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2011 iMac Notes: Magic Trackpad Option, Display Connectivity, Boot Camp Update
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It's not just about power. I would never buy an iMac because I like being able to actually upgrade my components as they get older. With the form factor of the iMac, you get all of the disadvantages of a notebook (less harddrive bays, less ram slots, no expansion slots) with all of the disadvantages of a desktop (namely, it's not portable). It just seems silly to me.
Additionally, I hate 16:9 displays (16:9 is tv widescreen, 16:10 is computer widescreen) and I would much rather use my own displays (2x dell ultrasharps) than the ones apple makes, so building the display into the computer is a disadvantage to me.
Sigh... It's a shame really, I don't need nearly the kind of power that even the lowest Mac Pro has, but it's the only desktop mac that I could buy at this point.
I bet the future dedicated display will be Thunderbolt driven only. It would reduce the number of wires from 3 to 2. It would be nice if power can be drawn from the monitor to power the laptop and just dock it with a single wire.
The monitor would still have USB ports just not feed from the USB port on the Mac.
The monitor would still have USB ports just not feed from the USB port on the Mac.
It is not the first time where the iMac has more CPU power than the entry Mac Pro. Seriously, it does. If you get the 6970M (HD 6850) you can beat the video card as well.
Heck, my new 2.2 i7 quad MacBook Pro beats every one of the last Mac Pro revisions. The Mac Pro line is more and more for a very specialized audiencethose who need the utmost performance and expansion (2-3 video cards, an extra I/O card, 4x SSD drives for speed + space for high end production work...
But for me, this is the fastest Mac I have ever touched. Way faster than the old 27" i5 I was using.
It's very much *not* about the speed nowadays. I worked from an 11" MacBook Air for a few weeks (to see if I could work on a 1.8 Ghz Core 2 Duo), and if it weren't for my work in Aperture, I would've gotten a 13" MacBook Air and been done with everything!
(Instead, I'm staying with a 15" MBP for the foreseeable future).
New Target Display options suck
I use my 2010 27" iMac as a monitor for a PC gaming rig that utilizes the mini-display port and I must say that this will be the last iMac I own until they change this. This was one of main selling points for me since I could still use a pc and not have to suffer with the iMac's poor gaming performance.
No matter how you slice it, the integrated video card with the current iMacs CANNOT drive the resolution these displays use.
The only option is build a high end PC that can push that kinda resolution at decent framerates.
Now that they have removed the option and restricted it to TB only display ports, we are now forced to "upgrade" to a new mac tho it still cant hold a candle to whats available to system builders today.
I made the switch to Mac years and years ago but I think it's finally run it's course. When this thing takes a **** and they offer me a new one through my Apple Care, I'll sell it and buy a real display an perhaps mac mini.
Apple has fallen so far behind the desktop computing business and its clear they want to funnel their remaining customers through this purchase path.
I use my 2010 27" iMac as a monitor for a PC gaming rig that utilizes the mini-display port and I must say that this will be the last iMac I own until they change this. This was one of main selling points for me since I could still use a pc and not have to suffer with the iMac's poor gaming performance.
No matter how you slice it, the integrated video card with the current iMacs CANNOT drive the resolution these displays use.
The only option is build a high end PC that can push that kinda resolution at decent framerates.
Now that they have removed the option and restricted it to TB only display ports, we are now forced to "upgrade" to a new mac tho it still cant hold a candle to whats available to system builders today.
I made the switch to Mac years and years ago but I think it's finally run it's course. When this thing takes a **** and they offer me a new one through my Apple Care, I'll sell it and buy a real display an perhaps mac mini.
Apple has fallen so far behind the desktop computing business and its clear they want to funnel their remaining customers through this purchase path.
Is TB able to have both channels send (or receive) at the same time? I am seeing that Wiki says it has 20GB/s of total BW, but that would imply that you can send data one way at 20GB/s which I didn't think was possible.
TB, according to what I understand about it, doesn't have the bandwith (single direction) to support DP 1.2.
