OP - i was also very much looking forward towards the new imac. I currently have a '13 MBP with dell ultrasharp 27" display - i am really pushing this machine to the maxx, the poor dual-core processor can barely cope with my needs, let alone the intel integrated GPU. I have decided to wait until skylake, as the upgrade is rather substantial and my machine, although being utilised for some pro tasks- is actually ok for another year or so. In your case i think it would be perfectly justifiable to upgrade - these machines do seem simply awesome.
Ultimately - weigh u the pros/cons:
I feel skylake will be a rather big jump: TB1.3, HDMI 2+, pci-e 3, usb 3.1 etc
This may prove worth the wait, as these may be better optimised for 4k/5k.
Saying that, the current CPU is astonishing and the becnhmarks reflect this. And the screen is unlike anything the macs have got before.
We only have a couple of sets of numbers yet so things might change, but first indications are not too great. But isn't it better to judge off numbers because it is objective rather than subjective?
I think a mixture of artificial benchmarks and real world usage - hence i am eagerly awaiting anands and others' reviews.
A retina iMac (in any configuration) would be *vastly* faster and more pleasurable to use than your current machine.
Very good point - OP has 6yr old machine
OP. ur machine is old. And obviously u need a new one. U can spend the rest of ur life waiting for the perfect and satisfying set. But the problem is, u can always wait for +1 year. Cause the next model will be always nicer. This will never end.
if u need one. Now is the perfect timing. We r at the beginning of a new cycle. u will have at least one full year (or more) in full satisfaction that u are having the top of the line. I encourage u to pull the trigger (if ur current hardware giving u hard time)
My personal feelings for my needs are that skylake is worth the jump, and the added features are leaps ahead of current haswell. Intel has persistently attested skylake will not be delayed <it would be more shocking if intel next CPUs are not actually delayed> Intel has also indicated that broadwell will be geared towards laptops (2015 Q2) and skylake for desktops (2015 Q4).
I thought about waiting for full reviews and benchmarks before I jump the gun but I realized on Saturday that any new iMac I'd order would be ALOT better than this '08 iMac.
So I put in my order Sat night. I opted for CPU and GPU upgrade. If I can get the same 6 years out of it like my current one, I'd be extremely happy.
If you got the bucks, I'd recommend getting both upgrades to future proof it, at least for awhile.
Very good point, like the OP you seem like you have a valid need to upgrade, for me i can weight it out until skylake.
PS OP imac retain their value very well.
Maybe grab the 295x. Seems to be a monster!
From all the reviews i have seen, i would find it difficult not to justify upgrading to 295x - seems like a huge improvement
I think the "kerfuffle" is based on previous experience with Retina products.
Historically, the first generation of anything with a retina screen (aside from the iPhone 4) has shown that the screen was at least a generation ahead of the hardware required to use it.
The iPad3 was a slight step back in graphics performance (4x the pixels with only 2x the GPU power).
The original retina MacBooks were perceived as laggy with the Ivy Bridge integrated GPU, although we now know that was mostly due to software optimization.
So people might be saying that the next generation of iMac (broadwell) is the one to wait for.
HOWEVER, anecdotal reports from people who have actually used the new 5K mac indicate that it has no issues driving the display.
As an early adopter (release day) for both the Ipad 3, and rMBP; i feel the experience was not pleasant - yes at the time i was wowed by the amazing screens, but both machines were plagues with system freezes, crashes, and overall performance was sub-par.
The maxwell 980M GPU may be included in a silent refresh in early 2015 before they upgrade to broadwell/skylake.
OP if you could wait until after xmas, then maybe by that time we will have a much clearer picture of 5k imac - in terms of real world usage and benchmarks.
----------
(My first post here. Be kind)
Having previously been a deacon in the Church of Bill gates since the early 80s, I switched to the other side in 2005 and have been a happy convert since.
I ordered the Retina iMac (4GHz i7, 16GB RAM, M295X video, 1TB Fusion HD)the day it was announced and received it on Tuesday, 10/21. This machine is faaaasst. The screen is beautiful, and I have not heard the fan turn on yet even when running two VMware sessions at the same time while web browsing and transferring files to an external thunderbolt drive.
The only time I have noticed lag was moving a window inside a VMware Win7 session while it was installing updates. The movement of the window was a little "stuttery". However, the Ubuntu session also running at the same time suffered no problems. Ill chalk it up to Microsoft and/or the video drivers.
I can see this machine easily lasting me the next 5 years. Its that good.
Very jealous.
Could i ask if you have tried any 4K video -ie 4k clips on youtube - how the performance? thanks
)