Apple Announces Lighter, Thinner iMac Models with Fusion Drive

burnout8488 said:

So you're still buying it? Or were those hypotheticals?

Click to expand...

Hypotheticals.

21'5 iMac HDD: 1 TB 5400 RPM!
I lol'd. 5400 RPM are sh**. How much will a Fusion Drive cost?

its gonna be

£1099 for 21 inch entry , with 5400 hard drive, and you can pay apple lots more for the fusion drive .. im guessing about £350 more on top if i know apple prices.

the 27 inch is £1499 for the 1 gb hard drive, guessing another £350 on top for the fusion 1gb ... entry level ...

i like the new think look, but apple do need to let people put their own ram in ....

prices have def gone up here at apple uk!!!

why the mac mini not retina ? .. guess thats the bang for the mini 2 ! hahah

what do other people in uk think about the new prices here in uk ?

The iMac is a mixed bag.

And no more putting suction cups and pulling the screen off and doing repairs yourself? That thing looks so thin I will be afraid to open it.

So we have to add Applecare as a must when you buy this iMac.

Okay, my next Mac is going to to be the Mac Pro when it releases on 2013. I am done with these super thin things.

Need some heft and space to go in there and put stuff I want and not order a monolithic piece of hardware thats more like an appliance than a user serviceable/upgradeable computer.

Thats my personal thought.

Of course, others are going to love the wallpaper that is also a computer on their desks

Ironically, I skipped lunch to watch this live and had to do with an Apple(Fuji) or two.

They were annoying me that they kept on going on about the 'edge' of the computer. The 'edge' is always so thin, but what about that huge bulge you call the computer at the back? Looks thicker than the old model, and inconveniences half of it's customers by having no optical drive!

Yes okay, it might seem old, but Adobe's Suit doesn't come as a download in my household.

All in all however, it looks fantastic! Not a single disappointment in the presentation! First in a while! Thanks Apple!

I agree!

Thunderbird said:

Epic fail.

It's not a new design, it's just thinner. There's no optical drive, which kills it for me. When I use Windows on Bootcamp it means having to have an external optical drive on my desk to load certain programs or play DVD or BD movies in my collection, thus defeating the purpose of having an all-in-one machine. Another external device to add to my modem, external HDD, speakers, etc.

No optical drive

No new stand design

No retina display

No upgradability


No touch screen

No exterior design change (e.g. same chin)

No difference in available sizes



This is essentially little more than a spec bump with a thinner screen. I don't need a thinner screen. The only possible appealing feature is the 75% less reflective AG coating.

FAIL.

Click to expand...

Without Retina Display, never, would have loved a touch screen too!

Cool design I suppose but the specs seem to be relatively the same as the May 2011 iMacs. Or am I missing something? In any event, it'll be interesting to see the benchmarks on these new ones...

iMac can't be bought?

I guess Apple isn't selling any iMac's until November? There is no BUY option on their website?

They should've just extended the glass down over the chin and have the logo under there light up (very dimly) over an all black background when the iMac is running. It would've just perfected the design.

Wow, this is a tough call. It is time to upgrade, but I'm torn between two models.

There is the refurbished 21.5, 2.8gHz, i7, with optical drive, 4gb user replaceable RAM, and Radeon 6770.

or for roughly the same price

The new 21.5, 2.7gHz i5, no optical drive, 8gb of non-user replaceable RAM, and the GeForce 640M.

So for a computer that will be used for some light Illustrator/Photoshop and some gaming, which is the better option. Any insights into which might be a better choice? I'm leaning towards the refurbished model.

wowzers. im still gonna wait for the new mac pro I think but this thing is gorgeous. I wish they did away with the chin tho. that would of made the design perfect. people complaining about the optical drive just get the USB one. Id rather it in a usb enclosure anyway those slot loading drives make me nervous. disks always get stuck. id rather it be stuck in a small usb drive then a 27" imac.

RAM replaceable

Straight from Apple.

Memory
The 21.5-inch iMac comes with 8GB of memory and can be configured online with 16GB. On the 27-inch iMac, 8GB of memory comes standard, and you can upgrade to 16GB or 32GB. Configure and buy your iMac at the Apple Online Store and it will arrive with the memory already installed. Or add more memory to the 27-inch model yourself by popping open the easy-to-access memory panel on the back.

newagemac said:

Your Momentus XT comes with a special build of Mountain Lion that takes advantage of it like the Fusion Drive? I didn't think so. As with most things Apple, they combine an integration of hardware AND software/OS to achieve solutions that "hardware only" providers can't really achieve simply because of the fact that they are only producing a hardware solution and can't integrate into the OS the way Apple can.

This has always been one of Apple's biggest advantages.

Click to expand...

Sigh

Where in my post did I say that my XT was ANY of those things? As far as we know at this point, the Fusion drive is a hybrid system which uses solid state components combined with traditional drive components and manages data between the two to optimize performance (with the help of the OS). The Momentus XT does that EXACT thing (without the help of the OS), albeit in different manners and of course, not as efficiently as the Fusion will.

So I stand by my original statement which was that Apple did not invent the hybrid drive, which is what people were starting to credit them with shortly after the announcement.

