Retina iMac make sure you view it in person before buying!

[cycledance]

The difference is not a lot when you switch from normal 27" imac to 5k imac.
The difference is when you come back to the normal after lets say 1-2 days spending in front of 5k
Just like the case with the ipad retina, ipad mini retina, retina macbook etc.

that's not really true. i have retina devices and non retina and i never get the feeling that i am looking at a bad screen when i look at non retina.

retina makes a lot of sense to me for really small screens like phones that i hold close to my face.

 

[Serban]

try NOT to use the non retina for a week, and use the retina only...and after come back. The difference is bigger when you go back in time than forward

 

[zAAz]

After I got my rMBP I can't look at my Dell 24" 1920*1080 monitor without feeling it has a defect. It just looks wrong compared to my rMBP. I never felt that way before I went retina. Actually when I bought the rMBP back in the day, I didn't think retina was that big a deal. It looked better, but it wasn't like I was blown away. It still doesn't blow me away, but I can't live without it.

When I look at the old iMac in stores I get that same feeling. It may be a bit sharper than my Dell monitor, but I notice the missing retina instantly. The new retina iMac will hopefully give me the peace of mind I need to do some work on a screen

 

[robo74]

OP is blind.

I've seen this in person at the store and it's incredible.

Don't believe the hype.

Well there we have it folks, this member has made it all clear.
Lets close down the forums and move on. No need to talk about it anymore.

The OP is apparently blind, this guy knows everything and the world is once again right.

How dare the OP offer some advice based on his own opinion, and how dare a couple others somewhat agree.

 

[qunit]

Well there we have it folks, this member has made it all clear.
Lets close down the forums and move on. No need to talk about it anymore.

The OP is apparently blind, this guy knows everything and the world is once again right.

How dare the OP offer some advice based on his own opinion, and how dare a couple others somewhat agree.

Well, he did get me wondering about my eyesight

Time to hit the sack overhere. Exiting day tomorrow with some tough (but luxury) choices. Thanks all

 

[macaximx]

I agree with the OP. Went to the store expecting what saw with the debut of the rMBP. I wasn't wowed. It is a beautiful display but not worth the selling of my late 2012 27 iMac. For now I am content. If I had an older iMac I would buy the retina iMac.
BTW The rMBP we have is spectacular. Perhaps the viewing distance makes it more noticeable.

 

[rittchard]

I've been using my 5K iMac a couple days now, and the difference is crystal clear. Keep in mind I sit only about 2 feet away, and find myself leaning in closer and closer just to explore the beauty of the screen. Everything has more clarity, fonts look crisper, icons are sharp as can be, etc. 5K photos are absolutely stunning, and yes 5K porn is . I ran the 4K video Timescapes in a window, and it looked incredible. Diablo 3 at full 5K res? You bet it looked sharp as can be.

All that said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The regular 27" iMac screen is a really excellent monitor, there's no argument there. I've been using them since they came out and loved them.

As content improves in quality/resolution over time, though, I think it will become more and more evident that this is a great upgrade. I suspect there will be a lot of this type of discussion with TVs as 4K rolls out.

 

[macmee]

I probably wont notice a huge difference either, but I wanted a good machine for xcode and hangouts that wouldn't lag. If it's laggy for me at 5k and the difference isn't very large from 2k, I wouldn't mind just using it at 2k then.

Thanks for your opinions on it, always interested in hearing what others think

 

[Padmini]

- My eyes are getting bad

This is the only reasonable explanation. The difference is night and day and its not debatable amongst people with vision.

 

[misho73]

I guess psychology plays big role here. If u are looking for a reason not to to spend money on this beauty u wont see it wow enough. If u r buying regardless u will see night and day difference. But the truth is by numbers it is a better screen and is a must for creative pros. How much u need it or how u perceive the difference is everyone's matter.

 

[forg0t]

You don't really ever notice a difference going up. It's when you lose it that you start noticing the differences. You'd be surprised in how much our eyes do to deceive us.

