iMac intel: now or later?

[Thunderbird]

Planning to finally make the switch from PC. I've been thinking about this for awhile. My quandry is: should I get an iMac now, or wait till a revision --or the Merom or Conroe chip ?

I'm not in a hurry to buy one, but don't want to wait any longer than the end of this year. I'm thinking of a Christmas purchase, but if there's no big reason to wait, then will probably get one by this summer.

What do you think any revisions would change in the current iMac?

Do you think the Conroe chip will be put in the iMac this year? What advantages, if any, would the Conroe chip have? (i.e. would the Conroe chip be any quieter because it consumes less power?). Sorry for the newbie questions..

The fate of the world rests on your answers -- no pressure

Thanks

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Well, I think Apple will stick to the Mobile chips for the iMac which at the moment is Yonah (32-bit), which will be replaced by Merom (64-bit) in about 6 months or so. Conroe is a desktop chip so will consume more power and produce more heat compared to Merom, so it will probably find its way into the next Power Mac.

The Rev. B iMac could include the 2.33Ghz Core Duo (Yonah) that will be released soon, a more powerful graphics card (X1600 Pro/ XT?), and maybe a larger or higher-resolution screen. The next update is hard to predict but it could be anything from 2 to 6 months away.

 

[Demon Hunter]

Well, I think Apple will stick to the Mobile chips for the iMac which at the moment is Yonah (32-bit), which will be replaced by Merom (64-bit) in about 6 months or so. Conroe is a desktop chip so will consume more power and produce more heat compared to Merom, so it will probably find its way into the next Power Mac.

I agree. The iMacs are getting thinner with every revision, so I think Conroe is unlikely. The LCD is great, and the 256MB option is nice. I'd say you're safe with buying for at least a few more months.

 

[FF_productions]

Why wait?? Get it NOW, don't race against technology, you will lose (unless u want to upgrade after every revision). The iMac's right now are speedy and are supposed to be twice as fast as the G5 iMac. Try it out at the Apple Store (if there is one near), or just GET ONE.

 

[sigamy]

If you can wait I would wait until the fall. As the others have said the next rev will just be a speed bump and maybe graphics card and HD upgrades. But you will get all of that for probably the same price or maybe even a $100 price cut.

You should never buy a Mac right before or after Christmas. By then you need to wait until after MacWorld in January and see if any new stuff is released. You'll also want to see when Leopard is shipping as getting that pre-installed would be nice and save another $130.

 

[FF_productions]

If you can wait I would wait until the fall. As the others have said the next rev will just be a speed bump and maybe graphics card and HD upgrades. But you will get all of that for probably the same price or maybe even a $100 price cut.

You should never buy a Mac right before or after Christmas. By then you need to wait until after MacWorld in January and see if any new stuff is released. You'll also want to see when Leopard is shipping as getting that pre-installed would be nice and save another $130.

Why would you want to wait that long just to save 130 dollars (they probably won't even cut the price either, so you'll probably get a little speed bump, nothing exciting for a very long time).

 

[lonelemur90]

if you are concerned about noise, dont be. the core duo, being one of the mobile chips (it is the same chip in PCs using centrino duo) is both silent and consumes little power. also, i would recommend waiting for Leopard, because otherwise you will probably hav 2 pay $100-ish for the latest OS. also, there have been problems with the airport extreme cards, so i urge you to read the apple discussion boards on before making your final decision.

 

[yoak]

Get it now, I did and I been around here for a while.
It´s a good time to by. It will be a good computer that will actually get faster as time goes by ( due to more apps becoming Universal Binnary

 

[vamp07]

Who is doing anything that pushes the duo processor in a way that its worth waiting for a faster processor? I have long been of the opinion at least on the PC/Intel side that once procesors hit the 1.6-2ghz speed that everything else is gravy. I own a 4ghz amd 64 machine and a 1.8 mhz portable. For 99.99% of what I do there is no perceivable difference in speed. I will say that the dual core is nice because once in a while you have a misbehaved app (I’m talking more pc then Mac) and when that happens the other core keeps things running nicely.