One of the two guys there did immediately go to a computer and check the web site while the other went into the back to find out what information he could. He came back and reported that the old iMacs were due to be sent back to Apple today and that new iMacs were going to be arriving imminently, but he couldn't say whether that'd be today, tomorrow, or any particular day.Did you log into store.apple.com and show them?
Using the Apple Store app on my iPhone, it shows that I can reserve the old iMacs at the regular prices at this store. At a store on the other side of Pittsburgh, it also shows the old iMacs, but the prices are reduced $100-300.
Ah, it's just been updated. It's now showing the reduced prices for the old iMacs at my local store as well. Still no sign of the new iMacs in the app for reserved pickup yet.
Which options are worth it?
So which options are worth it with these new models?
So which options are worth it with these new models?
- RAM - (I think everyone knows to get the base 4GB and buy 4GB more from newegg for $50 or less
- HD - Apple charges a premium, stick with the base 1TB, and you can upgrade later from 3rd parties much cheaper if you needed
- PROC - Is the 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 worth the extra cost vs the 3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5? I have concerns about cooling the i7 in the iMac. The last batch of iMac's with i7 had reports of loud fans and having trouble keeping up with the i7 heat output.
- GPU - Is the 2GB ATI HD 6970M worth the upgrade from the 1GB ATI HD 6970M?
- SCREEN - Is the 27" too big? It seems VERY VERY big at the Apple Store, maybe too big, but the 21" seems small. Like many people I felt that the 24" seemed perfect. Would a 27" end up just being 'too big'?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20036002-1.html
Yes and anyway first you have to put it out there for other companies to make stuff for it. Business class 101
Error on site...
I think there is an error on the iMac performance page.
It shows:
For i5
Then for i7
Shouldn't it show faster performance for the i7?
I sent an email to someone who works on their website asking them to double check that.
I think there is an error on the iMac performance page.
It shows:
For i5
Then for i7
Shouldn't it show faster performance for the i7?
I sent an email to someone who works on their website asking them to double check that.
Don't despair.
An Apple Patent May Hint at a Mini Tower Desktop...
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...hint-at-a-mini-tower-desktop-with-usb-30.html
IPS Display!!
Did anyone notice that it has an IPS display?
http://www.apple.com/imac/features.html#displays
Did anyone notice that it has an IPS display?
http://www.apple.com/imac/features.html#displays
Attachments
Ok so your saying for 50 dollar don't buy memory from Apple, really after spending that much on an imac 50 dollars is what your worry about. Pff.
The 6970M is the 6850 on regular desktops, you really get no added bonus unless your doing some major graphic design or maybe some gaming, still like above what the price difference if your looking at another 50 dollar difference I get it still to little for me to care.
Bigger is better, gutter talk
I am with you the 24 was nice until I bought a 27 inch wide and realize that 27 is much better. On the CPU its all bragging right there, your not going to get say 30% more because you go with the faster one. But what are you going to be using this system for. Is really about what you do with it.
I would not get the 21 unless your tight on money.
Some may disagree on this but what I find best for performance is SSD that where I rather have SSD than more memory. With a Second HDD for things that don't need real speed like Music or Movies.
RAM & HD - are not worth the effort it takes to swap them out yourself. I'd gladly pay an extra $50 to already have it done.
Proc - I don't think it's worth it. They over charge for CPU upgrades and the fans... not to sure guess we'll have to wait and see who complains.
GPU - Are you graphic editing? I don't think any of the games on the Mac really tax the GPU yet. I'd say no.
Screen - That's what she said.......
Depressingly impressive...
The thing I'm most impressed with is the 2GB video card. I have the 2008 MacPro w/ 3.0 dual core xeon, 12 GB of ram, an ATI 1900 w/ 512 ram. I just purchased Portal 2 over the weekend and cannot run it as it doesn't meet the specs. I'll have to purchase a new video card. A bit depressing...
