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xxjrsmith3xx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 26, 2014
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That I'm willing to sell my GTX titan X and my 4k display... Only thing holding me back is gaming I'm a big gamer. But I went to the apple store yesterday and I love this thing... It's amazing.. I just don't think ill able to game like I do now. I play FIFA COD and XCOM 2 not even sure if the imac can handle those games like a windows 10 PC would with a titan X. So I just want other people input what should i do...Thanks!
 
That I'm willing to sell my GTX titan X and my 4k display... Only thing holding me back is gaming I'm a big gamer. But I went to the apple store yesterday and I love this thing... It's amazing.. I just don't think ill able to game like I do now. I play FIFA COD and XCOM 2 not even sure if the imac can handle those games like a windows 10 PC would with a titan X. So I just want other people input what should i do...Thanks!

The iMac 5K won't offer performance anything close to a GTX Titan X. Heck, the iMac 5K doesn't even have the graphics performance of a mobile GTX, let alone a desktop one.

I wouldn't make the plunge personally, you'll be nothing but disappointed with the framerates & performance.
 
If you're a hardcore gamer then the iMac 5k isn't the computer for you. A casual game to a somewhat serious gamer would be OK. The iMac 5k is more for photography, development and design, that's what I use my iMac 5k for. It sounds like a nice computer system that you already have and I'm positive you could do that same things with that computer as you can with an iMac 5k.
 
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That I'm willing to sell my GTX titan X and my 4k display... Only thing holding me back is gaming I'm a big gamer. But I went to the apple store yesterday and I love this thing... It's amazing.. I just don't think ill able to game like I do now. I play FIFA COD and XCOM 2 not even sure if the imac can handle those games like a windows 10 PC would with a titan X. So I just want other people input what should i do...Thanks!
There are a zillion threads on here about gaming on the 5k iMac.
The bottom line is that it is great for gaming, but not as great - obviously - as a Windows based gaming rig.
I play many games (including XCOM2) on high settings @ 2560x1440 on my iMac, and I'm very happy.
However, if you must have the optimum fps etc. Windows is the way to go. Depends whether you can compromise some fps and enjoy OS X and that wonderful 5k screen!
 
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I actually think a better compromise is a mid-level 5K iMac and save some of your budget to just have a dedicated windows gaming machine on the side also.
 
I have a brand new one. They're amazing. You should get one
I agree. Best computer I've ever had. But as someone else pointed out, you will not get anything near Titan X GPU performance. For me, that's fine because I'm only a casual gamer (Star Craft 2, Diablo 3, Heroes of the Storm etc.) but the screen is absolutely amazing to game on.
 
If you like the 5K RiMac (hell I know I do), and can truly afford it, you should get one, they're amazing computers.
That said, I think that before you do you need to do two things.
1. Ask yourself why you have a Titan X in the first place
2. Evaluate your options
3. if you decide to get one, properly calibrate your expectations for gaming performance.


To start with #1, why did you buy the Titan X in the first place? Did you "need" faster FPS, want to game at 4K, or just had the cash lying around and felt like picking one up? If its the later, and particularly if its more than you need, the iMac may be the right computer for you. If its either of the former, you need to take a long hard look at what you really want and need in a computer.

Moving on, you already have a 4K monitor, a Titan X GPU, and what I assume is a high end Intel CPU. Have you thought about partitioning your boot drive and setting up a hackintosh partition to test the waters? While I imagine you're still planning on spending a lot of time in Windows 10 gaming, you should still see how you feel about OS X as an OS for everything else. Honestly if you're not going to use OS X, I really don't know if this is the right choice for you.

