Would love your advice re: new iMac

Hello,

Hope you folks are doing great!

Im sure my question has been asked a million times, but id really like to have your input, suggestions and hear what you have to say. I want to thank you in advance for your time as it is most appreciated.

I am in the market for a new iMac that i will be using for photo editing using Photoshop CC. My files are usually very large and contain quite a few layers. I have a 2013 MacBook Pro 15" Retina with max specs and it handles my editing extremely well.

Here are some questions for you:

1. Which iMac would you recommend for me. Size of the screen is not as important to me as to others. I would be perfectly happy with a 21" screen if need be.

2. Is this a bad time to buy a new iMac considering a retina model might be right around the corner?

3. I will not be doing any gaming on this machine. It will be used exclusively for Photoshop CC , no video editing and other than web surfing, email, YouTube etc. thats it.

Im a bit confused as to the timing right now. I see there have been some new releases of the iMac, but wanted to see what you think in terms of the possibility of a Retina screen and other anticipated upgrades.

Thanks so much for your help and input. I appreciate it very much!

Best to you always,

rick

greyhound rick said:

My files are usually very large and contain quite a few layers. I have a 2013 MacBook Pro 15" Retina with max specs and it handles my editing extremely well.

Click to expand...

My questions are:

- If your MacBook Pro handles things "extremely well"…why do you need an iMac?
- And if you want/need some extra screen real estate…why not just get a nice external monitor to use with the MacBook Pro?

I'm not seeing how an iMac will be of any additional benefit (at least not mentioned so far).

* Nick

No chance of a Retina iMac anytime soon. Just imagine what that would cost.

pigoo3 said:

My questions are:

- If your MacBook Pro handles things "extremely well"…why do you need an iMac?
- And if you want/need some extra screen real estate…why not just get a nice external monitor to use with the MacBook Pro?

I'm not seeing how an iMac will be of any additional benefit (at least not mentioned so far).

* Nick

Click to expand...

Thanks very much for your comment Nick. I appreciate it!

The iMac would be used in a separate location and it would be a lot easier for me not to have to move my MacBook Pro a lot. Also, there would be times when the MacBook Pro and iMac would be used simultaneously at different locations. Sorry i should have mentioned that in my original post.

Thanks again!

chas_m said:

No chance of a Retina iMac anytime soon. Just imagine what that would cost.

Click to expand...

Thank you Chas. Do you think now is a good time to buy an iMac or would you wait?

greyhound rick said:

Thanks very much for your comment Nick. I appreciate it!

The iMac would be used in a separate location and it would be a lot easier for me not to have to move my MacBook Pro a lot. Also, there would be times when the MacBook Pro and iMac would be used simultaneously at different locations.

Click to expand...

Ok...no problem at all. Just wanted to save you some money if purchasing another computer was unecessary.

As far as which iMac to purchase. Obviously the first way to narrow things down is by display size (21" or 27"). If a 21" is ok...then you could just consider 21" models (21.5" technically).

Since your 2013 MacBook Pro is doing great with the tasks you have...I would certainly say...get an iMac with at least the same specs or better. This way you won't be disappointed with the iMac.

- Nick

p.s. One major thing to consider between the newest 21.5" and 27" iMac's is...the ram on the 21.5" iMac's is not upgradeable after purchase...the ram in the 27" iMac is upgradeable after purchase.

You may be familiar with this with your 2013 MacBook Pro retina.

As far as is it a good time to purchase an iMac. The last full iMac refresh was last September (almost a year). Apple USUALLY...refreshes the iMac line at least once/year.

So I would say wait until November 1st before purchasing an iMac (September/October are big "refresh months"). Of course there is no guarantee...anything can happen. Apple may wait until closer to Christmas before doing an iMac line refresh.

It's a "crystal ball" thing.

- Nick

thank you Nick!

Great advice!!

Apple have an event scheduled for September 9th. Allegedly the iPhone 6 launch, along with iOS8 and OS 10.10. But rumours have it that they may also announce a new range of Mac's. It was thought that new Mac's wouldn't be available until next year due to a delay in supplies of the next generation of Intel chips. However latest news says these chips will be available on schedule

We can only wait.

Rumours are usually off in many important ways. I will say that it would be a strange change in direction if Apple used a media event to talk about more than one platform. They have never done this that I'm aware of and are unlikely to do it now, particularly as the Mac updates would be refreshes rather than revamps.

No, I think the iPhone 6 event will focus on iPhones and iPads and iOS 8 and nothing else.

No, I think the iPhone 6 event will focus on iPhones and iPads and iOS 8 and nothing else.

Click to expand...

I agree with chas_m. Also keep in mind that Apple recently (last month) refreshed the rMBP line. An iMac refresh is probably due but Apple has in the past waited up until 18 months between refreshes.

Thank you all very much for taking the time to give me some great input!

I know this is a bit off topic, but wanted to ask you what you thought of the timing with regard to the Thunderbolt Display.

If you were in the market for one would you wait or pull the trigger now?

thanks again!

best,

rick

To be honest, I wouldn't spring for a TB display until Apple refreshes them with a USB 3 hub and cuts down the glare. The 2013 27" iMacs already have USB 3 and a lower glare display. No reason the TB display refresh can't be the same.