Apple Releases New iMacs with Upgraded ATI Radeon HD Graphics Cards

[alent1234]

5750 is faster than a 4850. Mobile or not.

not always

10 years ago higher model number meant faster. these days ATI and Nvidia make 10 different SKU's in the same generation with some "current" generation SKU's being slower than previous generation cards. reason is that computer makers want a current generation model number at a cheap price.

Apple does the same thing as Dell/HP. sell a 5000 series graphics option where the silicon is not very fast. you have to look up the model on ATI's site and read the description to see what you're buying. last month when my employer bought me a Lenovo laptop i spent 2 hours doing this trying to pick the best one for the budget

 

[AlexisV]

What are UK prices? iMac page is still corrupted on the UK site, with no prices.

 

[Queso]

I don't remember Apple EVER having sensible European pricing.

What are UK prices? iMac page is still corrupted on the UK site, with no prices.

Getting irritating isn't it? Keep the bloody store down if you're still uploading pages.

 

[pmz]

Damn. After the Mini went up the roof, now the iMac is following.
In Europe these were the prices for the 4 basic models (all i euros)
* 1.099 * 1.349 * 1.499 * 1.799
Now:
* 1.199 * 1.499 * 1.699 * 1.999

THAT is pretty bad news: 200 euros extras for the basic 27-models?? Apple is definitely letting us down. Full economic crisis out there and Apple is making more profits than ever, and yet, they increase all prices.

Guys, our favorite company is now exclusively driven by greed. In case there was still a doubt about that.

So you expect Apple to make less money, to make it easier for you to buy luxury products during an economic crisis?

Blame the IMF and the World Bank, blaming Apple shows a complete lack of understanding of the entire global financial situation.

 

[nickarmadillo]

These things are still WAY overpriced ...

I know it isn't a direct comparison (and that I will be flamed) as my PC isn't an all-in-one and isn't as "pretty", but I put together an entire build with the following for about $1200 last December:

*ATI 5850
*i5 750
*1tb HD
*4Gb RAM
*25" Monitor

As prices have come down since then, I could do far better now as well.

Mac OSX and the nicer design/materials are worth something, but it doesn't excuse selling hardware one would normally find in a $600 computer for such big bucks.

 

[OllyW]

What are UK prices? iMac page is still corrupted on the UK site, with no prices.

£999 / £1249 / £1399 / £1649

 

[moosecat]

Does anyone know how long it typically takes resellers (Amazon; MacMall; MacConnection) to get new models? Wondering if I should wait to see what slightly better deal I could get from one of them...

 

[Queso]

£999 / £1249 / £1399 / £1649

Where did you get those? Any idea on pricing of BTO options?

 

[314631]

not always

10 years ago higher model number meant faster. these days ATI and Nvidia make 10 different SKU's in the same generation with some "current" generation SKU's being slower than previous generation cards. reason is that computer makers want a current generation model number at a cheap price.

Apple does the same thing as Dell/HP. sell a 5000 series graphics option where the silicon is not very fast. you have to look up the model on ATI's site and read the description to see what you're buying. last month when my employer bought me a Lenovo laptop i spent 2 hours doing this trying to pick the best one for the budget

I think the big advantage of the 5750 is its lower power consumption. In terms of performance, the new card doesn't exactly blow away the 4850 in these benchmarks:

http://www.hwcompare.com/graphics/compare.php?c=Radeon-HD-4850-512MB-vs-Radeon-HD-5750-1024MB-1GB-

 

[Lesser Evets]

It's nice to see that USB 3.o in there.

 

[OllyW]

Where did you get those? Any idea on pricing of BTO options?

MacRumors is not the only Mac web site.

http://www.macuser.co.uk/1510-apple-packs-more-punch-into-imacs

 

[alent1234]

I thought the Core i3 wasn't faster than the Core 2 Duo.

there was something strange with the entire Core generation of CPU's. i mostly use Windows and have an old P4 desktop at work and a core i5 laptop. previous laptop was a centrino duo.

i noticed that my P4 and i5 performed a lot better than the Centrino duo. even flash didn't do anything bad to my P4 desktop which is like 7 years old and runs Windows 7. the centrino laptop would get hot when running flash. the P4 and Core i5 stay nice and cool. and most apps i used run fine on P4 and Core i5 but the Centrino would get hot all the time

 

[jlmitnick]

If it can, it would be in Windows and not OSX.

Why is that? Starcraft 2 is for Mac and PC...I've been playing the beta for a while now on my 4 year old iMac.

there is no such thing as 1080p in the world of computers

Um...I just meant 1920x1080 resolution when I say 1080p, which is what it is, and what the new iMac 21" screens are. No need to get nitpicky.



Hm...to buy a new iMac for Starcraft 2 or not, decisions decisions!

 

[Poll Smoker]

doubtful

What's not doubtful is that you're a little apple-apologist bitch, who will buy any piece of **** apple puts in front of you.

