Overview iMac Retina 5K - might pixels

Today, in the era of high-tech development, individual product is very difficult to stand out among the others, but the iMac Retina 5K easily cope with this task. See in front of such an incredible number of pixels that just do not fit in my head - this fact alone entices many users to Apple's official website page order. You can create a good and even a successful product by existing suppliers of components, but if you want ahead of others, and not just to compete with them, you need to create custom components for your "special recipe. " Therefore, Apple's, tired of waiting, when there will be 5K displays, create their own and using the already familiar design of the iMac, turns them into something incredible.

Design and stuffing

iMac a great candy bar and Apple did not change anything in the formula design, which was used in the final model. Subtle 5mm edge pass in the middle of a thickened shell, which we see only looking on the rear panel. It still remains unsurpassed in quality materials, elegant design and quality of the finish without equal among the PCs.

The beauty of the design is not pushed all the ports and connectors on the rear panel iMac. As before, we have easy access to headphone, SD-slot, gigabit Ethernet-port, four USB 3.0, two Thunderbolt but instead we now have two Thunderbolt 2.

In fact, the connection of any peripherals requires you to pair movements, even for the 27 'iMac, since it almost weightless in their minimalistic stand and move it to your desktop enough just. The power button is also hidden on the back panel of aesthetic considerations, but its characteristic concave surface is very easy to find by touch.

Dual microphones and FaceTime HD camera located above the screen, while the 20-watt stereo speakers are located underneath. Despite their focus, they are surprised by a sufficient amount of low frequencies and should be able to voice your workspace.

As is the case with non-Retina iMac, there is a version without stand with VESA-compatible wall bracket. Thus you will be able to do without the stand and get to your iMac mountable wall. Both iMac tradition continued inability of the user to upgrade and allow you to replace only only the RAM slots are hidden under a small socket, behind the leg stand.

Display

If you've had to deal with aimaks many parts iMac Retina 5K will seem familiar to you, but these feelings will end as soon as you turn it on and come face to face with an amazing desktop that you've ever seen in computers.

I do not remember how incredible was it like after the transition to the screen with the usual on Retina resolution, but on the iMac 5K you exactly breathless. It can see the smallest details and the colors are amazing natural. The white color is very clean, with no shades, and black - the ink and very uniform.

Nothing comes easily. When you need to process 14.7 million pixels - 5K is not perceived as a great contrast to 4K, but in fact, last of all 8.8 million pixels, while the Full HD meager 2 million - you can not just take off the shelf components are ready and use them.

Instead, Apple had to create from scratch a few key details. A good example - timing controller (TCON), which is responsible for synchronization of signals with two DisplayPort 1.2 tires for bandwidth up to 40 Gbit / s. The higher the pixel density necessitates efficient backlight and proceeds to Apple high efficiency LEDs, which not only provide a sufficient amount of light, but also reduce the consumption of energy by 30%.

Due Oxide TFT, one of the display layers also increases its energy efficiency in comparison to previous generations panels. In tandem with the new compensation film it increases viewing angles and significantly reduces the inversion of color and contrast.

To improve the display iMac Retina 5K, Apple has borrowed a few tricks to the iPad. First of all, an organic passivation (organic passivation), which helps avoid the interference signal and the interference of tightly packed pixels. However, 217 ppi is less than 264 ppi in the iPad Air 2 and 220 ppi in the 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina.

This is due to the distances at which we look at the device's screen. The new iMac Retina 5K lower pixel density of all Retina-displays, but as usual you are working with a much larger him distance than the iPad and MacBook Pro, the end result is the same - the picture is so clear that you can not distinguish individual pixels display.

As in the MacBook Pro Retina, we have several options to adjust the resolution. You can work in native resolution 5120h2880 or select one of the zoom modes, where windows and applications will be the same size as in the conventional the iMac, but appear to be more clearly.

Most of the elements of the interface may be too tiny in native resolution, but those pixels gives a huge advantage in certain use cases. For example, photo editing will melt much easier when you can display the source file in full resolution, without the need to adjust the scale whenever you need to consider any detail.

