2011 iMac Predictions?

[Hellhammer]

How do you know what price apple buy's there NAND at. How do you know that the price OEMS pay is negligible?

Because they won't sell them for less than the retail price. How come building a PC is cheaper than buying an OEM PC with the same specs? With your logic, OEMs pay so little for the parts so they should be able to to sell them for much cheaper. In reality, they don't.

OEMs need to make profit and that can only be achieved by selling the parts for higher price than you bought them for. No matter how much Apple likes SSD, they won't opt for them if it means a big loss in profit. The only thing they care about is profit. Currently, SSDs are expensive which means Apple would have to cut down their profits in order to provide decent capacities. That's not gonna happen.

I may be a random poster on the internet, but so are you. I just happen to be one who knows what he is talking about. And deal with the issues on a daily basis.

You have talked crap in the past, so why should I believe you? This isn't the first time I hear someone saying he works in this field so he can win the argument. If you really knew about the future pricing of SSDs, you wouldn't come here and tell it because that is information you are not allowed to share. Besides, nobody knows how much an SSD will cost next year. You are just guessing, nothing else.

Furthermore, I know some people here in MR who really work or have worked for companies such as Intel. Their posts actually make sense. They don't justify their points by saying "I work in this field so I am always right". They can provide good, technical reasons why or why not something will happen. If you really work in this field, then I guess you can provide a detailed technical answer why you think 1TB SSD will be 600$ in 2012 and why Apple will use only flash memory, and not just "because Apple loves NAND" answer.

 

[MoreAwesomeDanU]

Why are people arguing? The only people who should be keep a track on this thread are those who DON'T currently own a iMac and is planning to get one soon. This will help them to decide if they should get one now or wait for the next generation which should be just around the corner.

If you already own an iMac from anytime between 2009 - 2010, i do NOT see the point of you upgrading anytime soon as some posters have mentioned previously. Sure there might be a VERY few people here who actually need the power for rendering, but seriously if you do that sort of stuff you would be better off with a mac pro in the first place.

 

[willcodejavafor]

So random Internet people what are your GPU predictions for the high-end 2011 iMac?

 

[Hellhammer]

So random Internet people what are your GPU predictions for the high-end 2011 iMac?

1199$ 21.5" iMac

Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1GHz)
AMD 65xxM with 256MB GDDR5
500GB HD
2x2GB RAM; option for 4x2GB

1499$ 21.5" iMac

Intel Core i3-2120 (3.3GHz); option for Core i5-2500S (2.7/3.7GHz)
AMD 67xxM with 512MB GDDR5
1TB HD; option for 2TB
2x2GB RAM: option for 4x2GB

1699$ 27" iMac

Intel Core i3-2120 (3.3GHz)
AMD 67xxM with 512MB GDDR5; option for AMD 6950M with 1024MB GDDR5
1TB HD; option for 2TB
2x2GB RAM; options for 4x2GB, 2x4GB and 4x4GB

1999$ 27" iMac

Intel Core i5-2500 (3.3/3.7GHz); option for Core i7-2600 (3.4/3.8GHz)
AMD 6950M with 1024MB GDDR5
1TB HD; option for 2TB
2x4GB RAM; option for 4x4GB

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/11688279/

 

[willcodejavafor]

Marvellous Hellhammer!

Just as long as it is better than my current 8800 GS

--edit--

Cant even find a benchmark that has the 8800 and the rumoured 6950M. Should mean it's better right?

 

[coolspot18]

How come building a PC is cheaper than buying an OEM PC with the same specs?

Actually it is not - I found it is often cheaper to buy an OEM PC than to self-build, especially if it's middle of the line (i.e. mainstream). High-end it's a bit different as OEMs tend to mark these PCs up significantly.

 

[hoxley]

In order for growth to happen, you need demand and then supply. To drive down costs, production has to be less costly, demand has to be up, and adoption has to be on the rise. All three usually do not happen at the same time. This year all three are happening, as in right now.

All what you say is just speculation about the pricing.

whilst iamthedudeman's statement could be described as speculation. It is really about economics.

