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so with the rumors about a retina display iMac, im a little concerned

Benz63amg

Benz63amg

macrumors 601
Original poster
Oct 17, 2010
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hey guys, so as u all heard, apple is planning on release a retina display iMac with 3200 resolution which has got me concerned because something like that is a pretty MAJOR upgrade than the iMacs of today and since we(including me) are very close to the iMac refresh we are all waiting for, i highly doubt this coming iMac will have the Retina display.

Perhaps the one they make in 2012? it would suck if we buy an imac now and in january 2012 they bring the retina iMac or something like that..

i mean its a pretty big difference, its not like they change the cpu, that retina display is major.

what do u guys think?
 
I really don't see it happening soon and I don't see much of a need for it.

It will require a very high end graphics card to drive that as well. Something beyond what is available in the mobility cards they are using now. Cost would be high.
 
think you should read the many posts regarding how this is unlikely to happen anytime soon, for various technical reasons
 
This type of tech is WAY off. No worries. The new iMac is definitely going to be a great buy.
 
To me you have to think, will I benefit from a retina display? I do some photo editing and light video work. Retina display may help out there. I could be wrong.

If you plan on using your iMac for gaming at all the resolution is kind of a moot point as the gpu is relatively weak in the iMac. This would cause you to adjust the resolution in many games. Again I could be wrong :eek:
 
no i dont game but my main point was the fact that if they DO update it then it is a major difference, not whether its worth it or not. i mean, everything will look better in 3200 resolution.

But i guess you guys are right about the technical challenges and so im gonna pull the trigger on the coming imac refresh.. it just got me a little concerned reading about this retina imac.

they found the code in the Lion Preview which is what got everything thinking, the lion preview has super high res images and what not.
 
Anyone else think that maybe this is just something minor like a huge wallpaper to let people with two displays simply have half on each instead of mirroring it...Or the theoretical possibility that someday someone might attach a massive resolution display or apple might build a massive resolution display....it doesn't necessarily mean anything is coming.
 
2560x1440 is WAY beyond it's time right now. In fact, the graphics card in the current iMac can barley support that native resolution when gaming...

3200x3200 is absolutely insane, I hope Apple has a good plan to work in a powerful graphics card when they release that beast.
 
Retina display is nothing more than Apple renaming an existing display to boost their image, satisfy their ego, and fool the fanboys.

So what is the Truth?

IPS, is the display type and its been around on professional laptops for years, I've had several.

It offers many high quality advantages, wide viewing angles and excellent clarity. True high resolution, not the medium, that apple calls high.

You've got to hand it to Apple, they claim many existing technologies, then brainwash their followers and public to get them to believe Apple is innovative...LOL

I really like my Apple computers, but let's be honest :)
 
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maclaptop said:
Retina display is nothing more than Apple renaming an existing display to boost their image, satisfy their ego, and fool the fanboys.

So what is the Truth?

IPS, is the display type and its been around on professional laptops for years, I've had several.

It offers many high quality advantages, wide viewing angles and excellent clarity. True high resolution, not the medium, that apple calls high.

You've got to hand it to Apple, they claim many existing technologies, then brainwash their followers and public to get them to believe Apple is innovative...LOL

I really like my Apple computers, but let's be honest :)
Click to expand...

IPS has absolutely nothing to do with retina displays. Retina refers to the pixel density of the display. For instance, iPhone 4's have the highest pixel density of any smartphone ever made, that's 960 x 640 packed into a 3.5" screen which is 326 ppi (pixels per inch). Contrast this to the 27" iMac's 2560×1440 screen which is only 109ppi.

While Retina is a bit of a marketing term, it IS a great technical achievement and boosts the legibility of text a great deal, and it would be awesome on a 27" iMac.
 
What rumours about an iMac having Retina display?

Now, I've read that reports that in the developer releases of Lion there have been some images included that may indicate that Apple are thinking ahead as far as their OS and retina displays are concerned but that's quite different to "Future iMac may have retina display". As everyone says, it's going to be a fair while before we see this kind of display being economically viable for a large screen so stop worrying.:)
 
maclaptop said:
Retina display is nothing more than Apple renaming an existing display to boost their image, satisfy their ego, and fool the fanboys.

