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Will Apple announce an updated iMac at WWDC?
- Thread starter frosse
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Maybe, maybe not. It is likely, but they can also wait til August. It's Apple, they do what they like.
Yeah, i'm pretty sure the low end 21.5 will get i3, the high end 21.5 will get i5, and the 27 ones will stay the same. ATI 5xxx cards for high end 21.5 and up.
But putting in an i3 is stupid. It has a very little performance gain compared to the Core 2 Duo. AND they would need to use intel's IGP and a descrete card. The current base iMac 21.5 had a integrated 9400M and a C2D. The base 21.5 iMac needs at least an i5.
I was thinking that Apple may just go with AMD. Apple switched over to Intel because of the new Core micro architecture. That architecture lasted from 2006-2010. The future at Intel is Nehalem. I don't think Apple really likes the new arrendale chips. Because Its either the ****** Intel IGP OR a desecrate graphics card. No integrated Nvidia or anybody else in arrendale. the only integrated graphics with arrendale are Intel's own.
i5 also has integrated graphics.... Apple can add low-end dedicated GPU such as ATI 5450 for low-end iMac.
Switching to AMD isn't something that can be done in one night, it requires A LOT work from Apple and iMac is the only Mac where AMDs could be used (check the AMD iMac thread for more). I really doubt we'll see AMD...
I know the arrendale i5 has integrated graphics. But it wouldn't make since using an i3. It offers very similar performance to the c2D, but then you need to add a discrete graphics chip, and that might drive up the price. It doesn't make since to invest time to add a new CPU and then have to add a discrete GPu, and see little performance boost, so if Apple used an iSeries chip, it would make since using a i5.
I could see it being updated silently before or soonish after WWDC. But it really is just a guessing game.
Arrandale is a mobile chip, we won't see one in iMac.... Clarkdale (i3, i5)which is desktop variant of Arrandale is still dual core but offers a lot higher frequencies than Arrandale (starts from 2.93GHz). Clarkdale too has an integrated GPU. Keep in mind that integrated GPUs like 9400M aren't free either, e.g. ATI 5450 would cost like 20$ for Apple...
We won't see Lynnfield i5 in 21.5", that would make it boil as it's 95W chip. Apple might do it like they did in MBPs, low-end with C2D and e.g. 320M and then other models with iX and dedicated GPU
Apple updated MBPs, MB and MBA in WWDC last year.... iPhone has always been WWDC release. Many people saying that "WWDC is for devs, there'll be no MBPs" but they had to eat their words, they were totally wrong
