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Gregintosh

macrumors 68000
Jan 29, 2008
1,914
533
Chicago
I happen to think a retina is possible on the next revision, or the revision after that. The leading indicators will be to see if Apple phases out non-retina MBP's after the next refreshes and also if the Air will go retina.

However, it is clear Apple wants to make use of retina and so I doubt they will want to develop all this retina code/graphics only to be used on a small minority of their products.
 

Tanax

macrumors 65816
Jun 15, 2011
1,018
335
Stockholm, Sweden
I happen to think a retina is possible on the next revision, or the revision after that. The leading indicators will be to see if Apple phases out non-retina MBP's after the next refreshes and also if the Air will go retina.

However, it is clear Apple wants to make use of retina and so I doubt they will want to develop all this retina code/graphics only to be used on a small minority of their products.

The problem isn't the will-power or dedication of "Retina" by Apple, it's the fact that it's amazingly expensive to create a 27" retina screen. Their iMac sales would plummet.
 

HenryDJP

Suspended
Nov 25, 2012
5,084
843
United States
LMAO! These threads are so comical. The new iMac just came out and not everyone has even received theirs yet. The OP is already asking is he/she should wait until the next model, which probably won't be out for another year. These kinds of threads make me understand that the OP was not serious about buying an iMac in the first place and just wants to either start conversation for the hell of it or wants to up their post count.

Truth, last year's model and the year before that and the year before that one can handle today's Mac applications very well. Asking if Intel's upcoming processor will be better is silly. Of course it will be "better". This year's is better than last year's. Last year's is better than the year before that. :p
 

Hexley

Suspended
Jun 10, 2009
1,641
504
I ordered my 2012 iMac on December 6.

I am unwilling to wait for 10 months for the 2013 model.

I may wait if for the retina display...
 

Serban

Suspended
Jan 8, 2013
5,159
928
Retina display will be for the 21.5 :3840x2160 and for the 27" will be:5120*2880
So until 2015 i dont think so...and the price will be about 2000$ base line 21.5"
 

jmpage2

macrumors 68040
Sep 14, 2007
3,223
548
That's just it, Apple aren't going to shoot themselves in the foot by taking an already expensive product and making it even more expensive to add a feature that not every user will value.

It is possible that they will make a "pro" version of the iMac that has a retina display, but I don't think that we'll see a retina iMac for the masses until the cost to produce those super high resolution 21.5 and 27 panels drops considerably, which won't be happening in the next 12-24 months.

As someone else mentioned, what is at issue here is not Apple's commitment to retina display technology, the issue is cost of fabricating the panels in high enough volume to introduce them into their mainstream desktop product.
 

Mac32

Suspended
Nov 20, 2010
1,263
454
Buy now. The next big update will be late 2014. Then you'll get a much more powerful GFX card (any GFX upgrade this fall will be a minor speed bump), and hopefully the Broadwell CPU line will offer a bigger desktop CPU speed bump than the (at most) 10% you'd get with Haswell.
Regarding the 3.2ghz i5 or the 3.4ghz i7 ivy bridge, you're already getting a very powerful CPU. No reason to wait IMO. And if you're thinking about a retina 27'' iMac, you're gonna wait a while... The iMac 27'' display is already great as it is.
 
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jmpage2

macrumors 68040
Sep 14, 2007
3,223
548
Do GPU's that could drive a 27" retina display with decent performance even exist today?

Um... yeah. The top end GPU for the 2012 27" is the fastest mobile graphics card out there and only slightly underperforms the fastest desktop cards.
 

Tanax

macrumors 65816
Jun 15, 2011
1,018
335
Stockholm, Sweden
Um... yeah. The top end GPU for the 2012 27" is the fastest mobile graphics card out there and only slightly underperforms the fastest desktop cards.

Do you have any basis for that? As far as I've seen, the 680MX is on par with 660Ti which is not just "slightly underperforms" the 680(desktop).
 

kflanary

macrumors newbie
Dec 21, 2012
17
0
Honestly if you are worried about the delay times in ordering the new iMac now, what kind of times do you think you'd be looking at for a "retina" iMac? Try 3-4 months after ordering based on what I'm seeing.

