well what'll apple think a next? a color display?? why they could charge an extra 2 grand for somethin' as neat as thaaaaat
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Fusion Drive Now Available as Option for Low End 21.5" iMac
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I agree. From a technical (component) point of view, Macs differ very little from much cheaper PC offerings from Acer and the like. OSX and design alone jsut don't explain the hefty premium for buying a Mac. Including fusion drives as a standard would restore my faltering confidence in Apple as a company that is interested in high quality products, and not just is another way to make money on another subscrition based service. They're really dropping the ball on hardware, lately. (If you want to become a net-service company, why charge these hefty premiums on hardware?)
Just a quick check on amazon I see:
256GB SSD $200
512GB SSD $400
Apple has magical solid state memory though. Just like they had magical RAM and hard drives years ago when PC's were at 4GB and Apple started at 1GB of magical RAM, and PC's had 500-640GB HDD but Apple had magical 120-250GB HDD's.
Could just have desktop to add our own for $999 starting....alright Apple stop laughing
256GB SSD $200
512GB SSD $400
Apple has magical solid state memory though. Just like they had magical RAM and hard drives years ago when PC's were at 4GB and Apple started at 1GB of magical RAM, and PC's had 500-640GB HDD but Apple had magical 120-250GB HDD's.
Could just have desktop to add our own for $999 starting....alright Apple stop laughing
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Wow, what a complete joke and ignorant defending of an indefensible hardware decision. 5400rpm is horrendous and has been for many years. I even replaced the stock disk is my PowerBook g4 with a 7200rpm disk because even 7 years ago 5400 rpm disks were awful. I'm amazed anyone can use a MBP/iMac/mini with stock disk. They're so painful to use.
7200...10000...15000rpm 2.5" drives are easily and readily available (and have been common and cheaply available outside of the Mac world for many years).
http://www.newegg.com/Laptop-Hard-Drives/SubCategory/ID-380
10,000 or 15,000 is probably pushing it, but I agree 100% that being stuck on 5400 RPM in 2013 is pathetic.
But the Fusion IS an unique technology, which gives you (mostly) the speed of SSD with HDD sizes for reasonable prices.
But personally I'll just go all SSD. I have 300 GB in my 2008 iMac (that's the lowest they'll go back then), and barely use 50 GB. Boot Camp included. So a 128 GB SSD would be awesome for me.
But the Fusion IS an unique technology, which gives you (mostly) the speed of SSD with HDD sizes for reasonable prices.
But personally I'll just go all SSD. I have 300 GB in my 2008 iMac (that's the lowest they'll go back then), and barely use 50 GB. Boot Camp included. So a 128 GB SSD would be awesome for me.
I don't blame people that already bought an entry level iMac for being upset about this. I'm sure glad that I waited and can now save 200 hard earned dollars. Having to step up to the high end 21" to get a fusion drive was crazy. It was basically a 450 dollar upgrade...yeah you get better specs but not worth it.
Actually, Joe-H2O is correct, look at the link you provided and find a 1 terabyte 2.5" HDD that runs at 7200rpm and is a good price, less then a fusion drive anyway.
You may not find one.
This. I got my first MBP for work in 2011 (the first sandybridge i5 model), and expected it to be lightning fast. I couldn't figure out why my old ass Core Duo laptop and even an ancient Athlon desktop opened applications faster.
Then, I learned it only had a 5400rpm drive in it. Mystery solved.
I haven't bothered upgrading it yet because it's not my machine, but it drives me absolutely insane that they do this.
I don't mind a bit of apple tax if they offer good parts, but things are getting out of hand lately.
- 5400rpm drives
- retina models can't be upgraded by yourself
- still no IPS screens
Really, the only reason I'm still a big fan of Apple laptops is because they offer a great touchpad and magsafe. It it wasn't for that I'd definitely be back to a PC.
I'm personally just trying to wait for a 512mb SSD to get down to a more reasonable price range so I can jump right to that and avoid all this hybrid crap.
Excluding the $1,299 iMac from access to the fusion drive lead me to buy a Mac mini instead; I didn't need a 27" screen and wasn't prepared to spend $1,949 for a 21.5" iMac. That said, no access to the RAM slots and $200 pricetag for 16GB of RAM would have likely still deterred me from purchasing an iMac even if the fusion drive had been available in the $1,299 iMac from day one. I put 16GB of RAM in my new Mac Mini for $88 and repurposed the 8GB that came with the Mini in my parents' 2011 iMac.I don't blame people that already bought an entry level iMac for being upset about this. I'm sure glad that I waited and can now save 200 hard earned dollars. Having to step up to the high end 21" to get a fusion drive was crazy. It was basically a 450 dollar upgrade...yeah you get better specs but not worth it.
