The entry level quad 13” TB is a great option in terms of performance IMO.
If there is a new 13” non-Pro, I’m not convinced it will be an Air. In fact, personally I think the Air will be discontinued sooner rather than later.
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No 2018 iMac?!
- Thread starter Internet Enzyme
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Yeah, I called it Air just because rumors and reports said that it should be a successor of MBA or the new 2018 MBA.
I'm not going to stick on Air but wish to see a new entry-level Mac this year.
Depends on what you do with it I guess. However, I do suspect there there will be minor gains in the GPU specs. Likely still on Polaris though.
I don't see a resign especially since the Pro was recently release and it has the same design. hardware upgrade is more likely.
Low.
Touch Bar only makes sense because of its proximity to the screen. Having a touch bar 6 inches away from the base of the screen doesn't make much sense. And the iMac doesn't even have a backlit keyboard yet, so it'll probably be a while before we see any major improvements to the keyboard.
FaceID is more plausible, but generally innovations come to the iMac last (the exception was the P3 gamut screen, but hard to imagine FaceID in the iMac before the MBP).
Touch Bar only makes sense because of its proximity to the screen. Having a touch bar 6 inches away from the base of the screen doesn't make much sense. And the iMac doesn't even have a backlit keyboard yet, so it'll probably be a while before we see any major improvements to the keyboard.
FaceID is more plausible, but generally innovations come to the iMac last (the exception was the P3 gamut screen, but hard to imagine FaceID in the iMac before the MBP).
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Yep. I can't imagine them having the "Pro" machine less upgradeable than the regular iMac. I'm sure they will do away with upgradeable RAM in the 2018 model.
I think they'll do away with the door but give us 16GB as standard ram. Because realistically how many home users really need 32GB or more of Ram? Sure some here use some higher end programs but for the basic homeowner that is using these machines for general school or work use have no need on today's software to require that kind of Ram, 16GB would be fine.
Hopefully, the 2018 iMac will starts with 16G RAM, removing the upgradable door, and uses dual-fans.
If the starting price could remain the same, it'll be a admirable machine!
Hoping to see further news.
If the starting price could remain the same, it'll be a admirable machine!
Hoping to see further news.
I could see Face ID before the Touch bar. But as others have mentioned, I doubt it would come to the iMac before the MacBook Pro. The Face ID would be nice, but I think you would expect that in a redesign / reveal event. And the 2018 iMac likely will be a silent upgrade similar to the recent MacBook Pros.
Which is one reason I kind of want this 2017 imac, because with the replaceable ram, it's a bit more future proofed....at least for ram.
But going from 4 cores to 6 cores is a huge upgrade.
I was in the same dilemma TBH. Upgradable RAM is perfect, but I would want the 6 core CPU to preserve longevity as much as possible!
I hope not. Any move to limit more user access is a move in the wrong direction.
Paying premium for any Apple product is bad enough, but when they also gouge you on RAM upgrades, it a double hit on the wallet.
I can't agree more. Though I have no influence on Apple.
If they could keep the upgradable RAM for the 2018 models, that'll be perfect. But I only suspect that they will do that while upgrading the cooling system like iMac Pro did.
If there is any chance that we could have upgraded cooling sys. and upgradable RAM door at the same time for a regular iMac, I'd love it A LOT.
But I'm afraid that we could only have one of them.
Yea I'd rather have the 6 cores as well, but I'm not sure it's a must for me.
I could probably get by with the 3.4 ghz i5
* Also I have a Question: Would it be dumb to just get the 21.5" but with the 65w i7, so it gives me hyperthreading and less fan/heat issue, but then I could hook up a 27-32" monitor and run Logic Pro X on that instead or dual screen? ( Screen wouldn't be 4k or 5k)
It would seem to solve a lot of issues, because honestly I don't need a 5k screen or even a 4k screen, I'm just using it for Logic Pro X.
I’m in a similar boat looking for a more powerful system to run Logic Pro X. If you don’t need any more than 32GB of RAM then you should be set with the 21.5” but remember that with the smaller iMac there’s less space for cooling.
The RAM on the 21.5” is not user upgradable.
