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2012 iMac? Retina? Awesome graphics?

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May 19, 2011
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I've decided that the only thing that would force me to move from Windows into Mac would be if Apple created an iMac which was nothing short of amazing. It would have to be better than my PC right out of the box.

What is the likelihood of Apple releasing a 27" iMac with Retina display and a graphics card which is faster than the Nvidia 560Ti soon? That would be what sways me. I play a lot of casual gaming and Minecraft and, from what I can tell, the current generation of iMac really isn't up to the job. The graphics aren't terrible, I just feel they're not good enough. My PC currently has a 560Ti so it would need to be better than that. I also feel, if I was going to turn to Apple for my main computing needs, it would need to be Retina. As that's just down right beautiful. But I'm thinking Retina = heft hefty price tag? My PC has a AMD FX-4100, which is definitely not hard to beat if not already beaten.

What are the chances of said iMac being announced at the suspected iPad Mini event on October 23rd?

Thoughts?

I know there are LOTS of threads about this, do excuse.
 
LOL you want to spend $$$$ on machine for casual gaming and Minecraft? I can tell you that current iMac is good for those things

Youd better keep your PC. Too high expectations like lots of folks around here.
 
Considering my retina pro can play MC at 2880*1800 at reasonable frame rates, I think the next iMac will be great for you :)
 
I'm hoping for the same thing. I'm a heavy Facebook user and have been known to tweet on occasion as well. When I'm really feeling saucy I'll pull off a few furious rounds of Angry Birds.

So I expect nothing less than dual 2gb nVidia GPUs and 128gb of RAM. It better have 3tb ssd hdd in too or that will certainly be a deal breaker.

/sarcasm
 
SpyderBite said:
I'm hoping for the same thing. I'm a heavy Facebook user and have been known to tweet on occasion as well. When I'm really feeling saucy I'll pull off a few furious rounds of Angry Birds.

So I expect nothing less than dual 2gb nVidia GPUs and 128gb of RAM. It better have 3tb ssd hdd in too or that will certainly be a deal breaker.

/sarcasm
Click to expand...

Facebook is agonizingly slow on my 2008 MacBook Pro. I'm thinking I'll just have to ditch the Mac and build my own custom SuperHotShot PC to get a machine capable of browsing Pinterest for kooky Halloween crafts with the speed that I need.
 
JarScott said:
What is the likelihood of Apple releasing a 27" iMac with Retina display and a graphics card which is faster than the Nvidia 560Ti soon?
Click to expand...

Infinitely unlikely.

Speculation is the new iMac will be significantly thinner than it is now, so there is no way they're going to put a high-end mobile GPU (like a 680M) in it, much less a high-end desktop GPU (the TDP for the 560Ti is 170 watts - that's almost four times the TDP of the 650M in the rMBP).

Also, 27" "retina" panels don't really exist outside the lab at the moment and their production costs at that size would be astronomical due to lower yields, so retail pricing would be equally in the stratosphere.

Windows 8 is your future. ;)


JarScott said:
What are the chances of said iMac being announced at the suspected iPad Mini event on October 23rd?
Click to expand...

Pretty good, if the rumors are true.
 
Anything less than desktop Radeon 7970 or GTX 680 is not worthy of driving a 27" retina display (which should be at least 4K resolution).

And you know it's not likely Apple going to do that, if anything they'd like iMac to be THINNER rather than put more power in it. Yeah it's no more than a Mac Mini fused onto a 21.5" or 27" Apple Display :rolleyes:

Do yourself a favor, get yourself a real gaming and productivity PC box instead. Get a real graphic cards, and then get an iPad or MBA for Facebook, Twitter and coffee time. That's what Apple computers, iOS and OSX are designed for nowadays. Go figure what's the newest features of :apple: OS :D
 
iSayuSay said:
Anything less than desktop Radeon 7970 or GTX 680 is not worthy of driving a 27" retina display (which should be at least 4K resolution).

And you know it's not likely Apple going to do that, if anything they'd like iMac to be THINNER rather than put more power in it. Yeah it's no more than a Mac Mini fused onto a 21.5" or 27" Apple Display :rolleyes:

Do yourself a favor, get yourself a real gaming and productivity PC box instead. Get a real graphic cards, and then get an iPad or MBA for Facebook, Twitter and coffee time. That's what Apple computers, iOS and OSX are designed for nowadays. Go figure what's the newest features of :apple: OS :D
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i WOULD love to have a witty put down but the problem is you are correct. mac gear is truly inferior under the pretty hood.
All gpus are far slower for all gear.not phones by all gear I mean desktops and laptops.

All cpus are somewhat slower for all gear.The os is still decent.

very frustraing that right now I am typing on a diy pc. I have held out not making a hacintosh. but as time goes on most likely that will also happen. oh well
 
The iMac uses mobile graphic cards, I doubt they could squeeze in a desktop graphics card with the rumors of a thinner profile.
 
