Apple Releases New iMacs

[IlluminatedSage]

He's right that a machine like the iMac does indeed meet the needs of 90% of the population because 90% of the population has machines of equal or lesser capability and aren't lying awake at night waiting for the latest NVIDIA chip.

We use iMacs (and some PowerMacs) at work and run just about every business application out there from Word and Excel to Photoshop, and Windows XP, and they run just fine, no one complains about the speed, and no one complains about the glossy screen either.

It's interesting that for literally decades, Apple has not cared to produce a machine with screaming speed and completely swappable components to satisfy gamers, yet gamers are astonished and angry every time Apple introduces or revamps a machine which fails to live up to gamers' expectations. Is the learning curve really that steep?

And if everybody who does not have negative posts about every single Apple product is dismissed as a "fanboy", maybe all the whiners and complainers should be "flameboys" just so we can at least get the pointless and childish name-calling equalized.

Honestly, with the huge increase in marketshare for apple, they would be stupid to miss the concept of offering more models as computers so they could offer more models.

yes, Apple does offer some nice computers, but they are also missing the boat with a sizable consumer base, many people want more power and upgradeablity than an imac, and less than the mac pro.

so.... im just hoping that they will start listening to the consumers.

remember 10-25% of imac userbase wouldn't be insignificant! and there are some people who would easily switch to mac. A midrange mac tower would only help apple, not hurt sales.

 

[MLVNYC]

Extreme vs. Duo?

Sorry if I'm being naive, but yesterday I could buy a 24" with a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme. Today, same machine, but 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. 4 calls and 2 online chats to both Apple and Intel and I can't get a straight answer as to what the difference is and what it will mean to me. Anyone care to enlighten me? I suppose it's the difference between me buying direct from Apple (and probably ponying up for the 3.06 anyway) or buying yesterday's from a reseller and pocketing a few extra bucks.

Thanks!

 

[joeshell383]

Will keep on imagining a cheque in my letterbox...although we don't use cheques anymore...thats banking stone age

Then, why would you imagine a check in the mailbox? Just imagine a one-time, free direct deposit of $600 into your bank account.

 

[50548]

He's right that a machine like the iMac does indeed meet the needs of 90% of the population because 90% of the population has machines of equal or lesser capability and aren't lying awake at night waiting for the latest NVIDIA chip. Of course they're not all using iMacs, but they would find those models perfectly usable for what they do everyday as consumers or at work, and that was his point.

We use iMacs (and some PowerMacs) at work and run just about every business application out there from Word and Excel to Photoshop, and Windows XP, and they run just fine, no one complains about the speed, and no one complains about the glossy screen either.

It's interesting that for literally decades, Apple has not cared to produce a machine with screaming speed and completely swappable components to satisfy gamers, yet gamers are astonished and angry every time Apple introduces or revamps a machine which fails to live up to gamers' expectations. Is the learning curve really that steep?

And if everybody who does not have negative posts about every single Apple product is dismissed as a "fanboy", maybe all the whiners and complainers should be "flameboys" just so we can at least get the pointless and childish name-calling equalized.

And you still care to answer? These trolls are everywhere and love to populate naturally-"fanboy" sites such as MR (which is called, in the end, after two simple words: Macs and Rumors)...non-fanboys need not apply.

As for gaming machines, Apple is the MOST successful computer company in the world today (i.e., with the highest Y-o-Y growth among makers) EXACTLY because it doesn't listen to the angry mob of whining gamers, which constitute a ridiculous sample of buyers, market-wise.

In fact, I am sure that EVEN with an Apple-branded midtower they would be screaming for vengeance, as their thirst for "bleeding edge" GPUs or useless PCI slots never ends...whatever Apple put there would be bad...it would be just a matter of seeing one of their neighbors building a monstrous AlienWare with quad-SLI and irrelevant extra FPS that their jealousy would grow...

So thanks, Apple, for continuing your careful selection of markets and your wonderfully sustainable profitability...the Performa/LC/Quadra days are happily over...

