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Is this going to be the next iMac?
- Thread starter jkaz
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Doubt it. I can't see Apple giving the iMacs, a consumer computer, a dual core processor. That sort of thing is reserved for the pro computers like the PowerMac
I'd have to say "no way." Because:
1. unlikely to see 23" on the imac anytime soon. That's not a screen that an average consumer needs.
2. doubt we'll be seeing 256 MB graphics on imacs for a few more revisions. Didn't they just get 128 MB across the line?
3. dual core 2.5 Ghz G5? That would be faster than all but the current top end powermac. When has the imac ever caught up to the powermac that much?
4. Price is waaaay too high. We're well in to powermac range at that figure. imac is a consumer machine, and should be priced that way.
1. unlikely to see 23" on the imac anytime soon. That's not a screen that an average consumer needs.
2. doubt we'll be seeing 256 MB graphics on imacs for a few more revisions. Didn't they just get 128 MB across the line?
3. dual core 2.5 Ghz G5? That would be faster than all but the current top end powermac. When has the imac ever caught up to the powermac that much?
4. Price is waaaay too high. We're well in to powermac range at that figure. imac is a consumer machine, and should be priced that way.
jkaz said:
They are more likely to make the 20" standard across the line rather than increasing the 20" to 23", so no on that one.
Dual core is inevitable, so maybe. It depends on the manufacturing cost. The single-core 2.5 and 2.7 are too hot for the iMac, I think.
I'm iffy on the video card - my guess is a Radeon X1700 or GeForce 6600GT with 128MB if they update the iMac in 9 months to a year. I don't think Apple will put a 256MB video card in the iMac, at least not as a standard card. Maybe a BTO?
The 250 GB HD is likely enough if SATA prices keep dropping.
So, to sum up......maybe.
I wouldn't be *too* surprised to see a dual core 1.8-1.9 in the next top of the line iMac. With maybe a single core 2.1 as the low end.
edesignuk said:
I agree, we might see that. but I really think the next iMac will be an intel mac.
I doubt it. The 'books will be getting that first, and that's still a way off yet. I'd put my money on one more PPC iMac rev before the Intel switch.ipacmm said:
edesignuk said:
If so it's entirely possible that the two low-end CPUs currently in the Power Mac G5 (dual-core 2.0 and 2.3) will make their way into the iMac - depending on how hot they run; they might be declocked a bit due to heat issues. Or Maybe Apple will simply stick a big heasink on the back of the computer.
The rumor sites are saying that it might be possible to upgrade the old dual processors to dual core chips I wonder if you could do that for the imac? In a little less than a year when my girlfriends warranty runs out on her 20" revision B that would maybe be a nice little upgrade for her. Heat might be an issue though.
i can see dual CBU's when PM are on all quads!!! that will be a nice day!!
when will all Apple line ups be in at least dual CPU's??
when will all Apple line ups be in at least dual CPU's??
Oh and to comment on the main topic of this thread. Most processors are going to be dual core in the future from what I have been reading and such. Thats kind of the industries answer to rising heat problems and other problems with trying to reach stratospheric heights with current single core clock speeds. They can just put two or more lower clocked easier to produce cores on one chip(now of course its more than that they are also letting them share caches and such) and get more and more performance. And as these keep coming out software will really start to become written/rewritten for multithreading.
Jay42 said:
Most people agree that Apple's G4-based computers will see the switch to Intel first, followed by the G5-based computers.
The iMac will probably go Intel after the Powerbook/iBook but before the Power Mac. The first Intel Macs (presumably the laptops) are supposed to show up in the summer of '06 so the earliest we'll see an Intel iMac is probably several months after that, which would put the current iMac well past its usual update cycle. Thus, there will almost certainly be one more major PPC update before the Intel chips show up in the iMac.
Lord Blackadder said:
I agree, we should see at least one more PowerPC iMac update before the switch to intel.
I don't know about ibm's dual core ideas and pricing but intel has kind of put dual core processors as their new regular processors and the single cores are gonna kind of be the celerons. So I see the imac as getting a dual core processor when they switch to intel. I don't think it will be a long way off like some of you think. Dual core in x86 land is a way to improve performance when the clock is having trouble going higher. So my prediction is imacs will get dual core before too long. The mac mini is the device I predict will get a single core(celeron) if any get a celeron at all.
dmw007 said:
I'm going to sign on to this theory as well. Intel is not as close as everyone thinks, and as I think the last powerbook updates prove, the laptops desperately need the chips before any desktop gets considered.
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