High level video card in iMac???

[toomuchstereo]

Was just wondering what you all thought about the chances of us getting a Nvidia 7800 or a card in the category in the iMac. The enclosure could certainly hold it, and I can't imagine heat being a issue since many company's put the mobile versions in their laptop's.

[tutelary]

Was just wondering what you all thought about the chances of us getting a Nvidia 7800 or a card in the category in the iMac. The enclosure could certainly hold it, and I can't imagine heat being a issue since many company's put the mobile versions in their laptop's.

apple doesnt view its systems as gaming computers, and you simply dont need that power to do much other than gaming in the mid range. The option is there for the mac pro, but it wont happen for the imac.

[sikkinixx]

apple doesnt view its systems as gaming computers, and you simply dont need that power to do much other than gaming in the mid range. The option is there for the mac pro, but it wont happen for the imac.

which is a little silly now that Windows is easily installed on Macs. Semi-hardcore gamers might be more willing to switch if a high end card option was available

[Super Macho Man]

apple doesnt view its systems as gaming computers, and you simply dont need that power to do much other than gaming in the mid range. The option is there for the mac pro, but it wont happen for the imac.
Although I agree with you, I find this situation annoying. The iMac is an expensive computer - it's not "mid range" at all compared to PCs. A PC user's idea of "mid range" ends where the iMac's price point begins. When people say "if you want to play games, get a Mac Pro," the same people then say "the Mac Pro isn't a gaming computer, it's a pro machine." What Mac model is one who wants to play games on the Mac supposed to buy? There are currently 3 tiers of Mac graphics:

1) Crap non-upgradeable graphics starting at $599 on the Mini, $1099 on the MacBook
2) OK non-upgradeable graphics starting at $1299 on the desktop, $1999 on a laptop
3) Good graphics starting at $2300 and only available on the desktop, in a quad Xeon "pro machine," - the only graphics in any Mac that are upgradeable/chooseable.

You have to spend a minimum of $1999 on the Mac platform just to have a choice wrt graphics.

It would be easy for Apple to add a PCI Express slot to the iMac, and put a custom white plastic bezel cover on a standard Mac graphics card so as not to spoil the appearance. Or better yet, give us a Mac Pro Mini.

[tutelary]

which is a little silly now that Windows is easily installed on Macs. Semi-hardcore gamers might be more willing to switch if a high end card option was available

you obviously dont know any hardcore gamers.

[LBmacman]

Didn't XFX decide to produce high-end cards for Apple Computers?

[tutelary]

Although I agree with you, I find this situation annoying. The iMac is an expensive computer - it's not "mid range" at all compared to PCs. A PC user's idea of "mid range" ends where the iMac's price point begins. When people say "if you want to play games, get a Mac Pro," the same people then say "the Mac Pro isn't a gaming computer, it's a pro machine." What Mac model is one who wants to play games on the Mac supposed to buy? There are currently 3 tiers of Mac graphics:

1) Crap non-upgradeable graphics starting at $599 on the Mini, $1099 on the MacBook
2) OK non-upgradeable graphics starting at $1299 on the desktop, $1999 on a laptop
3) Good graphics starting at $2300 and only available on the desktop, in a quad Xeon "pro machine," - the only graphics in any Mac that are upgradeable/chooseable.

You have to spend a minimum of $1999 on the Mac platform just to have a choice wrt graphics.

It would be easy for Apple to add a PCI Express slot to the iMac, and put a custom white plastic bezel cover on a standard Mac graphics card so as not to spoil the appearance. Or better yet, give us a Mac Pro Mini.

The mac pro mini is the only thing that will make me switch to mac. If Apple cannot find its way into filling this obvious void, I will never leave the pc market. I no longer play games, btw.

[Nermal]

Didn't XFX decide to produce high-end cards for Apple Computers?

Yes, but you still need an (expensive) tower to be able to use them.

[LBmacman]

Yes, but you still need an (expensive) tower to be able to use them.

But they were supposed to make AGP cards based on Nvidia chipsets for G4 Powermacs. Doesn't sound like an expensive tower to me. I'd buy a 6600 GT for my Sawtooth anyday.

[Gosh]

I just run a thread on 'upgradable iMac' and 'games for integrated grahics or not'.

As an ex PC switcher I understand where you're coming from - I love my iMac but then I'm fairly flush at the moment.

PC users can't comprehend a relatively expensive desktop that can't be easily upgraded - so if Apple follows its market share growth strategy to the hilt, perhaps there will be a mid-range Mac Pro.

Also there will be alot of switchers perhaps making their first Mac a MacBook lap top or a Mac mini who will be searching for playable games.