Try using the retina for a week, even a full day, without looking at your old iMac. Then you'll start to see things. After 4k starts dropping in price and becoming standard, we'll wonder how we ever dealt with the pixelated 1080p.

 

[thedeske]

I agree with the OP. Went to the store expecting what saw with the debut of the rMBP. I wasn't wowed. It is a beautiful display but not worth the selling of my late 2012 27 iMac. For now I am content. If I had an older iMac I would buy the retina iMac.
BTW The rMBP we have is spectacular. Perhaps the viewing distance makes it more noticeable.

No doubt the new panel is great, but people shouldn't dismiss the late 12 and 13 panel. It's still outstanding.

 

[curtoise]

How different will be to look at a 4k monitor (Asus, LG etc) hooked to a rMBP and a 5k iMac at the same resolutions both "retina", I guess color accuracy and better panel from Apple but they should look very similar at the same resolution.

I'm failing to find a review comparison about a 4k monitor and the new iMac yet.

I'll have both next Thursday in my office, I'm running a rMBP with an Asus 4k at 3200x1800, the Asus is $500 in Amazon right now and I've ordered a $3000 5k iMac, I'm hoping to see a huge improvement over the TN panel in the Asus as I'm sitting 18'' from the monitor 12 hours a day.

If the improvement is barely noticeable the iMac is going back and I'll stay with the $500 4k Asus.

 

[ra004e]

I just spent over hour at an Apple store with 5k iMac and I'm truly impressed. From my perspective the new 5k panel had excellent color reproduction, very even white across the panel, could not notice any obvious backlight bleed ( but has at well lit store ) and no yellowing. The panel looked much brighter in general compared to other 27" TBD and 27" iMacs in store. All of that said, in my opinion there really is no comparison to the 27" older panels ( or any panel I've ever seen to be fair ), the new 5k simply is superior in all aspects and I haven't even started to rave about much of difference the pixel density makes. The other 27" panels at the Apple store look dull and pixelated when comparing them side by side. Bottom line is the old panels are fine until you spend some time with the 5k. This panel is addictive, I didn't want to get up. ( Had to, my son had had enough ) Would have walked out of store with it but need to CTO one so will have to wait . It even makes the retina displays of rMBPs look lame with their limited color gamut. So as the OP said "Retina iMac make sure you view it in person before buying!" and come to your own conclusion.

 

[Col Vandal]

But can the old Macs actually view 4k material? Can they show every pixel in a full rez RAW file from a top-end camera?

I think it really comes down to what you're use is, where your old frame of reference is and what your expectation is.

If you're like me and coming from a 6-year-old computer and working in the digital photo or video world, I bet you'd notice.

If you're expecting night and day on your Word documents, Powerpoint or Web surfing, probably not.

Then again, I think my 1080p TV is just fine. For now.

 

[GreatMightySymp]

Didn't have any backlight bleed (and it seems a bit brighter than my older 2011 iMac even at two below max brightness) on mine thankfully.

After using my non-retina screen at work, it's amazing how much of a difference it was. A lot easier on my eyes (since I have astigmatism).

 

[curtoise]

I just spent over hour at an Apple store with 5k iMac and I'm truly impressed. From my perspective the new 5k panel had excellent color reproduction, very even white across the panel, could not notice any obvious backlight bleed ( but has at well lit store ) and no yellowing. The panel looked much brighter in general compared to other 27" TBD and 27" iMacs in store. All of that said, in my opinion there really is no comparison to the 27" older panels ( or any panel I've ever seen to be fair ), the new 5k simply is superior in all aspects and I haven't even started to rave about much of difference the pixel density makes. The other 27" panels at the Apple store look dull and pixelated when comparing them side by side. Bottom line is the old panels are fine until you spend some time with the 5k. This panel is addictive, I didn't want to get up. ( Had to, my son had had enough ) Would have walked out of store with it but need to CTO one so will have to wait . It even makes the retina displays of rMBPs look lame with their limited color gamut. So as the OP said "Retina iMac make sure you view it in person before buying!" and come to your own conclusion.

