Should I get an iMac or holdoff

[m7ammed]

I've been reading this forum for a while. I currently have a mid 2010 MBP that has been very good to me over the years. But since I went into photography (www.m7m.photo) 2-3 years, the last year or so it has been a struggle to work on the little thing, thing just chokes now and space on the HDD is really running low. Was planning on getting the iMac (3.3 GHz, 2TB Fusion and R9 M395) this month, but then I read this and now I'm in doubt.

is there going to be a big difference in performance with the new GPUs, and when is the expected iMac update?

if the difference is just going to be slight for most of work I do (planning on getting into video as well). Like just a savings minutes of rendering or something then it might not be worth the weight, as working on my MBP has put off photography a little bit as its too slow now.

 

[countryside]

I've been reading this forum for a while. I currently have a mid 2010 MBP that has been very good to me over the years. But since I went into photography (www.m7m.photo) 2-3 years, the last year or so it has been a struggle to work on the little thing, thing just chokes now and space on the HDD is really running low. Was planning on getting the iMac (3.3 GHz, 2TB Fusion and R9 M395) this month, but then I read this and now I'm in doubt.

is there going to be a big difference in performance with the new GPUs, and when is the expected iMac update?

if the difference is just going to be slight for most of work I do (planning on getting into video as well). Like just a savings minutes of rendering or something then it might not be worth the weight, as working on my MBP has put off photography a little bit as its too slow now.

I highly suggest you wait. WWDC is in only like, what? 56 days? I suggest you wait. Going from a 2010 to a mid-2016 model will be very nice for you.

 

[r6mile]

I've been reading this forum for a while. I currently have a mid 2010 MBP that has been very good to me over the years. But since I went into photography (www.m7m.photo) 2-3 years, the last year or so it has been a struggle to work on the little thing, thing just chokes now and space on the HDD is really running low. Was planning on getting the iMac (3.3 GHz, 2TB Fusion and R9 M395) this month, but then I read this and now I'm in doubt.

is there going to be a big difference in performance with the new GPUs, and when is the expected iMac update?

if the difference is just going to be slight for most of work I do (planning on getting into video as well). Like just a savings minutes of rendering or something then it might not be worth the weight, as working on my MBP has put off photography a little bit as its too slow now.

What sort of storage do you have? Putting in an SSD drive is going to make a massive difference, as would upgrading the RAM. Of course it wouldn't match the iMac but it's only a fraction of the cost.

 

[m7ammed]

What sort of storage do you have? Putting in an SSD drive is going to make a massive difference, as would upgrading the RAM. Of course it wouldn't match the iMac but it's only a fraction of the cost.

getting a big screen is a big plus for me on the photography side of things, my MBP is 13" currently it has 8GB of RAM and 500 GB of storage. I'm reluctant to put any money in it at the same as my target is getting an iMac. Also laptop will need a new battery, still keeps 1.5 hours charge after 6 years which is amazing after all the use and abuse it got. Plus iMac will work as a family computer, since my wife has a mid 2011 MBA.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Well firstly I don't see an update to the iMacs untill fall so you are looking at October, that's a long time to struggle on crippling your production with old tech, secondly it won't make any real difference to photography, gaming, 3D modelling, 4K video editing yes but not photography. The next iMac will be faster that's a given, is it worth six months of severely reduced productivity to wait for it?? Not for me it wouldn't be, being the best you can be now is much better than being slightly better in six months time that's just economics.

 

[m7ammed]

Well firstly I don't see an update to the iMacs untill fall so you are looking at October, that's a long time to struggle on crippling your production with old tech, secondly it won't make any real difference to photography, gaming, 3D modelling, 4K video editing yes but not photography. The next iMac will be faster that's a given, is it worth six months of severely reduced productivity to wait for it?? Not for me it wouldn't be, being the best you can be now is much better than being slightly better in six months time that's just economics.

how big a difference to video editing?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Well no one knows as they haven't been released yeso we have no benchmarks, it will also depend on which CPU you have and what software you use.
The link you added suggests 2x the performance per watt, but I think they'll lower power use and heat so at a guess taking into account marketing guff the system as a whole etc it'll probably be about 50-60% better how that translates into rendering times etc won't be known until they get them into a system.