And for the others, just go buy a PC or a Psystar...you have plenty of boxes to choose from.

 

[cloudnine]

Yes, Yes, you call all thank me for the new iMacs... since I bought a new 24" 2.8ghz iMac a few weeks ago, right outside of the 14 day return/exchange policy

Grrrr.

 

[caccamolle]

And you still care to answer? These trolls are everywhere and love to populate naturally-"fanboy" sites such as MR (which is called, in the end, after two simple words: Macs and Rumors)...non-fanboys need not apply.

As for gaming machines, Apple is the MOST successful computer company in the world today (i.e., with the highest Y-o-Y growth among makers) EXACTLY because it doesn't listen to the angry mob of whining gamers, which constitute a ridiculous sample of buyers, market-wise.

In fact, I am sure that EVEN with an Apple-branded midtower they would be screaming for vengeance, as their thirst for "bleeding edge" GPUs or useless PCI slots never ends...whatever Apple put there would be bad...it would be just a matter of seeing one of their neighbors building a monstrous AlienWare with quad-SLI and irrelevant extra FPS that their jealousy would grow...

So thanks, Apple, for continuing your careful selection of markets and your wonderfully sustainable profitability...the Performa/LC/Quadra days are happily over...

And for the others, just go buy a PC or a Psystar...you have plenty of boxes to choose from.

oh man what a loser that guy is. Gaming ?? get a holy frigging PS3 ! or xBox ! or wii ! get a life !
You ought to be a complete loser to even "think" macs if you are into gaming. It's never been an Apple thing. If you really wanted a PC for gaming then get a windoze machine dude.

 

[JPark]

Regardless, your logic is flawed, but I assume you don't have a good understanding re: computer hardware.

You think Apple should sell a the minis for $200? People would buy them just to gut and resell them on the open market if Apple was stupid enough to sell below their cost.

Answer this: Who else makes a system compatible with the mini (using the same mobile components) for less money, or where can someone buy the (same exact) components for less money.

Not that I agree with it, but the original post wished for a $200 price drop, not that Apple sell the mini for $200. See below:

And that's exactly what the Mini needs.
It would be nice to see Apple slide the current Minis down ~$200 each (so they're priced more in line to what they're actually worth) ....

 

[joeshell383]

Would you like some cheese with that?

And all the people whining about "no Blu-ray!", a BD-R costs $25...for ONE. Also, why would you want to watch a Blu-ray movie on a 20"-24" screen with no surround sound?

Are you just looking for something to complain about? You want games? There's games for the Mac, but not like a DirectX PC. Besides, PC games ARE dying. It's too late to jump into that ditch. Even Epic is mainly concerned with consoles, especially after seeing how Unreal Tournament III and Crysis BOMBED on the PC.

Stop expecting Apple to turn water into wine. I'll settle for grape juice.

The point is that Apple's competitors are able to offer these features for less money. I think most of us are fine with paying the Apple premium, but if we're going to do that we want the machine to feature the latest technologies and at least be comparable (spec-wise) to what's available on the PC side.

It is inexcusable to not have Blu-ray when a) Apple is on the Board of Directors of Blu-ray Disc Association, b) Apple is a major video/creative professional player, c) Blu-ray won the format war, and d) major computer manufacturers are offering sub $900 laptops with Blu-ray.

There are definitely some other sticklers (eSATA, Quad-Core, LED.....) but Blu-ray is an absolute must, at least as a BTO option, especially when there is no way to upgrade the drive in the future.

 

[hiimamac]

Actually, while the graphic card might not be updated in the 20" low end model (sees the least updates), going from 667 to 1033 or whatever the FSB, is significant for anyone using audio video applications as the faster the FSB, the faster the overall performance of the machine.

This, in theory, is a 33% increase for the same dollar amount.

