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Gaming on M395X: I'm satisfied
- Thread starter MandiMac
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Just a quick heads-up,
I just used my i5/M395X machine for 11 hours straight with 100 % CPU and 100 % GPU usage.
I have some logs (GPU-Z and Afterburner) for you in my Dropbox, and it's really telling. The names of the files are the ones with CPU-GPU full.
(I used BOINC: World Community Grid//Clean Energy Project for the CPU, Poem@Home for the GPU.)
The CPU temperature reaches 100 degrees Celsius one time and the GPU never goes beyond 94 degrees Celsius.
So much for the "overheating troubles" many folks are shouting around.
I just used my i5/M395X machine for 11 hours straight with 100 % CPU and 100 % GPU usage.
I have some logs (GPU-Z and Afterburner) for you in my Dropbox, and it's really telling. The names of the files are the ones with CPU-GPU full.
(I used BOINC: World Community Grid//Clean Energy Project for the CPU, Poem@Home for the GPU.)
The CPU temperature reaches 100 degrees Celsius one time and the GPU never goes beyond 94 degrees Celsius.
So much for the "overheating troubles" many folks are shouting around.
Are you running individual tests? That maybe doesn't tell the whole story. You might need to run a test that uses both GPU AND CPU to the max to maximize heat output/temperatures, but I admit I don't know much about those two tests.
For the record, I have no overheating issues with my 2014 5K iMac. Yes, the temps are a little higher, but it's rock solid and I game on it a LOT.
Also, I saw your Diablo 3 frame-rates. Looks to be about 70-100fps in that Act 4 area. That's what I get on my 2014 iMac at 1440p. Remember, there's barely anything going on in that zone at that difficulty level.
Bottom line: Yes, the 2014 and 2015 iMacs are "fine" for gaming, but the 2015 is a big disappointment if you waited a year from the 2014 for something even better. If you can find a 2014 5K iMac much cheaper than the 2015, buy it. If there's not much in it, go for the 2015.
Hey William,
thanks so much for your input. If you're looking at the Dropbox files I provided, you'll see that these aren't individual tests, the GPU and the CPU are at 100 % usage the whole time for around 11 hours straight. So if that doesn't heat the device up, nothing will.
Just for info: BOINC is a program for distributed computing which uses your computer for science, and the workload is being computed when you don't actively use your computer. So I recorded these temps for 11 hours and if 94 degrees is the maximum for the GPU, I really don't get the point of some people overreacting in these very forums. That's why I made this post
As for your statement regarding the YOY change in the new iMac line, of course you're right. Then again, it would be kind of very sad to see improvements like in the iPad/iPhone series, where you almost have to upgrade every year because of the huge steps the processors and efficiency are made.
Hey William,
thanks so much for your input. If you're looking at the Dropbox files I provided, you'll see that these aren't individual tests, the GPU and the CPU are at 100 % usage the whole time for around 11 hours straight. So if that doesn't heat the device up, nothing will.
Just for info: BOINC is a program for distributed computing which uses your computer for science, and the workload is being computed when you don't actively use your computer. So I recorded these temps for 11 hours and if 94 degrees is the maximum for the GPU, I really don't get the point of some people overreacting in these very forums. That's why I made this post
As for your statement regarding the YOY change in the new iMac line, of course you're right. Then again, it would be kind of very sad to see improvements like in the iPad/iPhone series, where you almost have to upgrade every year because of the huge steps the processors and efficiency are made.
No argument about the GPU, there. It does seem to be slightly less heat-output'y, at least in your tests.
That said, I would LOVE to see big improvements every year. The world doesn't revolve around me and my inability to buy a new computer every year, but for others who are waiting? I know they're disappointed. Heck, even in my circles the collective groans that I heard when the GPU was revealed... oy... just sad. I have one friend who really wanted to buy the 5K last year but really was holding out for a GPU upgrade - and is now wondering why he bothered waiting.
Honestly, those who bought the 5K iMac last year are going to get the "best value" out of their systems, since they've had their delicious 5K screens a year now with a GPU 99% of the speed of the 2015 GPU. Then, next year, when the real GPU upgrade (hopefully) shows up, people who bought the 2015 5K iMacs are going to feel slighted, while the rest have had their system two years, and are more likely to maybe upgrade.
Remember, you can't please everyone. But it doesn't detract from Apple's pricing really being even more of a joke to get the M395X when it's just what appears to be a slightly modified M295X, and only barely at that. The M395X should have been standard on the high-end 27" 5K iMac, with an option for some awesome modified Nvidia (or heck, AMD) part.
I'm not made of money, but if the 2015 5K iMac had featured the GPU upgrade a lot of us hoped for, I'd have gotten one in an instant.
Hey MandiMac,
I got the new iMac 5k, pretty much maxed out except for the RAM - 8gb (gonna do that myself tomorrow, maybe it will help), and was not able to get LOL playing smoothly no matter what i tried, specifically in team fights or with certain effects (baron buff, veigar W, to name a few). It would drop from 60-80 to 20 FPS and cause a lot of issues with my gameplay. This was Full Screen, Medium settings at 2560x1440, AA off, Vsync off. Do you have any recommendations for me for things to do in the in game settings or on the OS level? I'd prefer gaming on OSX but if it comes to it I guess i can switch to Win10 when playing LOL.
I was thinking about returning the mac until I read this thread, now my hopes are back up.
