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Should I buy my iMac now?

AppleFanBoii

AppleFanBoii

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 4, 2010
114
8
I have finally got the funds to go ahead and buy myself a new Mac, my MacBook Pro is on its last legs so decided it was time to buy a new one, and I spend my time as a desk and would rather have an iMac!

So, I have about 2.5k to play with, I want the Retina iMac as I believe higher resolution really is the way to go, now, do I upgrade to the i7 or keep it at the i5? I've heard go for the RAM yourself instead of through Apple. I'm also upgrading the graphics to the highest 4GB option.

Now my only main question is, are we going to be seeing a refresh at all? Or should I just go for it now?
 
I think a refresh at the coming event is unlikely for the riMac 27".

Nevertheless, I still hope they will replace the GPU m295x by a Nvidia that doesn't throttle but the odds are low.

We might see a new riMac 21.5" though as they haven't updated this line to retina last time.

I would say wait if you don't mind waiting another month or go ahead if you need it now.
 
AppleFanBoii said:
So, I have about 2.5k to play with, I want the Retina iMac as I believe higher resolution really is the way to go, now, do I upgrade to the i7 or keep it at the i5? I've heard go for the RAM yourself instead of through Apple. I'm also upgrading the graphics to the highest 4GB option.
Click to expand...

It depends on what you do with your iMac, though for most things the i5 will be fine. Same goes for the stock 8 GB RAM.

AppleFanBoii said:
Now my only main question is, are we going to be seeing a refresh at all? Or should I just go for it now?
Click to expand...

Wait if you're willing to wait until around October, otherwise go for it now.
 
Planning to wait

I have two macs and I am waiting for next round of products. I love my Mac Air---It wish it had better graphics

Marina Tylo
 
Just got the base model for work and it does just fine with heavy Illustrator and Photoshop files.

I only upgraded it with an extra 2x4GB of RAM for a total of 16GB.

Seems just as fast as my Mac Pro 3,1 but "dat screen"'is totally worth it when doing things for print etc.
 
Pressure said:
Just got the base model for work and it does just fine with heavy Illustrator and Photoshop files.

I only upgraded it with an extra 2x4GB of RAM for a total of 16GB.

Seems just as fast as my Mac Pro 3,1 but "dat screen"'is totally worth it when doing things for print etc.
Click to expand...

"dat screen" is not only for print, it's a whole new desktop experience :cool:

So...glad that I went for the retina model instead.
 
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Pressure said:
Just got the base model for work and it does just fine with heavy Illustrator and Photoshop files.

I only upgraded it with an extra 2x4GB of RAM for a total of 16GB.

Seems just as fast as my Mac Pro 3,1 but "dat screen"'is totally worth it when doing things for print etc.
Click to expand...

where abouts did you buy your 2 x 4GB chips?
 
sakabaro said:
I think a refresh at the coming event is unlikely for the riMac 27".

Nevertheless, I still hope they will replace the GPU m295x by a Nvidia that doesn't throttle but the odds are low.

We might see a new riMac 21.5" though as they haven't updated this line to retina last time.

I would say wait if you don't mind waiting another month or go ahead if you need it now.
Click to expand...

Ok my advice... wait for WWDC to pass by. A refresh is rumoured to be coming then, and the timing matches up. The R9 295X, generates a lot of heat and performs awfully compared to the GTX 980M which should be replacing it, and I'd hold out for one of those to appear in an iMac.
 
matabot said:
Ok my advice... wait for WWDC to pass by. A refresh is rumoured to be coming then, and the timing matches up. The R9 295X, generates a lot of heat and performs awfully compared to the GTX 980M which should be replacing it, and I'd hold out for one of those to appear in an iMac.
Click to expand...

Well it only came out in October time? That's why I still don't think a June update is likely? I don't know!

It's only a few weeks wait I suppose!
 
AppleFanBoii said:
Well it only came out in October time? That's why I still don't think a June update is likely? I don't know!

It's only a few weeks wait I suppose!
Click to expand...