[irishgrizzly]

I have an iBook, but plan to get an iMac when leopard/Core2duo come out. I'd love a high end card option in it, but have come to live with the idea that it'll never happen.

So I bought a xbox 360 for all my gaming needs, only thing I'd miss is RTS games but LOTR on the 360 was so good I'm happy with no games on the iMac.

[scorpion151]

im a pretty hardcore gamer you might say... im planning on moving to apple once the new MBP lineup comes out... im moving to apple becouse i have other interest, like playing guitar(garageband) and like to do photography, and like to edit video, and all sorts of things that macs are good at. but i also like to game... so i would like apple alot more if they would step up to the plate with there graphics cards.

[Chone]

I would definitely consider the iMac if it had something with a little more punch, it doesn't even have to be high end, just give us a 7600GT and we're golden, the X1600XT is such a pathetic card its being shafted to the low end (as X1300), why Apple went with that and not the 76xx cards is beyond me...

[macgeek2005]

It definetaly causes a giant hole in apple's lineup. If you're not a Pro, but want a gaming machine, what choice do you have but Alienware? :confused:

[Chone]

It definetaly causes a giant hole in apple's lineup. If you're not a Pro, but want a gaming machine, what choice do you have but Alienware? :confused:

Agreed, right now the only choice is a Mac Pro and 4 cores is overkill (though the Xeon for all intents and purposes is the best gaming processor, basically a faster Conroe, excluding memory subsystems that is...) not to mention non ECC non buffered RAM would be cheaper and faster (for games at least), a good mac for games would have to be full size tower (same size as Mac Pro or maybe a tad smaller like the G4 towers but make it ATX and "high profile card" compatible), they could have a decent base system and be customizable like the Mac Pro, see for example:

Base System:
Core 2 Duo "Conroe" E6600 (upgradeable, as in, "buy from newegg and drop in" upgradeable)
1GB DDR2
GeForce 7600GT (quite good for midrange)
SLI\Crossfire chipset
250GB SATA HDD
500-1000 modular dual 12v rail PSU (for upgradeability)

Options:
E6400, E6700, X6800
2GB, 4GB
7300GS, X1300 Pro (you know for the non or casual gamers), 7900GT, X1900XT, 7900GTX, X1950XTX, 7900GTX SLI\X1950XT Crossfire
+all the other stuff like HDDs, optical, wireless, etc, etc

In my opinion that wouldn't be too expensive and it would sell like hotcakes, if you want a headless mac with more punch than mac mini but you are not a gamer (or a casual one) you can get the E6400, low end card, etc to keep costs down but still have the option to upgrade with a good PSU and upgradeable CPU & GPU, and the gamers can, depending on their wants and budget, get whatever they want (you have everything, a good midrange card as base, a good mid-high range card, alternative, high end, high end alternative, ultra high end)

Sorry I got excited :o

[thechris69]

in my opinion the next imac upgrade(which will determine if im buying the imac or not) should have the following 3 things:

1. New processor chip
2. Some sort of minor design change
3. Includes a very high end graphics card, or a somewhat decent graphics card and the option to upgrade at a later time

That would be the perfect imac:D

[suneohair]

Agreed, right now the only choice is a Mac Pro and 4 cores is overkill (though the Xeon for all intents and purposes is the best gaming processor, basically a faster Conroe, excluding memory subsystems that is...) not to mention non ECC non buffered RAM would be cheaper and faster (for games at least), a good mac for games would have to be full size tower (same size as Mac Pro or maybe a tad smaller like the G4 towers but make it ATX and "high profile card" compatible), they could have a decent base system and be customizable like the Mac Pro, see for example:

Base System:
Core 2 Duo "Conroe" E6600 (upgradeable, as in, "buy from newegg and drop in" upgradeable)
1GB DDR2
GeForce 7600GT (quite good for midrange)
SLI\Crossfire chipset
250GB SATA HDD
500-1000 modular dual 12v rail PSU (for upgradeability)

Options:
E6400, E6700, X6800
2GB, 4GB
7300GS, X1300 Pro (you know for the non or casual gamers), 7900GT, X1900XT, 7900GTX, X1950XTX, 7900GTX SLI\X1950XT Crossfire
+all the other stuff like HDDs, optical, wireless, etc, etc

In my opinion that wouldn't be too expensive and it would sell like hotcakes, if you want a headless mac with more punch than mac mini but you are not a gamer (or a casual one) you can get the E6400, low end card, etc to keep costs down but still have the option to upgrade with a good PSU and upgradeable CPU & GPU, and the gamers can, depending on their wants and budget, get whatever they want (you have everything, a good midrange card as base, a good mid-high range card, alternative, high end, high end alternative, ultra high end)

Sorry I got excited :o

Just go and build a PC already.

