Monday, October 6th 2014
Apple Readying iMac Retina with 5K Display
Apple's next iMac desktop could flaunt the company's "Retina Display" moniker, which stands for pixel density that matches that of your retina. Apple's idea of Retina display on a 20-something inch desktop is 5K, which is 5120 x 2880 pixels, or four times the resolution of WQHD (2560 x 1440), or sixteen times HD (1280 x 720). Early betas of Apple's OSX "Yosemite" feature references to display resolutions upwards of 5K, including 5760 x 3240, and 6400 x 3600.
At 27-inch, 5120 x 2880 would give the Mac a staggering 217 ppi of pixel density, which is not very far from the 263 ppi which 9.7-inch iPads offer, with their 2048 x 1536 resolutions. To put 217 ppi into perspective, a 28-inch Ultra HD display offers 157 ppi, and Apple's current 27-inch iMac with WQHD display offers just 108 ppi. A mainstream 24-inch full HD (1920 x 1080) display offers just 91 ppi. The GPUs that drive these next-gen iMacs are anyone's guess. Both current-generation AMD, and NVIDIA's new GTX 980 cap out at digital resolutions of 4096 x 2160.
Source:
9to5Mac
At 27-inch, 5120 x 2880 would give the Mac a staggering 217 ppi of pixel density, which is not very far from the 263 ppi which 9.7-inch iPads offer, with their 2048 x 1536 resolutions. To put 217 ppi into perspective, a 28-inch Ultra HD display offers 157 ppi, and Apple's current 27-inch iMac with WQHD display offers just 108 ppi. A mainstream 24-inch full HD (1920 x 1080) display offers just 91 ppi. The GPUs that drive these next-gen iMacs are anyone's guess. Both current-generation AMD, and NVIDIA's new GTX 980 cap out at digital resolutions of 4096 x 2160.
35 Comments on Apple Readying iMac Retina with 5K Display
This is true and not true simultaneously.
Both NVIDIA and AMD support MST for DP outputs which means you can have far wider resolutions.
Naturally one would think that this is going to be an expensive option for the iMac so the 2560x1440 option will still be offered.
It doesn't make sense to skip 4K though because that could be managed a little easier and cost a little less while still being a healthy upgrade from their standard 2560x1440 models. So maybe three screen resolution options,....but then Apple isn't known for giving a lot of choice or options,....
This article, and probably Apple's promotional campaign, makes it sound like 1080p on a 24" display is a pixelated mess, but 1080p is perfectly fine for most people's eyes up to around 25", from comfortable monitor viewing distances. You only need 300 PPI on a 24" if you're only like less than a foot from it, and viewing a 24" monitor from less than a foot away isn't a thing to do.
If your display is LARGER than 25", sure, make sure it's higher than 1080p. Otherwise, be wary of marketing manipulation. = /
(And anyway getting a Mac (or Mac screen) for games is retarded.) :)
That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see a newer mobile GPU released at the event, perhaps the rumored R9 M295X, which uses a Tonga GPU.