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Buy iMac now or wait (and risk NVDIA failure)?

macstatic

macstatic

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Oct 21, 2005
2,062
176
Norway
I've been holding off my iMac purchase for a while after having read about a new model possibly rolling out in January, but getting worried after reading about the NVDIA problems in recent MacBook Pros and the new (January 2009) iMac rumored to be using NVDIA graphic chips instead of ATI as they're currently using.

Surprisingly there hasn't been much concern about this, but the big question for me is if I should grab the current iMac (with ATI chips) right away or wait until Jan. 10th (when Macworld 2009 is over) or assume that Apple has sorted things out with NVDIA and a better spec'd iMac will roll out from the factory.

Surely Apple won't risk shipping thousands of computers with potentially flawed chips? Then again I hear people discuss that Apple may just be hoping most people don't find out about their flawed computers as the problems only show up in certain instances (heavy workload on the graphic processor in games etc.).
What should I do, and what's the big deal about NVDIA graphic chips vs. ATI? What kind of improvement in a 20" iMac will I be looking at?
 
I'd wait to see what is released on Jan 6th then, if I didn't like it, buy one of today's models knock-down on the refurb section of the Apple site.
 
skye12 said:
Under no circumstances buy one now. The new ones will be a major
upgrade from the current processors.
Click to expand...

It won't be Nehalem, if that's what you're thinking. It will be Montevina-clocked Penryn chips, and the current ones are already clocked to Montevina speeds. The only improvements will come from the GPU and RAM speed.
 
Whats a Nehalem?
policeman.gif
 
macstatic said:
But what about the NVIDIA graphic hardware?
Is it a real concern or not?
Click to expand...

The problem with Nvidia Graphics is in the Early 2007 to Early 2008 Models that overheat. There is NO PROBLEM with the NEW Nvidia chips in the MB, MBP, and MBA. They are all actually great chips and much better than the ATI even.

I suspect the new iMac may even be a new design from what I have read. Also, one post a few weeks ago said that Apple was waiting for the Quad Core CPU for new computers. Now, I don't know if that is for Mac Pros or the iMac, but any way you look at it, you should WAIT.

The new iMacs will be worth the wait. Faster graphics, possibly dual graphics (which Snow Leopard could take advantage of), faster system bus, faster memory possibly, and possibly faster CPU speed.

In addition, some of the best updates may be iLife 09! And that is all by waiting only seven more days! So, wait it out!
 
I would wait to see if the iMac gets refreshed as is rumored, which will be a decent upgrade from the currently shipping models. There's no risk of NVIDIA failure as it was limited to the GeForce 8600M GT that was used in the Mid 2007 - Early 2008 MacBook Pros and has been rectified in the GeForce 9600M GT that ships with the Late 2008 MacBook Pro, and the GeForce 8400M which was used in other models of notebook computers. There were no other GPUs that were affected by that issue, so there's no need to worry.
 
Thanks Scottsdale and Mercellus -just the information I was looking for to clear things up.

Sounds like a few days' wait might be worth it. What worries me however is lacking Firewire ports (or at best just one port), as the trend goes with Mac laptops. But perhaps that's just a space-saving issue on a laptop and no real issue on a desktop computer like the iMac -what do you think?
Will there likely be any downsides to the new release?

Another thing: I've been following the various NVDIA discussions here and notice that a lot of people have bad things to say about NVDIA in general. Why is that? Are they rumored to make badly designed products?
 
I was going to get a Macbook Pro, but I have been persuaded to get a iMac as I don't go mobile that often. Like you I am going to get one very shortly.

Personally I agree, wait.

Even if Apple can't shoe horn a Nahalem into the iMac they are bound to get a nice update to the CPU.

The nVidia's chips are faster than the chips ATi make and the nVidia chips in iMac's are unaffected by previous problems with there notebook chips.

Also if Apple wants to keep up with it's competitors there should be more RAM and a larger hard drive in the standard configuration.

Even if the iMac's are not announced at Macworld and we have to wait for an event next month or something it will be worth the wait.

