Should i buy an iMac 27'' 5K ?

[emretuncel_]

iMac 27 inch with 5K display is like my dream machine.I would like to use it for photo and video editing as well as some gaming(war thunder, world of tanks etc.) But the thing is i am a student and my university is 800kms away from my home.I have to carry it 4 times a year.I would probably use buses and carry it with me in a bag like this http://www.amazon.com/iMac-27-Carry-Bag-Shoulder/dp/B007DEZ33U Is it too risky to carry it 4 times a year? I don't want to buy a macbook just for carrying it 4 times a year tbh.The second question is if it is not too risky, which GPU should i go for? I want my iMac to last 5-6 years at least but if the upgraded gpu is considerably hotter than the other and affect the lifetime i do not want it.Sorry for my bad English but I hope you can understand it.

 

[Sirmausalot]

If you were traveling by car, I'd say absolutely. Bus, not so sure. If the bus makes stops, I'd be paranoid the computer would get off at the wrong stop somehow. I'd also worry about all of the bangs and bumps no matter how well protected. Apple Care would be a must. But does it really need to travel 4 times a year? Perhaps there is a safe place for you to store it at University -- there are storage companies or a friends house/apartment you knew was secure. In that case you'd want the 395 (and X if you can afford it) for video editing as well as the i7.

However, iMacs travel really, really well in their original packaging -- both the inner and outer box. If you could then get a huge rolling suitcase to put the original box and computer inside, and even stuff some clothes around it, you'd be fine.

Will you edit on FCP X or Adobe Premiere? If premiere, a high end windows laptop might be had with a better video card.

 

[makrom]

GPU: If you care about gaming, get anything M390 or upwards, avoid the M380. I highly recommend the 5k models for anything related to photos. For gaming, it's mediocre at best. A big part of your investment goes toward the excellent 5k screen, but new games hardly run in 5k on it.
About transportability, it is at least among the if not the most compact 27" computer(s) you will find. That being said, transporting it is still a chore, especially without a car. I was thinking about transporting it in my roadster, but it just cannot be done (unless I leave the roof or the trunk open, but let's not go there). Not sure if a dedicated backpack is the best thing there is. The original box is already rather compact for what's inside and protects the computer quite well, but it will show wear after being frequently transported regardless.
Don't expect to be able to put it in any overhead compartment or put it next to you on the floor in the bus, it'll most likely have to be stored in the luggage compartment. And I would be sweating blood transporting it that way. People squeezing stuff in there, things rocking around on the trip, maybe some moisture, snow, heat, cold, maybe it will trop out accidentally when someone is unloading other things, maybe it'll even get stolen.

Long story short, I'm sure it could be done, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[emretuncel_]

I want that 5K screen for my photo and video editing.I would play games on 1080p or even less would be okay.About transportability, I said a bus because I didn't want to give iMac to baggage,I was hoping to carry it with me.I don't really trust neither buses nor planes crew for their handling a baggage. I really have to be sure %100 before i can do something and in this case i will not be able to.I would probably go insane while bus or plane still on the way thinking whether or not iMac is okay In terms of how many times it travels, I can go down to 2 per year but I can not do without it 3 months while university is on summer holiday so it will travel at least 2 times a year.The thing about microsoft notebooks is their screens are pretty bad.I could sacrifice gaming but their average color gamut and calibration is just too bad to edit a photo properly.I considered macbook pros but they are taking too much money for their lacking performance if I compare it to iMac or windows notebooks. If i won't buy an iMac i will wait for macbook pro 2016 announcement.If apple makes it a bit more powerful and may be with 17'' display I would buy it, but for now I couldn't find any pc or mac for my needs, basically I need a very good screen with very good color gamut and calibration with high resolution.It should be able to handle some stress and it can be carried 2 times a year without heart-attack

 

[makrom]

I want that 5K screen for my photo and video editing.I would play games on 1080p or even less would be okay.About transportability, I said a bus because I didn't want to give iMac to baggage,I was hoping to carry it with me.I don't really trust neither buses nor planes crew for their handling a baggage. I really have to be sure %100 before i can do something and in this case i will not be able to.I would probably go insane while bus or plane still on the way thinking whether or not iMac is okay In terms of how many times it travels, I can go down to 2 per year but I can not do without it 3 months while university is on summer holiday so it will travel at least 2 times a year.The thing about microsoft notebooks is their screens are pretty bad.I could sacrifice gaming but their average color gamut and calibration is just too bad to edit a photo properly.I considered macbook pros but they are taking too much money for their lacking performance if I compare it to iMac or windows notebooks. If i won't buy an iMac i will wait for macbook pro 2016 announcement.If apple makes it a bit more powerful and may be with 17'' display I would buy it, but for now I couldn't find any pc or mac for my needs, basically I need a very good screen with very good color gamut and calibration with high resolution.It should be able to handle some stress and it can be carried 2 times a year without heart-attack

On the bus, it definitely won't fit on your lap or in front of you. Maybe it'll fit on a seat of its own. In the aisle, it'll likely block 2 rows and I don't think it will be accepted for safety reasons. If the bus is partially empty, it should be possible to fit it in somewhere, but if it's full, I think it would be quite awkward.

Especially the upper end 15" rMBP are quite performant. For many tasks, they are actually playing in the same league as iMacs (though they'll obviosly lose out on the upper end). They definitely are nice mobile workstations, but unfortunately, pricing is quite painful. For me, the main drawback in desktop usage is the much smaller screen. You can get an external 4k display, but since you somewhat seem to care about things like color accuracy, that could easily add another $1000.
You can wait for the 2016 model, but it looks like this won't happen before May. You be the judge whether that works out for you.

 

[cerberusss]

I'd never do this, to be honest. But then again, I really hate lugging around stuff.

Is it an option to get a rMBP, and get a nice 4K monitor for college? When you're home and decide the laptop really doesn't do, get a monitor there as well.

 

[Sirmausalot]

I want that 5K screen for my photo and video editing.I would play games on 1080p or even less would be okay.About transportability, I said a bus because I didn't want to give iMac to baggage,I was hoping to carry it with me.I don't really trust neither buses nor planes crew for their handling a baggage. I really have to be sure %100 before i can do something and in this case i will not be able to.I would probably go insane while bus or plane still on the way thinking whether or not iMac is okay In terms of how many times it travels, I can go down to 2 per year but I can not do without it 3 months while university is on summer holiday so it will travel at least 2 times a year.The thing about microsoft notebooks is their screens are pretty bad.I could sacrifice gaming but their average color gamut and calibration is just too bad to edit a photo properly.I considered macbook pros but they are taking too much money for their lacking performance if I compare it to iMac or windows notebooks. If i won't buy an iMac i will wait for macbook pro 2016 announcement.If apple makes it a bit more powerful and may be with 17'' display I would buy it, but for now I couldn't find any pc or mac for my needs, basically I need a very good screen with very good color gamut and calibration with high resolution.It should be able to handle some stress and it can be carried 2 times a year without heart-attack

Can you buy a seat for the iMac? Check with the bus company. I think next years 21" Retina which will likely have Skylake and much improved iGPU would hit that sweet spot of screen/performance and transportability.

 

[scottish]

Have you looked into the cost of using a postal service to ship the computer from your home to uni?