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The new iMac with Retina display offers taste, style and wonder to your desk. The graphics are super, and the speed is high-end. I’ll likely recommend it for some big management studio utilizing photos, videos and graphics for their work.
With a 3.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, speed becomes the order of the day. You can multi-task as much as you can, and still enjoy the same efficiency in browsing and opening web apps.
The memory too is is quite impressive. With 8gb(4gb in two places) of 1600 mHz DDR3 memory and 1 terabyte fusion drive, you can expect a lot of space to do whatever you want, no matter your lifestyle.
From video editing, gaming to other memory demanding programs, there hardly any task thrown at the iMac with 5k retina display that it can not handle. You’ll also find the integrated card reader to be a plus.
My Rating
Upside
- Utilizes the hybrid drive to boot quickly
- The screen got it, with 14million pixels, your reading just got interesting
- Does High-end editing effortlessly
Downside
- It loses wi-fi each time it goes into sleep mode
- Apps, games, and programs are yet to utilize the pixel density sufficiently
- A few programs were no longer usable on the new OSX 10.10 Yosemite.
My Recommendation
No much difference from the non 5k apart from the improved screen quality. If graphical display and speed is not of much importance to you, I advise you stick with the non5. Otherwise, the new iMac with 5k Retina display will make a good buy.
Full review of the new iMac with 5k Retina display
The new iMac with Retina 5k display brings something different to the table. With high-quality resolution and more pixels, the value you’ll get undermines the price. The screen is so good that you can view a 14.7mp image without zooming in.
Now, that’s something fantastic. You can even choose to improve the speed of your imac further using Thunderbolt 2. Note that with the new iMac, what you’ll be getting is entry level; with 3.5Ghz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor.
However, you can pay for an upgrade to the 4.0 Ghz i7 processor and the AMD Radeon R9 m295x which comes with 4GB of GDDR5 memory. This configuration significantly improves your graphics beyond what the entry level processor can offer. You can also upgrade to 512GB flash storage to get more speed when browsing.
Processor
The i5 CPU that comes with this new iMac desktop is faster than the non-5k iMac. But all things remain equal in the 1 terabyte Fusion drive and 8GB of RAM(which you can always upgrade) and the M290x GPU. You can always ditch the fusion for the 256GB or the 512GB SSD if you want more speed for browsing.
The storage can be boosted by simply integrating external storage. There is basically no difference from other previous iMacs when running apps, and the benchmarks are more or less the same if you don’t consider the GPU benchmarks.
So, here is the thing, if you think you can pay $700 extra just to have improved graphical and screen display, then it’s your choice. The difference in the processing speed of this new iMac is only but minimal, and for the sake of the value, you think you’ll get, do your due diligence before upgrading your current iMac desktop PC.
Display
The screen is one of the high points of the new iMac desktop. You can take a 4k video and view the whole screen, pixel by pixel while still getting enough screen space to accommodate the toolbars. Here, scrolling is easy and fast since the GPU is a total upgrade from previous versions.
Also, you can play games at 1440, But not at 2880p if you are serious about getting a reasonable frame rate. My view on the screen display is simple. Unless you will be using Photoshop or FCPX and will be in need of high-resolution content, the 4x resolution improvement won’t do you any good. So, if you’re a basic user, you may as well stick with the status quo. Also, I think If we give it some time, this screen can live up to expectations. Since more content will be created to take advantage.
Construction
The new iMac desktop is compact and stable. So, you won’t be nurturing that fear of it falling and shattering the screen. The look is also solid with a neat structure. The cooling is ok, but you may get some throttling when you run the new iMac at full speed. Finally, the weight can be compared to that of the 1440 version.
Usability
They’re no much difference editing videos and pictures when compared with the older NVIDIA geo force 700s, and the speed is almost equal to that of the older NVIDIA GeForce 700s. You can choose to change your keyboard or mouse to any combination after receiving your iMac.
You can walk into any Apple store with the accessories you want to change, and a quick change will be done for you. For most tasks, they’re no big differences between the iMac 5- and the 1440p iMacs. The only advantage for the iMac 5k retina display is that all the graphical features are scaled up.
So, for this upgrade in screen size, it will take some time for more content to be made to fit or benefit from this upgrade. But when it does, the iMac upgrade will be well worth it. One other new feature with the iMac 5k is that the texts are improved. They’re scaled up to appear bolder and more legible. But, for the most part, people won’t notice this change.
So, if you’re a writer or blogger, you should take advantage of this iMac to improve your writing or blogging experience. With crisper texts, writing can be a joy and your viewing will also be eased out.
The fusion drive
The fusion drive for this iMac 5k retina display, as confirmed by most users, may not be up to speed at first use, but after your PC has run for a few weeks, the iMac will adjust and start running everything at full speed. Some stuttering, lock-ups, and crashes were also recorded, and videos couldn’t play well. I’ll guess it’s just an early bug for a product that has undergone some recent upgrade. However, this may not be experienced with recent purchases as the manufacturer has done several upgrades to curb this flaw.
Connectivity
The magic pad also uses Bluetooth to connect to the iMac. But some connectivity problems may occasionally arise as the connection fluctuates. You can solve this issue by using the Amazonbasics white AA rechargeable NiMH batteries to stabilize voltage and avoid the connection lapses.
Normal alkaline batteries start at 1.5v and drops to 1.0v when in use while the Amazonbasics experience little drops around 1.3v during the whole cycle of discharge. Also, wireless keyboards and magic pad can drain your battery quickly.
So, you’ll need to have some backup batteries around. If you think getting the Amazonbasics white AA rechargeable batteries is a waste, but then another good option will be to get as many back-up alkaline batteries as you can get so as not to interrupt your work on the PC.
Final verdict
I’ll give this new iMac 5k desktop a 4.0/5 rating based on not only its innovative features but also for its potentials. It also offers options to users on the choice of pad, mouse, etc. Overall, it will make a good buy. But if you want to save costs, you may as well wait for future upgrades.
