Agreed. I just added a MacBook to the family, but my Retina iMac with Fusion drive is a fantastic machine.
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rMB/riMac -- Which to buy now?
- Thread starter sasha.danielle
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Agreed. I just added a MacBook to the family, but my Retina iMac with Fusion drive is a fantastic machine.
To me, I'm not really sure I want to have a spinning drive over the next years. It seems to me I'm going to be increasingly annoyed with that, and the consensus on here seems to be that the best thing you can do for old iMacs is get rid of spinning discs. While a fusion drive is defintely not an HDD, I think that difference will become less and less with each year. That's probably the place I want to invest extra in right off the hop. I don't really need the 4.0 ghz and I can continue adding RAM at my leisure, but replacing a drive is a bigger deal I think.
Definitely agree with this. Spinning disks in computers (particularly ones you can't change easily) belong in the last decade, not this one.
So now my real dillemma is do I buy the base model and commit to updating with Skylake, or do I buy a maxed out version and hold on until Cannonlake. I don't think I really want to max out and then simply replace it right away.
The base model would be considerable savings. It's $1550 in Canada, less a mover's coupon (which apparently work in Canada) and a student discount (if they'll combine them), bringing the cost of that machine to $1350 or so.
The maxed out version with student discount comes to $2000. So including taxes, that's $500 savings (assuming I get both discounts on the base model.
I'm sure I could sell an 8 month old shiny macbook for 1300 (or what do you think?), which is $250 less than the full-priced machine, the $500 I saved initially would probably get me a maxed out Skylake machine.
Does this make sense to you guys? Or should I just get the best machine now and use it for as long as it makes me happy?
The base model would be considerable savings. It's $1550 in Canada, less a mover's coupon (which apparently work in Canada) and a student discount (if they'll combine them), bringing the cost of that machine to $1350 or so.
The maxed out version with student discount comes to $2000. So including taxes, that's $500 savings (assuming I get both discounts on the base model.
I'm sure I could sell an 8 month old shiny macbook for 1300 (or what do you think?), which is $250 less than the full-priced machine, the $500 I saved initially would probably get me a maxed out Skylake machine.
Does this make sense to you guys? Or should I just get the best machine now and use it for as long as it makes me happy?
To me, I'm not really sure I want to have a spinning drive over the next years. It seems to me I'm going to be increasingly annoyed with that, and the consensus on here seems to be that the best thing you can do for old iMacs is get rid of spinning discs. While a fusion drive is defintely not an HDD, I think that difference will become less and less with each year. That's probably the place I want to invest extra in right off the hop. I don't really need the 4.0 ghz and I can continue adding RAM at my leisure, but replacing a drive is a bigger deal I think.
This is one of those areas where people who own a computer with a fusion drive tend to be much more positive about them then people who don’t. I routinely use both a SSD Mac and a fusion drive iMac and have not notice much of a real world difference. Now if you editing a 4k feature film or running a music production business then obviously go with an SSD. I’m just saying most people won’t even know the difference. Your requirements didn’t sound that intensive and it's sounds like your not made of cash and want the best deal... that’s why I suggested shopping for the best deal since you might not even notice a difference especially with majority of your files being stored external.
But there is no question SSD is better, you’re just paying more $$$ for something you might not notice in the majority of use.
This is one of those areas where people who own a computer with a fusion drive tend to be much more positive about them then people who dont. I routinely use both a SSD Mac and a fusion drive iMac and have not notice much of a real world difference. Now if you editing a 4k feature film or running a music production business then obviously go with an SSD. Im just saying most people wont even know the difference. Your requirements didnt sound that intensive and it's sounds like your not made of cash and want the best deal... thats why I suggested shopping for the best deal since you might not even notice a difference especially with majority of your files being stored external.
But there is no question SSD is better, youre just paying more $$$ for something you might not notice in the majority of use.
That's fair. I think probably a lot of us tend to make a bigger deal of some of these things than they actually are.
