In your opinion, do you think the next iMac with ditch the 4850 and use a 5850?

[mattcube64]

I keep telling myself I need to upgrade my computer, but car repairs/school/life always gets in the way. And I'm beginning to realize a $3000+ Mac Pro probably isn't gonna happen.

Well, I'm starting to eye the 27" iMac, but that GPU really puts me off. I know, I know... Macs aren't for gaming. But, I love me some computer games, and I have to have OSX for Final Cut and Logic. So, I prefer to kill two birds with a single stone.

Of course, nobody can be sure; but I'm curious what you guys the odds of us seeing a 5850 in the Spring revision are? That'd be a huge jump in perfomance, and I wouldn't expect it would cut into their profits too terribly much. Heck, I'd even pay a little more for it as a BTO.

But, then again, maybe we'll just see another 4850 rehash. Sure, I'd love a Fermi or a 5870... but I'm trying to be realistic. I *think* a 5850 is reasonable.... but I'm curious if you guys do, too....

 

[avihappy]

I keep telling myself I need to upgrade my computer, but car repairs/school/life always gets in the way. And I'm beginning to realize a $3000+ Mac Pro probably isn't gonna happen.

Well, I'm starting to eye the 27" iMac, but that GPU really puts me off. I know, I know... Macs aren't for gaming. But, I love me some computer games, and I have to have OSX for Final Cut and Logic. So, I prefer to kill two birds with a single stone.

Of course, nobody can be sure; but I'm curious what you guys the odds of us seeing a 5850 in the Spring revision are? That'd be a huge jump in perfomance, and I wouldn't expect it would cut into their profits too terribly much. Heck, I'd even pay a little more for it as a BTO.

But, then again, maybe we'll just see another 4850 rehash. Sure, I'd love a Fermi or a 5870... but I'm trying to be realistic. I *think* a 5850 is reasonable.... but I'm curious if you guys do, too....

I don't feel we will see a 5870 in an iMac anytime soon. The iMacs barely keep their heat down, and a high end GPU is not gonna help keep it low. Remember, Apple puts parts in their computers that serve their OS. An i7 processor is useful to OS X, a video card isn't (few games or other graphically intensive apps on OSX).

I've mentioned this to others, but I think that the video card is irrelevant because right now the 4850 will suffice for Windows gaming, and once its utility is exhausted, you could now build a cheap gaming PC and hook it up via the displayport input on the 27 inch iMacs (just make sure the vid card you put in the el cheapo PC has DP out, which all high end ones do). As a bonus, you could hot swap between OSX and the PC with CMD+F2 (no rebooting). The iMac will be best quality PC monitor you have probably used. It isn't a cheap solution though...

 

[Hellhammer]

If Mobile Radeon 5850 isn't too expensive we'll likely see that because it runs cooler than 4850 and would be ideal for iMac. There will be new GPUs because if there won't, there won't be an update because it's the only component that can really be updated (no faster quads, only Clarkdale for some models?).

We'll see

 

[dh2005]

mattcube64;

I started a thread of almost identical substance earlier this week. Don't be surprised if one or two members chime-in that Macs "aren't about games", insinuating that you're a moron for asking these questions.

I need to buy a computer in the next couple of months, so I've decided to retreat to the Mini. But I'll keep one eye on the iMac range, and see whether something more compelling becomes available towards the end of the year.