But in all its glory iMac Retina 5K manifests itself in working with video. Running Final Cut Pro you can see the preview in full resolution for 4K-video, and you still have room to accommodate the edges of the screen controls. Nothing is blocked and you do not need to move different elements to see them - all in the mind.

In short, the display iMac Retina 5K in many ways ahead of its time and this, in fact, there are both advantages and some compromises.

The largest of these is the lack of modes Target Display, which was available in previous model and allows use iMac as an external display, or by connecting MacBook Mac mini thereto. Unfortunately, even though Thunderbolt 2 has a significantly greater bandwidth than its predecessor, it is still insufficient for 5K transmission signal from another computer. Probably have to wait for the Thunderbolt 3, and at the same time now there is no means for scaling the signal source with a lower resolution.

For the same reason, even if you could connect the source to the 5K-signal, you could not have you turn on the display of another 5K display and use them in conjunction. Connecting external display is available in resolutions up to 3840h2160, but you will have only one 5K-panel.

Specifications and performance

One of the things that we expect to see in the new the iMac, were processors, but Apple is stuck on the fourth-generation Intel Haswell, which can be found in existing models. Junior model iMac Retina 5K equipped with quad-core Core i5 with a frequency of 3.5 GHz, which optionally can be replaced by Core i7 4,0 GHz and pay $ 250.

Now 8 gigabytes of memory - this is the standard. It can be increased up to 16 and 32 GB for $ 200 and $ 600 respectively. As for the hard drive, then in the iMac Retina 5K all installed Fusion Drive 1 TB, which is a normal hard disk, combined with SSD for frequently used files and applications, which is a balance of speed and volume.

For an extra $ 150, you can equip your iMac drive Fusion Drive 3 TB or no co-payments instead choose SSD to 256GB.

Ever since the first rumors about the iMac Retina, there were disputes about what kind of video card will be charged with managing so many pixels. The minimum configuration iMac Retina 5K equipped with graphics Radeon R9 M290X with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, which for $ 250 can be replaced by R9 M295X c twice as much memory.

As with other components, this mobile video, which caused some controversy as to whether they can cope with the processing of authorization 5120h2880. Fortunately, for the most part, these fears and speculation proved to be unfounded.

Working with multiple applications and video playback is given iMac Retina 5K with ease. Adding special effects in Final Cut Pro project in real time and does not cause any difficulties. However, in comparison with the Mac Pro rendering the final video, as expected, it took more time (and it was the only case where you could hear the churning cooler the iMac, the sound of which in a normal situation resembles a hoarse whisper).

Outside of OS X Yosemite and standard Apple applications, you can encounter various irregularities. It is evident that some third-party applications are still not ready to resolve the 5K. you can sometimes observe small twitches, which at the same sites in Safari lacking in third-party browsers.

conclusion

Without a doubt, there is now a lack of public content, satisfying resolution iMac Retina 5K. The usual 27-inch iMac can work calmly and with 1080p content, which for the Retina is not enough. In iTunes, there is still no video in 4K resolution and the only streaming service that offers movies and TV shows it is Netflix.

And yet, this computer is not intended for consumption of content (at least, this is only a secondary function), - it is ideal for its creation. It is a tool for people who create Ultra HD videos or capture images with incredible resolution - content that will ultimately tip the scales in favor of the Retina-displays.

With a starting price of 2,500 $ iMac Retina 5K only $ 500 cheaper than the entry-level Mac Pro. Of the two, Mac Pro, of course, is more powerful, but on the other hand, you should also take into account the cost of buying a separate monitor. Selecting the iMac, you get a professional display to your computer, and stressed that Apple's, at the launch of the new flagship.

The new iMac Retina 5K took place between the top-end iMac and the previous generation of the initial Mac Pro. Its screen is unparalleled not only in the line of Apple products, but also among the displays in general, and this situation will remain a certain time. At the same time, it does not require additional financial investments for the organization of the workplace, as opposed to the Mac Pro.

Overall, this combination of desires and needs, which we have seen in the Apple products before. In some of the users will have a real need for the resolution of the Retina, the other part will just want to get it just because it's possible. In conjunction with the exclusivity 5K, and despite the fact that competitors are, no doubt, will soon show their analogues, iMac Retina 5K is an excellent solution that combines the elegance, performance and innovation.

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