New 27inch imac 5K Retina Display
Nov 16, 2014 12:06:03 #
Looking for some purchasing advice:
I am poised to buy the new 27 inch imac but need some informed advice re the graphic card.
I intend to purchase the 4.0 GHZ boosted to 4.4GHZ with ie7 quad core and 1TB drive with 1.12 GB Fusion drive but am not sure whether to upgrade the Graphic card from the included AMD Radeon M290X to the AMD M295X.
This upgrade would cost me an additional £200 (313USD).
Having looked in the mac forums it seems to me that the upgrade would only be of clear benefit to gamers. I do not play games or edit videos but my main use for the higher resolution is for or photo editing.
Had a look at the machine in the Apple store today and the resolution is remarkable and with the basic M290 graphic card I found no problems with the resolution even when zoomed in to a great degree.
I do not begrudge paying the additional cost for the upgrade but not if it is of no significant benefit to my photo editing.
Thanks to fellow hoggers in advance for any advice they can offer.
I am poised to buy the new 27 inch imac but need some informed advice re the graphic card.
I intend to purchase the 4.0 GHZ boosted to 4.4GHZ with ie7 quad core and 1TB drive with 1.12 GB Fusion drive but am not sure whether to upgrade the Graphic card from the included AMD Radeon M290X to the AMD M295X.
This upgrade would cost me an additional £200 (313USD).
Having looked in the mac forums it seems to me that the upgrade would only be of clear benefit to gamers. I do not play games or edit videos but my main use for the higher resolution is for or photo editing.
Had a look at the machine in the Apple store today and the resolution is remarkable and with the basic M290 graphic card I found no problems with the resolution even when zoomed in to a great degree.
I do not begrudge paying the additional cost for the upgrade but not if it is of no significant benefit to my photo editing.
Thanks to fellow hoggers in advance for any advice they can offer.
Nov 17, 2014 07:03:37 #
collinslm
Loc: Orlando
I have not upgraded to the new IMAC yet, but have always been of the mind set: Get all that you can afford, because something will be developed and you'll need the extra.
Nov 17, 2014 07:19:12 #
DavidPine
Loc: Fredericksburg, TX
Someone once told me that a good gamer's computer is a good photographer's computer. That said, I think I would upgrade the RAM from 8GB to 16GB on the new iMac before I would opt for a different graphic card. But if I could afford it, I would do both. Be sure to have it done by Apple and buy an Apple Care policy. I have 4 Mac computers and I will probably get the new 5K Retina 27" iMac after the first of the year. Good luck.
Rathyatra wrote:
Looking for some purchasing advice: br br I am po... (show quote)
Nov 17, 2014 07:29:12 #
Any graphics upgrade would be good if you are PP photos. I would also upgrade it to 32 GIGs of RAM If you plan on having LR and PSCC open and maybe another PP suite like OnOne open and operational.
I have been running Mac's for a while now, Have no desktops, my latest is the MacBook Pro Retina 15 with 750 SSD. I wish I could upgrade the RAM. Because of that I will be going to a desktop next year, but I will max out the RAM and graphics due to the way I use these. I typically don't worry too much about internal drives as all storage is done on Thunderbolt connected 4TB LaCie drives anyway, only programs are on internal drive.
It all depends on how you plan to use it. But whoever told you Gamers computers make good photography ones, was correct. Max it out if you can afford it. Best bang for your buck is RAM.
I have been running Mac's for a while now, Have no desktops, my latest is the MacBook Pro Retina 15 with 750 SSD. I wish I could upgrade the RAM. Because of that I will be going to a desktop next year, but I will max out the RAM and graphics due to the way I use these. I typically don't worry too much about internal drives as all storage is done on Thunderbolt connected 4TB LaCie drives anyway, only programs are on internal drive.
It all depends on how you plan to use it. But whoever told you Gamers computers make good photography ones, was correct. Max it out if you can afford it. Best bang for your buck is RAM.
Nov 17, 2014 08:26:56 #
johnst1001a
Loc: West Chester, Ohio
Agree with Capture48. Go for ram, which in the case of the new IMacs, 32 gb. I have a 16 gb older Imac, and every once in a while I run out of RAM. Particularly if I have a bunch of stuff open, like CS, Bridge, and HDR software. The way I can tell is if Topaz won't open, which also takes a lot of RAM.
But I tell you what, for the small increment in price, I would be buying the higher end video card, and only 5% of the cost of the Imac. Same with the I7 vs I5.
But I tell you what, for the small increment in price, I would be buying the higher end video card, and only 5% of the cost of the Imac. Same with the I7 vs I5.
Nov 17, 2014 08:29:40 #
27"? I remember upgrading my 19" b&w tv to a 27" color back in the 70's. You'll need wide angle glasses to view that sucker Rathyatra!!
Nov 17, 2014 09:20:35 #
The price of the upgrade is only a small percentage of the total purchase. If it were me I'd spend the extra money to get that upgrade. I added 16G ram to my last iMac bringing it to 24G, but I imagine adding ram after a purchase is a much easier proposition in the States. Max out the ram and get Apple Care too.
Nov 17, 2014 09:24:54 #
fishmaven wrote:
The price of the upgrade is only a small percentage of the total purchase. If it were me I'd spend the extra money to get that upgrade. I added 16G ram to my last iMac bringing it to 24G, but I imagine adding ram after a purchase is a much easier proposition in the States. Max out the ram and get Apple Care too.
Nope, it's easier to order it configured the way you want it than doing it at a later time.
Nov 17, 2014 11:00:33 #
DavidPine wrote:
Someone once told me that a good gamer's computer is a good photographer's computer. That said, I think I would upgrade the RAM from 8GB to 16GB on the new iMac before I would opt for a different graphic card. But if I could afford it, I would do both. Be sure to have it done by Apple and buy an Apple Care policy. I have 4 Mac computers and I will probably get the new 5K Retina 27" iMac after the first of the year. Good luck.
Thanks David - I already have some spare memory on my current 27 inch imac and when I transfer to the new imac I will have a total of 18gb. I would recommend to anyone they buy their memory from another than mac as their pirces are astronomical. I buy my memory from Crucial Memory - great company and good prices.
Memory is easy peasy to fit yourself on an imac - on my existing model and he new mac it can be done in less than a minute.
Nov 17, 2014 11:02:26 #
Thanks for the advice guys - I now feel confident to go for the graphic upgrade.
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