So what is the Truth?

IPS, is the display type and its been around on professional laptops for years, I've had several.

It offers many high quality advantages, wide viewing angles and excellent clarity. True high resolution, not the medium, that apple calls high.

You've got to hand it to Apple, they claim many existing technologies, then brainwash their followers and public to get them to believe Apple is innovative...LOL

I really like my Apple computers, but let's be honest :)
Click to expand...

Again with misinformation. Sunday iron foot gave you a good intro, but you should really read up and learn a bit before deciding to troll again.
 
I have a 27" iMac (2560x1440).

Resolution and pixel density are more than fine - great screen.

Who knows how long it will be before super hi res screens are affordable and practical...unlikely in the very near future though^^
 
Nowhere have I read any rumours of the iMac getting this kind of display anytime soon. If you have any source for this I would very much like to see it. What is said is (as someone else mentioned in this thread) that the developer preview have som desktop images at this size.

If anything comes soon I would guess apple will come with a cinemadisplay this size for the Mac Pro. The iMac simply doesnt need that kind of insane resolution. And to actually benefit from it we must at least have some new scaling in fonts and icons as they are already a bit tiny on the 2560x1440 resolution.

So maybe at the end of lions lifecycle we will see this but not before the cinema display for macpro however, they might get it as lion debutes.
 
Chances are, you won't see an iMac with a retina display anytime soon.

The only reason a retina display exists on devices like the iPhone is because you're more inclined to have your face close to the screen. Consequently, with a normal density screen, you'd be able to easily discern the pixels that make up the image on the screen. The retina display alleviates this issue and so you can see things better when up close.

I would say everyone here does not have their nose pressed up against their monitors when using the computer. Most likely, you're sitting a foot or so away from the screen. A retina display isn't going to do much for you then.

A slight increase in pixel density compared to the norm might be good for people who do actually sit a foot away or closer from their screens, but since that's probably a small percentage of people, it's probably not worth doing on Apple part.
 
lamonsas said:
hey guys, so as u all heard, apple is planning on release a retina display iMac with 3200 resolution which has got me concerned because something like that is a pretty MAJOR upgrade than the iMacs of today and since we(including me) are very close to the iMac refresh we are all waiting for, i highly doubt this coming iMac will have the Retina display.

Perhaps the one they make in 2012? it would suck if we buy an imac now and in january 2012 they bring the retina iMac or something like that..

i mean its a pretty big difference, its not like they change the cpu, that retina display is major.

what do u guys think?
Click to expand...
3200 is not so far removed from the 2560 my 1.5 yrar old iMac already has. It's a 20% increase in linear resolution. I would find it useful actually, but it is hardly earth shattering.
 
EntropyQ3 said:
3200 is not so far removed from the 2560 my 1.5 yrar old iMac already has. It's a 20% increase in linear resolution. I would find it useful actually, but it is hardly earth shattering.
Click to expand...

Have to agree actually. 2560x1440 is 109ppi whereas 3200x1800 only jumps to 135ppi (assuming Y = 1800 given the current aspect ratio). So a 3200x1800 screen is not beyond current technology, even today's GPU's could power it easily (maybe not for games), pixel count only jumps from 3.7million to 5.76million.

PPI calculator http://members.ping.de/~sven/dpi.html
 
Sunday Ironfoot said:
Have to agree actually. 2560x1440 is 109ppi whereas 3200x1800 only jumps to 135ppi (assuming Y = 1800 given the current aspect ratio). So a 3200x1800 screen is not beyond current technology, even today's GPU's could power it easily (maybe not for games), pixel count only jumps from 3.7million to 5.76million.

PPI calculator http://members.ping.de/~sven/dpi.html
Click to expand...

I've asked this question in the Display forum and someone pointed out that even top level GPUs do not support that level of resolution on 27" screens. There are, as far as I know, no large monitors with that level of DPI either anyway. It seems it really is beyond current technology. It is certainly beyond the ability of types of GPUs you will see in an iMac this year or next year.

By the way "power it easily (maybe not for games)" is kind of a big contradiction. And then to go on to say that pixel count only increases by 2 million or about 55% is also kind of nonsense. How in the world can you describe that as an "only".