EDIT: Also, please read this reply of mine to another poster in this thread for further comprehension of what I originally stated: https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/16107130/

topgunn said:

How often do you use the optical drive?

Click to expand...

I may not use it often but I do use it. There are a lot of people that value function over thinness.

Someone asked about cost of fusion drive. On the mini, it costs an extra $250.

16GB ram costs an extra $300.

My question - which option would be likely to give better performance increases for video work?

I just want to say I'm so happy I gave up waiting for this piece of garbage 3 months ago and built my hackintosh.

An $1800 desktop computer that has the performance of an obsolete notebook? Wow. It's a DESKTOP. Makes no difference to me if it's 5mm thick or 5 inches thick. All I care about is performance.

So, i7-3770, GTX 670 (not a crappy M model), SSD and massive HDD, all for under $1000 or this underpowered pile of junk for $1800? $90 for Mountain Lion and the trackpad was all I needed to spend with Apple.

Oh and Apple invented hybrid HD technology? Oh wait, no they didn't. Been out for years, and if you care at all about performance you have separate volumes for you SSD and HDD.

Thunderbird said:

Epic fail.

It's not a new design, it's just thinner. There's no optical drive, which kills it for me. When I use Windows on Bootcamp it means having to have an external optical drive on my desk to load certain programs or play DVD or BD movies in my collection, thus defeating the purpose of having an all-in-one machine. Another external device to add to my modem, external HDD, speakers, etc.

No optical drive

No new stand design

No retina display

No upgradability

No touch screen

No exterior design change (e.g. same chin)

No difference in available sizes

This is essentially little more than a spec bump with a thinner screen. I don't need a thinner screen. The only possible appealing feature is the 75% less reflective AG coating.

FAIL.

Click to expand...

so, dont buy, simple.

Caliber26 said:

I just bought my iMac in January but this new design is a must-have for me. Luckily, Macs have great resell value so my outta pocket expense won't be too bad.

This machine is love at first sight. I cannot wait to meet her in person.

Click to expand...

no keep your old imac mine is 2011 save your money

deconstruct60 said:

Not.

" ... Or add more memory to the 27-inch model yourself by popping open the easy-to-access memory panel on the back. ... "
http://www.apple.com/imac/performance/

You may have to remove the stand to get to this door so "easy-to-access" may be a stretch.

However, all the hand waving about soldered RAM is a gigantic bucket of hooey that never did make any sense at all.

P.S. The 21.5" is probably a huge pain to get to but about "user upgradable" as the HDD and/or SSD are. Not impossible but a huge deterrent in place.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification. It must have been a 21.5" in the presentation screen shots as I could see no panel in the back.

Anki said:

They should've just extended the glass down over the chin and have the logo under there light up (very dimly) over an all black background when the iMac is running. It would've just perfected the design.

Click to expand...

Never ever have any light obstructions on an iMac, no matter how dim. They only get away with it on their notebooks cause A) It runs from the backlight of the monitor (Thus when on zero brightness, holding it up to the sun you can see the apple through the screen) and B) It faces away from the user

akbarali.ch said:

so, dont buy, simple.

Click to expand...

Duh...really? Thanks for that amazing insight.

thatsfinebut said:

My 2011 iMac thinks it has a weight problem.

Click to expand...

The BEST launch of the day by far - now the question is: how to justify replacing my perfectly-working 2011 iMac?

Not to mention that the high-end GPU in the 27"-inch iMac is the BEST mobile GPU and the 12th fastest of all GPUs right now. Great news for 3D and gaming on the Mac!

Queue "take my money" graphic

Speak for yourself. I am looking to upgrade the iMac I bought in 2008, so I'm very happy with this news. My only wish is they were at least available for pre-order RIGHT NOW.

(BTW - The lack of a "new stand design" saddens you that much? I feel truly sorry for you.)

Thunderbird said:

Epic fail.

It's not a new design, it's just thinner. There's no optical drive, which kills it for me. When I use Windows on Bootcamp it means having to have an external optical drive on my desk to load certain programs or play DVD or BD movies in my collection, thus defeating the purpose of having an all-in-one machine. Another external device to add to my modem, external HDD, speakers, etc.

No optical drive

No new stand design

No retina display

No upgradability

No touch screen

No exterior design change (e.g. same chin)

No difference in available sizes

This is essentially little more than a spec bump with a thinner screen. I don't need a thinner screen. The only possible appealing feature is the 75% less reflective AG coating.

FAIL.

Click to expand...

Sacird said:

Half right, 21 inch is and 27 inch you can replace. For now.... till it gets thinner...again..

Click to expand...

No. Probably all the way right. The specs on the 21.5 read :

"... Memory : 8GB (two 4GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 memory .... "

That extremely likely means there are two 4GB soDIMMs buried inside of the 21.5. They are hard to get to as the HDD and SSD but they are replaceble.

The huge difference would be merely ease of access. The 21.5 is a pain in the butt to get to.

Behindthelens24 said:

Why does my desktop need to be lighter? I'm not using it on my lap... Give me an optical drive please.

Click to expand...

CD drivers are so 2000