 

[Warbrain]

If Im dropping 2k+ on a desktop I expect to be able to run games at top settings.

Yes.....but if i'm dropping $1600 dollars on a computer, thats released the day a game is released, I expect to be able to play said game close to it's highest settings.

I mean, the top of the line iMac only ships with a 5750 which is arguably worse then then previous 4850 (aside from the increase in memory in the new iMac).

This $2000 dollar computer wouldn't even be able to play SC 2 with respectable settings at native res.

The 21.5" should have had the 5750 and the 27 inch should have had at least the 5850, not really any excuses.

I still propose that a lot of gamers care more about the look than the gameplay. And that they can say they have a computer that is super awesome and gets the mad graphics.

If you don't like what Apple is giving you, build a Hackintosh.

 

[Queso]

There's more than one Mac web site.

http://www.macuser.co.uk/1510-apple-packs-more-punch-into-imacs

Cheers. Still nothing on the BTO options though

 

[clientsiman]

Damn. After the Mini went up the roof, now the iMac is following.
In Europe these were the prices for the 4 basic models (all i euros)
* 1.099 * 1.349 * 1.499 * 1.799
Now:
* 1.199 * 1.499 * 1.699 * 1.999

THAT is pretty bad news: 200 euros extras for the basic 27-models?? Apple is definitely letting us down. Full economic crisis out there and Apple is making more profits than ever, and yet, they increase all prices.

Guys, our favorite company is now exclusively driven by greed. In case there was still a doubt about that.

Well, no one is forcing you to buy an iMac, personally I am more than happy with my macbook pro and my desktop pc.

 

[meb91]

The 5750 is a reasonable card for a new higher end computer, but this card belongs in a $1200 machine, not a $2000 machine.

If you think about it, that iMac actually is a $1200 or so machine. People forget that the monitor alone makes up half the price of the computer, it's really more like a $1000 computer combined with a $1000 monitor.

Whether that's what you want or not is a different story. Maybe some people would rather invest only $200-300 in the monitor and the rest in the system, and therefore would end up with more power but a smaller/lower res/lower quality monitor.

 

[Vidd]

One of my main reasons for wanting to upgrade my iMac is to get a better graphics card. I'm not so sure I'll go for this model now but then again, I'm not that surprised.

 

[Gregintosh]

Well I am glad I didn't hold out for the new macs. My 27" i5 Quad Core which I paid $1699 for is still a great deal. It still would have cost me an extra $300 to buy a new one AND all I'd really get is a minor speed bump and better graphics (since I don't really game that is not an issue or benefit for me at all).

The SSD option would've been nice but at $600 it is way too pricey, and I am not about to bust open my mac and void my warranty.

I guess the base model upgrade is a bit better, but since my wife doesn't play any games what so ever she would not have benefited much from the video card either. Perhaps the speed bump could have been semi-worth it but I don't know if it would've been $200 worth it for her needs.

All in all, I am glad I bought when I did and at the prices I did. I'll keep my $500 in savings, and in around 3 years when AppleCare is about to expire I will sell and buy whatever the latest generation at that time is.

 

[jgl2832]

So, this is probably my fault, but I just purchased an iMac about a week and a half ago, the previous TOTL model, and it appears that it's going to be outdated before I even get it. I'm fully expecting to not be able to do anything about it, but just in case, I thought I'd ask... am I out of luck? Would Apple let me trade my (unopened) new computer in for a newer model?

 

[Warbrain]

So, this is probably my fault, but I just purchased an iMac about a week and a half ago, the previous TOTL model, and it appears that it's going to be outdated before I even get it. I'm fully expecting to not be able to do anything about it, but just in case, I thought I'd ask... am I out of luck? Would Apple let me trade my (unopened) new computer in for a newer model?

Did you customize it at all or is it stock? If stock, they may let you exchange it to the comparable new one.

 

[alent1234]

These things are still WAY overpriced ...

I know it isn't a direct comparison (and that I will be flamed) as my PC isn't an all-in-one and isn't as "pretty", but I put together an entire build with the following for about $1200 last December:

*ATI 5850
*i5 750
*1tb HD
*4Gb RAM
*25" Monitor

As prices have come down since then, I could do far better now as well.

Mac OSX and the nicer design/materials are worth something, but it doesn't excuse selling hardware one would normally find in a $600 computer for such big bucks.

i compared a Dell to the more expensive 21.5" and it was $1388 for the Dell compared to $1579 for the iMac with education discount.

iMac has the low voltage i5-660 CPU's which are more expensive and some parts are more expensive than what you get from Dell or build yourself. i have a 22" Acer monitor at work but it's not LED backlit and no where near as good as the iMac screens even though it cost $180

 

[Seanozz]

Hmmmm.

Wonder If they will swap the one I just bought that I exchanged because of the yellow screen with one of these new ones????

 

[chrmjenkins]

5750? Weak apple. 27" deserves 5850 as BTO if you're willing to give it 4850.