Don't do much, do ya? I have 5x 1TB hard drives in my Mac Pro (one is using an optical drive slot using an adapter from OWC). 1TB is for OS X, 1 TB for Time Machine, 1 TB for Windows 7, 1TB for Windows 7 backup, 1TB for scratch disk for Photoshop / FCPX
Hope you have another backup external to your Mac Pro.
What if your Mac Pro power supply goes crazy and takes out all the hard drives connected to it?
Hope you have another backup external to your Mac Pro.
What if your Mac Pro power supply goes crazy and takes out all the hard drives connected to it?
For web design work I have an offsite server with its own backup. It's just a Mac Mini, nothing special. But, to answer your question, I have thought of that...I'd like to get a NAS on its own UPS. I don't need anything crazy. Maybe 4TB total or so.
Don't expect much from Apple on this. Apple has repeatedly told me that they are just an iToy company, I mean consumer electronics company. We're lucky to have any options on the biggest iToy, the iMac.
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Sweet .. now I want 680MX option on base 21.5" iMac and no one would buy the high end 27" again
But to me the screen size reins over all. That is why I have a couple 17"MacBook Pros & 3 30" displays + a 28" & 70" display hooked up to my last gen Mac Pro.
Well, Retina models have SSDs and IPS screens standard. While I'd prefer some degree of upgradability, I'm not terribly surprised they went the route they did. Apart from RAM and HDD upgrades, notebooks generally aren't upgraded that often. Heck, I doubt the average consumer even updates RAM or HDDs much nowadays.
Let's face it. The Mac is somewhat of a side business for Apple now. iPhone drives half their profits, and iPad about another 20-30%. PC manufacturers are struggling, and Apple, with 5% of the market in terms of volume, still makes a larger share of the PC market profits than anyone else. Offering lots and lots of consumer options just isn't something Apple is known for.
Apple clearly wants people to use SSDs (no surprise since it is such a high margin item for them as they still attract $2/GB). That explains their use of 5400rpm models to the extent they are still offered. As a former MacBook Air user (my first SSD model was the late 2008) I can't ever see going back to a hard drive. With iMac, they are even pushing desktop users in that direction. My guess is that the lack of the Fusion drive on the 21.5" models was more a matter of supply than anything else. I'm not surprised to see it offered now.
It seems some obvious facts elude you. Before you had to buy high end iMac + Fusion drive. Now you can buy low end iMac + Fusion drive, which is cheaper.
I repeat, you can now buy an iMac + Fusion drive cheaper than before. All because Apple was kind enough to press the button to add the BTO option.
If you haven't seen the pattern already, Apple creates these tiered models for their products to maximize profit. You want the best graphics card? Ok, you need to go all in on the high end 27'', etc. You like that?
What happens when you are forced to buy the higher end model? You pay more. And pay for specs you don't want.
I don't see how it can be explained in a way so that some people here understand. It's not about getting what you pay for. This is a different issue.
Chances are the heat of the 680MX along with all the other desktop components inside the 21" iMac would be unmanageable without the addition of many loud fans.
Also, you really don't need the 680 unless you are pushing the additional pixels of the 27"
Also, you really don't need the 680 unless you are pushing the additional pixels of the 27"
128Gb HD in any Mac's should be legaly Banned!!! what a joke!!!
Wb the 64GB in the 11" Air?
Someone sounds a bit bitter!
Screwed in that they had to spend even more money for the high end iMac to get the Fusion. A $500 difference!
Bought October 27, 2012 and December 25, 2012, return through January 7, 2012
"Items purchased at the Apple Online Store that are received between October 27, 2012 and December 25, 2012, may be returned through January 7, 2013."
Still a couple of days left to return your iMac. I took mine back today and got a full refund. Ordered a new one with Fusion drive this morning.
"Items purchased at the Apple Online Store that are received between October 27, 2012 and December 25, 2012, may be returned through January 7, 2013."
Still a couple of days left to return your iMac. I took mine back today and got a full refund. Ordered a new one with Fusion drive this morning.
No, a MAc Pro is a Mac Pro, an overheating gigantic box and a washed out LCD screen. It is a dump truck for people with champagne budget.