Will save my rants for later and let the update be enjoyable.

rah rah rah

 

[farmboy]

You could be right...or not

Honestly, with the huge increase in marketshare for apple, they would be stupid to miss the concept of offering more models as computers so they could offer more models.

yes, Apple does offer some nice computers, but they are also missing the boat with a sizable consumer base, many people want more power and upgradeablity than an imac, and less than the mac pro.

so.... im just hoping that they will start listening to the consumers.

remember 10-25% of imac userbase wouldn't be insignificant! and there are some people who would easily switch to mac. A midrange mac tower would only help apple, not hurt sales.

Maybe a mid-range tower sells, maybe not. The people who want it are vociferous, just like the ones who want a tablet. But let's not forget that Apple employs a lot of people in market research and analysis, and since Jobs got back they haven't made too many mistakes.

 

[infiniteammo]

Blah blah blah... Oh well, it looks like I'll be taking the $700-800 hackintosh route since Apple doesn't seem to care to give an option that makes sense. It's such a shame that I will be buying my first non-Apple computer in 20 years because they just can't produce a decent box with a decent price tag.

Thank you! I'm in precisely the same boat you're in, and I nearly changed my mind and bought into this. This actually served as a really bitching reality check and I can't express my gratitude enough. Cheers!

 

[iheartapple]

$100 for Crucial and $68 for pqi at NewEgg. Do note that it has to be 800mhz ram, not 667.

Thank you!

But can someone please clarify if I should get 800mhz, as another user wrote earlier (on page 7-8) "Careful DDR2-800 RAM has some timing issues when clocked back to 667 on Penryn Macs." so somone agreed to get 667. ??

800 or 667?
Sorry to be naive.

 

[Trip.Tucker]

SWEET! nice news to wake up too... although i'm kinda sad i missed the online store closing, as i was sleeping... ironic, since i was wide awake for the past 5 store closes (or so) since january...

Are you like Rip Van Winkle?

 

[HLdan]

I'm sorry, but to compare and Apple product against a Gateway is stupid. Gateway produces some of the worst machines out there. They're one step up from Compaq machines. Their failure rate is really high and their repair service is laughable. The reason I was saying that it was crap right out of the gate were the specs. These underwhelming updates where the processor gets bumped a little along with a few very small changes are not significant.

Yeah, and I still love the perception that gamers are teenagers.

Um, Apple gets unfairly compared to Dell every day of the year and as usual people only compare Dell's low end to Apple. I don't think I was out of the ballpark comparing the Gateway. Also if Gateway is the worst as you say then my argument holds even more water, I was explaining that you get a MUCH faster iMac with good specs for around the same price as the Gateway.

Honestly I have to agree that the gamers (especially on this forum) are generally age 12-25, most of them living at home or going to school. The majority of PC users are not gamers and most of them have a PC that (they are comfortable with) that has such crappy specs that it can barely play Solitaire.

 

[Arcady]

Yeah, the Government is handing out $600 to stimulate the economy. Trouble is, they hope everyone is too dumb to realize that they will be taxed on it next year, so dumb people will receive $600 from government this year, spend all of it thinking it is free money, and then next year be taxed (say 25%) on it and so owe the government $150 or so.

Personally, I hate the "stimulus payments". Just lower the tax rate for heavens sake!

The stimulus payment is not taxable. From the IRS Web Site FAQ:

Q. Is my Stimulus Payment taxable?

A. No. You will not owe tax on your payment when you file your 2008 federal income tax return.

Q. Will the payment I receive in 2008 reduce my 2008 refund or increase the amount I owe for 2008?

A. No, the Stimulus Payment will not reduce your refund or increase the amount you owe when you file your 2008 return.

 

[Zwhaler]

Very cool, I'm glad they didn't puss out and actually put a better GPU in the hi end model. But now we all know its going to be awhile until the Mnotevina model...

 

[ditzy]

Sorry another noob question which is slightly off topic. Just costomising the imac I want. With iwork if you get it added to you imac before it is sent to you do you get a hard copy of it as well?
Thanks for answering

 

[localoid]

Not that I agree with it, but the original post wished for a $200 price drop, not that Apple sell the mini for $200.

A $200 price drop for the mini isn't grounded in real-world prices. It's a pipe dream.

