Hello! I'm a current owner of the retina MacBook pro late 2013 which I wanna sell to buy an iMac. There are 3 main reasons for this. It's 97% of the time on my desk, I would like to have a bigger screen and it's more computing power than I need. I really wanted the older iMac but the screen has me doubting it. I don't think I can go back to none retina devices but I prefer nvidia/Intel combo. All I'll ever do with the computer really is watch movies etc and start producing movies for when fl studio gets available for Mac. I used to work a lot with video editing and was pursuing a career in it but I've lost all interest for it now.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What version of the iMac retina should suite me?
- Thread starter NICKXXXXXX
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It all really depends on if you're on a budget or not. Since you're only watching movies there is really no need for you to get a retina iMac. The viewing distance for iMacs is usually much further than that of Macbooks. This means that you wont really be affected by a "non-retina" iMac, since you wouldn't really be able to see the 'larger' pixels from a normal distance. The non-retina iMac already has a superb display.
Looking at retina owners, there seems to be complaints regarding the excessive heat with the new AMD graphic cards.
Looking at retina owners, there seems to be complaints regarding the excessive heat with the new AMD graphic cards.
In your situation (you don't need a replacement since you have a working MBP, mine is broken) I would wait for the second generation RiMac.
I've decided since creating this thread to just go with a computer with 2 SSD's. One for Windows and one for Mac and get that new ultra wide LG Screen. For the money from selling my macbook I can buy the screen + a computer that can play the new games on great settings etc while still being able to use OSX when i'm not gaming!
Get the lowest end one, then.
That said, if you're not doing much with your computer, then AMD vs. NVIDIA shouldn't matter for anything save for perceived reliability. And while the Radeon HD 6xxxM series mobile GPUs are now in question with 2011-era Macs, I don't think there's any data to suggest issues with the GPUs that Apple is using here. Though, given the thinness of Apple's iMacs these days, being skeptical of ANY GPU's reliability in such a machine is fair.
If all you need is something to watch movies on then buy a TV and keep your current computer for those few times you appear to need it.
No offence but that was pretty bad advice imo... I can get 2400$ for the computer. That's a lot of money for just usage a few times. Gonna go with a hackintosh for that price. Be able to game on it as well which I would do
Maybe I can help
I've got a 2012 15' rMBP at home in use much like yours, and a 2011 27" iMac at my office.
My 'old' iMac's screen is no slouch. It's bright crisp and beautiful and has no problems showing movies and streaming video. My work at the office has mostly to do with drafting and editing documents and pdf's. I've also got a couple of external 25" monitors flanking it so that I may work on multiple drafts and documents. After working on my rMBP at the house, the iMac's display is just fine, especially with my active documents being zoomed in.
For your stated usage, the non retina 27" should be fine, as you are not editing high res photographs or 4k video. Let me give you a quote by a recent gizmodo review for the retina model:
"But if you are someone simply viewing 4K movies or TV shows, don't expect the new Retina iMac to improve the experience by much.
This is probably the most common misunderstanding about the iMac Retina 5K. Viewing high-res photos and high-res video at full-screen looks almost identical on the Retina 5K vs the previous 27-inch iMac, until you put your face about six inches or less from the screen. Nobody consumes content that way, unless you are a pixel-peeping enthusiast. Don't get me wrong, images look amazing. Colors are rich, blacks are deep. But the same is true for the previous generation iMac. At the macro level, the difference is stunningly clear, as you can see below. But once you get about 2 feet away from the screen, the difference fades to almost nothing." http://gizmodo.com/imac-with-retina-5k-display-review-do-those-extra-pixe-1652463922
I'd stay with your current setup until you know you are going to start some serious 4k editing. I'm going to wait until 2016 before I consider upgrading for two reasons: 1) What a friend of mine calls the first mac commandment-"thou shalt NOT buy a version a"; and 2) I've read that the Intel skylake cpu in 2016 should allow the iMac to be used as a secondary display as in non-retina iMacs.
Unless of course my 2011 suddenly decides to give up the ghost and outright die before then. Admittedly that wouldn't be quite the catastrophe it would have been a month ago.
I've got a 2012 15' rMBP at home in use much like yours, and a 2011 27" iMac at my office.
My 'old' iMac's screen is no slouch. It's bright crisp and beautiful and has no problems showing movies and streaming video. My work at the office has mostly to do with drafting and editing documents and pdf's. I've also got a couple of external 25" monitors flanking it so that I may work on multiple drafts and documents. After working on my rMBP at the house, the iMac's display is just fine, especially with my active documents being zoomed in.
For your stated usage, the non retina 27" should be fine, as you are not editing high res photographs or 4k video. Let me give you a quote by a recent gizmodo review for the retina model:
"But if you are someone simply viewing 4K movies or TV shows, don't expect the new Retina iMac to improve the experience by much.
