Apple Updates iMac with Haswell and Faster PCIe Flash Storage

[Velin]

Why did you put semester is quotes?

It isn't connected to any particular calendar date. Schools throughout the world run on different schedules. In Asia, there are some schools that are in session year-round. Thus when looking at global distribution, "semester" is an amorphous term meaning nothing.

 

[Jamez1502]

Wake me up when they have 4K

 

[Tanax]

I just ordered a 27" iMac with the 680MX GPU upgrade from B&H. It was discounted to $1949 plus no tax and free shipping. They are closed this week due to the Jewish holiday and it will be shipped next Monday.

But with the new upgrade, I am considering canceling that order and picking up a new 27" iMac with the standard 775M GPU. It is $1899 + tax with the education discount.

Is the 775M comparable to the 680MX?

Or am I better off keeping the order for the "old" 680MX iMac?

In terms of GPU performance, it would probably be a step down if you choose the new iMac. However, you'll gain faster wifi, faster ssd (and fusion) speed as well as a newer processor. If the GPU loss is worth it though is up to you..

 

[Gudi]

I completely disagree. Retina is wonderful, but it's not like we were looking at monochrome 512 x 342 pixel displays on our iOS devices before retina came about.

Image

No its even worse than that. Retina means a pixel doubling in height and length. So four times as many pixels as before. Compared to the Macintosh 128K with its 512 x 342 resolution, that means a 1024 x 684 display.

Macintosh 128K – 9-inch 512 x 342
Macintosh 512K – 9-inch 512 x 342
Macintosh Plus – 9-inch 512 x 342
Macintosh SE/SE – 9-inch 1 bit 512 x 342
Macintosh SE/30 – 9-inch 1 bit 512 x 342
Macintosh XL – 12-inch 720 x 360 (B and W)
Macintosh Classic – 9-inch 1 bit 512 x 342
Macintosh Classic II – 9-inch 1 bit 512 x 342
Macintosh Color Classic – 10-inch RGB 512 x 384
Macintosh TV – 14-inch RGB built-in 640 x 480
Macintosh LC 550 – 14-inch RGB 640 x 480

For about a decade there was no progress in resolution at all. Let alone a doubling in resolution. You needed to wait 14 years for the first iMac to arrive to get four times as many pixels.

iMac – 640x480 @ 117Hz, 800x600 @ 95Hz, 1024x768 @ 75Hz
iMac DV – 640x480 @ 117Hz, 800x600 @ 95Hz, 1024x768 @ 75Hz
iMac (5 Flavors) – 640x480 @ 117Hz, 800x600 @ 95Hz, 1024x768 @ 75Hz
iMac (Early 2001) – 640x480 @ 117Hz, 800x600 @ 95Hz, 1024x768 @ 75Hz
iMac (Summer 2001) – 640x480 @ 117Hz, 800x600 @ 95Hz, 1024x768 @ 75Hz
iMac (Flat Panel) – 15-inch 1024 x 768
iMac (17-inch Flat Panel) – 17-inch 1440 x 900
iMac (15-inch Early 2003) – 15-inch 1024x768
iMac (17-inch Flat Panel, 1GHz) – 17-inch 1440 x 900
iMac (15-inch USB 2.0) – 15-inch 1024x768
iMac (17-inch USB 2.0) – 17-inch 1440 x 900
iMac (20-inch USB 2.0) – 20-inch 1680 x 1050
iMac G5 (17-inch) – 17-inch 1440 x 900
iMac G5 (20-inch) – 20-inch 1680 x 1050
iMac G5 (17-inch Ambient Light Sensor) – 17-inch 1440 x 900
iMac G5 (20-inch Ambient Light Sensor) – 20-inch 1680 x 1050
iMac G5 (17-inch iSight) – 17-inch 1440 x 900
iMac G5 (20-inch iSight) – 20-inch 1680 x 1050
...