 

[JPark]

Sorry another noob question which is slightly off topic. Just costomising the imac I want. With iwork if you get it added to you imac before it is sent to you do you get a hard copy of it as well?
Thanks for answering

Yes, you get a hard copy as well.

 

[Trip.Tucker]

And you still care to answer? These trolls are everywhere and love to populate naturally-"fanboy" sites such as MR (which is called, in the end, after two simple words: Macs and Rumors)...non-fanboys need not apply.

As for gaming machines, Apple is the MOST successful computer company in the world today (i.e., with the highest Y-o-Y growth among makers) EXACTLY because it doesn't listen to the angry mob of whining gamers, which constitute a ridiculous sample of buyers, market-wise.

In fact, I am sure that EVEN with an Apple-branded midtower they would be screaming for vengeance, as their thirst for "bleeding edge" GPUs or useless PCI slots never ends...whatever Apple put there would be bad...it would be just a matter of seeing one of their neighbors building a monstrous AlienWare with quad-SLI and irrelevant extra FPS that their jealousy would grow...

So thanks, Apple, for continuing your careful selection of markets and your wonderfully sustainable profitability...the Performa/LC/Quadra days are happily over...

And for the others, just go buy a PC or a Psystar...you have plenty of boxes to choose from.

Hear hear! Well said and something that the gaming whiners still won't understand no matter how often it is said.

 

[XL5W]

Should I stay or should I go?

So this is where I'm at:

The refurb 2.8 extreme I purchased for $1899 will ultimately cost me $1599. Since I purchased it last week they are issuing a credit for the $300 difference. I hedged my bet on waiting for the new ones by purchasing it last week and I had not opened the box yet. (talk about willpower)

I've scanned through this thread and don't see a compelling reason to send my refurb back in order to purchase one of the new ones.

So unless I've missed something I'm cracking the box tonight!

 

[diamond.g]

Sorry if I'm being naive, but yesterday I could buy a 24" with a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme. Today, same machine, but 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. 4 calls and 2 online chats to both Apple and Intel and I can't get a straight answer as to what the difference is and what it will mean to me. Anyone care to enlighten me? I suppose it's the difference between me buying direct from Apple (and probably ponying up for the 3.06 anyway) or buying yesterday's from a reseller and pocketing a few extra bucks.

Thanks!

Same family, the Extreme just has a higher TDP and it is unlocked (meaning Intel actually supports OC'ing of the chip). For Apple to use it really didn't mean anything special since they left it at the stock clock.

Thank you!

But can someone please clarify if I should get 800mhz, as another user wrote earlier (on page 7-8) "Careful DDR2-800 RAM has some timing issues when clocked back to 667 on Penryn Macs." so somone agreed to get 667. ??

800 or 667?
Sorry to be naive.

New iMac 800
Old iMac 667

That is pretty much it.

 

[alphaod]

I am liking the new GPU in the 24-inch model.

 

[WhiteNoiseMaker]

Thank you!

But can someone please clarify if I should get 800mhz, as another user wrote earlier (on page 7-8) "Careful DDR2-800 RAM has some timing issues when clocked back to 667 on Penryn Macs." so somone agreed to get 667. ??

800 or 667?
Sorry to be naive.

I read it as they were going to update to 4GB of 800 and wanted to use the sticks of 1GB RAM from the new iMac in an older Mac.

I'd like to know thought as i've got 4GB of 667 RAM sitting here which I bought in December (for the MacWorld update that never came!). I would like to use that 4GB in the top spec iMac I've just ordered!

Looking at iMac specs page it sounds like it needs to be 800 not 667 for the new versions!

 

[JPark]

A $200 price drop for the mini isn't grounded in real-world prices. It's a pipe dream.

Hey, don't drag me into this. I was just fixing your misunderstanding of the original post.

But, since you did drag me into this, I don't think a $100 price drop on the mini would be too unreasonable. Apple maintains markup parity across all of their products, whereas many companies markup their low end systems a smaller percentage than their high end systems.