Official Retina 5k iMac Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Clinton McClure]

Concerning the i-number... i3 is a low-end entry-level CPU, i5 is a mainstream "everyman's" CPU and the i7 is a high-end and business class CPU. Basically, the higher the number, the more horsepower and overhead you have. You will notice a lot of the i7 quad core CPUs may have GHz (speed) numbers at or slightly below the i5 CPUs. That is because the i7 CPUs are usually more efficient than i5.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Johnny - Turbo boost is the term for when three cores shut down during idle and allow the 4th core to speed up significantly. This happens automatically as determined by the processor load and applications running at the time. Users have no direct control over it.

Is it good to shut down three of the cores?

For the iMac retina, simple answer is the i5 and i7 both have four cores. However only the upgraded i7 has hyperthreading which allows two threads to run on each core, giving you functionally 8 virtual cores. To me that's worth the price of admission. Regarding turbo boosting, you can read about it here. But I'd also get the maxed out GPU as well since that's not user upgradable.

Bottom line, storage can be added, externally, and always goes down in price over time. So if I were buying today with a tight budget, I'd get the maxed CPU/GPU with the base SSD internal, and add external drives later. Keep in mind that 1TB SSD 7mm drives regularly go on sale at places like Newegg for $350, and putting one of those in a fast firewire 800 or TB enclosure will yield you pretty fast transfer speeds.

See comments below.

Concerning the i-number... i3 is a low-end entry-level CPU, i5 is a mainstream "everyman's" CPU and the i7 is a high-end and business class CPU.Basically, the higher the number, the more horsepower and overhead you have. You will notice a lot of the i7 quad core CPUs may have GHz (speed) numbers at or slightly below the i5 CPUs. That is because the i7 CPUs are usually more efficient than i5.

Seems to me strong arguments have been made for the upgraded cpu and gpu. So here's what I'm thinking now. I want this computer to keep me happy for a minimum of 3 years, preferably 5 years. I'm not one of those guys that gets a new model every year. So I'm probably going to max this one out...within limits.

I'll get from Apple:
Upgraded cpu/gpu
3 TB Fusion Drive (not that big a bump)
Apple Care

Then elsewhere I have to get:
32gb memory (using Ron's source)
External blu-ray drive
powered usb hub

I think that's everything. Will probably order tomorrow. I think I need another trip to the apple store to see if I really want the track pad.

 

[Carlo_M]

Is it good to shut down three of the cores?

Not all programs and applications are multithreaded (i.e. take advantage of multiple cores). Some only support one or two cores. So in those cases, you want to shut down the idle cores and boost the speed of the cores that are working.

That said, many Apple designed apps work better with more cores (like Logic X, GarageBand, Final Cut X, and probably other programs I don't use like iMovie). So in that case, you want the upgraded CPU with 4 cores, 8 virtual cores with hyperthreading, to spread out all the work. On an old dual core MBP, Logic peaked the two cores at 100% almost all the time. That same song on an i7 with hyperthreading, all 8 cores were working at about 10% of their capacity.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Since I don't game or work with photo / video editing on my machines, I am a fan of getting the best CPU I can afford and not worrying too much about the GPU. For all my purposes, the onboard Intel chip always suffices. As always, your mileage may vary.

 

[Johnny Angell]

The deed has been done. Ordered the iMac today with upgrades as I indicated previously. 12/24 is the earliest it could arrive per the order.

 

[Clinton McClure]

It is sure to be a merry Christmas.

 

[Carlo_M]

The deed has been done. Ordered the iMac today with upgrades as I indicated previously. 12/24 is the earliest it could arrive per the order.

Don't want to raise your hopes, but Apple does have a way of pleasantly surprising its customers by beating its shipping expectations. Best of luck to you, and enjoy your new machine!

 

[Johnny Angell]

Don't want to raise your hopes, but Apple does have a way of pleasantly surprising its customers by beating its shipping expectations. Best of luck to you, and enjoy your new machine!

Yeah. AT&T told me iphone plus wouldn't ship till after Xmas, but I've already got it. So maybe the iMac will beet the date too.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Johnny,

Congrats on your purchase. It's the Retina....right?

