Is it OK to buy an 5K imac 27" now?

[maflynn]

The Samsung 850 EVO 500GB would be actually be faster than the Apple SM0512G in this case because it has a better 4K Random Read.

This is why I think seeing actual benchmarks will help.

We all can throw out various specs, and say how one is better then other, but how is it in actual usage. I stand by my opinion (not grounded in any sort of scientific testing) is most people will probably not even notice if its a Samsung or Apple

 

[tubeexperience]

This is why I think seeing actual benchmarks will help.

We all can throw out various specs, and say how one is better then other, but how is it in actual usage. I stand by my opinion (not grounded in any sort of scientific testing) is most people will probably not even notice if its a Samsung or Apple

Well, I just put out the benchmarks because varian55zx keeps saying the Apple SSD (which is actually made by Samsung) is much faster than the Samsung SSD. This is obviously only true in certain specific tasks and obviously false for other tasks.

 

[CWallace]

One of my friends was telling me not to buy it now because the new imac will likely have an Nvidia rather than the Radeon. I don't have to buy it now but I'm just really impatient. What's your opinion on this? Also, any idea when the new imac 5K is gonna be released?

As others have noted, Apple would "normally" upgrade the iMac 5K around November, but Intel will not offer a better CPU than what is in there now until late December, which really means an iMac with that CPU would probably ship around March (along with a new Kaby Lake iMac 4K, which has yet to make the jump to Skylake). I expect they will stay with AMD dGPUs and their latest generation is now starting to ship, so if Apple decides Skylake is good enough, then we could see November.

USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3 will be givens, regardless of when it comes out as Skylake and Kaby Lake chipsets support them.

 

[Appleaker]

Now's not a good time but there have been no signs that they are moving to Nvidia, although the 400-series AMD graphics will be significantly more powerful. Still, I hope they do switch to Nvidia.

 

[maflynn]

I expect they will stay with AMD dGPUs

I agree, there's no indications that Apple is dropping AMD in lieu of Nvidia.

I'm not saying it won't happen, but I think people are convincing themselves it will happen, even though there's been no information to lead anyone to believe Apple is dropping AMD

 

[vapourtrails]

As others have noted, Apple would "normally" upgrade the iMac 5K around November, but Intel will not offer a better CPU than what is in there now until late December, which really means an iMac with that CPU would probably ship around March (along with a new Kaby Lake iMac 4K, which has yet to make the jump to Skylake). I expect they will stay with AMD dGPUs and their latest generation is now starting to ship, so if Apple decides Skylake is good enough, then we could see November.

USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3 will be givens, regardless of when it comes out as Skylake and Kaby Lake chipsets support them.

What do you place the odds at for an October/November update vs a march update? 50/50?

 

[briloronmacrumo]

What do you place the odds at for an October/November update vs a march update? 50/50?

IMO, predicting Apple's Mac updates is more difficult now than it was 5 years ago. Trends that used to be a given are no longer. I would have thought Apple's 3rd Quarter Earnings announcement ( on July 26th ) would have generated more concern from investors but apparently the fact Apple declined less than anticipated is a positive based on stock price reaction. Clearly a lot of 3rd Quarter positives but the stagnant Mac hardware wasn't addressed and the numbers are starting to reflect it:

From the 27-July-2016 Wall Street Journal:
[1] Apple quarterly profit declined 27%
[2] Apple revenue fell for a second straight quarter – a 14.6% decline of $7 billion
[3] iPad unit sales fell for a 10th-straight quarter – down 9%
[4] Mac computer sales fell 11% marking the 3rd straight quarter of declines

To respond directly to your query of March vs. Oct/Nov, my guess is an iMac update will be announced during one of those timeframes. Of course, I wouldn't have ever anticipated Apple's current Mac line stagnation either, so I'm clearly not an accurate source.

 

[CWallace]

What do you place the odds at for an October/November update vs a march update? 50/50?

We're definitely going to see a MacBook Pro update this fall, likely October if they follow earlier roll-outs. So it makes sense for Apple to roll in an iMac update then if they intend to stay with Skylake.

 

[varian55zx]

Continue to call me wrong, it makes no difference to me.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Continue to call me wrong, it makes no difference to me.

It's not that you are wrong so much as what you say doesn't tell the whole story, yes apples ssd's are very fast for sustained read/write, it's just that in many many use cases this means nothing to the user and a SATA 3 SSD will be just as good.

 

[maflynn]

just that in many many use cases this means nothing to the user and a SATA 3 SSD will be just as good.

Agreed, i think we here on these technology forums, get so caught up in the specs, that sometimes we fail to see the forest through the trees (so to speak). Yes, the specs are faster in one case, but for most consumers I'd say the speed is not noticeable. Personally, since I'm on a Fusion drive, I'd be happy with a Samsung SSD in place of my spinning drive. Would I be better off with a 1TB Apple SSD, perhaps, because its a simpler approach and procurement but the cost is exorbitant. Either way in my case its water over the bridge. I already have my Mac and I either live with the Fusion drive as it stands, or buy an Apple SSD (off eBay) or a Samsung drive.

Since I'm not willing to risk my warranty at this point, and I'm content with the my system, I'm standing pat

 

[Strider64]

All I know over last year and a half it has been a pleasure waking up in the morning and just tapping a key on my 27" iMac 5K display to start my day of computing. I had been a PC user for 30+ years and it was always an experience to see if I would had to reboot the computer or not. In my opinion computers are fast and when newer technology comes along people for some strange reason first look at the speed of the device. Years ago people could tell the speed difference, I bet 99% people today couldn't tell if there was a speed difference with today's computers and mobile devices. People should be looking at what new features will that computer or mobile device bring me instead of how much faster is it. Nvidia and AMD in my opinion are very good gpu manufacturers. Competition brings innovations that normally would take a little longer if there were only one company in the game. Sure Nvidia might have more bells & whistles this time, but if AMD wants to stay in business they will have to one up Nvidia the next go around.

As for Apple, I personally thought the Apple iWatch was kind of stupid to begin with (well at least for me), for $300+ it's just a glorified watch for me. My iPhone can do those things and with me being older I squint enough using my iPhone the iWatch will just make me squint even more.