Evidently, in the new world of Apple. less means more, that's less computational power and more money for a slimmer form factor thats more akin to a iPad than a PC.

Obviously, Apple are sowing the seeds of their own demise as far as being a producer of PC's is concerned and are keen on moving everyone to iOS and the cloud.

Seems like the new iMac will be as powerful as a Macbook Air - nice to look at, crippled in terms of power and storage and in need of updating every revision.

As I've stated elsewhere, if they have no intention of going further with OSX and reasonably powerful desk top machines, why don't they hive off the Computer part of Apple and give those employees who believe in the future of both desktops and OSX a chance to shine - Apple can keep its iToys and Cloud and one day will go the way of RIM or Nokia.

Serious computing requires a good desktop and solid OS - obviously Apple presently are doing their best to further Windows 8 if these rumours are to be believed!!!!!
 
i do design/ux work for a living, and some amateur photography on the side. I have 0 problems with my 2011 iMac i5 w/ 16gig of ram. Planning to upgrade to a SSD and 32gig of ram sometimes in the future.

I don't see where is the need for all these "supposed" power hungry projects coming from. Ever since the introduction of the "i series" processors or heck, even the core2duos, you don't need top of the line, latest bleeding edge processor for A LOT of professional work anymore.

If you're doing serious hardcore 3d modeling/rendering, a render farm wouldn't even suffice your needs, forget about the iMac. If you're doing serious gaming, seriously, like i said many times before, get off the mac.

They put out a pretty powerful computer with the retina MBP, and that has a much slimmer form factor compared to the current iMac (while being more/equally powerful). You give that more space, and take out the extra room used on the battery, i don't see why apple can't build a rather powerful desktop with slimmer form factor.

Of course, a retina on a 27" would be a whole different story.
 
@MoreAwsomeDaneYou,

I think you are missing the point, presently the iMac lacks a decent GPU, USB3, DDR1600 RAM and a reasonably priced SSD option.

Given the present cost of Thunderbolt accessories, USB3 HDD's being much cheaper than both FW800 and TB, an upgrade is necessary - a total redesign is not.

Slimmer certainly does not mean better as far as desktops are concerned and it seems that Apple seem to wish dropping certain components such as the optical drive, 3.5in storage and decent graphics in order to make a machine slimmer - as if its really too bulky at present.

As for these 'RETINA' displays, forgive me but the present display is RETINA unless you sit 6 inches from the screen.

If you increase the screen resolution you require a far more powerful GPU, more power than mobile GPU's at least.

Further, I use loads of storage - indeed, please remind me how much 1T would cost to place on Apples cloud - not discounting the fact that many the world over do not have access to blazingly fast broadband or unlimited bandwidth to download continually.

My top end 27in 2011 iMac is fine presently, but a speed bump would be welcome after 18 months, as would USB3 and a top end GPU from AMD or NVIDEA.

Given I do DTP myself, yep the present iMac is great if not now long in the tooth.

Whilst I accept Apple likes leading edge design, a 27in iPad is not what I have in mind as an acceptable desktop with plenty of CPU power, a good graphics chip and great storage potential a a good price point. I certainly do not desire a crippled AIO that will force me to build my own Hackintosh - I like the present iMac form factor, but its in need of a speed bump/ spec. bump - any great changes should be tied in to Intel's CPU road map and Haswell will not be available in bulk until next June - so why change the form factor now - just does not make any logical sense, unless its all about more cash in Apple's pockets for less performance/utility.
 
but a lot of things besides a better graphic card is almost guaranteed in the upcoming update.

As for graphics, iMacs have never been known as the computer with the best graphics... Why would anyone need it anyways? My existing 2011 with 1gb drives 2 27" displays just fine. Unless you wanted to play games.

Sure it sucks for people who don't currently already own an 2011 iMac and are forced to buy into a year old hardware, i definitely agree. But I don't think as an owner of a 2011 imac, i should be complaining, or even thinking about upgrading to the new one if it comes out. The reason is simple, I don't need it. the only feature that would even be slight interest to me is USB3, but all my work related files are stored on the cloud anyways, and im finding myself using a USB key less and less.

Optical drives are really not an argument, sure its nice to have it on a desktop computer so once in a blue moon that i do need it, i will have it. but i will not miss it.

harddrives, given the fact that a 27" has a lot more space and the lack of the need for a battery (which takes up like what, 50% of the space in a rMBP?), there should be plenty of space for apple to throw in a desktop grade harddrive in the iMac even with slimmer form factor.

I mean, just look at the rMBP, its much slimmer and lighter than the normal MBP, but did it really give up anything in terms of performance?

