Imac 5k or wait for 8k?

D

DrewFlies

Guest
I have been shopping for a new iMac.
I have a iMac mid 2010.
I'm able to edit just fine once I render the phantom or gopro clips to my premiere pro.

However, playback before render is really choppy.

My question is do you guys really notice a difference with the newer style iMacs, MacBook Pros. I'm subscribed to the Mcbergsma channel and seen his video explaing and showing the difference between the newer slimmer iMacs and the older iMacs. Is the iMac 5k really worth it? I Went to best buy and put the original iMac next to the 5k and decided to watch 4k youtube videos with phantom 3s and other cameras and honestly could not tell a difference. I want people with experience feedback and hopeful real life situations that made the iMac 5k more efficient. Any input is appreciated.
 
The iMac 5K is the best Mac you can bought short of a Mac Pro and the iMac, in some tests, outperform the much more costly Mac Pro.

Perfect to edit and view your 4K video, but it is always better to look at 4K footage on a bigger TV screen.

The 8K is still for the futur and it won't be really much affordable before half a decade so don't wait that long!

Maher
 
I have a 2011 iMAC 27" i7, 16gb and SSD, seems to play 4K well straight from the SD card, only thing is the slow render time in FCP. I put the finished movie on my NAS and send it to my 55" LCD via a media streamer (custom built quad-core chromebox running KODI) I also want the new 5K iMAC but having trouble justifying it after dropping a wad on the P3. Got to work on the Spouse some more :)
 
I just went through this exact same scenario and all I can do is tell you what I decided to do and why.

First I will say that the 5k display on the iMac is very nice. However, that was where it pretty well ended for me. The issue I had was that Apple was not able to use the new Intel processors because there were delays from Intel. This means that 6 months from now, there will be another version with a better processor. The other big issue I was concerned with was heat. Most tests show that when rendering video with the new iMacs, the processor was pushing 90 degrees Celsius. This is very hot compared to other more conventional setups (50C). The high heat for long times makes me worry about longevity of the hardware. Don't get me wrong on this, I really like Macs, but these were major concerns for me. Last, by the time I upgraded to the 4.0 processor, 32gb RAM, and 4GB video card, and 3gb hd, I was at $4200.

I decided I wanted the ability to upgrade components as needed instead of being stuck with only what it comes with for 5-6 years. I also was not dead set on having to use Final Cut Pro. I ended up buying the components to build a machine that not only have a better performance, but it should be able to last me much longer. I ended up with a 6 core processor, 32gb rAM, and 4gb video card, water cooled processor,and 3.5 gb total hd space for $2050. I will wait 6months and buy a Dell 5k monitor for $1500 and have much more flexibility later.

With my setup I will configure 1 SSD with Mac OS and one SSD with Windows. It certainly takes a little more work if you are somewhat computer inclined, but you get a lot more for your money imo.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: loganintx
Yeah. I will most likely use Windows 80% of the time and play with the Hackintosh setup the rest. I will do my editing in Windows since my laptop is Windows and I can use the same program.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
the imac 5k is the best mac available, i have it and its worth every penny i payed.

if you are in the editting business or if money is not a problem for you go for it.

about waiting for 8k its like asking if you should buy the iphone6 or wait for the 9s
 
The iMac 5K is the best Mac you can bought short of a Mac Pro and the iMac, in some tests, outperform the much more costly Mac Pro.

Perfect to edit and view your 4K video, but it is always better to look at 4K footage on a bigger TV screen.

The 8K is still for the futur and it won't be really much affordable before half a decade so don't wait that long!

Maher
the imac 5k is the best mac available, i have it and its worth every penny i payed.

if you are in the editting business or if money is not a problem for you go for it.

about waiting for 8k its like asking if you should buy the iphone6 or wait for the 9s

These comments seems as if you bought the iMac 5k just because you could without any real facts or reasons why you bought it. Money is not the issue. But, I don't want to buy something that will be easily replaced in 6 months especially at $2,500 when the other iMacs are around $1,100. I have been researching the iMac 5k for a little over a month now and in just a month they actually dropped to $2,000. The 2 current models they have use to be $2,499 and $2,999. Now they are $1,999 and $2,299 which makes it even more obvious they are getting ready to announce the 8k iMac. Not too many people catch onto these price drops and what they mean. Those same people bought the DJI Phantom V+ at such a cheap price only to find out a month later DJI announced the Phantom 3. Furthermore, if you do your research you will realize that LG spilled the beans about Apple coming out with 8k iMac LATER THIS YEAR. GoPro Hero 5 is also expected to have 8k recording capabilities. Were not talking about waiting years. Were talking about waiting a few months. LG actually owns the Display world as of now and they already had plans of 2k, 4k, 8k and 16k displays 3-4 years ago. It's all about marketing now and making sure these companies get the most money they can. Apple is now using LG displays in their products. I'm not only concerned of the display. I really am curious about the performance.