And so it goes on and on with only minimal progress if any. Only todays 27-inch iMacs with 2560 x 1440 resolution have again quadrupled the pixel count of the very first iMac. Going Retina means quadrupling from one generation to its immediate successor. Its an unheard of leap in display resolution.

You could pretty much ignore the few hundred more pixels in previous screen updates. This time its about megapixels. In the past a higher resolution always meant more screen real estate but tinier text and buttons. So what you saw wasn't even sharper, it was just more of it. This time its different.

Retina is a day and night difference. You don't wanna be the poor bastard who bought the last non-retina iMac.

 

[Sky Blue]

Anybody know the new build number of 10.8.5 on these new iMacs?

 

[MacRum2011]

the Australian Price we all die at OMG!

Australian prices are a bit higher this time around. Note that the price includes GST.

21.5 Inch 2.7Ghz i5 starts at $1599 (Previous was $1429)
21.5 Inch 2.9Ghz i5 starts at $1849 (Previous was $1699)
27 Inch 3.2ghz starts at $2199 (Previous was $1999)
21 Inch 3.4Ghz starts at $2449 (Previous was $2199)

$1200 for 1TB Flash Storage - Ouch!!!
$600 for 512GB
$240 for 256GB

 

[FrozenDarkness]

what? fussion is only 128 MB SSD added to existing config... nothing else, everything else is sw solution within os x... cant imagine buying computer withou ssd speed in 2013...

well it's not a 128mb ssd, it's a 128gb ssd, and that in itself is already probably aorund $80-$100. add in the appletax and there you go

 

[mrhick01]

Wake me up when they have 4K

Do you currently have a 4K monitor in your house now?

 

[Justin L Franks]

In terms of GPU performance, it would probably be a step down if you choose the new iMac. However, you'll gain faster wifi, faster ssd (and fusion) speed as well as a newer processor. If the GPU loss is worth it though is up to you..

Thanks for the info.

Any idea of how much of a step down the 775M is compared to the 680MX?

Gaming is fairly important to me, although not a dealbreaker. I've been running an old 24" iMac with a GeForce 8800GS for several years now, and not even being able to run new games at low to medium settings has been a pretty big issue for me the past 1-2 years.

 

[Lancer]

Wow, my 2012 iMac is officially last years model.

Will be interesting to see how much faster the new ones are.

 

[Renzatic]

And so it goes on and on with only minimal progress if any. Only todays 27-inch iMacs with 2560 x 1440 resolution have again quadrupled the pixel count of the very first iMac. Going Retina means quadrupling from one generation to its immediate successor. Its an unheard of leap in display resolution.

Yeah, and the jump to HD nearly tripled the resolution of TV displays. I'm not gonna say Retina screens aren't impressive, but from a purely technical standpoint, it's all relative.

 

[milo]

This i5 Processors have 4 or 8 threads?
Looking at intel website, they look like they had only 4.

Yeah, looks like i5 are all 4 core, no HT. i7 are 4 core with HT.

To anyone still dreaming about a $1999 base line for the upcoming Mac Pro they need look no further than to the 27in iMac with 32GB/i7/1TB PCI-E SSD as a baseline, if that.

You're looking at $4k+ for the baseline.

They'd be insane to offer 32 gigs of ram and 1TB SSD as the base model. Heck, the current MP only goes up to 12 without BTO. And if they did have 32 gigs, they couldn't get away with the same markup they have on BTO. Did anyone actually mention $1999 MP in this thread?

I came to the opposite conclusion you did, this update shows that the MP refresh doesn't have to be crazy expensive.

But the iPhone 5c is not even an upgrade... it's exactly the same hardware as before, but in another package...

False, they are modest updates but they are there, including updated camera and more frequencies supported.

Should we?

I think so. As someone who actually uses computers, I care about what hardware is actually released, not what is featured on a particular website. People need to stop being so insecure, some of the comments sound like a kid who's worried Mom loves little sister more than she loves him.

 

[Alfuh]

Guys, this is a serious issue that people just don't discuss, but it happens to good people EVERY year.