 

[Caitlyn]

...but it could be anything from 2 to 6 months away.

Agreed. Don't play the waiting game. The iMac Core Duo is an awesome machine and being that Intel is Apple's future, does it matter if you have the Yonah or the Conroe? An update won't make your machine any less awesome.

 

[~Shard~]

No major revisions will occur until 2007 in terms of chip architecture, so if you don't want to wait, then buy and enjoy your new Mac now. If you play the waiting game, all you'll end up doing is just that - waiting. Buy what you need, when you need it, and you'll never be disappointed. Go on, make your purchase and start enjoying your Mac instead of waiting to enjoy it sometime in the future!

 

[michaelmind]

help me decide > iMac G5, iMac Intel, or G5 Tower

Not sure this is the right place to ask this but I am in a media publishing business and need to upgrade from an old G4 Dual. I use the standard stuff (Quark, Photshop, Office, Apple programs...and soon Final Cut).

Options:

1) iMac G5 (still some in stock)
2) iMac Intel (both iMac's around $1400)
3) Power Mac Dual G5 ($2000)

Seems like many programs need an upgrade for Intel and will not run in Rosetta.

Question: from my present G4 Dual at I think about 400 mhz to a iMac (not-dual) at 2.1 ghz, what speed issues might I need to consider for Photoshop, etc.?

I also like the idea of getting another monitor if I can run them side by side with my present one.

I'm kind of wanting to hold off from getting the big upgrade unitl Intel settles down (and we already have one top-end G5 in the office). And I can always find a use for another iMac (maybe my wife's).

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[Demon Hunter]

You need to post your own thread.

I would get the PowerMac G5, unless you plan on upgrading a lot of that software.

 

[Peyton]

I would probably wait if you can. In august WWCD will bring several interesting things (new powermacs, new ibooks, bigger mbps will be out) and Merom will be out. So I would wait at least until then.

iMacs sell well and just came out in January. We could see speed bumps around june, but expect a real upgrade in August or October. (seems to be months they release things for christmas season.)

Also, if you're going to wait until Christmas, might as well wait until January 10th or so and buy one with the new OSX Leopard. Save you $129 or whatever it will cost.

 

[~Shard~]

In august WWCD will bring several interesting things

Really? Cool, when exactly is this WWCD? Is it around the same time as WWDC? Ah, it's far too easy to be a bastard sometimes...

and Merom will be out. So I would wait at least until then.

Has Intel changed their release date for Merom again? As of last week sources are still reporting it will not be available until Q4 06. Do you have more recent information than this or this? As far as I know Merom will not be out at WWDC (or WWCD ).

 

[Peyton]

Really? Cool, when exactly is this WWCD? Is it around the same time as WWDC? Ah, it's far too easy to be a bastard sometimes...



Has Intel changed their release date for Merom again? As of last week sources are still reporting it will not be available until Q4 06. Do you have more recent information than this or this? As far as I know Merom will not be out at WWDC (or WWCD ).

OK OK, seriously, no one will let you get by with anything these days... anywho, WWDDDCCC is when I was saying, and yes, I guess I meant to say OCTOBER is when you can look for the new iMacs even though they may ship a minute later...

 

[~Shard~]

OK OK, seriously, no one will let you get by with anything these days... anywho, WWDDDCCC is when I was saying, and yes, I guess I meant to say OCTOBER is when you can look for the new iMacs even though they may ship a minute later...

As I said in my hidden text, just being a bastard, nothing personal. Glad to see you have a sense of humor.

 

[Thunderbird]

Thanks to everyone so far.

So, what I am hearing is if I wait till the Fall, the only difference will be a speed bump and maybe an upgraded graphics card and hard drive? I probably won't have much need for more than 250 GB, so the hard drive wouldn't be an issue. The newer graphics card probably wouldn't matter that much either.

That leaves the speed bump. By this do you mean MHz speed? Would the Merom chip play a role in increasing speed? Would it be any quieter than the Yonah?

Is there any chance Leopard might come out in Q4 06? Or do most people figure that will be unveiled at MWSF Jan. 07?