If current Mac Pro's can't power a "retina" level 27" display, there is no way an iMac this year or next year is going to be able to.
 
TallManNY said:
I've asked this question in the Display forum and someone pointed out that even top level GPUs do not support that level of resolution on 27" screens.
Click to expand...

Well, that "someone" should check out AMDs Eyefinity technology. The reality of the matter is that if Apple wants to use higher resolution monitors, they can.

If someone feels that the frame rate becomes too low when they want to play a future Generic Shooter with all settings on max, well, then they can lower the settings a bit, or reduce the rendering resolution to something pitiful like 1600x1000. My heart bleeds for them. But it in no way invalidates the advantages of higher resolution displays for other users.
 
so if you add a t-bolt attached super stand alone gpu to a new mac and drive a 27 inch ACD to 5120 by 2880 are we there yet. thats would be 4x the current pixel density even better then the 326 pixels per inch on the iPhone.

The practicality of a gpu inside an iMac doing this is about zero. I stopped gambling more then 20 years ago, but you can bet your last dollar this idea if done will be with T-bolt and a standalone gpu unit.
 
Just to be clear for those talking about 300+dpi - that was deemed the pixel density required for individual pixels to become invisible at "normal" viewing distances on a phone. A retina display for an iMac would not need to be 300dpi, because you don't view it as closely.

Also, to those suggesting it's not possible because no one yet sells monitors with that resolution on a large panel, well remember that no one made phones with such high resolutions until the iPhone did.

All that said, i'd be very suprised if the iMac had a significant increase in resolution this year. Next year possible, the year after more likely.

David
 
TallManNY said:
I've asked this question in the Display forum and someone pointed out that even top level GPUs do not support that level of resolution on 27" screens. There are, as far as I know, no large monitors with that level of DPI either anyway. It seems it really is beyond current technology. It is certainly beyond the ability of types of GPUs you will see in an iMac this year or next year.
Click to expand...

The 30" Mac screen has a resolution of 2560x1600 which is higher than the 27" iMac 2560x1440. Even if current GPU's can't power displays beyond 2560x1600, I would put good money that its just a soft limit, and can be overcome. So while retina displays would maybe require new graphics cards, they wouldn't necessarily require faster ones.

TallManNY said:
By the way "power it easily (maybe not for games)" is kind of a big contradiction. And then to go on to say that pixel count only increases by 2 million or about 55% is also kind of nonsense. How in the world can you describe that as an "only".
Click to expand...

We're only really talking about a slight increase in the GPU's frame buffer memory which is already at 1GB, and with 2GB starting to become more common. Also an increase in the GPU's memory bandwidth, but modern GPU's are quite fast as it is, if a modern GPU can throw millions of textured, bump-mapped, shaded, dynamically lit, light-mapped etc. polygons around the screen at 60+ fps, then running a desktop with some apps at 3200x1800 isn't exactly a stretch. You'd need to drop the res for games obviously, but that's true today with 2560x1440 res screens anyway.

EDIT: AFAIK its possible to hook up a second monitor to an iMac, and if you went for the 27" screen, that would be 2x 2560x1440 screens = 7.37 million pixels being pushed around by a mid range GPU.
 
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Are people suggesting standalone GPUs because of heat issues?

Good point above about gaming too tough a standard. I and probably most people want the super hi-DPI resolution for reading text on a screen. Probably not fair at this point to ask the GPU to handle Crysis 3: World all F-ed Up with max settings at that DPI.

But it doesn't seem like this is coming on the iMac before 2013.
 
Moving away from the technical feasability of an iMac retina display, the bottom line is that there's no certainty that Apple will release such a display. The only information that is out there is that Lion has icons and wallpaper that are "retina display-ready." Apple could just be preparing itself for the possibility that a retina display iMac (or MacBook Pro) would be released.

But here's the kicker. As soon as its released, there will be rumors of something even better coming down the line (3D? Even higher resolution screens? The always-rumored touchscreen iMac? 1 TB SSDs? I could go on and on and on here.) If you're going to sit around waiting for the absolute best possible Mac, then you will never buy one.

The best strategy you can have is to wait until you need a new computer, then buy whenever your desired model refreshes.
 
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