Retina iMac - Which GPU to buy?

[bentom13]

I am very close to buying the new 5K Retina iMac but am unsure on what GPU to select?

I have heard of many issues and am not too sure on what the situation is?

I hope to have this iMac for 5 years plus so would like it to be the best i can afford - therefore i will be getting the i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD configuration. Its just the GPU thats the issue!

I am NOT a gamer but i would be using this for video editing (not loads but a reasonable amount. Therefore i would like the best performance for these tasks.

I am however concerned about the lagging issues. I am unsure where they pop up? Are they just mission control or are the all over the OS? Also on what specifications, please write what specs you have so that i know what the performance is like with different specs.

Also another issue i may have is the noise! I am used to my RMBP being what i call silent 95% of the time (you literally cannot hear a thing!). I also however have a Windows PC that is pretty noisy and that annoys me so how loud is this machine?

Also is heat going to be and issue?

Thanks in advance!

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Also be aware that i will be using 2 external 1080P monitors.

 

[w00tini]

there's NO ambient noise from the retina iMac simply standing still.

get the upgraded GPU. there are no lag issues with the base GPU, but for longevities sakes, always upgrade a GPU on an all in one system

*owns retina iMac with i7 and 295X

 

[bentom13]

there's NO ambient noise from the retina iMac simply standing still.

*owns retina iMac with i7 and 295X

What do you mean by 'standing still'?

Also how is the heat? I hear others saying that they are concerned over a period of time that it will burn out?

 

[w00tini]

What do you mean by 'standing still'?

Also how is the heat? I hear others saying that they are concerned over a period of time that it will burn out?

there is no fan unless you start pushing the CPU/GPU with encoding, games, ect... it will not have any ambient noise (that I can hear anyway) by doing basic computing.

i have not experienced any overage of heat whatsoever. i've never met a more worrisome group than those here that don't actually own the riMac spouting off about it overheating. don't listen to them, listen to the owners. i've not seen one person (other than that one troll that joined the boards to spam about heat for two days and then left) that owns the system actually report any type of failure due to heat. I've been gaming on mine BIG TIME for a week now, fans blasting... not one issue, crash, graphic artifact, nothing... the fans kick off about 20 seconds after closing out the game. totally smooth and expected manner in which the machine should (and does) run when crunching.

this system is a tank in my experienced opinion. don't hesitate. buy it, test it, and if you don't like it return it. you have literally no risk.

 

[bentom13]

That's great advice!

I will be and I will also be getting Apple care because it's a big investment!

I don't know why I read so much and worried about it! My RMBP flies with and i7, 8GB Ram, 256 GB SSD so I can't imagine this not being a lot quicker than that!

I will get the i7, 8GB ram (already have another 8 to put in as soon as the Mac arrives). Also the M295x and 512 GB SSD!

 

[WilliamG]

there is no fan unless you start pushing the CPU/GPU with encoding, games, ect... it will not have any ambient noise (that I can hear anyway) by doing basic computing.

i have not experienced any overage of heat whatsoever. i've never met a more worrisome group than those here that don't actually own the riMac spouting off about it overheating. don't listen to them, listen to the owners. i've not seen one person (other than that one troll that joined the boards to spam about heat for two days and then left) that owns the system actually report any type of failure due to heat. I've been gaming on mine BIG TIME for a week now, fans blasting... not one issue, crash, graphic artifact, nothing... the fans kick off about 20 seconds after closing out the game. totally smooth and expected manner in which the machine should (and does) run when crunching.

this system is a tank in my experienced opinion. don't hesitate. buy it, test it, and if you don't like it return it. you have literally no risk.

There's always fan noise. It's spinning at 1200rpm when idle, at all times. It is, however, inaudible to most people, and even if it is audible it's extremely unobtrusive. Noise is quite subjective, as is everything, but the iMacs since 2012 model year onwards are extremely quiet.

The RiMac high-end model does tend to heat up more quickly under load, but this is no real surprise.