 

[m7ammed]

I've never worked on video before so don't about rendering times...etc, but I think for what I'm planning to do with video a late 2015 iMac might be enough. I'm leaning towards getting one now, but will make a decision on the weekend and see what others think too.

Well no one knows as they haven't been released yeso we have no benchmarks, it will also depend on which CPU you have and what software you use.
The link you added suggests 2x the performance per watt, but I think they'll lower power use and heat so at a guess taking into account marketing guff the system as a whole etc it'll probably be about 50-60% better how that translates into rendering times etc won't be known until they get them into a system.

 

[Serban]

I dont know whats the difference between june and october? Intel new cpu? I dont think so. So thunderbolt 3 usb-c, ram for 2160hz ddr4, dgpu upgrade. So all of these will be ready for june july, so if they dont update the imac at wwdc, maybe they will make a little redesign for it and introduce at fall

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I dont know whats the difference between june and october? Intel new cpu? I dont think so. So thunderbolt 3 usb-c, ram for 2160hz ddr4, dgpu upgrade. So all of these will be ready for june july, so if they dont update the imac at wwdc, maybe they will make a little redesign for it and introduce at fall

Because they traditionally update the iMac in October and have done for few years now, they will concentrate on the 15inch rMBP with the new dGPU's as they are long overdue an upgrade.

I wouldn't bank on ddr4 either it's been shown to be not that much better than ddr3 currently so I wouldn't be surprised if they stick with that, they may also wait for Kabylake as that has some compatability and graphics upgrades that may make a difference over skylake although the CPU is pretty much the same.

 

[Sirmausalot]

getting a big screen is a big plus for me on the photography side of things, my MBP is 13" currently it has 8GB of RAM and 500 GB of storage. I'm reluctant to put any money in it at the same as my target is getting an iMac. Also laptop will need a new battery, still keeps 1.5 hours charge after 6 years which is amazing after all the use and abuse it got. Plus iMac will work as a family computer, since my wife has a mid 2011 MBA.

Why wait until October

1. 4K video editing. A new GPU *could* dramatically improve performance
2. Upgraded ports
3. Outside possibility of a redesign
4. Slight bump in CPU

Why now

1. The general advice is if you need it now, get it now. Upgrade is likely in October and you won't see it until November. That's 6-7 months away.
2. You aren't looking at the highest spec machine anyway. So it is unclear how much benefit you would be able to afford.
3. No idea of real world gains in graphics performance. Hype? Reality?

Why wait until July

1. WWDC will give you information. Also, it is possible the 4K iMac will be upgraded early
2. Student discount?

 

[Serban]

Yea in october because was an ipad and mac event. But since last year, oct event was transformed into march event. So since intel has nothing for apple for this year, but amd does, they might update the imac with better ram, better gpu, thunderbolt 3 and skylake for the 21.5" too

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Yea in october because was an ipad and mac event. But since last year, oct event was transformed into march event. So since intel has nothing for apple for this year, but amd does, they might update the imac with better ram, better gpu, thunderbolt 3 and skylake for the 21.5" too

The reasson they didn't use skylake in the 21.5 was Intel not releasing desktop CPU's with IRIS pro graphics, it's possible that new AMD chips will push apple into putting a dGPU back into the smaller iMac but I doubt it.

 

[mildocjr]

Well my daughter proved to me that the current gen MBAs can handle bioshock at full resolution and that was an Xbox 360 game. My wife has a 13" MBP that does well for her with her edits, it's a tad slow with lightroom edits (maybe 1-5 seconds depending on what she is doing) but that's with a low-end dual core i5. If you are looking at Photoshop then you might lean towards a dGPU. I have a 2013 quad-core i7 27" non-retina iMac that I use, it has a 2 GB nVidia 680MX and handles photo editing without any problems, you could probably get an older iMac for a fraction of the cost of a new one and it would handle your photo editing without problems. Retina or non-retina is up to you and your preference.

 

[CWallace]

Is there going to be a big difference in performance with the new GPUs, and when is the expected iMac update?