For the 21.5” - US$2599
- 3.6GHz quad-core 7th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
- 32GB 2400MHz DDR4
- 512GB SSD
- Radeon Pro 560 with 4GB video memory
- Magic Mouse 2
- Magic Keyboard - US English
- 3.5GHz quad-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz
- 8GB 2400MHz DDR4
- 512GB SSD
- Radeon Pro 575 with 4GB video memory
- Magic Mouse 2
- Magic Keyboard - US English
2018 27” - $2099 (?) plus cost of third party RAM
- 2.8 GHz hex-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz
- 8GB 2400MHz DDR4
- 512GB SSD
- Radeon Pro 575X with 4GB video memory
- Magic Mouse 2
- Magic Keyboard - US English
Why don't intel desktop chips have hyperthreading lower down the pecking order? The whole MBP line chips have hyperthreading... IMO it would make more sense for a desktop to have hyperthreading with more thermal capacity.
If the base iMac model had hyperthreading it would be a great all round option.
On paper the base 18 13 TB macbook pro is very competitive with the base 17 iMac this time round and the MBPs have hyperthreading out the box.
The 2017 base 2.8ghz 15" macbook pro "on paper" is a little slower single but quicker multi than the base 2017 iMac
https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/417
https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/408
Essentially the 18 13" base is about 10-15% quicker than the 17 base 15" and is quick a bit quicker multi than the base iMac.
https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/432
Obviously sustained the iMac would be better but the Macbook pro has access to 8 threads.
I have access to the base 27" iMac and haven't really been blown away with it it was about £2000 with some upgrades.
If the base iMac model had hyperthreading it would be a great all round option.
On paper the base 18 13 TB macbook pro is very competitive with the base 17 iMac this time round and the MBPs have hyperthreading out the box.
The 2017 base 2.8ghz 15" macbook pro "on paper" is a little slower single but quicker multi than the base 2017 iMac
https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/417
https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/408
Essentially the 18 13" base is about 10-15% quicker than the 17 base 15" and is quick a bit quicker multi than the base iMac.
https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/432
Obviously sustained the iMac would be better but the Macbook pro has access to 8 threads.
I have access to the base 27" iMac and haven't really been blown away with it it was about £2000 with some upgrades.
Do you really think the i7 or i9 will not be desirable in the hypothetical 2018 iMac?
It's probably a combination of cost, binning tiers, and marketing.
Given the throttling results though, it may have made sense to have non-HT 6-core i7 mobile chips.
Well, I am noise sensitive, and I already found the i7-7700K undesirable because of the fan noise under load. I had one and then returned it to get the i5-7600.
The i7-8700K will run at least as hot, and sometimes hotter. An 8th generation i9 doesn't officially exist, but there is an i7-8086K which is faster than the i7-8700K and likely runs even hotter.
There is a new chip line coming, but that's actually 9th generation:
i9-9900K 8-core 16-thread
i7-9700K 6-core 12-thread
i5-9600K 6-core 6-thread
i5-9600
i5-9500
i5-9400
etc.
I'm sure the i9 is going to be very, very hot, and it would likely require a new cooling system in an iMac. The iMac Pro cooling system would be perfect for it though. Actually, it'd be great for the i7-8700K and i7-9700K too, and all of the other 6-core chips too for that matter.
BTW, there is a new Core i3-9100 coming too that's almost as fast as my Core i5-7600. That would make a decent entry level 27" iMac, but I'm guessing Apple won't use it, and I'm guessing they won't use the existing Core i3-8100 either.
Sure, the faster HyperThreaded chips would be great performance-wise for Logic Pro X, but in music production, noise can be an issue. That's why you see so many posts here asking which iMacs would be the best balance between noise and performance. It seems most agree that the quad HT i7-7700K is good enough for even elite users with many working fine with the quad i5 chips too. The i5-8400 is in the performance ballpark of the i7-7700K but usually runs cooler than the i7-7700K, which makes it a good choice.
tl;dr:
I'm thinking the best balance for music production in fall 2018 may be the Core i5-8400. 6-core non-HT performance which is close to the i7-7700K, but usually with lower power usage.
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