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To buy an iMac

rockdog

rockdog

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 11, 2005
68
0
N Idaho
I have a quick question. My wife has given me the OK to purchase a new iMac. I have seen posters saying that an update is coming to the iMac soon, if not next tuesday, then the tuesday after :) (that just cracks me up)...anyway...

Is it truely known that an update is coming in the next month or so? Or is it just conjecture?

And to follow that up, if there is an update, would it be substantial enough to wait for?

Thanks,
rockdog
 
Nobody knows who posts on these boards knows if there is going to be an update. It is all conjecture.

I'm not sure what's expected to come out in the next update, so I can't say whether it would be worth the wait.

-- David
 
Well if you have a look at the MacRumors Buyer's Guide, it says to wait because there will be updates soon. I tend to agree, seeing as the iMacs haven't been updated since their release in January. It's impossible to say when/what they will be updated, but it is likely to be within a month and probably not hugely substantial. So it's really up to you if you can wait it out a little longer - personally I would.
 
The iMac and MacBook Pro were the first Intel machines Apple shipped, so it's somewhat logical to think that if any product is updated soon, the iMac is a likely candidate.

Having said that, no other computer manufacturer is shipping Conroe PC's yet. I think Dell is going to start shipping their announced Conroe PC's on Sept 19.
 
The current iMacs are GREAT machines, but I'd self destruct if Apple released a
Single Core Duo Xeon 2.66 GHz iMac over the next 3 months. ;)

Merom processors are designed for mobile application.

If Apple can control heat and noise in a Conroe/Xeon powered iMac, that is going to be one fantastic machine.
 
I'm putting my money on Conroe. Since Apple has not updated the iMac AT ALL since it was released with the Core Duo, it makes it even more sweet to have a Conroe in that baby.
 
You will see an iMac update soon. I take this position for two reasons. Here's why and all it takes is a little investigation:

Reason one: Apple will want to have new models available prior to the holiday season. It's good marketing plain and simple.

Reason Two: The current Intel based iMacs are referred to by Apple as "Early 2006". This naming scheme would indicate that revisions later in 2006 are very probable. Here's an example link to an iMac Firmware that uses the above mentioned naming scheme.
 
I bought my iMac two weeks ago. This is after waiting since JUNE for an update. I just gave up and bought it since I needed a computer for school. If you NEED the machine then get it. It's powerful and quiet. If you can wait then wait a little longer. Hopefully September will turn out some new machines.
 
Like everybody else says, if you need it NOW buy. Otherwise wait. It's always nice to buy just after an announcement/refresh. :)
 
Well thanks for the input, I guess I will hold off till the beginning of September, just to see if any news breaks on an update.

While I have used a Mac for several years at work, this would be the first one I would own so I am anxious to get it.

What I wanted to avoid was waiting for an update month after month, and then when it does come, in say December, I got 175 mhz speed bump for the wait. I would rather have spent that time enjoying the iMac thats out now :D
 
I'm guessing that very soon an update to the iMac will come. It's been sometime since it was released with the Intel chip. I'll be ok with the next iMac update as long as not much changes. I would be a little sad if something really cool is released on the next iMacs.
 
rockdog said:
Well thanks for the input, I guess I will hold off till the beginning of September, just to see if any news breaks on an update.

While I have used a Mac for several years at work, this would be the first one I would own so I am anxious to get it.

What I wanted to avoid was waiting for an update month after month, and then when it does come, in say December, I got 175 mhz speed bump for the wait. I would rather have spent that time enjoying the iMac thats out now :D
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat as you (and a lot of folks here): I've been playing the waiting game for the new iMac. As a few people here mentioned, any expected update is pure conjecture, but it makes sense that Apple would update to the new Core 2 Duo line.

I, too, would feel a little bummed if I bought an iMac right now only to discover that Apple released a Core 2 machine just a few weeks later. Why not just set yourself an arbitrary date on when you will simply make your purchase whether Apple updates or not?

The current iMacs are pretty good as it is and the peformance of Win XP under Parallels is also very good (Boot Camp is also fast as Win XP will use both cores). My take on a potential Core 2 update to the iMac is: if Apple just sticks a Merom in the iMac, then any performance boost is probably going to be minimal (given other reviews of Merom performance). So, in that case, the only thing waiting solved was getting you a 64-bit processor. If Apple goes with the Conroe chipset, then we potentially get a nice speed bump. I'm hoping for Conroe, but you could make a case either way.

Personally, I don't expect to hold out beyond late-September/early-October unless there's more concrete information about an iMac update.

Just my 2 cents...

-DotComCTO
 
I think it is obvious that the iMac will receive and update soon. I'm thinking Conroe will be nice and probable, just to differentiate it from its notebook line. I also think a video card upgrade is very possible, maybe the 1800?? Does ATI even make a 1700? If they do, then probably some good chances. My mom wants to buy a new iMac once it gets updated for the family computer. She doesn't care about the free ipod or free printer, as we have them anyways and a very capable eMac (1.25ghz, 1GB) so waiting is not a bad idea for us.
 
According to Apple internal documents, there will not be anymore product updates until everyone in Cleveland owns a Mac.
 
Next Tuesday. Seriously.

Or maybe:

Tuesday September 12th, 2006

Of course nobody here could tell you that updates are coming soon...

but updates are coming soon.

Any update is substantial enough to wait. They haven't been touched since January. They will get a pretty substantial update when it occurs on an upcoming Tuesday.

Just wait. You'll be happier if you do. ;)
 
_Matt said:
Next Tuesday. Seriously.
Click to expand...
Man, you scared me. For a second, I thought you were on to something. It would be weird if they actually came out that soon now. I, too, have been playing the waiting game for some time now. All the time I'm waiting, waiting, waiting on the world to change. And then, when they actually do come out all of a sudden, it'll be weird. The waiting game will be over.

Everyone knows that the real fun is following the road to reach a goal, not reaching that goal itself.

So... next Tuesday? I hope not. I'm starting to like this waiting game. :p

Just wait. You'll be happier if you do. ;)
Click to expand...
Exactly.
 
Ok so i have come to a conclusion........

The most popular game on Mac Rumors is..............

THE WAITING GAME!!!!!
 
tristan said:
Wait if you can... its just a matter of time (weeks?) before they put a Core 2 Duo CPU in the iMac and MBP.
Click to expand...

yeah, and I'd bet good money the imac will get Conroe, which will smoke yonah pretty badly.
 
The Yonah Core Duo processors will end up being the entry level 32 bit, dual core processors.

The Merom/Conroe/Woodcrest upgrades will return Apple to 64 bit machines without the G5 heat issues.

This generaton of iMac's began with their launch in Paris.
This is why I think we are likely to see an upgrade during this year's Paris Expo.

I would try to hold through the third week of September if you can.
 
FFTT said:
The Yonah Core Duo processors will end up being the entry level 32 bit, dual core processors.

The Merom/Conroe/Woodcrest upgrades will return Apple to 64 bit machines without the G5 heat issues.

This generaton of iMac's began with their launch in Paris.
This is why I think we are likely to see an upgrade during this year's Paris Expo.

I would try to hold through the third week of September if you can.
Click to expand...


As some of you know, Apple is replacing my eMac with an iMac because of the repair situation. The timing couldn't have me more stressed!

About a week ago I was given the go-ahead to send the eMac back in at which point the iMac will be sent to me. But I am playing the wait and see game, hoping that if I delay sending it back in, I'll eventually be able to have my eMac replaced with a new iMac.

I'm not saying the current iMac is bad at all, I better not, because that might be what I end up getting.
 
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