I bought a 27" iMac in 2009 and since that year Apple has released a new iMac, insulting my purchase and my existence as a human, EVERY SINGLE YEAR!

That's 4 times now that they have just laughed in my face with their newer and faster computers. They torment me continually.

I don't even want to get started with my Mac mini ... it's way too traumatizing

 

[ninja2000]

The original article also states that performance was hindered in the test system due to high heat causing GPU Boost 2.0 to throttle down the GPU. Thus it is faster, but in certain scenarios, if the system has poor cooling, it will effect performance negatively. This is to be expected and under normal circumstances and a system like the imac (which has superior cooling) should be a non-issue.

Luckily the imac has great cooling so that will not be an issue, the 680mx already overclocks to approximately 970mhz core (which is stock GTX 680 I believe). I imagine the 780m will do the same or slightly better.

 

[Ethere]

I'm not going to be able to do it until February, but here's my specs.

3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X8GB
3TB Fusion Drive
Apple USB SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) & User's Guide
Accessory Kit

$2,798.00

Thanks to my company giving us a discount on purchases through the EPP store.

I may throw in an Apple TV too.

 

[iCore24]

Woah! Didn't see that coming today.

I always wondered this about your avatar? Are you a boy or girl?

 

[twarner776]

ok with the new PCIe, can someone please explain to me why I would want a 256 ssd over a 1TB fusion? same cost just trying to determine if I am missing something. Overall drive space is not a huge concern for me.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

ok with the new PCIe, can someone please explain to me why I would want a 256 ssd over a 1TB fusion? same cost just trying to determine if I am missing something. Overall drive space is not a huge concern for me.

It's a reduction in operations per second delays. PCIE will provide greater performance freeing up operations on the CPU/GPU as you read/write to your system.

Then again, the PCIE SSD 1TB is over kill and one should have a 2-4TB external data drive for most of one's work.

 

[jwp333]

No unpacking pictures yet??? Are they in stores now?

I often think that it's about time to replace my 2007 iMac, but then I think it really does everything I want about as quickly as I like. The 27 inch screen would be my best reason for updating (20" now).

Did notice that the refurb models came down in price by a decent amount too. I've had my eye on the model with the i7 and fusion drive and 2gb graphics for a while. Lowered by $150 or $200 today.

 

[milo]

16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X8GB

With any mac that has user accessible memory, in most cases I would never buy extra ram from Apple. They're charging $200 for 8 extra gigs, you could add 16 gigs for around $130 if you get it from a third party and pop it in yourself.

 

[Justin L Franks]

No unpacking pictures yet??? Are they in stores now?

They are in stores now.

For unpacking pictures, look at last year's pics. Only what's inside the case has changed.

 

[stw]

PCIe SSD in MacMini?

• SSDs will be PCIe based.
• Haswell processor
• 802.11ac
• Mini: still integrated graphics
• rMBP: possibly Iris Pro on 13", 7xx series graphics otherwise.

Can Apple use a PCIe SSD without a major redesign of the Mini?
I think the PCIe SSDs are soldered on the main board an there is no space for the flash chips.
Currently a SATa connector is used and the HDs are below the main board.

 

[tpp]

Is the update now available worldwide? It doesn't say anything on the UK website. Also, what do you guys recommend the best way to order? Can I get a custom build if I go into my local apple store?

 

[Justin L Franks]

Is the update now available worldwide? It doesn't say anything on the UK website. Also, what do you guys recommend the best way to order? Can I get a custom build if I go into my local apple store?

The new models are on the UK site:

http://store.apple.com/uk/mac/family/imac

 

[milo]

I think the PCIe SSDs are soldered on the main board an there is no space for the flash chips.

PCIe is not soldered on the macbook air or upcoming Mac Pro, doubt it is on these iMacs and probably wouldn't be on the mini either. There's a good chance that Apple will standardize all macs on the same form factor of PCIe SSD drive, the only difference may be sizes and speeds.