As someone who's needs are top level imac or base level mac pro, many would say the imac is better value. however i believe the wise and 'more value' move is the mac pro - precisely because the future dropped-in-price SSD can easily be "dropped in" to the base mac pro

 

[Hellhammer]

Actually it is not - I found it is often cheaper to buy an OEM PC than to self-build, especially if it's middle of the line (i.e. mainstream). High-end it's a bit different as OEMs tend to mark these PCs up significantly.

I would say in general it is. If you use the cheapest parts, you will most likely end up saving a little compared to an OEM PC. Of course there is no single answer to this as an OEM PC on sale can easily be cheaper and prices can change all the time. What I've found, it tends to be slightly cheaper to build it yourself but experiences may vary.

whilst iamthedudeman's statement could be described as speculation. It is really about economics.

Economics is just speculation as well. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. We will definitely see price cuts but expecting 512GB SSD to be 300$ and 1TB SSD to be 600$ by the end of this year (or whatever the time was) sounds more like hoping than speculation. I might believe him if he could provide a well detailed technical answer why things will be so. Just saying "I work in this field" isn't enough.

As someone who's needs are top level imac or base level mac pro, many would say the imac is better value. however i believe the wise and 'more value' move is the mac pro - precisely because the future dropped-in-price SSD can easily be "dropped in" to the base mac pro

It's not that simple. Base Mac Pro with 27" monitor will set you back ~3500$. That's 1300$ more than the i7 iMac. It's still 550$ more than the i7 iMac with 256GB SSD! Even if the SSD itself was cheaper, the total cost would be a lot more. If you already have monitor(s), then it's a bit different

 

[iSayuSay]

Processor, memory, or GPU no doubt will be increased a bit
But if I were Steve Jobs, the most important thing i will add this year is Bluray support

What kind of PC today, which cost > $1000 and has OS that UNABLE to handle Bluray?

With today's Mac lineup, I could end up buying external bluray drive (another money) .. yet OSX not support bluray movie playback, so we had to use BootCamp, boot to ****** windows just to play bluray

Come on Steve, make Bluray your standard .. i'm sure you don't watch movies from iTunes when you're home, right? Movie? .. it's Bluray .. or not at all

 

[Nishi100]

Processor, memory, or GPU no doubt will be increased a bit
But if I were Steve Jobs, the most important thing i will add this year is Bluray support

What kind of PC today, which cost > $1000 and has OS that UNABLE to handle Bluray?

With today's Mac lineup, I could end up buying external bluray drive (another money) .. yet OSX not support bluray movie playback, so we had to use BootCamp, boot to ****** windows just to play bluray

Come on Steve, make Bluray your standard .. i'm sure you don't watch movies from iTunes when you're home, right? Movie? .. it's Bluray .. or not at all

I would like Blu ray in the next iMac. But, unfortunately, I can't see it happening - SJ wants the best profit; think about it:

No flash on iOS - so people have to buy games from the app store.
- so people can't watch free movies online, but have to buy from the iTunes store.

No Blu ray - so people have to buy off iTunes for "HD" content (720p in 2011, on full HD or 2560x1440 displays, really?)

No HDMI - so people can't connect a blu ray player; or a PS3, which can play blu ray movies.

However, there are alternatives: link. It's cheap; but, only 720p. However, it's a compromise, you can plug in an external blu ray player, or a PS3, which can play blu ray disks.

Or, you can purchase this: link, which scales the 1080p input from the PS3 or blu ray player, to 2560x1440 (better quality); but, it's more expensive. A game with med textures, running a 720p, on a full HD monitor, looks worse than a game with low textures, running at 1080p - on a 1080p monitor

 

[curbyourdesign]

No HDMI - so people can't connect a blu ray player; or a PS3, which can play blu ray movies.[/I]

Mac Mini has HDMI -

Honestly I would rather have a blu-ray player on my 42'' Sharp TV over a 27'' iMac. I understand not everyone has a high-def TV, but its the cheaper route over a 27'' iMac. Mac Mini via HDMI looks great BTW.

 

[JosephDuffy]

Mac Mini has HDMI -

Honestly I would rather have a blu-ray player on my 42'' Sharp TV over a 27'' iMac. I understand not everyone has a high-def TV, but its the cheaper route over a 27'' iMac. Mac Mini via HDMI looks great BTW.

