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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Intel may release an update to its desktop Haswell processors in May, according to a report in TechPowerUp that cites Hermitage Akihabara as its source. The report claims Intel will launch its new processors, including its flagship Core i7-4790K, on May 10th in most markets. These next generation Haswell chips will include Intel's Z97 chipset, which provides support for faster and larger M.2 SATA Express drives.

series-9-intel-haswell.jpg
The new Haswell desktop processors will offer a 100 MHz bump in clock speeds and will be a direct successor to most of the chips currently used in the iMac, with the exception of the low-end 21.5-inch iMac, which uses a special i5-4570R chip enhanced with Intel's Iris 5200 integrated graphics. Intel may have a compatible replacement processor under development, but leaked information has not yet revealed this corresponding model.

These chips may lay the groundwork for an iMac refresh that Apple is planning in 2014. Apple allegedly has a low-priced iMac model in the works, claims KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a research note published this week. This less expensive model may be Apple's first major product launch in 2014 and could boost iMac shipments by up to 30 percent.
Our surveys indicate that Apple's last iMac model, released at end-2012 with an all-new-design, shipped fewer-than-expected units in the worldwide market. We think the price was set too high and the model failed to make an impact in critical foreign markets like China. We thus think Apple may offer a budget iMac model to push shipments among non-US markets in the face of solid competition from Levono (CN), HP (US) and other rivals.
Though Intel's desktop processors may be slated for a refresh as early as next month, the timing for the release of the mobile processors used in Apple's MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are not yet known. The latest information leaked earlier this year by VR-Zone suggests low-end models of Intel's next-generation Broadwell processor may debut in Q3 2014, with the roadmap for high-end processors compatible with Apple's MacBook line still up in the air.

Speed bumped versions of the current Haswell chips in the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro may appear at the end of 2014, but that release date still is uncertain at this point and would only provide a small upgrade heading into Broadwell next year.


Article Link: Intel's New Haswell Desktop CPUs Could Arrive in May, Allowing for iMac Updates
 

William Gates

macrumors 6502
Oct 26, 2007
361
981
I'm waiting for the Skylake rMBP. Any news that tells me that the release is sooner rather than later is great news. Until then, my 2011 MBA is probably going to continue being the greatest computer I've ever purchased.
 

Yinmay

macrumors regular
Apr 19, 2010
159
8
"Our surveys indicate that Apple’s last iMac model, released at end-2012 with an all-new-design, shipped fewer-than-expected units in the worldwide market."

Whoever thought a thinner desktop computer was a feature most customers cared about should read this. We voted with our wallets.

Give us for instance desktop-grade GPU and we might have a differentiating feature from Apple's currently equally powerful laptop lineup.
 

quagmire

macrumors 604
Apr 19, 2004
6,870
2,292
I wonder if Apple will just quietly add the Haswell refresh to the lineup or will also add the NVIDIA 800M series to the lineup and make it an announced update.
 

MartinAppleGuy

macrumors 68020
Sep 27, 2013
2,247
889
Great news for anyone who just bought a current iMac, as that means it should run just as fine as the newer ones when running 10.10.
 

Nunyabinez

macrumors 68000
Apr 27, 2010
1,758
2,230
Provo, UT
Intel is keeping me from getting a new machine. I would love a new iMac, but when I look at the benchmarks for these new machines compared to my mid-2011 i7 2600 iMac, the difference is really negligible.

It was great that they focussed on reducing power consumption for portables, but I'm not going to plunk down a wad of cash for a few hundred Mhz of speed.
 

Rettun1

macrumors regular
Jan 13, 2010
147
108
I'm waiting for the Skylake rMBP. Any news that tells me that the release is sooner rather than later is great news. Until then, my 2011 MBA is probably going to continue being the greatest computer I've ever purchased.

You'll probably be able to get a few more years out of that machine, or at least someone else will
 

Nightarchaon

macrumors 65816
Sep 1, 2010
1,393
30
the last iMac may have shipped fewer units because people dont like the idea of a glued shut desktop machine.. i for one built a PC, as both the iMac and Mac Pro shifted to designs that made upgrading components yourself at a later date impossible, I can understand tablets and ultra portables being sealed units, but high spec laptops, desktops, workstations and servers should all have easily upgradable hard disks, memory, and video components, with those issues at a hardware level, and the fact that on the software front im still having to run Mountain Lion because the new Mac OS X versions have ruined my workflow due to bugs, crashes and the fact that mission control doesn't play nice with my apps for some reason.

so i Hackintoshed a duel boot Mac-OS X/Windows 8.1 Intel I7 hex core, stuck in 64gb ram, set up a three disk OCZ raid boot disk, a 6tb raid array for storage with intel RST and 60gb SSD cache and tri-sli Nvidia graphics, this thing is FAST and cost me a lot less than the mac pro, sure a tricked out mac pro will beat it, but not for the CUDA apps i need
 

George Zip

macrumors member
Jan 2, 2011
73
84
"Our surveys indicate that Apple’s last iMac model, released at end-2012 with an all-new-design, shipped fewer-than-expected units in the worldwide market."

Whoever thought a thinner desktop computer was a feature most customers cared about should read this. We voted with our wallets.

Give us for instance desktop-grade GPU and we might have a differentiating feature from Apple's currently equally powerful laptop lineup.

We wound up buying three of them in the last six months. Long story; there was a need and we couldn't wait around for Apple to finish deciding if it still wanted to be a computer company or an iDevice company.

We needed iMacs, and that's the iMac they were selling. They're still good-if-not-great machines (got the 27 with the i5 but the high-end vid card in each purchase) but, and I know this is not the case; it feels lately like Apple's getting out of the computer business.
 

Arxcher

macrumors member
Feb 3, 2012
80
1
NY, NY
We wound up buying three of them in the last six months. Long story; there was a need and we couldn't wait around for Apple to finish deciding if it still wanted to be a computer company or an iDevice company.

We needed iMacs, and that's the iMac they were selling. They're still good-if-not-great machines (got the 27 with the i5 but the high-end vid card in each purchase) but, and I know this is not the case; it feels lately like Apple's getting out of the computer business.

Not necessarily out of the computer business entirely, but they are definitely shifting the majority of their focus towards mobile platforms (iOS devices and macbooks).

----------

100mHz speed bump!? SIGN ME UP! :rolleyes:

Seriously, are they just phoning it in these days?

Your post makes me think back to when computers were only 100mHz!
 

Chris5488

macrumors regular
Feb 26, 2011
223
37
Belgium
Let's give the Mac Mini some love!!

If Apple is really going to launch a cheaper iMac as the article suggests than I'm afraid they'll keep the Mac Mini. The Mac Mini was brought to life to make an easy and cheap transition possible for Windows-users. But as we all noticed: Apple has been neglecting the Mac Mini for years. Apple always stood for technology that 'just works' and likes simple and elegant solutions. Remember the comparison side view of a Dell alongside an iMac?

A cheap iMac is like a Mac Mini with an integrated display. Even if it's more expensive than the current Mac Mini (which is at the price of an iPad... see? :apple: ). So if a cheap iMac is indeed coming, why would Apple still want to make the Mac Mini? And how much people will still want to buy the Mac Mini then?
 
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