I'm not talking thickness. Without the hard drive there is enough space sideways to fit more cooling pipe work and fans.
Because apple is obsessed with making things thin. I agree with you, that its not needed, yet here we are.I've never understood why Apple tries to make the iMac thinner, it's not really useful to have a thin iMac.
Unfortunately that's not really the case. For example, the 970M has 1280 CUDA cores while the 970 has 1664. It's not just about throttling.The chip of a mobile graphic card is no different from its desktop counterpart. However, due to the thermal and power limit, the gpu will be throttled when the temperature got too high. You just need to do some research and know what you get.
I doubt anyone at Apple even knows why they just keep needlessly making their desktop computers thinner, it just sounds like a good idea in the boardroom to the nontechnical MBA types who have taken over in the last few years.Because apple is obsessed with making things thin. I agree with you, that its not needed, yet here we are.
as for the GPU being a mobile flavor of it. The thickness (or lack there of) of the iMac is not the reason. They've long had mobile GPUs in iMacs, well before they made the iMac insanely thin. Many reasons were bantered about in this old thread and to be honest, I think its just because they decided to do it. Maybe the heat, maybe the cost, who knows.
When I say counterpart, I meanUnfortunately that's not really the case. For example, the 970M has 1280 CUDA cores while the 970 has 1664. It's not just about throttling.
1. This is a zombie thread from back in 2012 and deserves to die die die. Please stop resurrecting it.
2. The iMac is NOT a desktop computer. It is an All-in-One. The form factor makes it need a mobile graphics chip -- as has been stated many, many times for both cooling and cost.
3. This argument is irrelevant because Apple is moving towards all integrated graphics and the new debate will be why doesn't apple include dedicated graphics chips in their designs. Well, see number 2 -- heat and cost.
If you want the latest desktop GPU, get a desktop computer. Nuff said.
When I say counterpart, I mean
R9 380X and R9 M395X
R9 285 and R9 M395
etc.
970, 395 are just numbers for marketing purposes. The real name of the chips are different.
R9 380X and R9 M395X use the exactly same Tonga chip! No difference if you take an X-Ray photo of the die. Frequency can be set to any value AMD deems reasonable.
I dunno. A lot of it is still necessary if you intend to overclock. I know some people who think the factory heatsinks are wimpy and will put on some massive liquid nitrogen cooling system, or some such mechanism lol.Bear in mind that massive heatsinks on a lot of graphics cards are a bit of a marketing ploy![]()
Unfortunately that's not really the case. For example, the 970M has 1280 CUDA cores while the 970 has 1664. It's not just about throttling.
You indirectly touched on what matters and what doesn't matter. For people intent on over clocking, tinkering with the system, or putting liquid cooling to squeeze every little cycle out of the computer, the iMac isn't for them.I dunno. A lot of it is still necessary if you intend to overclock. I know some people who think the factory heatsinks are wimpy and will put on some massive liquid nitrogen cooling system, or some such mechanism lol.