. The ASUS display I'm using is not too bad but it's glitchy. And Apple displays look way better.

 

[yellowtruck]

to prevent regret

I got one last month. I don’t really use the 5k rez for anything. I can’t even find any video rez over 4k online. Looking back, I didn’t really need to break the bank for it but with that said, for the next 5 years, I would have regretted daily not getting it because it was within reach - though a long strenuous one with grunts and pulled muscles, I go it, to eliminate daily regret and wondering what I’d be missing (not much)

 

[spentan]

Tossing up between a retina iMac and a Mac pro attached to 2x 4k displays.

Love a multi monitor setup, but also want the best value

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Okay 4K. The reason I want an Apple display is so that it plays perfectly with my Mac Pro. The ASUS display I'm using is not too bad but it's glitchy. And Apple displays look way better.

What Asus display are you using?

 

[Mums]

What Asus display are you using?

The cheap one. It's a nice enough display - not poorly made - but very plasticy and just not good enough overall.

 

[viorelgn]

Thank you for this excellent article. It really helped me make a decision as to which iMac are best for me.

 

[campyguy]

MR, you've done me a major disservice.

I was all set to spring for a 4k display today after waffling about selling my 15" rMBP and buying a 5k iMac or keeping the rMBP and buying a 27" 4k Dell monitor.

Now, I'm back to waffling... I do like waffles. Great article, too.

 

[satcomer]

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.)

Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock.

That gives a Thunderbolt device HDMI *OUT* so you can plug in to an HDMI monitor or TV- which you can do a LOT cheaper with a DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter. I'm talking about HDMI *IN*, so you can connect an HDMI device like a PlayStation or a Blu-ray player to your iMac. This is something you could do with the very first generation of 27" DisplayPort iMac, but went away with Thunderbolt.

 

[satcomer]

That gives a Thunderbolt device HDMI *OUT* so you can plug in to an HDMI monitor or TV- which you can do a LOT cheaper with a DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter. I'm talking about HDMI *IN*, so you can connect an HDMI device like a PlayStation or a Blu-ray player to your iMac. This is something you could do with the very first generation of 27" DisplayPort iMac, but went away with Thunderbolt.

Blackmagic Design Intensity Extreme.

 

[bwsteg]

Blackmagic Design Intensity Extreme.

Can I connect a xbox one to a retina 5k iMac with that unit?

 

[satcomer]

Can I connect a xbox one to a retina 5k iMac with that unit?

Maybe to capture video game play to edit in a video editing program. However I am not sure. Maybe if the used something like Elgato EyeTV HD.

 

[milleron]

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.

I agree that it's difficult to discern the difference between the Retina display and the old 27" display on graphics. On text, on the other hand, the improvement offered by the Retina display is very readily apparent. In fact, it's so obvious, that I now dislike reading anything on my secondary monitor which is a 27" 2560 x 1440 display.
So I actually believe that users with text-intensive work may benefit as much as the graphic users toward whom the iMac Retina seems to be pitched.

 

[jfischer]

I had a 2013 27" iMac for 4 months before I decided to "splurge" and get the 5K. Small text on the 2013 was a little difficult to read, but it is crystal clear on the 5K.

Not that the 2013 has a bad screen mind you, but the 5K screen is just so sharp and clear compared to anything else out there.

I figure the 5K should hold me for quite a few years. It has more horsepower than I will ever need, and I upgraded it to 16GB of RAM so I can run a few VMs on it as well.

 

[priscilla0476]

need advice

hi everyone here.im planning to buy this imac 5k..im using this mainly for photo editing and some video editing as well watching films.my planned specification is i5 instead of i7.is this ok?i increased the graphics to 4gb m295x.then im gonna upgrade the RAM to 32gb.256gb storage is this ok?by not getting the i7,will this affect my purpose of use?do i need only 2 external hardrives?1 for storage and 1 for time capsule?any particular brand or specification of external hardrive u can suggest.not too expensive if possible.thank you

 

[Black Magic]

hi everyone here.im planning to buy this imac 5k..im using this mainly for photo editing and some video editing as well watching films.my planned specification is i5 instead of i7.is this ok?i increased the graphics to 4gb m295x.then im gonna upgrade the RAM to 32gb.256gb storage is this ok?by not getting the i7,will this affect my purpose of use?do i need only 2 external hardrives?1 for storage and 1 for time capsule?any particular brand or specification of external hardrive u can suggest.not too expensive if possible.thank you

From everything I read, you will want to upgrade to i7, Apparently you will be short changing yourself if you don't. If I were you, I'd get a Apple Certified Refurbished one and add Apple Care+ to it. You will save quite a few $$$.

 

[Marshall73]

hi everyone here.im planning to buy this imac 5k..im using this mainly for photo editing and some video editing as well watching films.my planned specification is i5 instead of i7.is this ok?i increased the graphics to 4gb m295x.then im gonna upgrade the RAM to 32gb.256gb storage is this ok?by not getting the i7,will this affect my purpose of use?do i need only 2 external hardrives?1 for storage and 1 for time capsule?any particular brand or specification of external hardrive u can suggest.not too expensive if possible.thank you

I got the 5K iMac with the i7 processor m295x graphics 1tb fusion drive and upgraded to 32gb ram once I had it. I use a time capsule for backup and have 2 external uasp usb ssd drives for games and stuff rather than thrashing the internal filling it with rubbish