New retina iMac here - very smooth, fast, no stuttering. Observed same immediately after first startup and later after migration of all apps, documents and settings from old iMac.
You might check the Activity Monitor to see if software apps or processes are hogging the CPU. If nothing suspicious show up there, call 800-my-apple for technical support.
Ii'm very happy with the new r-iMac so far. Very fast, beautiful screen.