should i buy now, or wait?

findingthelimit · Aug 15, 2013

Hey everyone, i'm a student wanting to buy my parents a new imac. i build all my computers and i dislike apple (even though it's all my parents use), so i don't know much about this line of their products.

i know that apple offers a limited time for student discounts, and i'm wondering whether they tend to release a new line (i.e. add haswell) before they end the discounts?

also, since imo, haswell is just a reduced power consumption in comparison to the ivy bridge models, i really wouldn't mind paying a little less to buy a refurbished ivy bridge model. i'm wondering whether apple usually put up their previous models up in their refurbished store right after a new product is released, and when they say refurbished, whether they're used at all?

the reason i'm not buying the refurbished october 2012 model is because i think the new thinned out form factor is a big step up from the previous model. i just don't foresee the addition of haswell as a big leap up - but if waiting could save me some money, so be it.

currently, the ivy-bridge models are $100 off the original price, due to my student discount. if i wait for haswell, would the price of the new models be the same (due to student discount)? if not, if i buy a refurbished ivy bridge model (post october 2012 model), would i save any extra money?

i understand that there is no definite answer, as most of this is speculation. but i don't know how apple generally operates, and i don't know what they did the past years. everyone here have been apple fans for longer than i have, so i'm sure your answers have more basis than my wild guesses. if it helps, i'm planning to buy the cheaper 27-inch model. my parents don't game, so i don't need the extra GPU power, and paying a $300 premium for a faster processor isn't worth it.

thanks a ton in advance!

Chippy99 · Aug 15, 2013

There's loads of threads on this mate, just have a browse around.

But FWIW, there is zero benefit to having Haswell. A 3% speed improvement AT BEST that you will never detect.

Retina display is not coming in the next refresh - and in the 0.0001% chance that it did, it would be a very high cost option.

So your only benefits might be 8011.ac wireless and/or 780 graphics. If you need neither of those, there is no point in waiting.

findingthelimit · Aug 15, 2013

Chippy99 said:
There's loads of threads on this mate, just have a browse around.

But FWIW, there is zero benefit to having Haswell. A 3% speed improvement AT BEST that you will never detect.

Retina display is not coming in the next refresh - and in the 0.0001% chance that it did, it would be a very high cost option.

So your only benefits might be 8011.ac wireless and/or 780 graphics. If you need neither of those, there is no point in waiting.

my main question is, would i save any money if i buy the ivy bridge version after haswell is out (as a refurbished computer)? i know there is no performance gain in having haswell. Right now, i can get $100 off the $1699 price tag, but i see refurbished iMacs going for almost $300 less than their initial value. if this occurs rightafter haswell imacs are released, i can easily save $200 as opposed to buying now, even counting the student discounts.

dregshwoyn · Aug 15, 2013

I'm also not sure about wait or buy now - the only reason for me to wait is the better GPU and the possibility Fusion Drive to be Standardconfig

What do you think?

findingthelimit · Aug 15, 2013

dregshwoyn said:
I'm also not sure about wait or buy now - the only reason for me to wait is the better GPU and the possibility Fusion Drive to be Standardconfig

What do you think?

as i said, i know nothing about macs. i'm just buying a machine for my parents. what you could do is look at gpu benchmarks and see whether newer gpus would benefit you in whatever you're doing. i don't think it can get a lot better than the 680 though; the 690 is just two 680s in sli. maybe macs use the mobile GPUs though; idk why it's called 680MX instead of the gtx 680. you should look into that.

forty2j · Aug 15, 2013

findingthelimit said:
my main question is, would i save any money if i buy the ivy bridge version after haswell is out (as a refurbished computer)? i know there is no performance gain in having haswell. Right now, i can get $100 off the $1699 price tag, but i see refurbished iMacs going for almost $300 less than their initial value. if this occurs rightafter haswell imacs are released, i can easily save $200 as opposed to buying now, even counting the student discounts.

Certain retailers (e.g. MacMall) have good deals on previous hardware immediately as the next hardware is released.

BTW, iMacs use mobile graphics chips, not desktop chips. The 680MX is roughly equivalent (in Windows after a little tweaking) to the desktop 660Ti. The next iMac will certainly offer something from the 7xxM series, but no known mobile chip offers better than single digit improvement than the 680MX. It's possible that just like last year, Nvidia is working on an Apple exclusive chip, but there's no way of knowing.

TwoBytes · Aug 15, 2013

lets not forget the haswell mac will bring pcie speeds which for me, is a big deal.

Tjosansa · Aug 17, 2013

That 780 graphic card is a BIG deal for me..
I dont mind 802.11ac that much..

I really want to buy an iMac.. so bad..

forty2j · Aug 18, 2013

Tjosansa said:
That 780 graphic card is a BIG deal for me..

Ok, I'll bite.. why? Unless Nvidia is custom developing a card for Apple, you'll see a 2% difference from the 680MX to the 780M. This isn't like last year where we saw 50%+ improvements. Even 10-15% is a lot to ask for out of a custom card; don't expect another big boost until next year under the next architecture.

Realistically, the only way Apple will be able to claim major graphic improvements in a 2013 iMac is to go with a dual GPU SLI solution - and that would wreak havoc with both the power profile and the heat profile. Not insurmountable, but a major undertaking for a mid-cycle upgrade and I would be absolutely shocked if they did it.