I think even more than $$, though, my priority here though is a machine that will last me half a decade. I find the timing of my need for two machines rather frustrating. I don't think I'd be as concerned if the next round of refreshes were out (especially in the case of Skylake laptops).
Okay, so I've parsed this over and to me it seems that the most likely time we'll see a new rMB is Q1 next year which is too long for me to go without a fully functional laptop. A new rMB seems unlikely in Q4 this year as Apple has shown over and over that they're not concerned about getting the newest tech out ahead of anyone else. Plus this thing will be selling fine for Christmas based on the new design alone. I thought about grabbing a iMac 5K now and then waiting for Skylake to buy a rMB but that wait is way more disruptive to my workflow than the gains from a new processor.
So I'm going to order the rMB in the next couple weeks, and pick up the Skylake riMac when it comes out in autumn. I'm hoping for USB C, new trackpad, keyboard (though I doubt it), target mode and maybe a bump in base storage or RAM.
The rMB itself, I think I'll keep for a couple generations. Maybe replace it with Canonlake or whatever comes next. I think I'm going to go for the 1.3 256 GB version, though it is cheaper to go with one I can get with a Best Buy coupon...
So I'm going to order the rMB in the next couple weeks, and pick up the Skylake riMac when it comes out in autumn. I'm hoping for USB C, new trackpad, keyboard (though I doubt it), target mode and maybe a bump in base storage or RAM.
The rMB itself, I think I'll keep for a couple generations. Maybe replace it with Canonlake or whatever comes next. I think I'm going to go for the 1.3 256 GB version, though it is cheaper to go with one I can get with a Best Buy coupon...
I approve
I only just saw this thread, or I would have replied sooner. I have the same dilemma as you do. I needed a retina computer for writing and such while I watched TV or movies, etc, and I definitely wanted it to be portable. I also wanted a high end model that could do some heavy lifting, such as 4K video playback onto my tv. If the rMB hadn't been launched, I might've just bought the 5K iMac, and made do with my iPad Air for portability.
But I've had my rMB for about a week now and I couldn't be happier. It's the 1.2GHz 512GB model (my first ever computer with more than 256GB). My only concern was that it would be underpowered with core M processor, but it's holding up just fine, but I haven't done anything too processor intensive yet. It has also helped me push back my iMac purchase back to the next generation, as and when that happens (Though I think it might be more than a year from now, since they just added a new, lower end model to the 5K lineup on 20 May 2015).
(I would have preferred the 1.3GHz rMB but I live in India, where build-to-order is not an option as Apple doesn't sell directly on it's website but only through third-party retailers)
It is also worth mentioning that the new keyboard on the rMB is an absolute delight to type on, and I hope it will be included on other macs in the future.
Okay, so I've parsed this over and to me it seems that the most likely time we'll see a new rMB is Q1 next year which is too long for me to go without a fully functional laptop. A new rMB seems unlikely in Q4 this year as Apple has shown over and over that they're not concerned about getting the newest tech out ahead of anyone else. Plus this thing will be selling fine for Christmas based on the new design alone. I thought about grabbing a iMac 5K now and then waiting for Skylake to buy a rMB but that wait is way more disruptive to my workflow than the gains from a new processor.
So I'm going to order the rMB in the next couple weeks, and pick up the Skylake riMac when it comes out in autumn. I'm hoping for USB C, new trackpad, keyboard (though I doubt it), target mode and maybe a bump in base storage or RAM.
The rMB itself, I think I'll keep for a couple generations. Maybe replace it with Canonlake or whatever comes next. I think I'm going to go for the 1.3 256 GB version, though it is cheaper to go with one I can get with a Best Buy coupon...
I only just saw this thread, or I would have replied sooner. I have the same dilemma as you do. I needed a retina computer for writing and such while I watched TV or movies, etc, and I definitely wanted it to be portable. I also wanted a high end model that could do some heavy lifting, such as 4K video playback onto my tv. If the rMB hadn't been launched, I might've just bought the 5K iMac, and made do with my iPad Air for portability.