I just went through this exact same scenario and all I can do is tell you what I decided to do and why.

First I will say that the 5k display on the iMac is very nice. However, that was where it pretty well ended for me. The issue I had was that Apple was not able to use the new Intel processors because there were delays from Intel. This means that 6 months from now, there will be another version with a better processor. The other big issue I was concerned with was heat. Most tests show that when rendering video with the new iMacs, the processor was pushing 90 degrees Celsius. This is very hot compared to other more conventional setups (50C). The high heat for long times makes me worry about longevity of the hardware. Don't get me wrong on this, I really like Macs, but these were major concerns for me. Last, by the time I upgraded to the 4.0 processor, 32gb RAM, and 4GB video card, and 3gb hd, I was at $4200.

I decided I wanted the ability to upgrade components as needed instead of being stuck with only what it comes with for 5-6 years. I also was not dead set on having to use Final Cut Pro. I ended up buying the components to build a machine that not only have a better performance, but it should be able to last me much longer. I ended up with a 6 core processor, 32gb rAM, and 4gb video card, water cooled processor,and 3.5 gb total hd space for $2050. I will wait 6months and buy a Dell 5k monitor for $1500 and have much more flexibility later.

With my setup I will configure 1 SSD with Mac OS and one SSD with Windows. It certainly takes a little more work if you are somewhat computer inclined, but you get a lot more for your money imo.

This is a more honest answer and very well detailed. However, I never in my life had good experience with Dell not sure if I would want to buy a $1,500 monitor from them. I did not know about the newer iMacs heating up and your very right that this will be concern especially for video editors. Overall, this was a solid input and very appreciated.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
However, I never in my life had good experience with Dell not sure if I would want to buy a $1,500 monitor from them. I did not know about the newer iMacs heating up and your very right that this will be concern especially for video editors. Overall, this was a solid input and very appreciated.

I don't necessarily disagree on the Dell monitor, although in some reviews I have seen, it has been rated higher than the iMac 5k display. That being said, I expect many more manufactures to release 5k displays in the next 6 months which will also help drive down price and offer more options. I will stick with my 1080 monitor even with my new build until I am completely comfortable with a monitor. I really wish the new iMac had a better processor and better cooling and I probably would have jumped in. I think 5k will last me for a few years as I am just a weekend hack at taking video and editing.
 
Let me also mention that I use to work for Apple so I know how and when they get ready to announce a new product ;)
 
I have the 5K iMac with i7 processor and its a great machine, I would recommend it. Thing to remember is there is always the next best thing just around the corner, why buy a Phantom 3 when the Inspire 2 might be out in 6 months or the P4 in 12 months. Secondly and this is the key one for me, the higher the spec the longer it'll stay current or at the very least capable of running the software you need.

I tend to go all in on the iMac or the Macbook as you get a good number of years out of it before you find its not able to run the latest Lightroom or load the latest video. Far more years than I have found you get out of a Dell or a home build.

If Apple are about to release a new iMac then I might wait a couple of weeks but I wouldn't wait for the next intel processor, the next screen resolution as that tech will be replaced next year anyway.
 
I have the 5K iMac with i7 processor and its a great machine, I would recommend it. Thing to remember is there is always the next best thing just around the corner, why buy a Phantom 3 when the Inspire 2 might be out in 6 months or the P4 in 12 months. Secondly and this is the key one for me, the higher the spec the longer it'll stay current or at the very least capable of running the software you need.

I tend to go all in on the iMac or the Macbook as you get a good number of years out of it before you find its not able to run the latest Lightroom or load the latest video. Far more years than I have found you get out of a Dell or a home build.

If Apple are about to release a new iMac then I might wait a couple of weeks but I wouldn't wait for the next intel processor, the next screen resolution as that tech will be replaced next year anyway.

