Apple’s line of extremely thin, all-in-one desktops, received considerable upgrades throughout 2015, with the most recent one performed in October. The iMac is the first Mac product to feature 4K and 5K Retina displays, on the 21.5 inch and 27 inch models respectively.
The 21.5 inch model has a native resolution of 4096 x 2304, with a Intel Iris Pro 6200 integrated GPU available on most models, and can be upgraded to a 3.3GHz, Intel Core Broadwell processor , at a price starting at $1499. The non-Retina option is still available, starting at $1099, but only for the 21.5 inch version.
If you go for the 27 inch model, the immediate perk is the 5K 5120 x 2880 resolution Retina display, as well as support for 6th gen Intel Core processors (Skylake), up to 4.0 GHz. While the discrete GPU option is gone in the 21.5 inch version, it’s still available in the 27 inch iMac Retina 5K, provided by AMD. The 27 inch iMac starts at $1799.
Built-to-order options to consider
The entry level 21.5 inch version, priced $1099, is targeted at budget consumers, and has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080, powered by a 1.6GHz dual-core i5 processor, Intel HD Graphics 6000 integrated GPU, and 8GB of RAM. For $200 more, the next model up is yet again a non-retina version, with identical resolution, with with a 2.8GHz quad-core i5 CPU and Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200. Aside from these two components, the two machines are virtually identical.
Apple has stepped up the game with this entry-level offering, by upgrading the 21.5 inch model with a 4K 4096 x 2304 P3 Retina display. The “P3” carries a lot of weight in regard to display specs, as most computer displays on the market use Adobe’s sRGB color gamut, while P3 is a cinema-quality standard that covers 25% more color space, for greater, more vivid detail in photos and video. Aside from the 4K display, the only difference between the updated P3 version and the previous non-Retina models, is the 3.1GHz quad-core i5 CPU, which, at $1499, is not a bad deal.
The $1799 entry level option for the next three 27 inch models up, feature the same amount of HD storage, and the same amount of RAM. The obvious difference, aside from the 27 inch Retina 5K 5120 x 2880 resolution display, is the faster CPU, starting at 3.2GHz, and the discrete GPU options, provided by an AMD Radeon R9 M380 with 2GB of RAM.
For $200 more, the mid-range model of the 27 inch Retina iMac features a 1TB Fusion drive and the M390 version of the AMD Radeon.
At $2299, the iMac Retina 5K comes with a 3.3GHz processor, and an AMD Radeon R9 M395.
Storage
Customizing the storage options on a 21.5 inch iMac is a popular choices, as it can speed up the system considerably. All 21.5 inch iMacs come with 1TB hard drives, however, these are spinning drives, and are slower, and less reliable than flash drives, or Fusion drives.
A Fusion drive is a hybrid storage device, containing a 1-2 TB spinning drive, and a 24GB Flash drive. A Fusion drive intelligently moves the most frequently used files to its Flash storage component, as needed, leaving the bulk in the HD portion of the drive. This results in faster access to the most important files, and faster boot ups into Mac OS X.
This option may be more cost effective, when building an iMac on a budget, as upgrading to a Fusion drive costs $100 for the 1TB option, and $300 for 2TB.
When purchasing a 27 inch version of the iMac Retina, a pure Flash drive is advised. While considerably more expensive, spending $200-$500 to upgrade to a faster 256GB-$512 flash drive is well-worth it, as the faster transfer speeds and reliability of a Flash drive simply can’t be matched by other non-SSD options. The highest-end Flash storage option you can upgrade to is 1TB, and will set you back $700.
RAM
When purchasing an entry-level 21.5 inch iMac, you must consider that the RAM cannot be upgraded, as it’s soldered into the mainboard, so it’s advisable to purchase the iMac with the most built-in RAM available. Fortunately, this only applies to the 21.5 inch version, as the 27 inch allows users to upgrade the system with additional memory modules.
CPU
The 21.5 inch iMac can be upgraded up to a 3.3GHz quad-core i7 processor, which should show a considerable difference, compared to the stock CPU.
In 2015, Apple has upgraded all 27 inch iMacs with Skylake CPUs. The 6th generation Intel chip is faster, more stable, and energy efficient, compared to both Haswell and Broadwell, by a wide margin. 27 inch models support up to 4.0GHz clock speeds.
It’s worth it to buy now
The iMac lineup was upgraded last in October 2015, which means we will not see another upgrade until the end of 2016. The 27 inch iMac Retina 5K, and the 21.5 inch iMac Retina 4K are currently the best that can be had for the price, with great build-to-order options, from budget, to high-end.