[sdshannon]

Just go and build a PC already.

hahahahaha, nice.

[Mr. MacBook]

Cool.

[iBunny]

IMHO, The next version of the iMac will have a much better card than the current x1600. But I wouldnt expect magic.

I am hoping to see a Mobile GeForce 8300 Series, 384MB for the TOP end iMac. This chip provides minimum Direct X 10 support for those who want to run Vista with DX10.

[velocityg4]

Agreed, right now the only choice is a Mac Pro and 4 cores is overkill (though the Xeon for all intents and purposes is the best gaming processor, basically a faster Conroe, excluding memory subsystems that is...) not to mention non ECC non buffered RAM would be cheaper and faster (for games at least), a good mac for games would have to be full size tower (same size as Mac Pro or maybe a tad smaller like the G4 towers but make it ATX and "high profile card" compatible), they could have a decent base system and be customizable like the Mac Pro, see for example:

Base System:
Core 2 Duo "Conroe" E6600 (upgradeable, as in, "buy from newegg and drop in" upgradeable)
1GB DDR2
GeForce 7600GT (quite good for midrange)
SLI\Crossfire chipset
250GB SATA HDD
500-1000 modular dual 12v rail PSU (for upgradeability)

Options:
E6400, E6700, X6800
2GB, 4GB
7300GS, X1300 Pro (you know for the non or casual gamers), 7900GT, X1900XT, 7900GTX, X1950XTX, 7900GTX SLI\X1950XT Crossfire
+all the other stuff like HDDs, optical, wireless, etc, etc

In my opinion that wouldn't be too expensive and it would sell like hotcakes, if you want a headless mac with more punch than mac mini but you are not a gamer (or a casual one) you can get the E6400, low end card, etc to keep costs down but still have the option to upgrade with a good PSU and upgradeable CPU & GPU, and the gamers can, depending on their wants and budget, get whatever they want (you have everything, a good midrange card as base, a good mid-high range card, alternative, high end, high end alternative, ultra high end)

Sorry I got excited :o

Though that would be great why not just start it at a Core 2 Duo e4300 and G965 chipset. Then the base price would be very low and people could upgrade from there. Really any Core 2 Duo would be great for gaming it's the Video card that matters the most.

Since this has turned into a hope list for gamers. What I dream of Apple doing would be to just release a motherboard with firewire, 8-channel Audio, Gig ethernet, 2 PCI Express x16, 3 PCI Express x1, 2 PCI, 6 Rear USB 2.0, 4 x 240 pin DDR2 slots, 4 or 6 SATA II (RAID 0,1,0+1,5), that we could buy in the $150 to $200 +$129 for Mac OS X with a nForce 600 series northbridge for SLI (though I would find Intel 975 utilizing crossfire acceptable), then we could simply build our own system.

Oh wait we can already do this if you look at OSx86project:D . I just want to be able to do it legally, and have all motherboard drivers supported plus an easy OS install. I'm not too worried about them supplying video cards as the people have already gotten PC cards working with quartz extreme and core image on there machines.

[crazzyeddie]

I would definitely consider the iMac if it had something with a little more punch, it doesn't even have to be high end, just give us a 7600GT and we're golden, the X1600XT is such a pathetic card its being shafted to the low end (as X1300), why Apple went with that and not the 76xx cards is beyond me...

Unless I'm missing something you can get the 24" iMac with a GeForce 7600 GT with 256MB on it for $125 extra.

[Techguy172]

How about they just upgrade to an x1650 xt

also why do these discussions keep coming up just be happy with what you got.

[FleurDuMal]

What is the best laptop GPU these days (assuming the next iMac will still use laptop and not desktop GPUs)?

The only thing I don't like about the current arrangement is that although the 24" has the best GPU by far, it also has the most pixels to push. I'm guessing it's still pretty useless for gaming (or will be in the very near future if you look at some of the games that are coming out about now...Supreme Commander and STALKER, for example).

[Konradx]

I'd love a highend card option. Honestly what does apple have to lose? They just have to take your cash and swap the card...i dontgetit

[Overclocker]

They should reintroduce the cube again. Or at least a new innovation between the imac and the mac pro, with the option to upgrade hardware after we buy it

[Jasonbot]

What is the best laptop GPU these days (assuming the next iMac will still use laptop and not desktop GPUs)?

