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Retina iMac - what configuration should I get?

L

LuvD

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 18, 2010
18
0
Hey guys,

I'll order my retina iMac in a couple of days and I'm not really sure about the configuration I should get.

I suppose you should know what I'm planning to do with my iMac:
  • - office applications
  • - a little bit(!) of photoshop
  • - no video editing at all
  • - gaming - honestly most of the time the typical "Mac-compatible"-games like WoW, Sims, ... were perfectly fine for me. But if there will be a nice, new game released (even if it is for Windows) and I'd like to play it, I want to be able to play without any hassles. So I have Windows via bootcamp in my mind.

At the moment I'm thinking about this:
  • - 3,5 GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost bis zu 3,9 GHz
  • - 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM – 2x 4 GB (I'll upgrade that by myself to at least 16 GB!)
  • - 1 TB Fusion Drive or 512 SSD
  • - AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4 GB GDDR5

For gaming the better GPU was a no brainer for me but I'm not sure about CPU und storage now.
Do I really need even more processing power? When I'm playing my games (like WoW, Sims, nothing special) with my MBP Retina 2012 the 2,3 Quad felt really well - of course on the SSD.

And this is what I'm concerned about. As bootcamp would always run on the HDD part of the Fusion Drive, I suppose the workflow is not so nice and fluent. And at that point I would consider getting a 512 GB SSD - this is more expensive than the configuration I mentioned above but if you say that's worth the invest, I will think about it.

So what's your opinion? SSD, FD? Even better processor? What should I get?

Thanks for your help in advance!
 
Last edited:
I've chosen the 256GB SSD option. I have a 3.5tb NAS that I store all my big files such as music, movies, tv shows and so on. Right now I have a Windows desktop with a 256GB SSD that works perfectly for me. I got the space needed and don't need to remove any applications.
 
So you think the faster processor is not necessarily needed but the SSD would be nice to have indeed?
 
This configuration seems great for you as-is. I doubt you'd notice substantial improvements with the i7, at least in the applications you listed.
 
I've had really bad experiences using bootcamp with the fusion drive, i.e. only being able to install on the mechanical component.

I'd always suggest going pure SSD , 512GB seems to be a sweet spot, then you can add external cheap USB mechanical if you need extra capacity. Split the SSD between OS X and Bootcamp.
 
I would get:

-256GB SSD because HDDs are noisy and vibrate. For more storage you can upgrade to a bigger SSD internally or add an external USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt HDD.

- 4.0 ghz i7 because it's an it supports hyper threading

-M295X because GPU is not upgradable and it'll be what'll limits the lifespan of the machine.
 
Since you are basically buying it for gaming, I would not waste money on the retina iMac, unless you have money to burn. And then you might just pump it up and be happy.
 
Question...

I am pricing out my 27" 5k iMac

I have it completely maxed out in specs including 32GB of ram and a 1TB SSD drive.

The big question comes down to the graphics card.

I am leaning towards going with the standard 2GB configuration.

I don't game. The only Photoshop work I do is resizing images.

Is there a reason to consider going with the 4GB graphics configuration?

Thank You
 
ToroidalZeus said:
I would get:

-256GB SSD because HDDs are noisy and vibrate. For more storage you can upgrade to a bigger SSD internally or add an external USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt HDD.

- 4.0 ghz i7 because it's an it supports hyper threading

-M295X because GPU is not upgradable and it'll be what'll limits the lifespan of the machine.
Click to expand...

Can I upgrade the internal SSD by myself? That'd be new to me?

Do you think the i7 is so much better and I would notice it while gaming?
 
LuvD said:
Can I upgrade the internal SSD by myself? That'd be new to me?

Do you think the i7 is so much better and I would notice it while gaming?
Click to expand...

You can upgrade it yourself but its harder than upgrading there ram because the entire screen needs to come out.

I think you would notice the difference.
 
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