Retina iMac Setup Question - Non Gaming - Heat Issues?

[rozel3]

There is lots of talk on this forum about heat issues with the i7 + 295 riMac and they generally all seem to reference some sort of gaming activity.

I am looking to buy a new riMac and will be using it for hobby photography, home video iPhone family footage editing through adobe premier elements or something similar and general web browsing. I will not be using it for any form of gaming.

I have 2 concerns:

1) I want to future proof the machine (my current windows desktop is 7 years old)
2) I would like to avoid any form of lag or slowness

So my question is this:

What is the best setup to get, I was considering maxing the machine for future proof (i7+512SSD+32Gb upgraded with 3rd party RAM+295 Graphics) however if the heat will cause long term damage I would rather avoid.

Advice from users with similar requirements would be welcomed

Thank you in advance

 

[Alesc]

The iMac Retina is 2-3 mounths old, we don't know if it will be a reliable machine...
But if you wan't to avoid lag and heat, I would advise you to not take the Retina. You can take the non Retina iMac, or wait for the next gen of Retina, with a decent GPU (the 290 is not powerfull enough for the 14 millions of pixels and the 295 can run very very hot: +100°C on heavy use...).

 

[lssmit02]

I have the i7 m295x version of the Retina iMac. I do some light gaming, but my main reason for buying the computer was, like you, for photography (as a hobbyist, not a professional). I have not experienced any noticeable lag, and viewing my photos on the retina screen is wonderful. I set the display for "Best for Display" and go from there. The color and clarity of my photos are fantastic. I can say with some conviction that I do not like using non-retina macs for editing any more.

As for heat, yes, the computer fans do rev up when I play games. Not too loud, certainly not louder than my Mac Pro did. The only difference is that the Mac Pro sat on the floor under the desk, so perhaps that help mitigate the sound. But over all this computer is a lot quieter.

Of course, YMMV.

 

[MacSignal]

IMO, future-proofing is frequently counterproductive. The closer you are to the base model, the less you lose on resale and the more money you have for the next model update.

Those future-proofing additions you are considering are also going to be counter-productive to your goal of avoiding higher operating temperatures.

FWIW, I don't game, don't do video, but seem to be doing fine with the base model config and not pushing temperatures much beyond idle with anything except Handbrake.

 

[robgendreau]

I have the 295 and I've had the fan on twice since last year, both times when importing and processing hundreds of RAW files in Lightroom. I'd say it's no better and no worse than most of the other MBPs and iMacs I've owned.

The most silent heat managed Mac you can get is the Mac Pro. So buy that if you need silence, but be careful about external enclosures since they can be noisy. But at least you can put the thing somewhere away from you.

But editing photos on the riMac is simply amazing. Unless you do demanding print work, and hence need more sophisticated color management than iMacs provide, then I'd say retina all the way. Even if you do need better color just buy a second monitor. It's the fastest single core processor for photos, and the best display out there right now for sharpness.

 

[Sensamic]

Future proofing never works.

In 7 years you will buy a new computer no matter how powerful you make it now. I see this as only losing money.

Seriously, who needs 32GB RAM apart from a few super professionals????

 

[Alesc]

Future proofing never works.

In 7 years you will buy a new computer no matter how powerful you make it now. I see this as only losing money.

Seriously, who needs 32GB RAM apart from a few super professionals????

I agree... People don't know how to read the RAM monitor on Yosemite.

 

[rozel3]

Thanks everyone for all advice and comments. Not fussed about the noise, I know its going to be quieter than what I have.

Absolutely agree don't want to waste money however don't want to find in a couple of months thinking its laggy.

So am thinking i7 with 290 and increase the RAM periodically if needed

 

[chrono1081]

There is lots of talk on this forum about heat issues with the i7 + 295 riMac and they generally all seem to reference some sort of gaming activity.

I am looking to buy a new riMac and will be using it for hobby photography, home video iPhone family footage editing through adobe premier elements or something similar and general web browsing. I will not be using it for any form of gaming.

I have 2 concerns:

1) I want to future proof the machine (my current windows desktop is 7 years old)
2) I would like to avoid any form of lag or slowness

So my question is this:

What is the best setup to get, I was considering maxing the machine for future proof (i7+512SSD+32Gb upgraded with 3rd party RAM+295 Graphics) however if the heat will cause long term damage I would rather avoid.

Advice from users with similar requirements would be welcomed

Thank you in advance

Be advised, most "heat issues" you see aren't issues at all. Many people don't realize that computers fluctuate in heat all the time and compare their computer while doing simple things like web browsing to doing something like gaming or video editing which WILL heat up a system.

That being said they have safeguards to protect the system if it overheats (freezing followed by shut down or immediate shutdown if the fan is not detected.)

Don't give into the fear mongering you hear on the forum. Your machine will be just fine. I use my machines very very heavily (lots of 3d work and rendering) and they've been going strong for four and a half years now.

As for future proofing it can't hurt. 32 GB may be overkill but 16 or 24 would be fine (although if it's in your budget I'd go 32 GB. I used to think i'd never run out of RAM with 24 GB but I do. Frequently.