There is going to be a large increase in performance, but I do not believe these new GPUs are coming with the late 2016 update, but instead the late 2017 update.

I do expect the late 2016 27" 5K refresh to only add USB-C and maybe Thunderbolt 3. I do not expect it to have Kaby Lake CPUs nor AMD 400 series GPUs as I don't think either are going to be ready in time for Apple to engineer them in.

I do expect the 4K iMac to see a major refresh in late 2016, moving to Skylake processors, better Intel GPUs and USB-C (and maybe TB3).

 

[joema2]

There is going to be a large increase in performance, but I do not believe these new GPUs are coming with the late 2016 update, but instead the late 2017 update....

What is your basis for that? The new 14nm AMD Polaris GPUs are already being manufactured in sample quantities, and industry sources say it is ready for full scale production. Did you see yesterday's top story on this web site?

"AMD's New 400-Series 'Polaris' Graphics Chips Headed for 2016 Macs"

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/04/19/amd-polaris-2016-macs/

 

[CWallace]

What is your basis for that? The new 14nm AMD Polaris GPUs are already being manufactured in sample quantities, and industry sources say it is ready for full scale production. Did you see yesterday's top story on this web site?

"AMD's New 400-Series 'Polaris' Graphics Chips Headed for 2016 Macs"

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/04/19/amd-polaris-2016-macs/

Yes I did and I am skeptical the CPUs and GPUs will really be in full scale production. If they are, then great. Otherwise we may see something like the original 5K iMac roll-out where they didn't ship in quantity until many months after they "launched". But I believe Apple will wait until 2017 - if not the fall refresh, perhaps WWDC 2017.

 

[m7ammed]

I think I will pull the trigger by Wednesday, we get a 5% discount in Saudi Arabia if a student buys it. Just gonna use my brothers ID to do the purchase.

 

[iemcj]

If you're wanting it for video and photo editing, there's no reason to wait. If there IS a mid season refresh, it's going to be an incremental change, the difference between the fall 2014 and spring 2015 models would make zero difference for photo and a split second difference on most video work so it's logical to assume we'd get the same thing here.

Even waiting till fall 2016 to get the full new version, I again see no reason to wait. The skylake chipset was a great improvement over the previous year and it's unlikely there's going to be anything more than another 10% cpu increase this fall. They may have a better gpu but this one is more than enough to edit your dslr or 4k gopro videos. I've been a professional photographer and videographer for 10 years my friend, this is a very powerful machine and is going to chew up anything you throw at it other than 5k gaming.

 

[Serban]

The imacs are rumored to take a little redesign as new colours as well

 

[ljonesj]

like ive said before i think usb-c is a stupid socket that should ahve never been released i like the others better but im in the minority

 

[Serban]

Why usb-c thunderbolt 3 is a stpid thing? Faster reversible smaller

 

[maflynn]

Was planning on getting the iMac (3.3 GHz, 2TB Fusion and R9 M395) this month, but then

Buy it now, I doubt apple will roll out another refresh of the iMac in June, when it already updated the iMacs in the fall

I highly suggest you wait. WWDC is in only like, what? 56 days?

Highly doubtful, the 5k iMac is already on Skylake, what would apple do, upgrade the GPU? I see them doing a refresh in the fall as they typically do for the iMac.

 

[Serban]

Buy it now, I doubt apple will roll out another refresh of the iMac in June, when it already updated the iMacs in the fall


Highly doubtful, the 5k iMac is already on Skylake, what would apple do, upgrade the GPU? I see them doing a refresh in the fall as they typically do for the iMac.

Yes they typically do in the fall bec then the cpu are ready. This year kabylake cpu will not be available until next year, but the thunderbolt 3 usb-c port and polaris are ready for at least silent update or for a small intro at wwdc if they do a little redesign too

 

[maflynn]

This year kabylake cpu will not be available until next year, but the thunderbolt 3 usb-c port and polaris are ready for at least silent update or for a small intro at wwdc if they do a little redesign too

I think we're more apt to see a MBP refresh and leave the iMac out of WWDC. I'd say lack of a CPU makes it more likely to wait until the fall. There's no motivation for apple to replace the current line up