Here's why. Because the GTX 900 series cards weren't released back last october, and because the M9 295X is throttling like a boss. Don't believe me? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgTMxB-ffjM

Also the 290 series is SO much slower and performs much worse than the GTX series. The r9 290 which is the flagship and card, at the same price, performs worse than a gtx 970, which is nvidia's 3rd best card. Also because people are talking about an iMac 8k happening, they might strap something like a titan to an iMac or Mac Pro soon.
 
8K is years away

matabot said:
Here's why. Because the GTX 900 series cards weren't released back last october, and because the M9 295X is throttling like a boss. Don't believe me? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgTMxB-ffjM

Also the 290 series is SO much slower and performs much worse than the GTX series. The r9 290 which is the flagship and card, at the same price, performs worse than a gtx 970, which is nvidia's 3rd best card. Also because people are talking about an iMac 8k happening, they might strap something like a titan to an iMac or Mac Pro soon.
Click to expand...

And you won't see an update til autumn.
 
So final verdict everyone...

do i buy today

Yes or no?

(because i don't think we'll see an update at WWDC)
 
redheeler said:
Maybe wait until Wednesday to see if this turns out to be true, but I have my doubts about a Retina iMac update.
Click to expand...

Yeah i saw that, but the normal 27" iMac didn't get a refresh in October did it? So that seems likely! but i think i will wait! it is only 2 days i suppose! ;)
 
So it turns out the Retina did get an update! Today!

Will be ordering tonight!
 
AppleFanBoii said:
So it turns out the Retina did get an update! Today!

Will be ordering tonight!
Click to expand...

No it didn't we got a cheaper worse version of the retina iMac, presumably to replace the 27 inch non retina at that price point. However a retina mac running yosemite without any sort of SSD seems like a recipe for a usability nightmare to me.
 
Samuelsan2001 said:
No it didn't we got a cheaper worse version of the retina iMac, presumably to replace the 27 inch non retina at that price point. However a retina mac running yosemite without any sort of SSD seems like a recipe for a usability nightmare to me.
Click to expand...

The existing model is 200 cheaper...

It was good you waited OP. Order now.
 
Samuelsan2001 said:
No it didn't we got a cheaper worse version of the retina iMac, presumably to replace the 27 inch non retina at that price point. However a retina mac running yosemite without any sort of SSD seems like a recipe for a usability nightmare to me.
Click to expand...

The fact that Apple still so badly wants to sell an iMac without an SSD, knowing that it'll perform comparatively poorly on Yosemite... I really thought the baseline Retina coming with a Fusion drive was a sign they had changed their ways for the better, at least for higher-end models (the baseline 2014 Mac mini comes with an HDD as well).

Anyway, I was right in my doubt of an update. OP, go ahead and order the model that was discounted by $200.
 
redheeler said:
The fact that Apple still so badly wants to sell an iMac without an SSD, knowing that it'll perform comparatively poorly on Yosemite... I really thought the baseline Retina coming with a Fusion drive was a sign they had changed their ways for the better, at least for higher-end models (the baseline 2014 Mac mini comes with an HDD as well).

Anyway, I was right in my doubt of an update. OP, go ahead and order the model that was discounted by $200.
Click to expand...

Not mention the fact about the huge markup just to get a 128GB SSD with the Fusion Drive.

The new $1999 retina iMac looks enticing, but only having a 1TB HDD with a $200 upgrade just to get a fusion drive is disappointing.
 
About to order it now, but my final question!

Which do i need?

3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
or
4.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz

It will be used for Photoshop, Video editing, I say gaming... but only really World of Warcraft and Sims, i'm upgrading the graphics anyway, and buying RAM chips from Amazon, just the processor I'm unsure of!
 
AppleFanBoii said:
About to order it now, but my final question!

Which do i need?

3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
or
4.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz

It will be used for Photoshop, Video editing, I say gaming... but only really World of Warcraft and Sims, i'm upgrading the graphics anyway, and buying RAM chips from Amazon, just the processor I'm unsure of!
Click to expand...

Thats a tough call. Depends on your video editing software, the hyperthreading on the i7 giving you 8 virtual cores can give a real boost to apps that use it, check your software for wether it can leverage the extra power.
 
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