buying a new imac... should i wait? How long...

[redapple99]

I am looking at getting a 27'' imac but am questioning weather i should wait until the next generation of imac gets released. If i do wait how long would i be waiting? I am in no pressure to get a new one... what would you guys advise?

Thanks

[ravinder08]

I am looking at getting a 27'' imac but am questioning weather i should wait until the next generation of imac gets released. If i do wait how long would i be waiting? I am in no pressure to get a new one... what would you guys advise?

Thanks

I'm in the same situation as you mate. If you still have a computer that's working I'd wait.

Rav:)

[mrmarts]

how long have imacs been using the 512mb video card

[Hellhammer]

how long have imacs been using the 512mb video card

Since April 2008. VRAM isn't the only thing that matters though

[redapple99]

how long would i be waiting until the next gen gets released? this will really determine what one ill be getting

thanks

[Hellhammer]

how long would i be waiting until the next gen gets released? this will really determine what one ill be getting

thanks

I would say September, but nobody knows for sure. Could be two weeks or four months

[redapple99]

ok thanks, i was told in mid 2011. thanks

[mrmarts]

Since April 2008. VRAM isn't the only thing that matters though

So I got a 240 dollar discount off a 27 inch imac today should i go for it if vram doesnt really matter espically seeing i want to get starcraft 2 and diablo 3 as my only games will 512mb be enough i also tend to change my pcs every 3 or 4 years.

and i also hate to get a pc when they change the design as soon as i buy it

[flashgear]

I'm in the same position. The suspense is killing me.
I really want an iMac 21.5 with the ATI card. But if the whole line up is due an upgrade I don't want to commit to something I know i'll later regret.
At the very least I'm hoping for the option of a better graphics card, hopefully with 512mb instead of 256mb.
I guess for now i'll just let my 3 year old mac mini trundle along.

[Hellhammer]

So I got a 240 dollar discount off a 27 inch imac today should i go for it if vram doesnt really matter espically seeing i want to get starcraft 2 and diablo 3 as my only games will 512mb be enough i also tend to change my pcs every 3 or 4 years.

and i also hate to get a pc when they change the design as soon as i buy it

ATI 4850 is very capable card. There aren't more than couple cards which are better but not by much. Go for it, waiting game is endless and may not be satisfying

[mrmarts]

ATI 4850 is very capable card. There aren't more than couple cards which are better but not by much. Go for it, waiting game is endless and may not be satisfying

thanks for your opinon what about changes to the montors apperance do you think it will happen

[aurichie]

I would buy now. If you must have the new one in a few months, you may only lose $300 after reselling what you have. Resale value of Apple products is always amazing.

[Hellhammer]

thanks for your opinon what about changes to the montors apperance do you think it will happen

Nah, the design will remain the same, only innards are updated.

[henrikrox]

i think it really depends on the model you want. if your going quad cores i7, you could just buy it now.

but for the base 27" model and 21,5" models i would wait. Cause their upgrade is likely bigger peformance wise.

i7 cant really get any better expect gpu, allthough 4850 is already a great great card.

[Sun Baked]

ok thanks, i was told in mid 2011. thanks

The Mac Pro gets a new chipset then. Waiting on the New 6-core CPU and a upgraded GPU.

The current iMac i5/i7 are using the new Intel P55 desktop chipset, the one likely to get used in the rest of the machines.

Just up in the air which GPU they will use. And the other air ball is exactly which i5 and i7s Apple will use.

Really good chance the new iMac and Mac Pro will show at the end of the back-to-school promotion, or soon after the next OS update.

---

The education iMac, bottom one, likely might switch to the Nvidia 320M chipset, but you aren't going there.

[Hellhammer]

The Mac Pro gets a new chipset then. Waiting on the New 6-core CPU and a upgraded GPU.

Westmere and Evergreen are used before that new chipset (was it H67 or whatever) as it supports Sandy Bridge but not Westmere. By that time, Sandy Bridge is just around corner (Xeons are scheduled for H2) and Southern Islands have been around for nice amount of time. Possibly 8-core Mac Pro then

This is irrelevant, just adding some info ;)

The education iMac, bottom one, likely might switch to the Nvidia 320M chipset, but you aren't going there.

Apple might keep the low-end 21.5" (not edu) Core 2 Duo along with 320M to keep prices down.

[hundert]

i think it really depends on the model you want. if your going quad cores i7, you could just buy it now.

but for the base 27" model and 21,5" models i would wait. Cause their upgrade is likely bigger peformance wise.

i7 cant really get any better expect gpu, allthough 4850 is already a great great card.

4850 is crappy.

I have 4890 1GB Vapor-X on my desktop and it is 45% faster. And I am not yet talking about the new generation cards.
4850 is low end right now
gtx 285. 4890. 5830 is mid end
5870 gtx400 fermi are high end.


I think there will be a small bump in October/November! But nut earlier.

[henrikrox]

4850 is crappy.

I have 4890 1GB Vapor-X on my desktop and it is 45% faster. And I am not yet talking about the new generation cards.
4850 is low end right now
gtx 285. 4890. 5830 is mid end
5870 gtx400 fermi are high end.

Whatever you say mate.

I wouldnt call a card that can run most new games at reasonible settings very good a crappy card. And if you are serious about gaming, you shouldnt go mac. I just think its a nice bonus.