I think there's some sort of 8800 chipset for laptops, if I'm not mistaken.

[Dane D.]

...also why do these discussions keep coming up just be happy with what you got.
I agree, I'm sick of reading all these posts about gaming. If you buy a Mac than enjoy it for what it does best, allowing an individual to easily create ideas on a computer. If one isn't happy with the choices from Apple, than buy a PS3 or Xbox or build your gaming PC. I like games, but do so much more on my Macs that gaming is secondary.

[pengu]

They should reintroduce the cube again. Or at least a new innovation between the imac and the mac pro, with the option to upgrade hardware after we buy it

yeah. an absolutely tiny, "barley-there" form factor with USB and Firewire for upgradability.. just like a Mac Mini.. oh wait.

You people all miss one important factor. Apple makes its money from hardware sales. Joe Sixpack buying your beloved mid-range mac tower and then upgrading the box with a different cpu, gpu, ram, hdd, optical drive, PSU doesnt help apple at all.

[jwt]

also why do these discussions keep coming up just be happy with what you got.
Because if human beings weren't constantly striving for something better, we'd still be dancing around a fire pit in our cheetah skin outerware.

I agree, I'm sick of reading all these posts about gaming. If you buy a Mac than enjoy it for what it does best, allowing an individual to easily create ideas on a computer.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Who's forcing you to read these kinds of articles? If you don't like the article, move on. Secondly, you seem to be missing something. Your statement "all these posts about gaming" implies recognition that there is a very real craving for a real consumer machine. You're obviously a creative professional. You want an easy way to create media. Consumers want something different. They want to easily communicate with friends, work with their digital photos, type book reports, surf the internet, and play games. Apple creates excellent machines for doing all but the last point. There is a hole in their line-up that people want addressed. I am one of them. There is a huge pool of PC users that won't switch to a Mac simply because they won't be able to play games. If Apple doesn't adjust its way of thinking, it will continue to lose out on these sales. What kind of company doesn't like money?! iMac hardware minus the monitor with a good graphics card would be an excellent gaming rig with inexpensive memory options. Get it together Apple.

[FleurDuMal]

I agree, I'm sick of reading all these posts about gaming. If you buy a Mac than enjoy it for what it does best, allowing an individual to easily create ideas on a computer. If one isn't happy with the choices from Apple, than buy a PS3 or Xbox or build your gaming PC. I like games, but do so much more on my Macs that gaming is secondary.

If your sick of reading what people want from Macs, then maybe you should question why your on a Mac forum where people generally talk about such things.

Anyway, gaming has always been a secondary activity for me. Doesn't mean that I should just ignore it though when it comes to making a purchase. I'll probably just buy a 720P TV and connect that to the iMac to play games anyway, as its less pixels to push and I can use it with a Wii.

[iBunny]

I think there's some sort of 8800 chipset for laptops, if I'm not mistaken.

Yeah, The 8300 and 8600 GeForce Go will be release in April. With up to 512MB.

The Next iMac needs to have at least the 8300 512MB for its top end. This way we can run DX10 in vista if need be.

Also, on a side note, we deffinatly need more than 3 USB 2.0 ports.... this is rediculous

[FleurDuMal]

Aren't the 7300's and 7600's currently used in iMac 24" theoretically upgradable? In that they are based on a standard type of socket, but because all Mac hardware has to be EFI there are no cards out there to buy practically speaking?

Does that mean when Apple come out with the upgraded 24" with a new GPU (say, the Geforce 8300/8600 Go), if they use the same standard type of socket as the current 24" iMacs they'll be able to place the new GPU into the current 24" iMac?

Just a thought. Hope that makes sense.

[Jasonbot]

Also, on a side note, we deffinatly need more than 3 USB 2.0 ports.... this is rediculous

The mac mini has more USB than the iMac, anyone else notice this?:eek:

[Naimfan]

The Next iMac needs to have at least the 8300 512MB for its top end. This way we can run DX10 in vista if need be.


Or else what, exactly? ;) You won't buy one?

Best,

Bob

[Eidorian]

Aren't the 7300's and 7600's currently used in iMac 24" theoretically upgradable? In that they are based on a standard type of socket, but because all Mac hardware has to be EFI there are no cards out there to buy practically speaking?

Does that mean when Apple come out with the upgraded 24" with a new GPU (say, the Geforce 8300/8600 Go), if they use the same standard type of socket as the current 24" iMacs they'll be able to place the new GPU into the current 24" iMac?

Just a thought. Hope that makes sense.Other MXM graphics cards do work in the 24" iMac. You'll only get Windows support using them for now though.