The 27" screen is phenomenal! I liked the 21" but when you look at them side by side in the apple store, there is a pretty significant difference. I think you'd be happy with it -- it certainly is not slacking! Plus with all the people complaining about the text size at this resolution, what would it be at a higher resolution? I'd need to get my binoculars out :D
 

jmpage2

macrumors 68040
Sep 14, 2007
3,223
548
Do you have any basis for that? As far as I've seen, the 680MX is on par with 660Ti which is not just "slightly underperforms" the 680(desktop).

Yes, my basis is that the 680MX in the iMac returns almost 7000 points in Futuremark. $500 desktop 680 GTX card that sounds like a hairdryer and sucks over 250 watts by itself returns about 10,000.

30% less performance and something tiny, quiet, and low power draw that fits in an all-in-one? Yeah, that's pretty damn impressive.

If someone needs better performance than the 680MX then they can get a dedicated gaming rig.
 

MobiusStrip

macrumors 6502
Dec 11, 2009
428
330
With Apple degrading its product with every iteration, waiting is no longer a good idea.

iMacs now have glued-in screens, laptop drives, and inaccessible RAM. Cheap crap, and totally unsuitable for Apple's desktop computers.

When you look at the quality regressions across the entire line, and technical fiascoes like the (also degraded) Lightning connector, there's a lot to be worried about in regard to Apple's technical acumen.
 

thedeske

macrumors 6502a
Feb 17, 2013
963
58
iMacs now have glued-in screens, laptop drives, and inaccessible RAM. Cheap crap, and totally unsuitable for Apple's desktop computers.

That's one point of view if you elevate the iMac to being a Desktop Computer. Since 09 the top end 27 has been good enough to call "Desktop Class" to a degree. The 22 (including the one you describe) has always been an entry level iMac.
 
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Mac32

Suspended
Nov 20, 2010
1,263
454
Yes, my basis is that the 680MX in the iMac returns almost 7000 points in Futuremark. $500 desktop 680 GTX card that sounds like a hairdryer and sucks over 250 watts by itself returns about 10,000.

30% less performance and something tiny, quiet, and low power draw that fits in an all-in-one? Yeah, that's pretty damn impressive.

If someone needs better performance than the 680MX then they can get a dedicated gaming rig.

Agree, I get P8778 here (CPU turbo disabled) and 9081 graphics points with +285/+425 (3dmark 11). If you want to max out shader and shadow settings at 1440p with high framerates you're gonna need the GTX690 or preferably the GTX Titan...even then you're gonna struggle sometimes. I wouldn't mind a faster GPU at all though, very excited about the Maxwell architecture next year. That could really make the iMac a powerful gaming machine.
 

fastlanephil

macrumors 65816
Nov 17, 2007
1,289
274
Buy an iMac and use it for 3 to 5 years and then something(could be a tablet) new worth upgrading to will be probably be available.
 

TwoBytes

macrumors 68040
Jun 2, 2008
3,086
2,032
Bigger SSD portion of a fusion would be a big boost as well as the CPU. That is, if they update fusion
 

joe-h2o

macrumors 6502a
Jun 24, 2012
997
445
With Apple degrading its product with every iteration, waiting is no longer a good idea.

iMacs now have glued-in screens, laptop drives, and inaccessible RAM. Cheap crap, and totally unsuitable for Apple's desktop computers.

When you look at the quality regressions across the entire line, and technical fiascoes like the (also degraded) Lightning connector, there's a lot to be worried about in regard to Apple's technical acumen.

The RAM is easily accessible in both models. (I upgraded mine in a few minutes), with desktop drives in the 27" and a faster-than-perevious-gen laptop drive in the 21". The screen is taped on and really easy to remove and replace.

Far from "cheap crap". This is the best desktop I've owned.

As far as the Lightning connector goes, it is an improvement on the ageing dock connector. Better physical connector, orientation-agnostic, able to support higher charging currents in future devices... what exactly about it makes it a "technical fiasco"? The fact that it is a different shape to the old connector?

----------

the 21" would have been perfect if we could upgrade RAM ourselves as we can on the 27".

You can. Pop the screen off, take out the RAM, put new RAM in. Seal up the screen again.

Takes about 15 minutes to do.
 
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