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Which 5K 27" Configuration for Gaming

jonthom2k

jonthom2k

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 30, 2015
2
1
Hello all,

I have a budget of ~$2500 for a new computer, and need opinions on which config to choose. The first config has a core i7 and a weaker graphics card, while the second config has a core i5 and a stronger graphics card. Both configs come out to ~$2500. Which config do you recommend?
  • 4.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz
  • 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
  • 1TB Fusion Drive
  • AMD Radeon R9 M290X 2GB GDDR5
  • Apple Magic Mouse
  • Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
  • Accessory Kit
  • 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
  • 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
  • 1TB Fusion Drive
  • AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5
  • Apple Magic Mouse
  • Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
  • Accessory Kit
I am also open to suggestions to wait until October. :)

Thanks,
Jon
 
It's gaming so the better the GPU the better the gaming all else is secondary (as long as you have 8GB of ram and a quadcore CPU you are golden). But as Mandimac says you may want to wait and see if there is anything new in october.
 
Samuelsan2001 said:
It's gaming so the better the GPU the better the gaming all else is secondary (as long as you have 8GB of ram and a quadcore CPU you are golden). But as Mandimac says you may want to wait and see if there is anything new in october.
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That AND of course the mandatory note that for that money, you would get a very nice gaming PC with a REAL gaming GPU and stuff… but maybe you'd like to have an Apple iMac for other purposes / because its gorgeous screen.

Sadly, there is no Mac hardware for gamers…

If you feel adventurous, there is always the possibility for Hackintoshes...
 
Gaming at a 5k resolution with a mobile GPU gives me many lolz. Not sure what game(s) you wish to play and whether you're going to game on OS X or Windows 10 also unknown. If you wish to play a game like Battlefield 4 on a 5k display with the M295X or even M395X will lead to poor results. If you want to game I suggest build a gaming PC, use the money left over and buy a Mac Mini. Again, the iMac will be fine if you only wish to play lite games but otherwise you're about to blow $2,500.
 
Serban said:
i think he wants at 1440p
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The title states 5K, meaning he wishes to purchase the 5K iMac, which has a 5120x2880 resolution or 2880p in your speak.

You'd need triple or quad Titan X in 3 or 4 way SLI to produce a stable 60 FPS on a game like Battelfield 4 at 5120x2880.
 
btrach144 said:
The title states 5K, meaning he wishes to purchase the 5K iMac, which has a 5120x2880 resolution or 2880p in your speak.

You'd need triple or quad Titan X in 3 or 4 way SLI to produce a stable 60 FPS on a game like Battelfield 4 at 5120x2880.
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Of course that's what the title says, but I don't think you're really seeing this clearly. The only iMac model with a decent GPU is the 5K models. Even if he finds an older non-BTO iMac with the 775m at 1440p, the current 290/290x/295X will preform better at 1440p. Not to mention most people realize and don't game at 5k, they drop it down to 1440p to get that pixel ratio.
 
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btrach144 said:
The title states 5K, meaning he wishes to purchase the 5K iMac, which has a 5120x2880 resolution or 2880p in your speak.

You'd need triple or quad Titan X in 3 or 4 way SLI to produce a stable 60 FPS on a game like Battelfield 4 at 5120x2880.
Click to expand...

No one with any sense expects to game at native resolution on a 5K, if they do then they will be rudely disabused of such ridiculous notions pretty sharpish.
 
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Samuelsan2001 said:
No one with any sense expects to game at native resolution on a 5K, if they do then they will be rudely disabused of such ridiculous notions pretty sharpish.
Click to expand...

What about the classics like Portal, Half-Life 2 and even Diablo III? I think if you do play around with the settings (especially shaders) a bit, 5K gaming isn't that far off. Many people claim that they don't mind playing at 30fps too, so there's that, for instance.
 
The pool of games that can be played on a m295x at high resolution, but suffer on a m290x is not insignificant However,there's also a growing pool of games which can't be played at 5k with anything less than a full desktop card, and possibly multiple full desktop cards.
 
jerwin said:
The pool of games that can be played on a m295x at high resolution, but suffer on a m290x is not insignificant However,there's also a growing pool of games which can't be played at 5k with anything less than a full desktop card, and possibly multiple full desktop cards.
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"Can't be played" is such a stretch in my view. What is "can't be played"? Max details and 60fps? Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal, after all.
 
Well, I don't have a m295x, but here's my m290x at 5k resolution. I think to tweak settings a bit. Low detail, btw.
Screen Shot.png


Will the m295x do substantially better? Perhaps not enough for 5k. Perhaps enough for 1440p though. (I play at 1080p).

edit: physics will chew up your framerate at very fast clip.
 
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jerwin said:
Well, I don't have a m295x, but here's my m290x at 5k resolution. I think to tweak settings a bit. Low detail, btw.View attachment 579627

Will the m295x do substantially better? Perhaps not enough for 5k. Perhaps enough for 1440p though. (I play at 1080p).

edit: physics will chew up your framerate at very fast clip.
Click to expand...
Which game/OS/bench is this?
 
I got the latest 5k iMac..
iMac Specs:

- 4.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz

- 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x8GB

- 3TB Fusion Drive

- AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5

BF4 on the 5K iMac in 1440
gta 5 with the graphic check.
 
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MandiMac said:
What about the classics like Portal, Half-Life 2 and even Diablo III? I think if you do play around with the settings (especially shaders) a bit, 5K gaming isn't that far off. Many people claim that they don't mind playing at 30fps too, so there's that, for instance.
Click to expand...

Not a lot of point in a 5K gaming if you play at 30fps but do as you like it's always your choice to play older games however you want....
 
Did anyone try the 5K version of Command and Conquer Generals? It is one of my all time favorites, but I still don't have an iMac :(
 
MandiMac said:
What about the classics like Portal, Half-Life 2 and even Diablo III? I think if you do play around with the settings (especially shaders) a bit, 5K gaming isn't that far off. Many people claim that they don't mind playing at 30fps too, so there's that, for instance.
Click to expand...
Most of those older games most likely won't support that high resolutions anyway.
 
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