Which iMac should I buy?

[sambo24]

I'm making the jump PC to iMac.

I spent a large sum of money just 4 years ago on an i7 laptop and I've had endless issues with overheating it's now just unworkable. So I'm going to pay the extra and invest in an iMac.

I'm a photographer who is getting a little serious with Wedding photography.

Lightroom & Photoshop with a bit of GoPro action is generally what I need it to do. Usually simultaneously.

Will I get away with
iMac 27 3.4GHz 8GB 1TB i5 (3.4 GHz, 3.8 GHz with TurboBoost)?

or should I go for the
iMac Retina 5K 8GB i5 (3.5 GHz, 3.9 GHz with TurboBoost)?

Is there anyone out there who uses an iMac for similar purposes? I want to be sure that I can multi task between these applications efficiently & quickly without any performance issues. Obviously the salesman at my local Apple store assure me it can, but this being my first apple experience I would like some user opinion.

Thanks in advance.

 

[yjchua95]

I'm making the jump PC to iMac.

I spent a large sum of money just 4 years ago on an i7 laptop and I've had endless issues with overheating it's now just unworkable. So I'm going to pay the extra and invest in an iMac.

I'm a photographer who is getting a little serious with Wedding photography.

Lightroom & Photoshop with a bit of GoPro action is generally what I need it to do. Usually simultaneously.

Will I get away with
iMac 27 3.4GHz 8GB 1TB i5 (3.4 GHz, 3.8 GHz with TurboBoost)?

or should I go for the
iMac Retina 5K 8GB i5 (3.5 GHz, 3.9 GHz with TurboBoost)?

Is there anyone out there who uses an iMac for similar purposes? I want to be sure that I can multi task between these applications efficiently & quickly without any performance issues. Obviously the salesman at my local Apple store assure me it can, but this being my first apple experience I would like some user opinion.

Thanks in advance.

Get the baseline retina 5K iMac. That'll be quite enough for your needs.

 

[sambo24]

Get the baseline retina 5K iMac. That'll be quite enough for your needs.

Thanks yjchua95 - looking at the quantity of Mac products you own it sounds like you have good experience! Whats your opinion on the 5k retina display when compared to the standard iMac 27" display?

 

[redheeler]

Whats your opinion on the 5k retina display when compared to the standard iMac 27" display?

It makes quite a difference, and definitely helps with photo editing.

 

[yjchua95]

Thanks yjchua95 - looking at the quantity of Mac products you own it sounds like you have good experience! Whats your opinion on the 5k retina display when compared to the standard iMac 27" display?

The difference is massive. Completely a night and day difference.

Besides, the performance difference will also be massive, as the retina has some form of flash storage (Fusion Drive), compared to the standard 27" that you selected without a Fusion Drive.

 

[loekf]

Thanks yjchua95 - looking at the quantity of Mac products you own it sounds like you have good experience! Whats your opinion on the 5k retina display when compared to the standard iMac 27" display?

Major difference. Retina is much sharper. I have the baseline retina since a week. Originally I had ordered a custom made 27" with SSD. I'm quite happy with the baseline model, which comes with a fusion drive by default. The screen is unbelievable.

Last year's retina model is also a little faster than the 2013 models. CPU-wise.

I converted a 1080p H.264 video to DVD. I couldn't hear any fans.

 

[sambo24]

Thanks All, appears the 5K is the only option then. Plus the Fusion drive improves the speed.

So to sum up:

• i5 is ample to run photoshop, lightroom & Go Pro simultaneously
• Fusion drive speeds things up
• 5k sharpness will show every flaw in my photography! Sweet!

Last question... Does anyone have any experience with the Magic Track Pad? Is it that magic?

 

[yjchua95]

Thanks All, appears the 5K is the only option then. Plus the Fusion drive improves the speed.

So to sum up:

• i5 is ample to run photoshop, lightroom & Go Pro simultaneously
• Fusion drive speeds things up
• 5k sharpness will show every flaw in my photography! Sweet!

Last question... Does anyone have any experience with the Magic Track Pad? Is it that magic?

It's essentially the same trackpad as the ones in MacBooks, and I love it. That said, I use a mouse for better precision and a trackpad for all the finger gestures.