Tjosansa · Aug 18, 2013

forty2j said:
Ok, I'll bite.. why? Unless Nvidia is custom developing a card for Apple, you'll see a 2% difference from the 680MX to the 780M. This isn't like last year where we saw 50%+ improvements. Even 10-15% is a lot to ask for out of a custom card; don't expect another big boost until next year under the next architecture.

Realistically, the only way Apple will be able to claim major graphic improvements in a 2013 iMac is to go with a dual GPU SLI solution - and that would wreak havoc with both the power profile and the heat profile. Not insurmountable, but a major undertaking for a mid-cycle upgrade and I would be absolutely shocked if they did it.

Ok. Thanx for your answer. So what u say is that there are no 780 mobile cards out yet?

forty2j · Aug 18, 2013

Tjosansa said:
Only 2 percent? That cant be correct.

Do some research. 780M is just a minor overclock of a 680MX. If you're in Windows you can achieve the same thing on your own.

http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/inde...compare=geforce-gtx-680mx-vs-geforce-gtx-780m

KaraH · Aug 18, 2013

You build your own computers but you think the thinner form factor is a step up? Does not compute. Does not compute.

FreemanW · Aug 18, 2013

Hey everyone, i'm a student wanting to buy my parents a new imac.

I laughed.

/sorry, I got nuthin

Serban · Aug 18, 2013

in games there are some improvements to 10% better in some cases...and lets not forget this will be only if they don't go with 780MX.

forty2j · Aug 18, 2013

Serban said:
in games there are some improvements to 10% better in some cases...and lets not forget this will be only if they don't go with 780MX.

Yep but that's a big if. For all we know, the 780M is the best Nvidia can achieve with mobile Kepler.

Tjosansa · Aug 18, 2013

forty2j said:
Yep but that's a big if. For all we know, the 780M is the best Nvidia can achieve with mobile Kepler.

Well.. Ill wait to sept. 10 to see if there is something.. Then i maybe buy one iMac..

Lava Lamp Freak · Aug 19, 2013

I'm waiting for the update. I'm going to buy a 21.5-inch iMac, but there are two things I'd like to see. I'm going SSD this time, and I'm hoping that Apple reduces the cost for the 512GB. The other thing I'd like is a 760M with 1GB. The only games I play are WoW and GW2, but I'd feel better about the future updates of those games with the 760m 1GB compared to the 650m 512MB in the current iMac.

ioannis2005gr · Aug 19, 2013

Lava Lamp Freak said:
I'm waiting for the update. I'm going to buy a 21.5-inch iMac, but there are two things I'd like to see. I'm going SSD this time, and I'm hoping that Apple reduces the cost for the 512GB. The other thing I'd like is a 760M with 1GB. The only games I play are WoW and GW2, but I'd feel better about the future updates of those games with the 760m 1GB compared to the 650m 512MB in the current iMac.

interesting decision! I hope your dreams come through....I guess 27 inch iMac is not a choice as long as LG supplies Apple with IPS panels, correct?

Lava Lamp Freak · Aug 19, 2013

ioannis2005gr said:
interesting decision! I hope your dreams come through....I guess 27 inch iMac is not a choice as long as LG supplies Apple with IPS panels, correct?

It is true that I'm hesitant to buy another 27" because of the problems I had, but I actually like the smaller screen size of the 21.5" better. I've used a 20", 23", 24", and 27" over the last six months, trying to decide what I like best, and I decided that my favorite is a 24" 1080p. However, since Apple doesn't offer that, the 21.5 is what I will go with.

airmax32 · Aug 20, 2013

I'm also saving up for the new imac. It's really up to you if needed it but I suggest just to hold on until they release the new imac with osx mavericks installed on it. at least it comes with osx mavericks.

Serban · Aug 20, 2013

i think with the new 27" imac the problems are solved, i dont think apple is happy with that number of return products...is just like the ATI GPU from 2011 models.

ioannis2005gr · Aug 20, 2013

Lava Lamp Freak said:
It is true that I'm hesitant to buy another 27" because of the problems I had, but I actually like the smaller screen size of the 21.5" better. I've used a 20", 23", 24", and 27" over the last six months, trying to decide what I like best, and I decided that my favorite is a 24" 1080p. However, since Apple doesn't offer that, the 21.5 is what I will go with.

For home users 21.5 inch is enough, otherwise connect your computer to your big HDTV and feel better....

Besides, you minimize the possibility to get a defective iMac LG 27 inch display....

However, there are three problems:

a. "buy and die" with your fixed RAM.
b. 5400rpm HDD (unless you build a BTO version with SSD only)
c. 512MB vRAM means nothing after a couple of years!

The full BTO version is a great choice but 650M graphics makas me feel uncomfortable, which is your opinion?

should i buy now, or wait?

macrumors newbie

macrumors 6502a

macrumors newbie

macrumors newbie

macrumors newbie

macrumors 68030

macrumors 68040

macrumors regular

macrumors 68030

macrumors regular

macrumors 68030

macrumors 6502

macrumors 6502

Suspended

macrumors 68030

macrumors regular

macrumors 68000

macrumors 6502

macrumors 68000

macrumors member

Suspended

macrumors 6502

Our Staff