I understand that it looks (and it should) much much better like night and day from the older 27' panels on the Apple store, but eh it will look compared to another 4k Ultra HD non Apple monitor?

 

[tillsbury]

But can the old Macs actually view 4k material? Can they show every pixel in a full rez RAW file from a top-end camera?

to be fair, even the 5k retina can't do that, with many cameras now shooting 7k+...

 

[numbersyx]

Well there we have it folks, this member has made it all clear.
Lets close down the forums and move on. No need to talk about it anymore.

The OP is apparently blind, this guy knows everything and the world is once again right.

How dare the OP offer some advice based on his own opinion, and how dare a couple others somewhat agree.

And how dare someone disagree and offer his own opinion. That's what these forums are about...

 

[ra004e]

I understand that it looks (and it should) much much better like night and day from the older 27' panels on the Apple store, but eh it will look compared to another 4k Ultra HD non Apple monitor?

Don't forget this is the only glossy ( non matte ) 4-5k panel that I'm aware of at the moment and whether you like them or not, the difference in clarity needs to be taken in to consideration. For me as I've seen both at this resolution and it makes a huge difference. As far as the other 4k panels ( non TN ) most are also high color gamut panels, which can over saturate colors. apple's seems to once again get the balance right for intended audience. New yet to be seen Samsung https://pcmonitors.info/samsung/samsung-u32d970q-4k-uhd-pls-model/ looks very promising if you need a versatile 4k monitor. As for pixel density remember this is 27" 5k panel. Most current 4k panels are 32" sans the and 28" TN variety available.

 

[curtoise]

Don't forget this is the only glossy ( non matte ) 4-5k panel and whether you like them or not, the difference in clarity need to be taken in consideration. For me as I've seen both at this resolution and it makes a huge difference. As far as the other 4k panels ( non TN ) most are also high color gamut panels, which can over saturate colors. apple's seems to once again get the balance right for intended audience. New yet to be seen Samsung https://pcmonitors.info/samsung/samsung-u32d970q-4k-uhd-pls-model/ looks very promising if you need a versatile 4k monitor.

My rMBP late 2013 is hooked to an ASUS PB287Q 4K and everything looks retina, the panels is TN and as you know the colors are a little washed out but still the same color reproduction as my 15 rMBP as it is next to the monitor and I always compare same pages for color accuracy.

I guess the IPS plus the better components quality and better pixel density will make a huge impact, fortunately I'll be able to tell next week a I'll have both the new iMac and this ASUS with the rMBP together, then I'll know if I'll burn $3000 or not.
I'm looking forward to a better screen as I work about 12 hours a day glued to the monitor with Coda, JS, PHP and CSS.

 

[^^BIGMac]

I've read some folks complaining about how small the text is on the Retina.

Thoughts on that?

 

[curtoise]

Don't forget this is the only glossy ( non matte ) 4-5k panel that I'm aware of at the moment and whether you like them or not, the difference in clarity needs to be taken in to consideration. For me as I've seen both at this resolution and it makes a huge difference. As far as the other 4k panels ( non TN ) most are also high color gamut panels, which can over saturate colors. apple's seems to once again get the balance right for intended audience. New yet to be seen Samsung https://pcmonitors.info/samsung/samsung-u32d970q-4k-uhd-pls-model/ looks very promising if you need a versatile 4k monitor.

Here is the U32D970Q http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-U32D970Q-31-5-Inch-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B00ND1KVM0

For $500 more is a no-brainer to get the 5k iMac, you have a full computer inside instead of just the monitor.

 

[ra004e]

I've read some folks complaining about how small the text is on the Retina.

Thoughts on that?

Text is same size as 27" non retina iMac, at best for display setting in System Preferences.

 

[curtoise]

I've read some folks complaining about how small the text is on the Retina.

Thoughts on that?

That is one of my issue with the 4k monitor I'm using, if I select "Best for Display" apple will give me a high resolution of 3000 plus pixels and it is impossible to read, I always use scaled resolutions and everything still looks sharp with no pixels to be seen.

I hope we can go back in resolution on the new iMac too if text is too small.