Windows user thinking of switching to Mac

[dsmush]

Hi
I'm mostly a Windows user and have built my last 3 desktops current PC has following spec i7 6700K 4GHz CPU, 16Gb DDR4 RAM, AMD R9 390 8Gb VRAM GPU, 250Gb SSD and 4Tb HDD. I also have a MBP that I got in 2009 for university still going strong! I am considering selling my MBP and the Windows PC to purchase a 2017 27 inch iMac the things I use a PC for are browsing, programming and gaming however I'm planning to move back to consoles for gaming I have PS4 Pro but I would like to leave the option open to return to PC gaming if I so decide and I also have developed a large steam library over the years I don't wish to abandon. The most demanding games in my library (I think) include Alien Isolation, Batman Arkham Knight, Max Payne 3, Tomb Raider 2013, Overwatch, Metal Gear Solid 5, GTA 5, Fallout 4, Doom, Warframe, Wolfenstein 1, Witcher 3 and Player Unknown's Battlegrounds.

I'm looking to spec the iMac to have 512Gb SSD (for Mac OS and Windows 10), either the 3.8GHz i5 or the 4.2GHz i7 and 8Gb RAM (since its the only easily upgradable component) and then I wasn't sure whether to go Radon 575 or 580? As one of the things that has drawn me to Mac lately is the nice OS and now the option for external GPUs via Thunderbolt but what makes me hesitant is apparently this doesn't work with the iMac screen so requires a secondary display?

Thanks

 

[xxbeefydjxx]

Hi
I'm mostly a Windows user and have built my last 3 desktops current PC has following spec i7 6700K 4GHz CPU, 16Gb DDR4 RAM, AMD R9 390 8Gb VRAM GPU, 250Gb SSD and 4Tb HDD. I also have a MBP that I got in 2009 for university still going strong! I am considering selling my MBP and the Windows PC to purchase a 2017 27 inch iMac the things I use a PC for are browsing, programming and gaming however I'm planning to move back to consoles for gaming I have PS4 Pro but I would like to leave the option open to return to PC gaming if I so decide and I also have developed a large steam library over the years I don't wish to abandon. The most demanding games in my library (I think) include Alien Isolation, Batman Arkham Knight, Max Payne 3, Tomb Raider 2013, Overwatch, Metal Gear Solid 5, GTA 5, Fallout 4, Doom, Warframe, Wolfenstein 1, Witcher 3 and Player Unknown's Battlegrounds.

I'm looking to spec the iMac to have 512Gb SSD (for Mac OS and Windows 10), either the 3.8GHz i5 or the 4.2GHz i7 and 8Gb RAM (since its the only easily upgradable component) and then I wasn't sure whether to go Radon 575 or 580? As one of the things that has drawn me to Mac lately is the nice OS and now the option for external GPUs via Thunderbolt but what makes me hesitant is apparently this doesn't work with the iMac screen so requires a secondary display?

Thanks

Hey, Fellow switcher here.

I found myself hiding away form pc games after buying an xbox one, most of my friends are on xbox so it made sense for me to move back to console.

I do still play PC games though.

I laid my hands on a mid 2011 iMac and have upgraded it to 32gb straight away. I have the SSD and Third party Hard drive thermal sensor kit on the way, and am upgrading it from the i5 to the i7, I also replaced the Radeon 5800 512mb card with a PC gtx 780m 4gb.

With bootcamp + Windows 10 *Unofficially*, the 2011 iMac is capable of a decent FPS on newer games such as GTA V, with the CPU potentially being the bottle neck in this one. I however, do not have the option of the external cards to boost performance, and lost my boot screen as the GPU is not an Apple card, nor do I have the VBIOS for the card to make it an apple one.
I mainly use OSX for internet browsing and to make media items, and have stowed windows away for the times I do play Pc games, or mess around with programming.

I think that you will be better off with the 4.2ghz I7, remember, you cannot upgrade this, so futureproof yourself by getting it now rather than getting a whole new mac in a few years time!
Yes, the option for an EGPU is now available on the newer Macs supporting TB3, However I am unsure if this requires a separate screen. I did read somewhere that while you will need another screen, the Mac can utilise the EGPU to boost power and still display on the Mac screen, Though I cannot guarantee this.

 

[David G.]

I think that you will be better off with the 4.2ghz I7, remember, you cannot upgrade this, so futureproof yourself by getting it now rather than getting a whole new mac in a few years time!

It will void your warranty, but it is possible to upgrade the current iMac 5K CPU. It is very difficult, however.
Video of the process.

 

[dsmush]

Yeah although I'm a somewhat capable PC builder I don't really want to void the warranty and take screen apart. So I'll probably go for the i7 but I would have thought the 3.8 i5 would be enough for my needs? Regards GPU does anyone know if the iMac supports targeted display mode so I can use it with egpu? If not, when using another display does iMac screen stay on?

 

[xxbeefydjxx]

It will void your warranty, but it is possible to upgrade the current iMac 5K CPU. It is very difficult, however.
Video of the process.

I have seen this floating around, however I'll stick to my modular mid '11 model

Yeah although I'm a somewhat capable PC builder I don't really want to void the warranty and take screen apart. So I'll probably go for the i7 but I would have thought the 3.8 i5 would be enough for my needs? Regards GPU does anyone know if the iMac supports targeted display mode so I can use it with egpu? If not, when using another display does iMac screen stay on?

AFAIK, I believe you can use both on the iMac. I would go for the i7 because you may not use that power now, but after a few years when OSX has been updated and more features added, and Media processing suites become more powerful, you will feel the i5 start to slow down rather than the i7 which will hang in there a little longer.

To put this into perspective, my mid '11 iMac came with the i5 2.4ghz 2mb cache, I recently upgraded it to the i7 model 3.5ghz with 6mb cache and alongside a RAM upgrade, the entire experience of using High Sierra has been made comparable to newer iMacs on the market.