I think the point being made was Apple didn't accept HMDI INPUT, restricting its uses for HD Movie content, making you purchase from iTunes, a fair argument IMO.

 

[hcho3]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I refuse to believe your prediction hellhammer.

I WANT SSD as standard on imac. For god sakes... my 11.6 MBA boots up faster than 27 inch Imac with i7.

Apple...

Put some 64GB SSD in there to make it faster on high end models... and it's time to move into 8GB ram with your desktop computers. 4GB is for notebooks and 8GB is for desktops. It's 2011.

 

[linux2mac]

i tip on a touchscreen ,as all new iOS features in lion and ilife11 just need one to make any sense, and of course because all pc Makers have now all in one pc's with touch screen ...happy screen cleaning every couple hours

It will be interesting to see a touch screen iMac.

 

[Hellhammer]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I refuse to believe your prediction hellhammer.

I WANT SSD as standard on imac. For god sakes... my 11.6 MBA boots up faster than 27 inch Imac with i7.

Apple...

Put some 64GB SSD in there to make it faster on high end models... and it's time to move into 8GB ram with your desktop computers. 4GB is for notebooks and 8GB is for desktops. It's 2011.

Predicting an SSD in all models is too speculative IMO. It may happen, or not. Read my full analysis on page #2 of this thread, there I explain more about the SSD thingy. It's possible but I don't want to create too much hype by saying that it will happen.

I also explained the 8GB RAM thingy in that post. It's possible, especially for the high-end, but usually Apple likes to rip people off with their hefty BTOs.

 

[iMikeT]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I refuse to believe your prediction hellhammer.

I WANT SSD as standard on imac. For god sakes... my 11.6 MBA boots up faster than 27 inch Imac with i7.

Apple...

Put some 64GB SSD in there to make it faster on high end models... and it's time to move into 8GB ram with your desktop computers. 4GB is for notebooks and 8GB is for desktops. It's 2011.

All that wishful thinking will only get you as far as a car with an empty gas tank.

 

[morty192]

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest a new yearly release schedule for apple products:

Macbook Pro: March
iPad: April
Mac Mini: May
iPhone: June
iMac: July
iPods: September

Does that sound reasonable, logical or bone ideal and just plane stupid

 

[dh2005]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I refuse to believe your prediction hellhammer.

Yowch! Way to cut a man down. He'll be crying for weeks...

 

[iMikeT]

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest a new yearly release schedule for apple products:

Macbook Pro: March
iPad: April
Mac Mini: May
iPhone: June
iMac: July
iPods: September

Does that sound reasonable, logical or bone ideal and just plane stupid

Bold = Reasonable because we've seen this pattern since 2005 or so for Apple's consumption devices.

As for the Mac, everything has depended on Intel's release cycle since the switch. So whenever Intel releases new CPUs, Apple is not far behind.

 

[Vigan8]

iMac 2011 Refresh 2

On every Apple Fan site, ive seen the macbook pro rumors but the iMac refresh rumors are not mentioned on any site. I have been waiting for this refresh for a while now. Will the iMac be refreshed in march as well? thanks

 

[biggd]

I was under the impression that iMac's would not, because the intel issue affected them more then macbooks.

Personally, I would not buy a new iMac untill Lion. I think ARM will be a component in a Fall "redesign". But thats just me

 

[flipster]

All i care about is a better graphics card to actually support the 2560x1440 resolution. More bandwidth please

 

[linux2mac]

All i care about is a better graphics card to actually support the 2560x1440 resolution. More bandwidth please

I'd like to see a second graphics card for the ability to support two 27" ACD's at 2560X1440 with the 27"iMac.

 

[flipster]

I'd like to see a second graphics card for the ability to support two 27" ACD's at 2560X1440 with the 27"iMac.

Honestly, im just sick of the whole "1gb yay it must be awesome" when people dont realize that the limited bandwidth on that thing is only about 10% faster than the old radeon 4850 mobility. Lets get an amd 6950M with 1024MB GDDR5 in there and ill be happy.

 

[Vigan8]

i already have a 2010 macbook pro, ive been wanting an imac for a while but i have been holding back on it until the refresh. it would really suck if they didnt release the imac at the same time

another question, my birthday is coming up this friday, should i get the current iMac that is out now, or is the refresh going to be worth the wait. ?