New Monitor or Retina iMac?

[bobtomay]

With that retina iMac though, you're getting a 5k display in a 27" while Dell is selling their 5k display only for $2499. Now that's a true computer monitor, not a TV screen being hooked up to a computer.

For those with the cash, the 5k retina iMac is truly a bargain that no other manufacturer can touch at this time. 5k screens may not hit the $1,000 mark for another year or 2 from any other manufacturer. (Feels strange to say anything from Apple is a "bargain", but there it is.) HP is supposed to have a 5k out this month at $1,300, but, I can't really find anything about it except rumor that apparently came out of CES - if it does come out it will take 2 displayport connections to run the thing until DP 1.3 comes out, and not even sure if the display will have the 1.3 ports or not.

 

[RavingMac]

I tried out the Retina iMac after my doctor visit.

The display is awesome!

 

[bobtomay]

Yeah, I'm afraid to go look at it.

 

[RavingMac]

Yeah, I'm afraid to go look at it.

Photos looked pretty good even when viewed at 400% with the Loupe in Apeture. I think I heard one calling your name . . .

 

[bobtomay]

I can picture it now, wireless keyboard in my lap, trackpad on the arm of the recliner and a 27" iMac on a rolling computer cart to the side.


I do have a precedence here. That's what the wife does with her 21" iMac in front of her spot on the couch.

edit:
That'd be bigger in appearance than the 60" TV screen I have mounted to the opposite wall from where I sit - wonder, does it auto scale 1080p movies up to 5k....

 

[pigoo3]

I do have a precedence here. That's what the wife does with her 21" iMac in front of her spot on the couch.

I've done it Tom! iMac on the coffee table in the TV room. Apple bluetooth keyboard & Magic trackpad combo (using one of the gizmos that allows the two input devices to be linked/mounted together as a single unit). Instead of the hassle of two separate input devices.

- Nick

 

[RavingMac]

There is a 30in stub wall next to my recliner. I have one of these mounted on it with my 27in Viewsonic Monitor. I did the rolling cart thing for a while. Worked out fairly well.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IV797M/?tag=macforums0e4-20

 

[pigoo3]

There is a 30in stub wall next to my recliner. I have one of these mounted on it with my 27in Viewsonic Monitor. I did the rolling cart thing for a while. Worked out fairly well.

Having a stub wall like that certainly makes using the monitor mount gizmo handy!

- Nick

 

[Sharkz]

Ok you guys.. All this 5K iMac stuff is driving me crazy waiting for mine to get here this Tuesday! As I type on my 3 yr old PC that is dying fast. I think it knows ;-)

just that I can get more money, but not more years to enjoy my toys and hobbies

^^ Right there was my thinking as well RavingMac. Lets enjoy the spoils of our hard work.

 

[nickyr]

I find myself in a similar position. I'm hoping to retire when I'm recovered leaving plenty of time for photography.

I'va already designed my man cave / studio and have decided on one of the Canon pro printers.

But i can't decide whether to get a retina iMac or wait for Apple to bring out a 5K display and hook that up to my mid 2012 iMac (assuming it will drive the momitor). Decisions, decisions....

 

[RavingMac]

I find myself in a similar position. I'm hoping to retire when I'm recovered leaving plenty of time for photography.

I'va already designed my man cave / studio and have decided on one of the Canon pro printers.

But i can't decide whether to get a retina iMac or wait for Apple to bring out a 5K display and hook that up to my mid 2012 iMac (assuming it will drive the momitor). Decisions, decisions....

Here's to many happy years in your man cave.

None of the pre 2013 Macs will drive more than 2560x1600 through an external. And, all of the current models can only do 4K through the HDMI port

 

[bobtomay]

Until we see Displayport 1.3 hardware hit the shelves it will require 2 displayport cables to push a 5k monitor. They say the same cables (as long as they were made to spec) will work with 1.3 ports.

 

[RavingMac]

Until we see Displayport 1.3 hardware hit the shelves it will require 2 displayport cables to push a 5k monitor. They say the same cables (as long as they were made to spec) will work with 1.3 ports.

So, is there a way to do this with a 2012 vintage (or later potentially) MBP?

 

[bobtomay]

Not until we see DisplayPort (DP) vs 1.3 incorporated into them. Based on what little I've been able to read up on it and with Dell being the only one that has a 5k monitor out - they're saying you have to use 2 displayport cables (using vs 1.2 ports) to push that 5k native resolution and there's no Apple notebook that has 2 DP ports.

edit:
My guess related to the current 5k iMac, the cost in engineering and more advanced hardware would have driven up the cost of that machine to over $3k starting point.
I don't know if either of the GPUs you can get in it would be capable of pushing dual 5k monitors satisfactorily.

edit 2:
maybe a powered DP doubler - sort of doubt there would be enough call for one to make it worth the r&d money.