But I've had my rMB for about a week now and I couldn't be happier. It's the 1.2GHz 512GB model (my first ever computer with more than 256GB). My only concern was that it would be underpowered with core M processor, but it's holding up just fine, but I haven't done anything too processor intensive yet. It has also helped me push back my iMac purchase back to the next generation, as and when that happens (Though I think it might be more than a year from now, since they just added a new, lower end model to the 5K lineup on 20 May 2015).
(I would have preferred the 1.3GHz rMB but I live in India, where build-to-order is not an option as Apple doesn't sell directly on it's website but only through third-party retailers)
It is also worth mentioning that the new keyboard on the rMB is an absolute delight to type on, and I hope it will be included on other macs in the future.
I only just saw this thread, or I would have replied sooner. I have the same dilemma as you do. I needed a retina computer for writing and such while I watched TV or movies, etc, and I definitely wanted it to be portable. I also wanted a high end model that could do some heavy lifting, such as 4K video playback onto my tv. If the rMB hadn't been launched, I might've just bought the 5K iMac, and made do with my iPad Air for portability.
But I've had my rMB for about a week now and I couldn't be happier. It's the 1.2GHz 512GB model (my first ever computer with more than 256GB). My only concern was that it would be underpowered with core M processor, but it's holding up just fine, but I haven't done anything too processor intensive yet. It has also helped me push back my iMac purchase back to the next generation, as and when that happens (Though I think it might be more than a year from now, since they just added a new, lower end model to the 5K lineup on 20 May 2015).
(I would have preferred the 1.3GHz rMB but I live in India, where build-to-order is not an option as Apple doesn't sell directly on it's website but only through third-party retailers)
It is also worth mentioning that the new keyboard on the rMB is an absolute delight to type on, and I hope it will be included on other macs in the future.
Thanks for this. For some reason I didn't get a notification for your response, so I apologize for not responding.
It's great to see someone with the same needs/concerns as me. I think I've sold myself on following this route too. I'll probably get a base rMB though I think now though. The consensus here seems to be (after a month or more with people having their machines) is that there's not a real noticeable difference in real world usage between the machines. I'm likely to upgrade early I think, whenever the gains of doing so outweigh the cost of an upgrade, probably for Cannonlake I'm now thinking.
To me the keyboard seems like a dream, the keyboard I've always imagined -- no exhausting movements from my fingers, something I can glide over without thinking about. I'm super excited about this as much as I am the portability of the machine and the display.
Also, like you, getting this now frees me up to get the iMac retina. And to be frank, while I'd like to have a laptop that would last 5-6 years, that seems pretty unlikely, even with a good one. Even with a maxed out one I think I'd be getting a bit antsy after 3-4 years. But a good desktop (especially given the slow rate at processor increases we've been seeing) should definitely last that long if not farther. So waiting until fall and getting a really solid machine that I can depend on for a while is a lot less to worry about. Plus there's the bonus of target mode which I assume will come with this one (so the machine should continue to be useful long past the five years when the computer itself becomes useless)
So waiting until fall and getting a really solid machine that I can depend on for a while is a lot less to worry about. Plus there's the bonus of target mode which I assume will come with this one (so the machine should continue to be useful long past the five years when the computer itself becomes useless)
There might not be a fall update to the retina iMac, because at present, it's already the best display there is housing a very powerful processor, and with the addition of a lower end model to the line, with nary a change, so they might skip Broadwell processors altogether. (That's just my hunch. Can never trust what they will do until they actually do it.) It already is a very formidable machine, with the higher end machine already outperforming the lower end Mac Pro (according to one of the reports I read here at MacRumors). I really think it might be more than a year till they refresh the line.
Yeah, you guys think? You think they're going to wait a full year for Skylake even though it's already out in September? I was kind of thinking we'd see an update before Christmas.
Is the Broadwell iMac chip even going to be released? I thought it was being skipped.
Is the Broadwell iMac chip even going to be released? I thought it was being skipped.
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