There's honestly just no need for big chunky desktop PCs anymore, unless you are doing a few, very specific tasks with your computer. Just like how we don't need machines that take up an entire room anymore. Even for my next gaming PC, Im planning to go for a slick mATX or mITX case, which would still be able to fit just about every top of the line components in there with enough room for cooling.
 
MoreAwesomeDanU said:
but a lot of things besides a better graphic card is almost guaranteed in the upcoming update.

As for graphics, iMacs have never been known as the computer with the best graphics... Why would anyone need it anyways? My existing 2011 with 1gb drives 2 27" displays just fine. Unless you wanted to play games.

Sure it sucks for people who don't currently already own an 2011 iMac and are forced to buy into a year old hardware, i definitely agree. But I don't think as an owner of a 2011 imac, i should be complaining, or even thinking about upgrading to the new one if it comes out. The reason is simple, I don't need it. the only feature that would even be slight interest to me is USB3, but all my work related files are stored on the cloud anyways, and im finding myself using a USB key less and less.

Optical drives are really not an argument, sure its nice to have it on a desktop computer so once in a blue moon that i do need it, i will have it. but i will not miss it.

harddrives, given the fact that a 27" has a lot more space and the lack of the need for a battery (which takes up like what, 50% of the space in a rMBP?), there should be plenty of space for apple to throw in a desktop grade harddrive in the iMac even with slimmer form factor.

I mean, just look at the rMBP, its much slimmer and lighter than the normal MBP, but did it really give up anything in terms of performance?

There's honestly just no need for big chunky desktop PCs anymore, unless you are doing a few, very specific tasks with your computer. Just like how we don't need machines that take up an entire room anymore. Even for my next gaming PC, Im planning to go for a slick mATX or mITX case, which would still be able to fit just about every top of the line components in there with enough room for cooling.
Click to expand...

Yes from your standpoint I agree. If I had 2011 machine I wouldn't be tempted to get another one for at least 2-3 years, I'd probably invest in the Seagate GoFlex USB3 adaptor and be happy with it.
Well for example my work files can never be in cloud. Video files are typically GBs in size and I need fast access to them. It all comes down what kind of work you need to get done on iMac. I can see the reasoning behind slimming down everything. People like me are minority. Video editing used to be his complicated stuff but it's gotten really easy, it's crazy you can sort of edit video on iPad. I think that lots of people who weren't really professional editors and just wanted to do family videos etc had to deal with similar tech as pro's do, the gap wasn't so wide. Now that consumers can get their stuff done on even the low-end machines, the need for high-end machines is becoming really small, making the choices for people like me harder if you want to stay within Apple ecosystem.
But I am not really that afraid as much as other pro's in this field. Sure Apple is drifting away from us but I bet they've got something in their sleeves for 2013. Their software and hardware was once industry standard and I see no reason why it shouldn't be again - they have opinions from professionals on FCP X, Logic etc. Therę's nothing stopping them in releasing new versions with different UIs and features.

MoreAwesomeDanU said:
I don't see where is the need for all these "supposed" power hungry projects coming from. Ever since the introduction of the "i series" processors or heck, even the core2duos, you don't need top of the line, latest bleeding edge processor for A LOT of professional work anymore.
Click to expand...

Agree a lot. I have a feeling that most of the people in this forum don't even push their CPUs to the limit, it's just upgrading for its own sake, silly. I can't even begin to describe how awesome it's to be working and rendering in After Effects on 11" Macbook Air with dual i5. Rendering isn't superfast but it sure beats my 4-year old "pro" laptop from Asus, and it's like 10 times smaller in size.
I can't see even prosumers, who use Aperture or Premiere, tax their quad i7 CPUs fully. The complaining, if there is any, is usually solved by upping the RAM which is a joke on such expensive machines (really, for high-end 27" iMac I still get 4GB RAM? c'mon!).

Also, people should stop complaining about gaming on iMac. Gaming is possible on iMac, if you're casual gamer like me who buys stuff in App Store or Steam with newest titles that are like from 2010/2009. It wasn't made for that, it's cheaper to build PC or get an Xbox. The only thing I would complain about is the weird inability to use newer iMacs in target display mode, I can see many people who would like to have gaming PC under the table and use iMac's display to play on it, it would definitely save a lots of space for folks.
 
MoreAwesomeDanU said:
but a lot of things besides a better graphic card is almost guaranteed in the upcoming update.

As for graphics, iMacs have never been known as the computer with the best graphics... Why would anyone need it anyways? My existing 2011 with 1gb drives 2 27" displays just fine. Unless you wanted to play games.

Sure it sucks for people who don't currently already own an 2011 iMac and are forced to buy into a year old hardware, i definitely agree. But I don't think as an owner of a 2011 imac, i should be complaining, or even thinking about upgrading to the new one if it comes out. The reason is simple, I don't need it. the only feature that would even be slight interest to me is USB3, but all my work related files are stored on the cloud anyways, and im finding myself using a USB key less and less.

