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The "I'm waiting for an iMac refresh" thread

I can't recall afternoon product launches, there might have been one in the last few years but I'm not sure.
 
Hellhammer said:
ATI 5000 series supports OpenGL 4 but OS X doesn't support it yet and I'm not sure do those apps, Final Cut doesn't, that's for sure. AE should run fine, iMac is very powerful, the GPU is the weakest component but it ain't bad either.

GPUs are still more or less poorly used in software thus you wouldn't be looking at major increase in performance, maybe ~15% if Apple uses ATI 5870 but with 5850, less than 5%. Biggest issue is that we never know what Apple does, just like they just did with Mini even though the innards were pretty same as we expected.

I've said it several times, if you need it now, pull the trigger, the update won't significantly change high-end 27".
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not really, the superdrive is the worst component. :p
 
Superdrive doesn't bottleneck performance, it just prevents blu ray ripping or playback. Everybody usually has a ps3/bluray player and hdtv anyways :p

Biggest bottleneck in iMac is its hard drive, but only time can make the price competitiveness of SSDs better. I can't wait to put one in mine a year or two down the line.
 
hopefully the refresh will fix the screens, I got a week 18 that was really yellow returned it and got a week 22 that is better but still a little yellow (unless I'm just trying to see it lol) I posted pics in the yellow screen thread. I think I am going to wait for the refresh now and hope they fix the screens.
 
seriosuly, superdrive playback sucks like hell. im not a biggie on hardrives. the graphics.. i just want better opencl tasking, directx11 and LATEST generation gpus like apple tries to tout
 
Well... Couldn't wait any longer... My wife (and all of the good arguments for and against waiting from you lovely people) convinced me to order a 27" iMac i7 today! I only lasted a week and a half with no desktop! Also, not being able to sync my new iPhone 4 would have been a drag!!!

My wife is a Japanese government employee, so we got a pretty good discount. Better than the education discount, at any rate!

I'll post a pic when it comes, and wish you guys who are waiting good luck! Hopefully you'll last longer than me!
 
glen8 said:
ATi Radeon 5000 series GPUs. I'm not sure if apple should be including mid to high end GPUs as gaming (IMHO) is moving away from the PC and going more and more towards consoles. If you want to play games, buy a console! Apple should use GPUs to compliment their software for OS/APP hardware acceleration in video encoding, desktop and browser acceleration etc etc..That's my opinion anyway, I'm sure there's many iMac users who enjoy gaming.
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I could not agree with you more.
 
Hellhammer said:
Dual core version (Clarkdale) of i5 is likely but the quad core (Lynnfield) is too hot for 21.5" with current design.
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I hope they're working on that. I'd love a quad-core i5 based iMac 21.5". If it is still a dual-core machine I'll probably end up sticking with my 2007 model for a bit longer, even though it's beginning to seem a little bit slow now.
 
Hellhammer said:
Dual core version (Clarkdale) of i5 is likely but the quad core (Lynnfield) is too hot for 21.5" with current design.
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Ok thanks Hellhammer, dual core is fine for my needs, just don't want to have to get a C2D now and find out that a few months later an i5 is available for the same price :p
 
dexthageek said:
really, why do you say that?
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Because quad core i5 is 95W while the current C2Ds used in 21.5" are 65W. There is 750S that has TDP of 82W but even that can be too hot plus it costs almost as much as the i7. Dual core i5 is 73W and has integrated memory controller etc so there is no need for Northbridge anymore which pulled some watts too thus Clarkdale is as hot as C2D.
 
My Theory on when the iMac update will occur:

If you look at the Buyer's Guide on this site you can see that Apple has updated a Mac computer every four or five weeks for the past three months. First it was the MacBook Pro, then the MacBook, then just yesterday the Mac Mini. There are three other Mac's still needing an update...the MacBook Air, iMac and Mac Pro. It seems to me that for the pending fall school sales drive Apple would want the MacBook Air and iMac to get their refresh before the Mac Pro. Using that logic, I predict that we will see a Mac update on July 13th and on August 17th. This fits their pattern for the last three updates spacing the updates out about a month targeting the Tuesday that falls in the middle of the month.

I suspect that the MacBook Air will be updated next followed by the iMac in August. Speaking of which...we just joined the Mac family last week with the purchase of a MacBook Pro and are eying a refreshed iMac to replace our desktop. I plan on ordering the day the update is announced. I can't wait.
 
Queso said:
I hope they're working on that. I'd love a quad-core i5 based iMac 21.5". If it is still a dual-core machine I'll probably end up sticking with my 2007 model for a bit longer, even though it's beginning to seem a little bit slow now.
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There's probably going to be a couple of 65 W Sandy Bridge quad-cores so that's a possibility for 2011 iMacs.

It may only be a BTO for the 21.5" because they'll be priced above the 3.07 GHz Core 2 Duo, and close to the 3.33 GHz.
 
Hellhammer said:
Because quad core i5 is 95W while the current C2Ds used in 21.5" are 65W. There is 750S that has TDP of 82W but even that can be too hot plus it costs almost as much as the i7. Dual core i5 is 73W and has integrated memory controller etc so there is no need for Northbridge anymore which pulled some watts too thus Clarkdale is as hot as C2D.
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Yeah, I just did some research on the power/heat requirements of the latest intel chips. Your info does line up.

However, nothing I have found discusses the max watts or power requirements for the 21.5'' iMac casing.
 
iMacmatician said:
There's probably going to be a couple of 65 W Sandy Bridge quad-cores so that's a possibility for 2011 iMacs.

It may only be a BTO for the 21.5" because they'll be priced above the 3.07 GHz Core 2 Duo, and close to the 3.33 GHz.
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Thanks for the heads up. I can hold off a purchase for another year I think :)
 
iMacmatician said:
There's probably going to be a couple of 65 W Sandy Bridge quad-cores so that's a possibility for 2011 iMacs.

It may only be a BTO for the 21.5" because they'll be priced above the 3.07 GHz Core 2 Duo, and close to the 3.33 GHz.
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I would guess 65W for xxxS series but they come later and have an extra in price tag. Even ~75W fits fine due lack of need for Northbridge.

dexthageek said:
Yeah, I just did some research on the power/heat requirements of the latest intel chips. Your info does line up.

However, nothing I have found discusses the max watts or power requirements for the 21.5'' iMac casing.
Click to expand...

There is no official info on what 21.5" can or cannot take but it's already the fact that quad would be ~46% hotter is kinda killing it. iMacs are already run pretty hot and fitting 95W in 21.5" with current design and cooling system isn't possible, at least not comfortable as fans would need to run like crazy. PSU would also need an update and that causes even more heat.

It's not impossible but very unlikely
 
Blu-Ray

If there gonna add bluray there gonna HAVE!!!! to add HDMI out so u can play on your tv
 
Well I pulled the trigger on 27" i7 8GB RAM today. Purchased at my local Apple store. I am replacing the original Dual G5 Power PC and I purchased it right when they came out and I never worried about the upgrades that came later, so I figured why wait....So far, love it.
 
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