This is probably the most common misunderstanding about the iMac Retina 5K. Viewing high-res photos and high-res video at full-screen looks almost identical on the Retina 5K vs the previous 27-inch iMac, until you put your face about six inches or less from the screen. Nobody consumes content that way, unless you are a pixel-peeping enthusiast. Don't get me wrong, images look amazing. Colors are rich, blacks are deep. But the same is true for the previous generation iMac. At the macro level, the difference is stunningly clear, as you can see below. But once you get about 2 feet away from the screen, the difference fades to almost nothing." http://gizmodo.com/imac-with-retina-5k-display-review-do-those-extra-pixe-1652463922
I'd stay with your current setup until you know you are going to start some serious 4k editing. I'm going to wait until 2016 before I consider upgrading for two reasons: 1) What a friend of mine calls the first mac commandment-"thou shalt NOT buy a version a"; and 2) I've read that the Intel skylake cpu in 2016 should allow the iMac to be used as a secondary display as in non-retina iMacs.
Unless of course my 2011 suddenly decides to give up the ghost and outright die before then. Admittedly that wouldn't be quite the catastrophe it would have been a month ago.
Nickxxxx, I ALWAYS get in trouble for saying this on this forum (I never learn LOL).... but if I were you, and were going to spend the money on a retina imac, I would *DEFINITELY* go "all in!" I would get the upgraded GPU for sure! (Especially because, per your post, you will need it for your software), and then it goes without saying, make SURE you get an SSD. And, then, by that time (broke, and having to eat unsalted beans and white bread), you MIGHT AS WELL be the first on your block to get the 4GHZ processor!
But, all that being said, that's IF you were going to go run out right now and get one. If it were me, I would wait one or two iterations -- all the bugs will be worked out (heh heh.... on this forum, I rarely find the word "retina" without seeing the word "lag" nearby) and, the "upgraded GPU" may become the "commonplace" GPU. But, that's just me.
No matter WHICH version you get, I am sure you will be really happy. I mean... what ELSE on the PLANET is as cool as a Retina iMac!
But, all that being said, that's IF you were going to go run out right now and get one. If it were me, I would wait one or two iterations -- all the bugs will be worked out (heh heh.... on this forum, I rarely find the word "retina" without seeing the word "lag" nearby) and, the "upgraded GPU" may become the "commonplace" GPU. But, that's just me.
No matter WHICH version you get, I am sure you will be really happy. I mean... what ELSE on the PLANET is as cool as a Retina iMac!
Nickxxxx, I ALWAYS get in trouble for saying this on this forum (I never learn LOL).... but if I were you, and were going to spend the money on a retina imac, I would *DEFINITELY* go "all in!" I would get the upgraded GPU for sure! (Especially because, per your post, you will need it for your software), and then it goes without saying, make SURE you get an SSD. And, then, by that time (broke, and having to eat unsalted beans and white bread), you MIGHT AS WELL be the first on your block to get the 4GHZ processor!
But, all that being said, that's IF you were going to go run out right now and get one. If it were me, I would wait one or two iterations -- all the bugs will be worked out (heh heh.... on this forum, I rarely find the word "retina" without seeing the word "lag" nearby) and, the "upgraded GPU" may become the "commonplace" GPU. But, that's just me.
No matter WHICH version you get, I am sure you will be really happy. I mean... what ELSE on the PLANET is as cool as a Retina iMac!
Yeah, I was skeptical, but I am liking it alot. What a screen!
Nickxxxx, I ALWAYS get in trouble for saying this on this forum (I never learn LOL).... but if I were you, and were going to spend the money on a retina imac, I would *DEFINITELY* go "all in!" I would get the upgraded GPU for sure! (Especially because, per your post, you will need it for your software), and then it goes without saying, make SURE you get an SSD. And, then, by that time (broke, and having to eat unsalted beans and white bread), you MIGHT AS WELL be the first on your block to get the 4GHZ processor!
But, all that being said, that's IF you were going to go run out right now and get one. If it were me, I would wait one or two iterations -- all the bugs will be worked out (heh heh.... on this forum, I rarely find the word "retina" without seeing the word "lag" nearby) and, the "upgraded GPU" may become the "commonplace" GPU. But, that's just me.
No matter WHICH version you get, I am sure you will be really happy. I mean... what ELSE on the PLANET is as cool as a Retina iMac!
Absolutely nothing!
Nobody get the M290X GPU though. Too many pixels to push.
I think You haven't seen a Retina iMac in person?
Its a big difference when You work on it and read/write a lot of text.
At work I connect my rMBP to the 27" Apple Screen and I always wanted more pixels since I own the rMBP. Now its much more comfortable to work when I am at home.
But of course for Videos or Gaming You don't need the retina Display as you won't play in 5k and there aren't any Videos in 5k and still no 4k Movies nether. (Netflix 4K is worse then a BluRay in 1080p)