And, yes, I do agree that Apple is generally conservative with their
ship times and they often beat it. But as already said, don't get
your hopes up.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Oh yeah, the Retina for sure. As I have, uhhhh...matured, I find I have more patience waiting for things to ship. I'm even choosing standard shipping over Amazon prime just to get a $1 credit that I can use on digital books.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I've just noticed I omitted one item from my list off add-ons, an external backup drive. The Mac will have. 3 tb drive, and I've currently got data of more than 1 tb so I figure I'll get a 3 tb backup. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd welcome them. And if you've got recommendations for a powered USB hub, I'd like that too. Just thought of one more item, a media card reader. BTW, are all USB cables the same, speed wise? If not, how can you tell which are 3.0 and which are slower?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Did you go SSD on this, Johnny?

 

[Johnny Angell]

No SSD. That was just too much, and I was impressed with the responsiveness of the base model in the store.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I just read over on Mac-Forums that some models have non-upgradable (soldered to the logic board) memory. They include:
-Mac-Mini's
-MacBook Pro (except 2012 13" model)
-21.5" iMac's
-MacBook Air's

The only ones that are still upgradable are:
-27" iMacs
-Mac Pro's
-MacBook Pro mentioned above

This sucks. The apple line of computers is a pretty closed box to most users before this, now it's worse. So buy a 21.5" mac and you have to pay the inflated apple prices for memory. Sheeeeit!

 

[Clinton McClure]

The 2012 13" MacBook Pro is the one I have and the 16GB of RAM I installed the week after I bought it is soooooooo sweet. The SSD I installed a few weeks ago is super sweet too. Whenever I end up buying a Retina MacBook Pro, I shall be sad to not be able to upgrade it without paying a premium from Apple. I will, however, still be happy because it will be a work of art and still head and shoulders above any Windows machine.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I'm starting to think of Apple as the tech equivalent of Disney. Very greedy and always looking for a way to squeeze another buck out of the customer. This is just a crappy decision by Apple. If I remember correctly, it cost and extra $600 to upgrade to 32gb via apple. That's just outrageous.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Been doing a little research and have found the following items I'm interested in. Some are recommended in this thread.
External Backup Drive
http://smile.amazon.com/Seagate-Backup-Desktop-External-STDT4000100/dp/B00HFRWXQ0/ref=cm_rdp_product

External Blu Ray
http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00ACOQF2Q/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3399ER5R6AD9I&coliid=I2EVUB2N49ED6G

External USB Powered Hub
http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B005NGQWL2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3399ER5R6AD9I&coliid=I2QJR79MLU1RZH&psc=1

Media Card Reader
-Haven't Picked one yet

32gb Memory
The memory Ron recommended from HP, was it? Link is elsewhere in this thread.
Here's the link.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/889298-REG/crucial_ct2k8g3s160bm_16gb_2x8_204p_sodimm.html

I welcome any comments on these choices and suggestions for items I may need.

 

[Sam Posten]

I've just noticed I omitted one item from my list off add-ons, an external backup drive. The Mac will have. 3 tb drive, and I've currently got data of more than 1 tb so I figure I'll get a 3 tb backup. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd welcome them...
BTW, are all USB cables the same, speed wise? If not, how can you tell which are 3.0 and which are slower?

Yes all cables are the same speed.

WRT backups, go to Costco and get the Seagate 3tb backpack for under $100.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Yes all cables are the same speed. WRT backups, go to Costco and get the Seagate 3tb backpack for under $100.

No Costco in little rock.

 

[Johnny Angell]

The iMac is scheduled to be delivered this Saturday. This makes me very interested in how to migrate from old to new. This link was posted earlier: http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT4413

If I use this method, do I end up with all my programs installed or does it just move data? I'll have an external drive big enough to back up my entire old iMac. Can use Time Machine to backup the old and restore to the new and end up with everything restored? If I use the restore method and the old mac has an older OS, what happens to newer OS on the new mac?

Any suggestions for migrating are welcome. Specially from Ron, since he just did it.