Hi, by April 2nd, I'm going to have enough money to buy an iMac 27" with a quad core i5, my only problem is that I've seen that the iMacs are going to update soon, should I wait for this or will the sandy bridge version of the i5 not be that much of a difference?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Buying an iMac on April 2nd, should I wait or no?
- Thread starter UltimaLink
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
As many people have noted -- if you NEED it, buy now. If you can wait a couple months, wait.
For your situation, I'd wait regardless. You're talking weeks away from an upgrade. You wouldn't dislike your April 2nd machine, but it'd be noticeably different from your May 2nd (made-up date) machine.
-cj
For your situation, I'd wait regardless. You're talking weeks away from an upgrade. You wouldn't dislike your April 2nd machine, but it'd be noticeably different from your May 2nd (made-up date) machine.
-cj
i think you can take the near identical simultaneous responses as an indication of what the general opinion is for this forum.
then dont.
If a 30% bump in processor and video, and the Thunderbolt port arent important then go ahead and buy now.
have you thought about a refurb?
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/imac/27?mco=MjEwNzM3NDE
If a 30% bump in processor and video, and the Thunderbolt port arent important then go ahead and buy now.
have you thought about a refurb?
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/imac/27?mco=MjEwNzM3NDE
get the old one its proven to work
and for sandy bridge ..just look for the trouble lots of MacBookPro owners have now with the just released MacBookPro with sandy bridge , so getting one after its just released is a bad choice better wait a half year longer maybe apple and intel can sort something out
read here
http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/macbook-pro-2011-owners-experiencing-hard-freeze-problem-20110321/
or better here
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2768351
the solution so far is to disable the dedicated gpu and only use the integrated GPU which shares ram
and here http://www.anandtech.com/show/4143/the-source-of-intels-cougar-point-sata-bug so that does not work like it should too
so i would not advice to jump on the new iMac right after release , better wait to end of year or get the still on sale 2010 iMac if you dont need desperately thunderbold and if you can live without the faster Gpu which you might have to disable anyway for the moment ,until they come up with a solution that is more practical then buying a computer with dedicated gpu only having to disable the dedicated gpu to use the computer for more then sending emails and light browsing
and for sandy bridge ..just look for the trouble lots of MacBookPro owners have now with the just released MacBookPro with sandy bridge , so getting one after its just released is a bad choice better wait a half year longer maybe apple and intel can sort something out
read here
http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/macbook-pro-2011-owners-experiencing-hard-freeze-problem-20110321/
or better here
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2768351
the solution so far is to disable the dedicated gpu and only use the integrated GPU which shares ram
and here http://www.anandtech.com/show/4143/the-source-of-intels-cougar-point-sata-bug so that does not work like it should too
so i would not advice to jump on the new iMac right after release , better wait to end of year or get the still on sale 2010 iMac if you dont need desperately thunderbold and if you can live without the faster Gpu which you might have to disable anyway for the moment ,until they come up with a solution that is more practical then buying a computer with dedicated gpu only having to disable the dedicated gpu to use the computer for more then sending emails and light browsing
Last edited:
thats pretty misleading Hamster, and you just plain have facts wrong.
iMacs do NOT use the same type of integrated/dedicated GPU setup like the MBPs -- never have -- and 10.6.7 was released yesterday to fix the issue. Cant compare the two. There is no option to disable the GPU on an iMac because it just doesnt work the same way.
Your other link is an issue thats effecting early adopter PCs with bad Sandy chips. All of those chips have been scrapped and replaced. MBPs have the newer chip.
iMacs do NOT use the same type of integrated/dedicated GPU setup like the MBPs -- never have -- and 10.6.7 was released yesterday to fix the issue. Cant compare the two. There is no option to disable the GPU on an iMac because it just doesnt work the same way.
Your other link is an issue thats effecting early adopter PCs with bad Sandy chips. All of those chips have been scrapped and replaced. MBPs have the newer chip.
I recommend waiting. If you are spending well-over £1000 then it seems crazy not to wait a month or so to get a much better product in terms of speed.
If you absolutely need a computer today then of course go ahead but if you just have an ageing computer and it is nearing the time to update then why not wait?
