No 2018 iMac?!

[navaira]

Our new 2017 base iMac (currently with 40 GB of RAM just because we could) doesn't run fans at all despite the fact we're 1) having a heatwave, and 2) the studio is placed in possibly the hottest room in the house. I am actually very impressed by that. (I will stop being impressed when it breaks due to inadequate cooling...)

 

[EugW]

Our new 2017 base iMac (currently with 40 GB of RAM just because we could) doesn't run fans at all despite the fact we're 1) having a heatwave, and 2) the studio is placed in possibly the hottest room in the house. I am actually very impressed by that. (I will stop being impressed when it breaks due to inadequate cooling...)

The base i5-7500 iMac is well known to run very cool.

One guy stated he ran Plex transcoding for hours on end without the fan ever becoming audible. However, we know the iMac fan will come on as necessary with the other models.

The more I think about the power stats of the various chips and the iMac’s design, the more I think it may be prudent to hold off ordering the 2018 until a few have been tested in the wild. Or if one needs to order right away, if it’s the same iMac design (like I’m predicting) with the same cooling, then perhaps I’d go for only the base model 27”, which would likely be the i5-8400.

 

[Salaryman Ryan]

I too am waiting for the iMac update. My greatest fear though is that if they redesign the chassis they would make the iMac like the Macbook Pros and Mac Minis, unupgradable.

I don’t care about a new design really, I like the current one.
All I want is standard SSD and user-upgradeable RAM.

Me too. In fact I fear that if Apple redesigns the iMac they might make it even less upgradable.

 

[Dave245]

I wonder if Apple will redesign the iMac any time soon? it would be nice since the last design change was in 2012 with the thinner iMac which i brought (and love ). The 5K display is probably much better than the one i have but at the moment i can't really justify upgrading just because of a 5K display, a redesign would be nice for the home office

 

[mreg376]

I too am waiting for the iMac update. My greatest fear though is that if they redesign the chassis they would make the iMac like the Macbook Pros and Mac Minis, unupgradable.


Me too. In fact I fear that if Apple redesigns the iMac they might make it even less upgradable.

Well, to make the new iMacs more upgradeable Apple will have to reverse direction. First the MacBooks lost easy HD and RAM access, then the 21.5" iMacs lost easy RAM access, and the newest iMac, the iMac Pro, lacks any easy upgradability. I think the best you can hope for in the new regular iMacs in terms of upgradability, whenever they appear, is the status quo.

 

[enc0re]

I think at least the new cooling system for the iMac Pro should become standard. Too bad about expandable ram. Too bad about internal hard drive.

 

[redheeler]

I wonder if Apple will redesign the iMac any time soon? it would be nice since the last design change was in 2012 with the thinner iMac which i brought (and love ). The 5K display is probably much better than the one i have but at the moment i can't really justify upgrading just because of a 5K display, a redesign would be nice for the home office

The 5K display is a massive improvement though. I'd value that over a cosmetic redesign.

 

[Tor Eckman]

The 5K display is a massive improvement though. I'd value that over a cosmetic redesign.

Besides SSDs, the 5k display is the biggest upgrade/improvement on iMacs in at least 10 years.

 

[Dave245]

The 5K display is a massive improvement though. I'd value that over a cosmetic redesign.

Very true, i just feel like there is going to be a redesign around the corner. Probably not this year but i do think it's due.

 

[tn-xyz]

I wonder if Apple will redesign the iMac any time soon? it would be nice since the last design change was in 2012 with the thinner iMac which i brought (and love ). The 5K display is probably much better than the one i have but at the moment i can't really justify upgrading just because of a 5K display, a redesign would be nice for the home office

after the imac pro's release which only received a better airflow system i don't think a radical redesign will happen in the immediate future.

 

[freddiecable]

I agree. It would be insane to have MBP i9 six core without updating the iMac to the same or better.

There will be a 2018 iMac, I'm 95% sure. There is way too much at stake here, given it's one of the biggest CPU upgrades of the decade.

 

[lishaoalox]

I agree. It would be insane to have MBP i9 six core without updating the iMac to the same or better.

This.
Even though there is not so much info now, I still hoping to see 2018 new iMac.
It'll be much pity if the Desktop doesn't have an update when the Laptop updated.
Keep waiting for further news...

 

[Icaras]

The 5K display is a massive improvement though. I'd value that over a cosmetic redesign.

I still want a redesign.

 

[Ifti]

Now that we have the 8th gen CPUs in the MacBooks, surely the updated iMacs are on their way???!

 

[lishaoalox]

Now that we have the 8th gen CPUs in the MacBooks, surely the updated iMacs are on their way???!

I Hope so.
The desktops lineup should catch up with the laptops.
But hopefully, the cooling system will be redesigned.

 

[mreg376]

Now that we have the 8th gen CPUs in the MacBooks, surely the updated iMacs are on their way???!

New iMacs are always on the way. As are new Mac Pros, and new Mac Minis...

 

[EugW]

New iMacs are always on the way. As are new Mac Pros, and new Mac Minis...

Yeah, but it's not very often when the entry level 27" iMac (i5-8400?) will come close to matching the CPU performance the previous year's top-of-the-line iMac (i7-7700K), at likely a much lower price and with less power utilization.

 

[lishaoalox]

New iMacs are always on the way. As are new Mac Pros, and new Mac Minis...

That's right... The only difference is that should be a long way or not.
Hopefully, it'll be shown in front of us soon.
If it is updated with the 8 gen CPUs, the entry level will have much higher Cost/Performance value than the 2017 models.
Despite there might still be a throttle problem...