But some people are never happy :rolleyes:

[mrmarts]

Whatever you say mate.

I wouldnt call a card that can run most new games at reasonible settings very good a crappy card. And if you are serious about gaming, you shouldnt go mac. I just think its a nice bonus.

But some people are never happy :rolleyes:

This mainly applies to pc crowd the newest and greatest product which are outdated in less than 2 months good luck keeping up

[Hellhammer]

4850 is crappy.

I have 4890 1GB Vapor-X on my desktop and it is 45% faster. And I am not yet talking about the new generation cards.
4850 is low end right now
gtx 285. 4890. 5830 is mid end
5870 gtx400 fermi are high end.


I think there will be a small bump in October/November! But nut earlier.

You can't compare high-end desktop card to high-end mobile card... Same as I say " Core i7 X980 is faster XX% faster than Core i7 620M which is crap". ATI 4890 is based on whole other chip than e.g. 4850 is.

Mobile ATI 4850 is almost the fastest mobile chip available, 5850 being even slower and 5870 being some % faster. Mobile and desktop parts don't go hand in hand

If you're a hardcore gamer, then Macs aren't for you, simple as that. ATI 4850 still plays ALL games at decent FPS, that's what most of us care.

[fingernagel]

I am not a gamer, but do animation (ToonBoom, After Effects) and HD editing (FinalCut) to earn my daily bread. This are mostly artistic and tv projects.

I think I will buy next week an i7 quad-core iMac with 8 or 16GB of RAM, but I am a little afraid of the GPU of ATI 4850 graphic card. Is there a way to update to something better like GTX? Anyone has done it? I really want to last this iMac for a long time (6 years at least).

And no, I don't think that iMac will update in 2010. And if they will, there won't be any bigger changes.

[manhattanboy]

Since April 2008. VRAM isn't the only thing that matters though
Not sure what you meant, but 512 has been a BTO option for 4 or 5 years on the intel iMacs; I've got it in a really old iMac.

You can't compare high-end desktop card to high-end mobile card... Same as I say " Core i7 X980 is faster XX% faster than Core i7 620M which is crap". ATI 4890 is based on whole other chip than e.g. 4850 is.

Mobile ATI 4850 is almost the fastest mobile chip available, 5850 being even slower and 5870 being some % faster. Mobile and desktop parts don't go hand in hand

If you're a hardcore gamer, then Macs aren't for you, simple as that. ATI 4850 still plays ALL games at decent FPS, that's what most of us care.

True true, but some of us really want to use the iMac for prof apps that are multicore using monsters. I really would like to see the 6core/12thread come to the iMac.

[TMRaven]

Gonna have to wait until christmas of 2011 for that.

iMacs can't be treated as towers.

[iMacmatician]

I think I will buy next week an i7 quad-core iMac with 8 or 16GB of RAM, but I am a little afraid of the GPU of ATI 4850 graphic card. Is there a way to update to something better like GTX? Anyone has done it? I really want to last this iMac for a long time (6 years at least).As Hellhammer said, the 4850 is a good card (albeit mobile) and it's near the top of its class. There probably won't be significant boosts in iMac graphics until next year.

Not sure what you meant, but 512 has been a BTO option for 4 or 5 years on the intel iMacs; I've got it in a really old iMac.It's been BTO since April 2008.

I really would like to see the 6core/12thread come to the iMac.Unless they go AMD I doubt it'll be anytime before 2012.

[Hellhammer]

Not sure what you meant, but 512 has been a BTO option for 4 or 5 years on the intel iMacs; I've got it in a really old iMac.

First 512MB card in iMac was NVidia 8800 GS, before that ATI 2600 PRO was the best card for iMac and it came with 256MB.

True true, but some of us really want to use the iMac for prof apps that are multicore using monsters. I really would like to see the 6core/12thread come to the iMac.

It will, just wait ;) I agree with iMacmatician, Ivy Bridge seems the time for cheap and cool hexas

[spacepower7]

My predictions:

Refresh won't happen until at least July, Apple would not want to distract from the iPhone hype.

Next 27" upgrades
Next generation, slight gnu upgrade and maybe 2.93 ghz i7
2nd refresh from now - USB 3
3rd refreh from current- late 2011 lightpipe will be added

You could wait forever ;)

Personally, I've had bad luck buying
G3 Powerbook 5 months before the G4 came out
G3 tower 4 months before the G4 arrived
G4 tower 4 months before G5 and USB 2

So now my philosophy is to buy the newest model right when released or purposely buy an old model when a new one is released. The second option saved me $400 on a black MacBook

I am waiting for a refresh of the 27" i7 but also considering a 15" high-res MBP and waiting for another generation or 2 of the 27" iMac.

[azzabazza]

I'm buying a 27inch imac today. I can claim most of it on ax and in Australia the financial year ends really soon so I have to uy it this week.

If I buy it today and a refresh comes out in a week is there a way that apple will send me the refresh model as a replacement?

[Gregintosh]

They will not send you a replacement. You may be able to return yours if you are still in the return period and buy a new one though. If I remember the Sydney store by the QVB correctly, they do not have a restocking fee so you wouldn't be out any money. But the clock is ticking.

[TMRaven]

I think apple has a 14 day grace period for things like that. You can return it and get full resale value, with no restocking fee.