Optical drives are really not an argument, sure its nice to have it on a desktop computer so once in a blue moon that i do need it, i will have it. but i will not miss it.

harddrives, given the fact that a 27" has a lot more space and the lack of the need for a battery (which takes up like what, 50% of the space in a rMBP?), there should be plenty of space for apple to throw in a desktop grade harddrive in the iMac even with slimmer form factor.

I mean, just look at the rMBP, its much slimmer and lighter than the normal MBP, but did it really give up anything in terms of performance?

There's honestly just no need for big chunky desktop PCs anymore, unless you are doing a few, very specific tasks with your computer. Just like how we don't need machines that take up an entire room anymore. Even for my next gaming PC, Im planning to go for a slick mATX or mITX case, which would still be able to fit just about every top of the line components in there with enough room for cooling.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry sir, but rational comments of that sort really aren't welcome around here.

Now, if I may continue the discussion...

OMG MY PUTER NEEDS MOAR POWERRRRRRR!!!! FACEBOOK IS SO SLOOOOOOOW!!!!
 
Thanks for the replies guys, you've all pretty much affirmed my opinions of Mac.

Macs really are very simple computers. They're not built to do anything amazing and probably never will. They're good for web browsing and creating documents, outside of that you're better off sticking with PC (Your wallet would be better off too. ;) )

Planning to get some form of tablet device, will probably end up being an iPad but the Windows Surface does look promising. Someone said something about avoiding first generation products though...so we'll see.
 
JarScott said:
Thanks for the replies guys, you've all pretty much affirmed my opinions of Mac.

Macs really are very simple computers. They're not built to do anything amazing and probably never will. They're good for web browsing and creating documents, outside of that you're better off sticking with PC (Your wallet would be better off too. ;) )

Planning to get some form of tablet device, will probably end up being an iPad but the Windows Surface does look promising. Someone said something about avoiding first generation products though...so we'll see.
Click to expand...

LOL you make me laugh. I guess that 27" Quad i7 iMac in our office is now obsolete even though we do daily HD renders and After Effects work.
You're right on one thing though - you'd better be off with iPad. Toys for kids, computers for adults.
 
JarScott said:
Thanks for the replies guys, you've all pretty much affirmed my opinions of Mac.

Macs really are very simple computers. They're not built to do anything amazing and probably never will. They're good for web browsing and creating documents, outside of that you're better off sticking with PC (Your wallet would be better off too. ;) )

Planning to get some form of tablet device, will probably end up being an iPad but the Windows Surface does look promising. Someone said something about avoiding first generation products though...so we'll see.
Click to expand...

Where the hell did you get that from :eek: !!!? When the 2011 iMac was released OVER A YEAR AGO the specs of it were considered very,very,very good! And all you do is go on facebook and play casual games wow you'll need a supercomputer :rolleyes: WTF ! You should be a comedian!!! Honestly...
 
JarScott said:
I play a lot of casual gaming and Minecraft and, from what I can tell, the current generation of iMac really isn't up to the job. The graphics aren't terrible, I just feel they're not good enough.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, if my son's 2008 iMac is up for the job (moderate to heavy gaming including Minecraft) why would you think a 2011 couldn't do it - and probably better.
 
I can't see Apple shortchanging the new iMac when it comes to GPU. They've been getting consistently better with their GPU choices,and the last iMac is a showing of that.

The 6970m in the 2011 iMac was, at the time, very very good. It's still pretty damn good, and definitely has no problem playing 99% of games at 1080p with decent settings.

If they include the 680m or the 7970m, the new iMac will be on par with a good gaming PC equipped with a 660 Ti or 7950. This is what I'm hoping for.
 
ihuman:D said:
Where the hell did you get that from :eek: !!!? When the 2011 iMac was released OVER A YEAR AGO the specs of it were considered very,very,very good! And all you do is go on facebook and play casual games wow you'll need a supercomputer :rolleyes: WTF ! You should be a comedian!!! Honestly...
Click to expand...

Relax, ihuman - I don't think the troll needs any more feeding :)
 
Fynd said:
I can't see Apple shortchanging the new iMac when it comes to GPU. They've been getting consistently better with their GPU choices,and the last iMac is a showing of that.

The 6970m in the 2011 iMac was, at the time, very very good. It's still pretty damn good, and definitely has no problem playing 99% of games at 1080p with decent settings.

If they include the 680m or the 7970m, the new iMac will be on par with a good gaming PC equipped with a 660 Ti or 7950. This is what I'm hoping for.
Click to expand...

Wish they'd let us update the 21 graphics. You're stuck with 512mb! :(
 
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