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Should I wait for the Quad Core

gasport

gasport

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 10, 2007
363
0
Here is a quote from AppleInsider today.. Since the iMac 3.06 with the ATI 4850 is being delayed at least until mid April, does it make more sense just to wait for the QuadCore and Snow Leopard release later this year? :rolleyes::confused:


Read the whole article as it indicates very strong demand for the newly released products....

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03/11/apple_ups_mac_build_plans_on_strong_reception_to_new_desktops.html

"Wu, who was responsible for some of the off-base reports (1, 2) of quad-core iMacs leading up to last week's launch, says he believes Apple made the right move by sticking with Core 2 Duo processors in the refreshed line of all-in-one desktops, which "provide plenty of power" for the majority of users.

As for the first quad-core iMacs, he now says he's hearing a likely introduction in the "summer or fall time frame" to better coincide with the release of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, which will be optimized to take advantage of systems with more than two processing cores. "
 
gasport said:
Here is a quote from AppleInsider today.. Since the iMac 3.06 with the ATI 4850 is being delayed at least until mid April, does it make more sense just to wait for the QuadCore and Snow Leopard release later this year? :rolleyes::confused:
Click to expand...

It only makes sense to wait if you can handle the possibility of (most likely) being disappointed after the speculators have built up such a lather and then have gone completely berserk because their (completely unfounded unrealistic) expectations haven't been met.
;)
 
You'll be waiting a long-ass time, as the quad-core mobile stuff won't arrive for about another 12 months.

In many tasks the quad won't be any faster and could actually be slower than a higher clocked core duo chip.
 
Quad core is of little benefit to the consumer, i.e. the target demographic of the iMac. There are mobile quad core processors out that could in theory work in the iMac but they're core clock speeds are quite a bit lower. Off the top of my head I think there's one at 2.0GHz, one at 2.16GHz and one at 2.53GHz. Something like that anyway. Most consumers don't see the number of cores particularly and so would automatically think the 3GHz dual core would be faster - and for most of the things they'd want to do, they'd be right.

I don't think quad core will reach the iMacs until Core i7 mobile chips start to become available later on this year. Realistically, I'd say you're looking at a minimum of 6-12 months until quad core hits the iMac and MacBook Pro lines.
 
I wonder how long before we a see a keynote explanation of the "Cores Myth"
:rolleyes:
 
edgew8 said:
I wonder how long before we a see a keynote explanation of the "Cores Myth"
:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Well, it's a fact that the OS or application need to be designed to take advantage of additional cores.

Maybe the quad core will be more appealing in OS X when Snow Leopard comes out if Apple can demonstrate real world speed advantages for having a quad core vs. dual core at the same clock speeds.
 
jmpage2 said:
You'll be waiting a long-ass time, as the quad-core mobile stuff won't arrive for about another 12 months.

In many tasks the quad won't be any faster and could actually be slower than a higher clocked core duo chip.
Click to expand...


You convinced me..... Immediate, well almost , gratification is better than the alternative at this point..... :D
 
the only thing that stopped me from laying down over £1500 on a new imac was the lack of a quadcore and the lack of a LCD panel.

Lets hope for a new update this summer.. quadcore and a LCD based imac
 
ksolano said:
the only thing that stopped me from laying down over £1500 on a new imac was the lack of a quadcore and the lack of a LCD panel.

Lets hope for a new update this summer.. quadcore and a LCD based imac
Click to expand...

Umm, they all have LCDs.
 
IgnatiusTheKing said:
Good god. They just refreshed the iMac after eleven months and you're already talking about waiting for another update?
Click to expand...

Well it wasn't like this was a major change from the previous generation. Some of us have the luxury of waiting because our current machines are more than good enough. I won't see a radical change from my 7600GT equipped machine and as such it takes something really interesting to get me to change. I know the performance numbers are better but I have to trade those off versus the fact I have a matte screen which beats performance numbers :p
 
Maybe wont be quadcore in iMac for years. The Nehalem line of cpus also includes 2 cores nehalem (4 virtual cores with HT) for notebooks, the codenamed Arrandale, scheduled for release later this year. Yes, also Intel will deliver a 4 cores mobile nehalem (Clarksfield), but if now Apple hasn't mount a mobile quadcore Core 2 on iMac (released several months ago), why should they do that in the near future?
 
Shivetya said:
Well it wasn't like this was a major change from the previous generation. Some of us have the luxury of waiting because our current machines are more than good enough. I won't see a radical change from my 7600GT equipped machine and as such it takes something really interesting to get me to change. I know the performance numbers are better but I have to trade those off versus the fact I have a matte screen which beats performance numbers :p
Click to expand...

While that may be true, the OP was asking if it would be wise to wait to buy (seemingly because he/she wants/needs one) on the off chance that Apple decides to radically update the iMacs again this year.
 
Who is saying that there is going to be a Quad Core iMac?

It's a rumor, nobody knows for sure. Wait if you want, but I highly doubt that apple will release new iMacs in less than a year, and even when they do, I doubt they'll have Quad Cores.
 
IgnatiusTheKing said:
While that may be true, the OP was asking if it would be wise to wait to buy (seemingly because he/she wants/needs one) on the off chance that Apple decides to radically update the iMacs again this year.
Click to expand...

Well if they are asking it implies to me they already have an acceptable system and just looking for an excuse not to buy.
 
you can wait if you want. I'm sure they'll release quad core imacs, but who knows when. If you're the type of person who will obsess about a quad core imac every day until it is released, i think you're better off to buy a dual core imac now.
 
Shivetya said:
Well if they are asking it implies to me they already have an acceptable system and just looking for an excuse not to buy.
Click to expand...

Your assumption is incorrect....unless you consider a 3+ year old Dell an acceptable system....:D

My actual purpose for posing the question was to stir up a little debate over the never ending quest for the latest and greatest system when we all know our current purchase will be outdated in no time... (while I wait for the iMac order to ship some time in April)
 
I think a lot of us have been in the same boat recently. I know that I was disappointed when the new iMacs surfaced, a lot of which was to do with the amount of predictions flying around prior to their launch, and I was toying with the idea of waiting for the next one.

In the end, I decided just to go for it. The way I look at it is the new iMac is a great machine, and to wait another year or so would just be hell. So what if it doesn't have an LED display (something I was "hoping" for) or quad core? It's great the way it is, and that's all that should matter.

I hope this helps in some way... :)
 
Personally I suspect the next iMac update could be less than a year, maybe October / early November. This seems to tie in with the expected / hopeful release of the Intel Clarksfield chip which one hopes Apple will use in the iMac. If reports are correct the use of this Nehalem chip should see a respectable jump in the iMacs performance. I don't see this current iMac revision having the technical legs to last another whole year seeing as it's pretty much the same Intel processor they were using a year ago.

On this occasion I'm happy to "wait and see" what the next revison brings as I wasn't overtly impressed with this one (not all revisions are equal) and the increase in the UK price was a bit of a shock (happy to pay a premium if I think I'm getting a premium revision). Of course it's pure speculation on my part and Apple may drag their feet on updating the iMac - I wouldn't recommend anyone basing their buying decision on what I say as I could be as completely off base as the next MacRumours poster.
 
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