Thanks.
Edit: I just went in and went 5k and max settings in a custom game, and it seemed to have the same FPS as those other settings, if not better, though at 5K a lot of the interface and some spells are weird sizes.
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Hey pip, this is odd. I played two games and it never seemed to bog down - the only difference was that I had VSync on, but that can't be the culprit here. I installed LOL on the SSD, maybe that helped out too?
I'm gonna play some more LOL when the weekend comes, that's really weird. Thank you for your reply; I will look into that and give you feedback!
Mine is on the 512GB SSD. When you say 2 games you mean on OSX? What specs did you play exactly? What about your OSX display setting (default or scaled)? Lastly, how much RAM do you have?
Thanks again!
You, good sir, are to be recommended. A true asset to these forums - even though our opinions differ somewhat, we can have a healthy conversation nevertheless. Thank you for your insights!
(And damn you, if your claims hold to be true next year with the awesome GPU upgrade.
)I have a 512 GB SSD too, half partitioned for Boot Camp for Win 10. (This shouldn't influence anything
)Yeah, these 2 games were on OSX (on Win 10 it didn't bog down either). My OS X display is Best for Retina, and I love playing at 1440p because of the UI issues you mentioned earlier. I have 16 GB RAM, but I can't imagine that this would help so much when playing LOL...
Does anyone know how the iMac handles GTA 5 on its default settings? I'm not a very serious gamer so I'm not picky about resolution and frame rate.
You're lucky, I just bought it today because it is on sale - but I still download the 64 GB. Damn huge game.
You want the in-game benchmark or real gameplay FPS under Windows 10?
Whatever you can get should be fine. Just making sure it runs properly without problems and overheating.
In these tests the M395X is about 16% faster than the M295X. That is more speed improvement than going two CPU generations from an i7-4790K Haswell in the 2014 iMac 27 to the i7-6700K Skylake in the 2015 iMac 27.
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2985&cmp[]=3340
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html
I have a 512 GB SSD too, half partitioned for Boot Camp for Win 10. (This shouldn't influence anything
Yeah, these 2 games were on OSX (on Win 10 it didn't bog down either). My OS X display is Best for Retina, and I love playing at 1440p because of the UI issues you mentioned earlier. I have 16 GB RAM, but I can't imagine that this would help so much when playing LOL...
Just played a couple more games with vsync on, 1440p, medium-high settings, and still got a lot of times during teamfights or a lot of VFX where FPS were dropping down to 20-30. I'm getting the RAM in tomorrow so we'll see if that makes a difference, though I doubt it, other than that I guess i'll have to bootcamp it and try on windows. I'm surprised we get such different results though. :-/
Maybe i just got lucky with the effects? Really weird. Are you playing bot games? I did.
Hello. Thank you so much for making this thread! I am actually planning to get the exact same iMac model as you and I also have a 2012 iMac planning to upgrade to the 395x and i5. My question is, I plan on playing exclusively at 1440p as 4K and5k is extremely demanding. I was wondering if 1440p on the 5 screen still looks just as good as 1440p on a native 1440p screen. I just don't want those blurs or jaggies like 1080p on 1440p. Thank you!
Hi there,
at 1440p it is slightly mushed when you're looking really closely. I don't have a 1440p monitor to compare directly, and against my 21,5 incher from 2012 the new iMac looks way better, especially when you turn AA on in games.
On a Windows environment, you actually see the text slightly blurred unless you turn the resolution up to 5K.
Thank you for the quick reply! I'm planning on keeping the resolution at native in the os and games on 1440p. I'm still debating between the 2013 maxed out iMac refurbished with the gtx 780m and this new iMac. I'm a huge nvidia fan honestly, and been with them for all
My life with computers, and I don't really feel comfortable switching to amd for the first time ever
No prob
That's what smartphones are for after all As for your decision, unfortunately I can't give you a slightest hint in either direction. I don't have the older model so I obviously can't compare the two directly.
For the 2013:
+ lower price
+ better (?) drivers under Windows
+ NVIDIA for you
For the 2015:
+ faster SSD (if you're going all SSD)
+ dat Retina display
+ maybe a few percent more CPU/GPU power
It's really up to you - I'm satisfied with mine and I guess either iMac will do once you maxed it GPU wise for some gaming...
Apples or me into a super tough spot lol. For $2000 I get : gtx 780m, i7 4771 at 3.5ghz, 16 gigs of ram, 3 tb fusion driveNo prob
As for your decision, unfortunately I can't give you a slightest hint in either direction. I don't have the older model so I obviously can't compare the two directly.
For the 2013:
+ lower price
+ better (?) drivers under Windows
+ NVIDIA for you
For the 2015:
+ faster SSD (if you're going all SSD)
+ dat Retina display
+ maybe a few percent more CPU/GPU power
It's really up to you - I'm satisfied with mine and I guess either iMac will do once you maxed it GPU wise for some gaming...
$2500 I get: r9 m395x, i5 6600( is this faster than i7 4771?), 8 gigs of ram , 2tb fusion drive, epic 5k screen
It's like I have to flip a coin to decide lol
Hey, I just played the first 20 min intro on 1440p and settings very high aside from Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering (I went down from x16 to x4, just to be sure.
FPS: Always between 45 and 60. But there wasn't much going on, definitely gotta play longer - I guess it's the same case like with LoL; the more blitz, the less performance. Gonna update here on the weekend.