 

[roadkill401]

Future proofing never works.

In 7 years you will buy a new computer no matter how powerful you make it now. I see this as only losing money.

Seriously, who needs 32GB RAM apart from a few super professionals????

They said when the first personal computers came out that nobody would need more than 64kb of memory. The first mac had 128kb.

Tiger worked fine with 2gb of ram. Yosemite theoretically could load with that, but I don't think you could actually get an app to run.

I have a mac mini that works fine with 4gb of ram. I loaded Yosemite and it had all sorts of problems. Back to Mavericks and it works fine again. As OS's get larger and larger because the bloat that gathers inside them, the more memory that you will need. If you are looking to keep the computer for 7 years then you might find at the rate we are moving at, that 32gb will not be enough for your OS in 3-4 years let alone 7.

 

[Alesc]

They said when the first personal computers came out that nobody would need more than 64kb of memory. The first mac had 128kb.

Tiger worked fine with 2gb of ram. Yosemite theoretically could load with that, but I don't think you could actually get an app to run.

I have a mac mini that works fine with 4gb of ram. I loaded Yosemite and it had all sorts of problems. Back to Mavericks and it works fine again. As OS's get larger and larger because the bloat that gathers inside them, the more memory that you will need. If you are looking to keep the computer for 7 years then you might find at the rate we are moving at, that 32gb will not be enough for your OS in 3-4 years let alone 7.

A lot of people are just buying the 32GB because they don't know how to read the monitor in Yosemite or because they want the top of the top.
Some video, sound or calculation professionals may need the 32GB, but for most of us, it is overkill...
I have 6GB of RAM on my 7,1 iMac (mid-2007): on Yosemite, with internet and office use (Firefox, Mail, Word, Excel, iMessage, Facetime, VLC etc.), the RAM pressure indicator is always green.

On my late 2013, I have 24GB (8 from Apple + 16 from Crucial), but with heavy use of Photoshop, Lightroom + gaming, internet and Office, I would be OK with 16GB...

 

[AppleFan360]

Be advised, most "heat issues" you see aren't issues at all. Many people don't realize that computers fluctuate in heat all the time and compare their computer while doing simple things like web browsing to doing something like gaming or video editing which WILL heat up a system.

That being said they have safeguards to protect the system if it overheats (freezing followed by shut down or immediate shutdown if the fan is not detected.)

Don't give into the fear mongering you hear on the forum. Your machine will be just fine. I use my machines very very heavily (lots of 3d work and rendering) and they've been going strong for four and a half years now.

Listen to this guy. He knows what he's talking about. The heat issue threads going on around here are based on people's obsessive compulsive behavior about something that really hasn't been proved a true issue. Yes, the fan inside the iMac revs up when doing some heavy work but I have not seen any lag or slow down in my rimac thus far.

If you are concerned then simply purchase AppleCare along with your iMac and enjoy.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Dont get the high-end graphic card, unless you plan to game on it. And go for 16Gb RAM, you won't need more.

 

[Astelith]

Don't buy the riMac ! I end up to set my house on fire !

I'm joking of course

The riMac is an amazing machine all around, one of the best thing is the panel, not comparable to the older models, except Adobe RGB kind of jobs you can't find anything better in the market for this price.
I do a lot of Photography and some video intensive tasks, during normal processes I have low temps (>60/70°C) and fan always at minimum.
I play game also sometimes and it works fine here too, 100°C and the fan is not audible with a normal speakers volume.

Don't get brainwashed by some desperate souls in the various temperatures threads, in my opinion if you have the budget go for i7, 295x, 512 SSD, 8gb ram + other 16 by crucial + Applecare and you are safe from potential issues, with the top spec you can also keep the value in case of reselling.

 

[prudenspatiens]

Thanks everyone for all advice and comments. Not fussed about the noise, I know its going to be quieter than what I have.

Absolutely agree don't want to waste money however don't want to find in a couple of months thinking its laggy.

So am thinking i7 with 290 and increase the RAM periodically if needed

I have had both the base version (for a month) and the maxed out (for a month now). I returned the base version because of the screen (clouding, light bleed), but also because it felt slow. It could do everything easily, but it felt slower than my 2012 rMBP and that was unacceptable to me. So I ordered the maxed out (i7, m295x, 512ssd). The screen was way better, and the computer was noticeably faster and the graphics were smoother.

To be honest, I did not really like the base version, and I now really enjoy the maxed out one. I did not order the m295x at first because of what I read on this forum and that was an error. I guess that since I am a light user, the problem does not apply to me.

I do light work, and the computer fan always stays at the minimum (1200 rpm). The heat is not a problem for me. The GPU stays around 45-55 degrees when i'm doing basic stuff. It does sometimes go up to 70 degrees when I watch too many videos on the internet, but it is very rare.

I do hear the fan a little more than I would like, but it is still very discreet and there is almost no difference between the base model and the maxed out version.

Hope this helps.