Some of your other options include
A. Waiting for the next iMac upgrade which should bring official support for Thunderbolt 3 and external GPUs (not to mention significantly improved internal dGPUs)
B. Buying a lower end 5K RiMac, selling most of your current system, but keeping the Titan X and 4K display to utilize with a thunderbolt PCIe enclosure, thus giving you both the gaming performance you're used to AND a 5K iMac (bear in mind games that are heavy on the PCIe bus will be slower)

Now, if you decide that, yes you want an iMac, you want it now, and none of the options I've listed above sound attractive, you should at the very least calibrate your expectations for gaming performance properly. As others have pointed out, there are resources all over this forum and the web evaluating the performance capabilities of the 5K RiMacs. Keep in mind, the highest resolution you'll be gaming at for demanding games (assuming you want over 30FPS) is going to be 1440p, and depending on the game, you may need to make some sacrifices to get the FPS you want even at that res. If you're used to gaming at 4K, just be aware, that aside from something like SC2 or Telltale's The Walking Dead, it's just not happening.
 
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A. Waiting for the next iMac upgrade which should bring official support for Thunderbolt 3 and external GPUs (not to mention significantly improved internal dGPUs)

This is what could be the GAME changer....even (new) higher end MacBook Pro's could all of the sudden be very very viable gaming machines.

Thunderbolt 3 is a very legit reason to hold off for an iMac refresh if you are able to...
 
This is what could be the GAME changer....even (new) higher end MacBook Pro's could all of the sudden be very very viable gaming machines.

Thunderbolt 3 is a very legit reason to hold off for an iMac refresh if you are able to...
Too much heat for the CPU. Heavy gaming will burn up the machine. Some kind of software to manually set the fan to full speed would be a must.

External GPUs for the iMac would require another display. :(
 
External GPUs for the iMac would require another display. :(

Well, at least Mac Pro's will do it...

Re: CPU's - That just depends upon the game. There are plenty of games that don't tax the cpu unreasonably but are total GPU hogs...those sorts of games would be viable for a MBP w/ eGPU at least.
 
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Well, at least Mac Pro's will do it...

Re: CPU's - That just depends upon the game. There are plenty of games that don't tax the cpu unreasonably but are total GPU hogs...those sorts of games would be viable for a MBP w/ eGPU at least.
For your off all question the graphics only output to the outs on them. I don't know if that is firmware or hardware.

With eGPU applications becoming more common maybe that will be redesigned in the future.

If you keep the MacBook fan going fast enough and the temperature can be kept at 70 or below ideally 60 C then the MacBook would be fine. However at some point you will want to buy a spare fan for your MacBook to replace it when it starts to fail because it is running more then was intended for the machine.

The thing with every Mac out there right now, with the limitations of thunderbolt 2 it would have to be dual link for it to work properly. Maybe a 2 X Thunderbolt to 1x thunderbolt 3 or USB-C which ever connection is needed.
 
If you like the 5K RiMac (hell I know I do), and can truly afford it, you should get one, they're amazing computers.
That said, I think that before you do you need to do two things.
1. Ask yourself why you have a Titan X in the first place
2. Evaluate your options
3. if you decide to get one, properly calibrate your expectations for gaming performance.


To start with #1, why did you buy the Titan X in the first place? Did you "need" faster FPS, want to game at 4K, or just had the cash lying around and felt like picking one up? If its the later, and particularly if its more than you need, the iMac may be the right computer for you. If its either of the former, you need to take a long hard look at what you really want and need in a computer.

Moving on, you already have a 4K monitor, a Titan X GPU, and what I assume is a high end Intel CPU. Have you thought about partitioning your boot drive and setting up a hackintosh partition to test the waters? While I imagine you're still planning on spending a lot of time in Windows 10 gaming, you should still see how you feel about OS X as an OS for everything else. Honestly if you're not going to use OS X, I really don't know if this is the right choice for you.

Some of your other options include
A. Waiting for the next iMac upgrade which should bring official support for Thunderbolt 3 and external GPUs (not to mention significantly improved internal dGPUs)
B. Buying a lower end 5K RiMac, selling most of your current system, but keeping the Titan X and 4K display to utilize with a thunderbolt PCIe enclosure, thus giving you both the gaming performance you're used to AND a 5K iMac (bear in mind games that are heavy on the PCIe bus will be slower)

Now, if you decide that, yes you want an iMac, you want it now, and none of the options I've listed above sound attractive, you should at the very least calibrate your expectations for gaming performance properly. As others have pointed out, there are resources all over this forum and the web evaluating the performance capabilities of the 5K RiMacs. Keep in mind, the highest resolution you'll be gaming at for demanding games (assuming you want over 30FPS) is going to be 1440p, and depending on the game, you may need to make some sacrifices to get the FPS you want even at that res. If you're used to gaming at 4K, just be aware, that aside from something like SC2 or Telltale's The Walking Dead, it's just not happening.