Also, I just noticed that we are coming up to exactly three months since the new iMac intel was released. Are there any known hardware bugs to speak of at this point?

 

[pknz]

Wait as long as you can, remember it is the first Intel Mac, and when you do get one more apps will be universal.

 

[fiercetiger224]

Well, all I really gotta tell ya is, if you do get an Intel iMac now, you should be able to upgrade to a Merom processor later, since Yonah and Merom use the same socket. Of course, it might be hard to disassemble the new iMac, but it should be a thrill to see the inner workings of the iMac while upgrading. :-D

But if you wait, you'll probably just be sitting duck and never enjoy the computer UNTIL you get it. Remember, whatever you get, will always age! So might as well get it whenever you can, so you can enjoy the product! I've had my PowerBook G4 for the past two years, and I still love it to death. If only the MacBook Pros were using sockets, I would have purchased one by now. Oh well, just my two cents. ^_^

 

[Shaker]

I'd get one now and enjoy it. If you get the Applecare (highly suggested) you won't have to worry about "bugs" in RevA. Now, Summer, Fall, Xmas....what you have to ask yourself is when do you want to use it as all of them no matter when you buy it will be great machines for a long time.

 

[The Mad Kiwi]

That leaves the speed bump. By this do you mean MHz speed? Would the Merom chip play a role in increasing speed? Would it be any quieter than the Yonah?

Nobody really knows how fast the Merom chips'll be until they're actually available, I doubt they'll stick it in the iMac anyway.

It certainly wouldn't be any quieter, the intel iMac is the quietest computer I've ever used, even quieter than most laptops, and heaps quieter than the iMacG5's (when you push the iMac G5's the fans start and it's like a tornado has flown into the room)

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Merom is likely to clock in at the same as Yonah (1.66Ghz, 1.83Ghz, 2Ghz, 2.16Ghz, 2.33Ghz) but the last 3 models should have a 4MB L2 cache to improve performance (Yonah has a 2MB L2 cache). Merom will also outperform Yonah in "performance per watt" by a 2 - 1 margin although this really doesn't matter in a desktop like the iMac. Finally, Merom is 64-bit (not too important at the moment).

Well, all I really gotta tell ya is, if you do get an Intel iMac now, you should be able to upgrade to a Merom processor later, since Yonah and Merom use the same socket. Of course, it might be hard to disassemble the new iMac, but it should be a thrill to see the inner workings of the iMac while upgrading.

I'm pretty sure you void your Applecare if you open any new iMac by yourself (apart from installing RAM in lower slot)? Not too sure though.

Is there any chance Leopard might come out in Q4 06? Or do most people figure that will be unveiled at MWSF Jan. 07?

Late 2006 - Early 2007 is all we've been given so far. Hopefully they'll give a more specific date at WWDC when they demo Leopard.

 

[Mckenas]

Personally I am waiting until next January for many reasons. 1. $$ 2. Mac OS X 10.5 3. Most likely more upgrades on memory and hard drive space 3. Intel versions of Adobe photoshop, illustrator, premiere. I can wait less then a year. I will probably go all out with software and a new ipod - time is running out on my silver mini.

edit: btw I forgot I can still use some of my windows xp software with boot camp. always a plus

 

[Thunderbird]

Merom is likely to clock in at the same as Yonah (1.66Ghz, 1.83Ghz, 2Ghz, 2.16Ghz, 2.33Ghz) but the last 3 models should have a 4MB L2 cache to improve performance (Yonah has a 2MB L2 cache). Merom will also outperform Yonah in "performance per watt" by a 2 - 1 margin although this really doesn't matter in a desktop like the iMac. Finally, Merom is 64-bit (not too important at the moment).

That's interesting, thanks. The extra cache could be nice. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by the added performance by Merom "wouldn't matter" in the iMac?

Will 64-bit be important in, say, 3-4 years when I might still have the iMac (Yonah) that I buy now?

Late 2006 - Early 2007 is all we've been given so far. Hopefully they'll give a more specific date at WWDC when they demo Leopard.

So, there is a chance Leopard could come out late this year? That might tip the scales in favour of waiting then.