 

[RavingMac]

Not until we see DisplayPort (DP) vs 1.3 incorporated into them. Based on what little I've been able to read up on it and with Dell being the only one that has a 5k monitor out - they're saying you have to use 2 displayport cables (using vs 1.2 ports) to push that 5k native resolution and there's no Apple notebook that has 2 DP ports.

I went back and rechecked the Mac Pro, and am confused by what I find. Mac Pro has 6 Thunderbolt ports and claims to be able to manage multiple 4K Monitors (though a PCI expansion chassis is also mentioned).
But MacTracker says Thunderbolt on Mac Pro is limited to 2560x1600, which definitely isn't 4K.

So, which is it?

 

[pigoo3]

I went back and rechecked the Mac Pro, and am confused by what I find. Mac Pro has 6 Thunderbolt ports and claims to be able to manage multiple 4K Monitors (though a PCI expansion chassis is also mentioned).
But MacTracker says Thunderbolt on Mac Pro is limited to 2560x1600, which definitely isn't 4K.

So, which is it?

Mike. Maybe you've seen this Apple document. It seems to include a lot of the info you mentioned earlier in this thread:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202856

- Nick

 

[pigoo3]

Here's an Apple document specifically for the new Mac Pro:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202801

- Nick

 

[bobtomay]

MacTracker is referencing the Apple Thunderbolt Display which has a 2560x 1600 resolution.

The Mac Pro can run 6 of those.

This is due to the Multi-Stream Transport (MST) system in DP vs 1.2 which permits DP to run dual monitors from a single port. The 6 TB ports and the HDMI port run on a total of 3 lanes. Each pair of TB ports are connected to a single bus. The HDMI port is connected to the same bus as the bottom 2 DP ports.

The current Mac Pro can only run 3 (three) 4k monitors - one on each bus. And is taking advantage of MST to get 4k out of DP 1.2 in a kind of out of the box thinking method.

Here's an article that talks about some of the issues in connecting 4k displays and what they're doing to get around the limitations of the current set of video ports.

 

[RavingMac]

Mike. Maybe you've seen this Apple document. It seems to include a lot of the info you mentioned earlier in this thread:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202856

- Nick

Yes, I had read that one

Here's an Apple document specifically for the new Mac Pro:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202801

- Nick

Had not seen this, thanks

MacTracker is referencing the Apple Thunderbolt Display which has a 2560x 1600 resolution.

The Mac Pro can run 6 of those.

This is due to the Multi-Stream Transport (MST) system in DP vs 1.2 which permits DP to run dual monitors from a single port. The 6 TB ports and the HDMI port run on a total of 3 lanes. Each pair of TB ports are connected to a single bus. The HDMI port is connected to the same bus as the bottom 2 DP ports.

The current Mac Pro can only run 3 (three) 4k monitors - one on each bus. And is taking advantage of MST to get 4k out of DP 1.2 in a kind of out of the box thinking method.

Here's an article that talks about some of the issues in connecting 4k displays and what they're doing to get around the limitations of the current set of video ports.

If I understand this, I can run a single 4K monitor on a Mac Pro at 60Hz if the monitor supports MST (multi-stream technology), otherwise it is 30Hz or 24Hz depending on flavor of 4K. ;P

 

[mawyatt]

I have a list (somewhere) of 4K compatible Macs, essentially 2013 vintage and later, 2014 for Mac Mini. However, none of them (including the Mac Pro) will drive 4K through the DisplayPort; you have to use HDMI and it is 30HZ refresh rate for 4K.
That gives the Retina iMac a big enough advantage that I'll probably go for it and replace with a 2020 model Mac Super Pro later. ;D

I have a 2013 nMP running a 27" Thunderbolt Display and the new Dell 27" 4k P2715Q. The D300 in the nMP has no problem with the Dell Display at 60Hz at full 4k resolution. Under System info both displays are only using one D300 graphics processor.

The Dell supplied Displayport cable plugs right into the Thunderbolt ports on the nMP, so you don't even need a special cable. Only issue is the Dell P2715Q USB ports are not working.

I run the Dell at 2560 by 1440 (same as Thunderbolt Display) because the text is too tiny at full 4k resolution. The Dell display for text and graphics is much better than the Thunderbolt.

You can by the Dell monitor from Dell directly for under $600 US, this is a bargain IMO. I am using Mavericks OS.