Lol believe me I know this all too well. As I have a 2010 iMac that still is keeping up. But, definitely in last place. I agree with everything you said and I share the same beliefs. Apple usually has their keynotes around August-September. It's really only about waiting 2-3 months from now. They also have had keynotes in Spring. If I could have it my way, I would wish to buy a 21.5" iMac for around $1,300 and just have a external 8k display monitor. With the iMac 5k now at $1,999 it almost a steal compared to Dell selling their 5k monitor at $2,500. The overheating issues as mentioned by hozzie really caught my eye. Another big issue that has me hesitating is the fact that my hacked Cs6 has treated me very well these past years including performance, rendering and quality. If I were to make a switch to a new iMac. I would be forced to start Adobe's contract and pay $50 a month til I die lol.
 
I don't have an iMac 5K (already have 4 others Mac at home) but my son who own a small video production company have one and is very impressed with it. I will buy one, or a Mac Pro if needed, as soon as it make sense and pay by itself.

My MacBook Pro Retina, bought early in september, is powerful enough to process 4K and play it downscaled so it's enough for exploring.

When I stated that the 8K is still five year ahead it is about general adoption and affordability. The same about 4K who are already available from some years but still waiting wide adoption because of price and a lack of proper medium source.

Since I owned Mac products from the beginning, I also know that people working at Apple doesn't really have any more clues about new products and features than I have. We are all speculate on rumors. I really doubt that you have any more useful insight than me unless you're very high in the direction and wouldn't be asking such questions on a users forum.
 
My 5K iMac is dreamy. The only problem I have is it makes every other computer seem slow and low res. Spec it out properly and it will hold up for years.
 
The overheating issues as mentioned by hozzie really caught my eye

Yes the only time I have heard the fan kick in on the 5K is when FCPX is rendering 4K footage in the background but running hot is different than overheating. If its within tolerances then let it run hot.

I have to admit the only thing I was nervous about was the AMD GPU as Apple had those GPU failures on the Macbook Pro with the AMD chipset. Apple eventually agreed to replace the GPU on those out of warranty but I did purchase a 3 year Apple Care on the 5K. Considering the money you drop on the 5K the Apple Care is a drop in the ocean. With that you have the insurance you need.

In terms of Adobe, I dropped from the full subscription down to the Photography subscription and use FCPX for video. I used Premier Pro for sometime so know the differences between the two. FCPX is pretty good.
 
Yeah, that $50/month deal is a bit much for me as a weekend warrior. It isn't that I can't afford it, I just have a hard time paying $600 year and not owning anything. I just started into this video editing and since I wasn't sure if I was going to go Mac or PC for sure, I paid $90 for a full year of the suite of PowerDirector products. They aren't as good as the Adobe CC suite, but I figure for $90, I can switch at any time. So far, it has done everything I needed it to..As with any new software, it is just finding where the functions are located.
 
Last edited:
I don't have an iMac 5K (already have 4 others Mac at home) but my son who own a small video production company have one and is very impressed with it. I will buy one, or a Mac Pro if needed, as soon as it make sense and pay by itself.

My MacBook Pro Retina, bought early in september, is powerful enough to process 4K and play it downscaled so it's enough for exploring.

When I stated that the 8K is still five year ahead it is about general adoption and affordability. The same about 4K who are already available from some years but still waiting wide adoption because of price and a lack of proper medium source.

Since I owned Mac products from the beginning, I also know that people working at Apple doesn't really have any more clues about new products and features than I have. We are all speculate on rumors. I really doubt that you have any more useful insight than me unless you're very high in the direction and wouldn't be asking such questions on a users forum.

I will agree that when working for Apple we received no information on new products. The only thing we had close to information is learning new operating systems and iOS softwares. Once we were put into training about new features coming out we had a pretty good guess they were about to announce something.
 
I will edit and render circles around any mac (hackintosh could be a different story) for far less than half the cost of a mac.

20131226_224854_zpswrfick3f.jpg




If I ever decide that I want a great 4K display that uses the same samsung pls panel that apple uses.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Perfect-Pix...279?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20f74e7f87


Or heck maybe even spring for 31.5"

http://www.ebay.com/itm/QNIX-UHD325...874?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e9da89c62
 
My decade long rule I follow


"IF YOU ALWAYS WAIT FOR THE LATEST AND GREATEST, YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE NOTHING"
 
  • Like
Reactions: chapsrlz

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,354
Members
104,933
Latest member
mactechnic