Chris Powers
The thing I'm most impressed with is the 2GB video card. I have the 2008 MacPro w/ 3.0 dual core xeon, 12 GB of ram, an ATI 1900 w/ 512 ram. I just purchased Portal 2 over the weekend and cannot run it as it doesn't meet the specs. I'll have to purchase a new video card. A bit depressing...
Chris Powers
I didn't know what IPS was so I looked it up. It is basically what makes LCD usable as a TV.
In-plane switching (IPS)
In-plane switching is an LCD technology which aligns the liquid crystal cells in a horizontal direction. In this method, the electrical field is applied through each end of the crystal, but this requires two transistors for each pixel instead of the single transistor needed for a standard thin-film transistor (TFT) display. Before LG Enhanced IPS was introduced in 2009, the additional transistors resulted in blocking more transmission area, thus requiring a brighter backlight, which consumed more power, and made this type of display less desirable for notebook computers. This newer, lower power technology can be found in the Apple iMac, iPad, and iPhone 4, as well as several Hewlett-Packard EliteBook mobile workstations. Currently Panasonic is using an enhanced version eIPS for their large size LCD-TV products.
Advanced fringe field switching (AFFS)
Known as fringe field switching (FFS) until 2003,[17] advanced fringe field switching is a technology similar to IPS or S-IPS offering superior performance and colour gamut with high luminosity. AFFS is developed by Hydis Technologies Co.,Ltd, Korea (formally Hyundai Electronics, LCD Task Force).[18]
AFFS-applied notebook applications minimize colour distortion while maintaining its superior wide viewing angle for a professional display. Colour shift and deviation caused by light leakage is corrected by optimizing the white gamut which also enhances white/grey reproduction.
In 2004, Hydis Technologies Co.,Ltd licenses AFFS patent to Japan's Hitachi Displays. Hitachi is using AFFS to manufacture high end panels in their product line. In 2006, HYDIS also licenses AFFS to Sanyo Epson Imaging Devices Corporation.
Hydis introduced AFFS+ which improved outdoor readability in 2007.
Vertical alignment (VA)
Vertical alignment displays are a form of LCDs in which the liquid crystal material naturally exists in a vertical state removing the need for extra transistors (as in IPS). When no voltage is applied, the liquid crystal cell remains perpendicular to the substrate creating a black display. When voltage is applied, the liquid crystal cells shift to a horizontal position, parallel to the substrate, allowing light to pass through and create a white display. VA liquid crystal displays provide some of the same advantages as IPS panels.[citation needed]
HD - I'd agree with you plus you void the warranty doing it yourself.
RAM - Disagree. Definitely worth the effort to do it yourself. OWC or Crucial for RAM. OWC has RAM rebate for sending in your old RAM. It takes 5 minutes.....
You are kidding right? MBP's Geekbench score is around 11k, where the top end Mac Pro's perform close to 30k, that's almost 3 times as powerful as the fastest MBP.
24 threads > 8 threads.
now if only thunderbolt could power these devices as well... now that would be awesome. give us clutterless apple!
I think there is an error on the iMac performance page.
It shows:
For i5
View attachment 283912
Then for i7
View attachment 283913
Shouldn't it show faster performance for the i7?
I sent an email to someone who works on their website asking them to double check that.
I thught was strange as well at first, but I believe that the comparison is between i5 1st gen vs 2nd gen and i7 1st gen vs 2nd gen.
Eyefinity on macs
Wow apple is attempting to get the gaming market. I love my dual monitor amd eyefinity combo on my PC is good to see now apple computers may get a taste of this great monitor setup. FYI thunderboat daisy chaining will only duplicate monitors it will be unable to produce three different monitors. My only question is what video card do they have running it. If it it not a 69XX or above or Xfired it will lag horribly.
Wow apple is attempting to get the gaming market. I love my dual monitor amd eyefinity combo on my PC is good to see now apple computers may get a taste of this great monitor setup. FYI thunderboat daisy chaining will only duplicate monitors it will be unable to produce three different monitors. My only question is what video card do they have running it. If it it not a 69XX or above or Xfired it will lag horribly.