If you absolutely need a computer today then of course go ahead but if you just have an ageing computer and it is nearing the time to update then why not wait?
ok then get one if you believe everything apple is telling you , and they tell a lot of things , to get sales , but fact is lots of new released products from apple in recent years (last 10 or so) had problems , it always took them some time to partly solve the issues and for some they never came up with a satisfying solution , and if they found one they kept it well secret so only people who had insider knowlege knew about repair schemes and such things and it all started really with the iMac g5 , bad caps , issue solved , nobody was informed , that there was a repair scheme in place , display issue with early intel iMac's issue solved , as it was fault of that chinese manufacturer , but people have to specifically ask for a free fix otherwise they have to pay, 24" iMac with nvidia 8800gpu no solution found apart from charging people money for getting a new card fitted that often fails within days already again , iMac 27" early models yellow tint some got them replaced others had been told to ignore the yellow , then a bit later grey bars , and such little unimportant things , ibooks g3 and g4 with bad solder issue never got solved really , early Macbooks went through logicboards , ....list goes on and i dont even want to start including ipads , iphones and iPods ,so if you ask me buying a new apple product is a gamble after its just released , better waiting a couple month or a year or two then you see how good the product really is and if its lasting
my only problem is OSX i want that , if i could live without that easy OS i would not even consider a new Mac as i do not trust apple to offer quality after all these issues , and i dont make those up they are real , and dont come with only a minority have those issues , as that doesn't help the people who thought they bought a high quality product with their Mac only to sit in front of a paperweight after the 1 year warranty ended , and yes its foolish to belive you get quality as you need to buy apple care to be at least for 3 years on the "save side"
and yes i know other manufacturers have problems too , but that is not very convincing in my book to invest in a new Mac as i was about to order a MacPro , but changed my mind and refurbish my PowerMac at least spare parts are cheap to get if needed , as i dont believe my iMac in the signature who had every part replaced under apple care , so its about 1 year old internally will last longer then another 2 years , god if i think about my little iMac G3 working since 10 years without a glitch only thing it needed in 10 years was a tiny pram battery for £3, my eMac1.42's never needed anything really , ok i upgraded them , but thats something different as it was not necessary , My TAM works like on the first day it came out of his box so does my PowerMac 5500/275 , but i am forced to stick to those old Mac's(dont get that wrong i love them and keep collecting them) as new ones only seem to come with problems, but that is partly the customers fault , because as soon one is released they already ask for the next , and dont even give enough time to bring a tested product on the market
Last edited:
You make me want to jump right back to my selfdesigned selfbuild PC - or at least keep the new iMac 27 2010 Ultimate I have at home still in a box and wait until the iMac 2011 SandyBridge has been out on the market at least 5-6 months before I consider buying it
So what difference would an average user see. If you just do basic pictures, music, and novice video would it be a big deal?
Any chance Lion would be on these new units in the beginning or would they offer it as a free upgrade? Im dying to open this box next to me but may have to return it.
no it wont come with lion but apple might give lion for a reduced fee for recent imac buyers, thats what they did before.
dont open the box bro, u'll regret it
sandy bridge is new big thing in computers , theres such a chip like it and it improves EVERYTHING you do, it runs cooler meaning, much cooler than older generation chips.
also with the current gen 27 inchers getting the smokey screen and what not i wouldnt even bother, hopefully the fixed that problems in the new upcoming imac. (ppl report the imac's screen gets like foggy behind the LCD)
dont open the box bro, u'll regret it
sandy bridge is new big thing in computers , theres such a chip like it and it improves EVERYTHING you do, it runs cooler meaning, much cooler than older generation chips.
also with the current gen 27 inchers getting the smokey screen and what not i wouldnt even bother, hopefully the fixed that problems in the new upcoming imac. (ppl report the imac's screen gets like foggy behind the LCD)
If the rumors are correct and the new iMacs ship late April / Early May then it WILL NOT ship with Lion and it also will NOT be a free upgrade. Traditionally Apple offers free upgrades if there is a new OS release within 2 weeks to about 30 days. I suspect Lion will be between 60-120 days after the new iMac's are released but that is just my WAG.
hmm if you count wiki leaks as such then maybe you are right there
ok i might be the only one on earth left ,but i just prefer a computer that is as reliable as it is technically possible today and i want it on my desk without design flaws and insufficiently tested components , i just do not want to be a guinea pig for new components and i still want a matte display, even if most most people today think they are outdated and totally useless to display anything, but as that will never happen again that apple will offer a matte display i have to stick to old iMac in polycarbonate shell, and dont need to worry about new components failing , i only have to worry where to get spare parts from in 20 years when the old components fail
Last edited: