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

[^^BIGMac]

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.

Gonna have to check this out at the Apple Store.

 

[curtoise]

Gonna have to check this out at the Apple Store.

I think text is smaller, last month I've sold my thunderbolt 27' display and the resolution was 2560-by-1440 and text was fine, now I have a 4k monitor hooked to the rMBP and 2560-by-1440 text is much smaller than on the non retina TB display, weird but it is.

 

[ra004e]

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.

What I saw was 5 scaling resolutions in System Preferences > Displays
Forgive me if I did not them exactly correct, going on memory

1. 1600 x 900
2. 2048 x 1024 (not sure about this one)
3. 2650 x 1440 Best for display settings
4. can't remember
5. 3200×1800

----------

I think text is smaller, last month I've sold my thunderbolt 27' display and the resolution was 2560-by-1440 and text was fine, now I have a 4k monitor hooked to the rMBP and 2560-by-1440 text is much smaller than on the non retina TB display, weird but it is.

From what I saw side by side, they ( iMac 27" 2.5k, iMac 27" 5k ) text looked the same.

 

[AxoNeuron]

The difference between a Retina display and a non-retina display is absolutely enormous to me, night and day. I bought the 15" Retina macbook pro back in 2012 the month it came out because the display is the biggest factor in a computer for me.

I saw the Retina iMac today and it is absolutely magnificent. I would love to get one if I could ever afford it

My dream would be to get the retina iMac and hook up two thunderbolt displays, one on each side, for making software.

 

[scottomfg]

These people saying it isn't a big difference are cracking me up, someone should make a master list so we can know who to ignore from here on when it comes to anything involving vision. Sitting here on the 27" screen I can see pixels without moving my face one inch closer to the screen. MUCH room for improvement. Y'all know that there are four pixels on the 5k in place of one pixel on the non-retina, right?

 

[Alimar]

What immediately struck me was: NOTHING.

 

[curtoise]

These people saying it isn't a big difference are cracking me up, someone should make a master list so we can know who to ignore from here on when it comes to anything involving vision. Sitting here on the 27" screen I can see pixels without moving my face one inch closer to the screen. MUCH room for improvement. Y'all know that there are four pixels on the 5k in place of one pixel on the non-retina, right?

Thursday is the judgment day for me, testing side by side a 4k monitor and a 5k iMac, same resolution, normal daily work for me (js-php-css), I'll post pics I can, I hope the improvement is huge over 4k otherwise I'll be happy with $3k back in my pocket.

 

[scottomfg]

Thursday is the judgment day for me, testing side by side a 4k monitor and a 5k iMac, same resolution, normal daily work for me (js-php-css), I'll post pics I can, I hope the improvement is huge over 4k otherwise I'll be happy with $3k back in my pocket.

Ah, now that is a discussion worth having. I'll be interested to hear what people think. I'm not certain that the difference will be meaningful for me personally.

 

[Branskins]

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

Thoughts on that?

I thought this too at first but I checked the settings and someone had changed it to the highest scaled resolution (more space).

On Best for Retina, text is the same size as it is on the old 27" iMac

 

[curtoise]

Ah, now that is a discussion worth having. I'll be interested to hear what people think. I'm not certain that the difference will be meaningful for me personally.

I have my doubts too, I want the difference to be huge as I want to have my first iMac but if it is barely noticeable I'll be happy with my 4k monitor and rMBP.

 

[niklasios]

After having this screen for 2 days, i can GUARANTEE that OP is wrong. This screen is AMAZING.

I'm in love with it.

I had a maxed out iMac late 2013, so hardware is not much difference.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[octothorpe8]

After I got my rMBP I can't look at my Dell 24" 1920*1080 monitor without feeling it has a defect.

There are degrees of difference, though. 1920x1080 is not that high of resolution for such a large screen so I'm not surprised it looks rough.

 

[torana355]

These people saying it isn't a big difference are cracking me up, someone should make a master list so we can know who to ignore from here on when it comes to anything involving vision. Sitting here on the 27" screen I can see pixels without moving my face one inch closer to the screen. MUCH room for improvement. Y'all know that there are four pixels on the 5k in place of one pixel on the non-retina, right?

Ive got perfect vision, i work in the printing industry. The retina iMac is not a huge improvement over the non retina version.

 

[scottomfg]

Ive got perfect vision, i work in the printing industry. The retina iMac is not a huge improvement over the non retina version.

I work in the print industry too, as a matter of fact. To say it's not a huge improvement is simply technically wrong, there is no way around it. Here's a printing scenario you should be familiar with:

Text on a 5k retina screen = perfect vector characters imageset at 1200 dpi

Text on standard display = bitmap text output with 150 line screen cause some dufus sent over a jpeg for final artwork.

Don't be the dufus sending text jpegs to print, use retina screens.

 

[WilliamG]

Ive got perfect vision, i work in the printing industry. The retina iMac is not a huge improvement over the non retina version.

I vehemently disagree with you. The difference is massive. If you can't see the difference, that doesn't make you wrong, of course. It just means *you* can't see the difference.

 

[houkouonchi]

Ive got perfect vision, i work in the printing industry. The retina iMac is not a huge improvement over the non retina version.

If you have perfect vision go download SetResX and run the display at native resolution with no HiDPI and everything gets 4x smaller, can you easily read everything at normal viewing distances?

Take a screenshot with a bunch of stuff open then view the screenshot full screen on your old mac. Now you can't read anything.

Difference would be huge.

I am going by an apple store tomorrow to check one of these out.

 

[qunit]

Well, just ordered: i7, 295x, 8gb (will add more later), 512gb SSD. The price difference beteren normal and retina is too small to not do it. I also upped the specs. If I spent his much money on a new computer i might as well go "all-in".

 

[theSeb]

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

Indeed. I am not sure where people get this idea from. It's like they have never seen an Apple device with a "retina" display before.

 

[misho73]

How come you people accuse those who cannot see the difference with bad vision? I guess those who have bad vision will appreciate the retina more as it is sharper when it comes to how it displays text on screen. Am I getting this wrong?

 

[^^BIGMac]

I thought this too at first but I checked the settings and someone had changed it to the highest scaled resolution (more space).

On Best for Retina, text is the same size as it is on the old 27" iMac

I was wondering about this but according to this from Apple when you change the scaled resolution to allow for larger text...

Note: Scaled resolutions do not offer the same visual quality as the Retina setting. Scaled resolutions may also impact graphics performance depending on which applications you are using.

I know that article is talking about the rMBP but wouldn't the same theory carry over to the 27" Retina? I'm getting confused. Is setting the screen to "best" diffident than scaling it?

 

[omenatarhuri]

I saw the retina imac today at the store and it was gorgeous. The display seemed fantastic. I've always noticed a big difference in the MBP screens and I thought the difference was very similar to that.

I was contemplating between this and LG 34UM95. I haven't seen the LG but this certainly sets the bar high.

 

[curtoise]

I saw the retina imac today at the store and it was gorgeous. The display seemed fantastic. I've always noticed a big difference in the MBP screens and I thought the difference was very similar to that.

I was contemplating between this and LG 34UM95. I haven't seen the LG but this certainly sets the bar high.

Same here I've been eyeing at the LG 34UM95 for over a month and it is $900 now on Amazon, IPS panel, 34'' thunderbolt ports, etc.

Very good reviews too, I just don't know if I'll get accustomed to the aspect ratio.

 

[Lankyman]

I don't see how you can not see the difference. It's like night and day. Are you sure you were looking at the right monitor in the correct store? How was the riMac set up? Best for display or in a scaled resolution? Somebody could have been playing around with it before you.

I don't think you appreciate that we all see things differently, our vision is unique. As an example, my wife couldn't tell you when we are watching TV in HD or SD.

Age is also a big factor. Then you could have normal vision, be short or long sighted etc.

Therefore for you to say you cannot understand how people can't see the difference is quite frankly a nonsense.

 

[omenatarhuri]

Same here I've been eyeing at the LG 34UM95 for over a month and it is $900 now on Amazon, IPS panel, 34'' thunderbolt ports, etc.

Very good reviews too, I just don't know if I'll get accustomed to the aspect ratio.

I wouldn't worry about the aspect ratio due to the height (similar to iMac 27) and sufficient vertical resolution 1440.

Tough call between the two...

 

[cycledance]

I vehemently disagree with you. The difference is massive. If you can't see the difference, that doesn't make you wrong, of course. It just means *you* can't see the difference.

or you are sitting at a comfortable distance to a 27" monitor...

i think the people who say there is a massive difference check out the display by getting really close to it like on a small phone (where it makes sense).