I would love to do a hackintosh but will that work for a x99 asrock extreme 4 I know each MB is different and need some kernels. It once took me 6 hours just to fiq out which kernels my z77 needed... I don't have that type of time anymore.
 
Just make an egpu. I have one running on my 2014 Mac mini. It's in a nice closed package with a GeForce GTX 750 TI. I've seen people running egpu setups with the Titan X as well. Since it's a large card and won't fit in many of the external PCIE enclosures you'd have to run it open or make your own enclosure. I chose the 750 TI because it required only buying a few parts and fits perfectly in the Akitio Thunder2 case. But egpus work, they just require some time to figure out the parts and a little tinkering in OS X and Windows.
 
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That I'm willing to sell my GTX titan X and my 4k display... Only thing holding me back is gaming I'm a big gamer. But I went to the apple store yesterday and I love this thing... It's amazing.. I just don't think ill able to game like I do now. I play FIFA COD and XCOM 2 not even sure if the imac can handle those games like a windows 10 PC would with a titan X. So I just want other people input what should i do...Thanks!
So you're willing to give up a beastly gaming card that can handle anything in order to get a crippled machine that doesn't even run a desktop GPU that is profoundly underpowered compared to your Titan for what ... the display? If you're a gamer, stick with your Titan.

It's not a matter of thinking you won't be able to game like you do now ... you simply won't.

Nothing in the iMac can hold a candle to that card.
 
If you can wait, I'd wait for the iMac to get a proper 16nm dgpu. We've suffered too long with 28nm dgpus circa 2012. Unfortunately, the last time the iMac was close to top of the line gpu performance was with the 680MX than when overclocked, came close to the top of the line Windows GTX 680 that was out at the time. Apple could've easily dropped in a 980M in the iMac but they've been in a lovefest with AMD since the trash can nMP came out...
 
I game all PC games exclusively on my iMac and I couldn't be happier, but I don't mind spending a higher amount of money to get the highest end iMac.

Either this year or next I'll be upgrading to the newest maxed out iMac 5K and I seriously can't wait to game on it. I value convenience in the all-in-one form factor and just hate dealing with PC hardware and its upkeep too much to ever invest in a secondary dedicated gaming PC. In my opinion I'd rather spend that extra money that would go in to a PC to maxing out the iMac.

And when you decide in 3-5 years that your iMac just isn't cutting it no longer for the latest and greatest games, you can always resell your Mac, which will have a much higher resell value in the end than any dedicated gaming PC ever made.

But as always: to each their own. ;)
 
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Either buy both an iMac and gaming PC or live with the compromise.

I'd love to be able to play games on my MacBook Pro, but that's because it's the perfect machine for everything else and I don't want to spend money on a gaming PC that's just going to be for games. So in the end I'll just play games casually on low settings.
 
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This is what could be the GAME changer....even (new) higher end MacBook Pro's could all of the sudden be very very viable gaming machines.

Thunderbolt 3 is a very legit reason to hold off for an iMac refresh if you are able to...
I don't see this is a gamer changer. I nice to have, but nothing that will radically effect sales or usage of the iMac.
 
I don't see this is a gamer changer. I nice to have, but nothing that will radically effect sales or usage of the iMac.

Game changer for people who want to game with Mac & not have a separate device for it.

The "game" being changed isn't big - (I never said it was a big market)..
..and agree with you on that.

Also one could think bigger and envision a future where MacBook Retina style laptops could dock with Cinema Displays that have self contained GPU guts they need to drive themselves at 5k/8k type resolutions.

Not saying that will happen - But lots of potential
 
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