EDIT: As for people saying bad things about nVidia, that's just fanboyism. nVidia and ATI are like AMD and Intel, Xbox and PlayStation, Apple and Microsoft, Coke and Pepsi, they are two rivals in the same product space. People get behind the company competing in the space they love and badmouth the company they don't. Honestly as a PC gamer I've always gone for the company with better performance at the moment I'm ready to buy a new card so I've had both ATI and nVidia. ATi normally comes out with the fastest chip ever, then nVidia quickly comes out with one that's slightly faster chip, then a few months later the cycle repeats. There both good but I've had problems with both ATI and nVidia cards. I've had problems with both companies drivers also. Neither is a clear winner and so people argue. People either back nVidia with it's better benchmark results (well sometimes better) or the small little Canadian company ATI.
 
tallest skill you really are full of yourself, you are not always correct! core i7 applies to macs, just as core 2 duo, which i can see in your signature...
 
mpshay said:
unless they put one in a Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

Read the below. My below, not his below.

nathans89 said:
tallest skill you really are full of yourself, you are not always correct! core i7 applies to macs, just as core 2 duo, which i can see in your signature...
Click to expand...

Core i7 does NOT apply to Macs unless they put desktop chips in the next iMac (they won't) or Intel decides to call the entire line Core i7. Core i7 is the name of the Nehalem desktop processor, and there is no Mac that uses desktop processors. If Intel calls the rest of the line Core i7, then it applies to Macs, but until they do, we have no official name for the Nehalem processors that will go into future Macs. I have Core 2 in my signature because that's what they're called. You'll also note that I have Nehalem in my signature instead of Core i7.
 
Another thing...
What about displayport which the new iMac is rumored to get?
I must admit I know very little about it, and what I would need it for (I don't have a bang up to date TV with HDMI, so I won't be able to take advantage of HD anyway), but I did read an article about the built-in copy-protection which prevents people from watching movies on a second screen.

Now, I've never bought a movie from Apple or anything, but might want to connect the iMac to my TV so I can watch free streaming online video or show an iMovie slideshow for people visiting etc.
Would I run into problems and be better off buying the current iMac with a non-copy protected video port?
 
macstatic said:
Another thing...
What about displayport which the new iMac is rumored to get?
I must admit I know very little about it, and what I would need it for (I don't have a bang up to date TV with HDMI, so I won't be able to take advantage of HD anyway), but I did read an article about the built-in copy-protection which prevents people from watching movies on a second screen.

Now, I've never bought a movie from Apple or anything, but might want to connect the iMac to my TV so I can watch free streaming online video or show an iMovie slideshow for people visiting etc.
Would I run into problems and be better off buying the current iMac with a non-copy protected video port?
Click to expand...

This has my slightly concerned as well. I wonder if this will require yet another new mini-dvi to dvi adapter... :(
 
Hello,

I'm a newcomer to macrumors.com following my pursuit for an iMac. I own a Windows laptop which I am replacing soon due to its age, not to mention its apparent existence as a slug. I often run multiple programs, more often than not Adobe's Photoshop, and InDesign with the occasional use of Illustrator and CAD programs (ArchiCAD, AutoCAD, Artlantis) which, more often than not, runs unbearably slow (think of a 1.6ghz, 512mb RAM laptop trying to Photoshop and InDesign at the same time). I am an architecture student looking for a computer which, should be it at all possible, can last until I graduate (if all goes well, in 2013).

I am looking at the 2.66ghz iMac since there is little difference in cost, which justifies the upgrades over the 2.4ghz entry-level model, added to the fact that I can get student discount. Speaking of which, I was waiting for the rumours to come true, you know, the rumour saying there will be hardware updates speculated in the Macworld expo, at which Apple has quite apparently disappointed many of us hoping for a new iMac/mac mini. So now, I have waited and waited, albeit much briefer than some people here, for a new iMac which would pose a better value for my investment.

So now that there is no new iMac released at the Macworld, I am anxious as to whether I should wait.. I definitely NEED a new computer by end of February, at which I start a new semester of university studies, which is expected to be full of sleepless nights trying to finish projects. Which goes to say, I NEED a new computer to make sure I finish my work in time and hopefully keep me entertained while enduring those sleepless nights I will inevitably encounter.

So, following the OP's last post, is it possible that Apple could ship new iMacs before the end of February? If not, I think I'll just jump in and 'bite the bullet' on a brand new 2.66ghz iMac. If there is even a slight possibility of a release, I will wait until the last minute I need the machine so to not disappoint myself in buying an 'old' technology, as I've done time and time again in the past.

Sorry for the long post BTW..

Reno.
 
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