 

[mreg376]

Yeah, but it's not very often when the entry level 27" iMac (i5-8400?) will come close to matching the CPU performance the previous year's top-of-the-line iMac (i7-7700K), at likely a much lower price and with less power utilization.

Yes, not very often, and it hasn't happened lately. I wouldn't quite break out the champagne yet.

 

[EugW]

Yes, not very often, and it hasn't happened lately. I wouldn't quite break out the champagne yet.

Already happened with the MacBook Pro. Entry level 15" 2018 i7 is faster than the top-of-the-line 2017 i7.

The downside is the entry level 15" 2018 i7 is also faster in some tests than the top-of-the-line 2018 i9, due to throttling of the i9.

 

[mreg376]

That's right... The only difference is that should be a long way or not.
Hopefully, it'll be shown in front of us soon.
If it is updated with the 8 gen CPUs, the entry level will have much higher Cost/Performance value than the 2017 models.
Despite there might still be a throttle problem...

Yes, throttling is a problem. Just saw a review of the new MacBook (the excellent @MKBHD on Youtube), and his maxed out $6,000 new 2018 MacBook Pro was only about 15% faster rendering 8K videos into 4K. For $6,000! He attributed that to fairly severe throttling at load and the beautiful, but slim, cooling-starved cramped case. So here we are in 2018 with Apple still willing to crowd components and throttle, so I am skeptical that any new iMac will see a major redesign or achieve significant real-world performance increases despite new specs. He advised against spending huge amounts of money on the new MacBook Pro if you already have a 2017 or even 2016 MacBook Pro.

 

[EugW]

Yes, throttling is a problem. Just saw a review of the new MacBook (the excellent @MKBHD on Youtube), and his maxed out $6,000 new 2018 MacBook Pro was only about 15% faster rendering 8K videos into 4K. For $6,000! He attributed that to fairly severe throttling at load and the beautiful, but slim, cooling-starved cramped case. So here we are in 2018 with Apple still willing to crowd components and throttle, so I am skeptical that any new iMac will see a major redesign or achieve significant real-world performance increases despite new specs. He advised against spending huge amounts of money on the new MacBook Pro if you already have a 2017 or even 2016 MacBook Pro.

My take from that as alluded above is that if you're looking to buy a 15", buy the entry level model. It's already blistering fast, and it's much cheaper.

By the way, much of that $6000 is from the 4 TB SSD.

Similarly, if you're gonna get a Coffee Lake, there is much, much less incentive to go for a higher end model, since the performance of the entry level 27" is going to be stellar, and with something like an i5-8400, you run much less risk of throttling or at least fan noise compared to something like an i7-8700K.

 

[lishaoalox]

Yes, throttling is a problem. Just saw a review of the new MacBook (the excellent @MKBHD on Youtube), and his maxed out $6,000 new 2018 MacBook Pro was only about 15% faster rendering 8K videos into 4K. For $6,000! He attributed that to fairly severe throttling at load and the beautiful, but slim, cooling-starved cramped case. So here we are in 2018 with Apple still willing to crowd components and throttle, so I am skeptical that any new iMac will see a major redesign or achieve significant real-world performance increases despite new specs. He advised against spending huge amounts of money on the new MacBook Pro if you already have a 2017 or even 2016 MacBook Pro.

Also saw that video and he suggested not to upgrade to this level if having 2016 or 2017 models' MBP.
I think the throttle problem has made it unworthy to spend $6,700 to such an expensive machine.
iMac might have better cooling space compare with the MacBook, but is still good to see the cooling system being upgraded. At least, 2 fans.

 

[mreg376]

My take from that as alluded above is that if you're looking to buy a 15", buy the entry level model. It's already blistering fast, and it's much cheaper.

By the way, much of that $6000 is from the 4 TB SSD.

Similarly, if you're gonna get a Coffee Lake, there is much, much less incentive to go for a higher end model, since the performance of the entry level 27" is going to be stellar.

Yes, all of that is absolutely true. I think it was about $3000 for the 4TB SSD alone. My point was that Apple seems to be sticking with the same formula (a formula altered only for the iMac Pro, at great cost, with the maxed out version being $13,000+) so I'm skeptical of any major redesign of the regular iMac if it is to stay in the usual price range.
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Also saw that video and he suggested not to upgrade to this level if having 2016 or 2017 models' MBP.
I think the throttle problem has made it unworthy to spend $6,700 to such an expensive machine.
iMac might have better cooling space compare with the MacBook, but is still good to see the cooling system being upgraded. At least, 2 fans.

Well, it's 2018 so they HAD to improve SOME things. And they did. I liked MKBHD's other point -- that Apple should offer a thick-as-necessary high performance MacBook that resembles the iMac Pro in cooling, performance, etc.

 

[lishaoalox]

My take from that as alluded above is that if you're looking to buy a 15", buy the entry level model. It's already blistering fast, and it's much cheaper.

By the way, much of that $6000 is from the 4 TB SSD.

Similarly, if you're gonna get a Coffee Lake, there is much, much less incentive to go for a higher end model, since the performance of the entry level 27" is going to be stellar, and with something like an i5-8400, you run much less risk of throttling or at least fan noise compared to something like an i7-8700K.

2018 might be really an entry level's year.
Maybe the i5 cores in the 13" will also fine?
As for the rumored entry-level new MacBook Air, should it also be expectable?
Looking forward to any news about the new 2018 Macs now.