Core i7-Based 27" iMac Now Shipping

[MacRumors]

Earlier this week, we noted that customers were receiving notifications that their quad-core Core i5-based 27" iMac orders had begun shipping. At the time, we had not received word about the status of order for machines carrying Intel's Core i7 processor, a $200 upgrade over the Core i5 models.

A number of readers have now reported, however, that their Core i7-based iMac orders have been shipped, with the majority of customers reporting delivery scheduled for next week.

Apple's new 16:9 widescreen iMacs in 21.5" and 27" sizes were released last month, with all 21.5" models and Intel Core 2 Duo-based 27" models shipping immediately upon launch. High-end 27" models carrying the desktop-class Core i5 and Core i7 processors, however, were announced as not shipping until November.

New orders for all 27" models are showing some delays in shipping, with Core 2 Duo models currently showing shipment in 7-10 business days and Core i5 and i7 models still simply listing a "November" shipping date, but customers who placed early orders for the machines should expect to receive them in fairly short order.

Article Link: Core i7-Based 27" iMac Now Shipping

 

[Xavier]

Id like to see a performance comparison with this new iMac.

Is there one out?

 

[sascha h-k]

hopefully to get my i7 27" 2.8 soon ..

 

[Eidorian]

The Core i7 860 and Mobility HD 4850 are going to give the base single socket Mac Pro a lot of trouble.

 

[MacUser0086]

Great news!

I wonder how long is it gonna take to ship my order which was made yesterday...

 

[Bafflefish]

The Core i7 860 and Mobility HD 4850 are going to give the base single socket Mac Pro a lot of trouble.

Very true. In fact, overall the i7 860/4850 27" iMac is probably a better deal all around than the base model Mac Pro also. Obviously the expandability is lost, but outside of upgrading the measly GPU on the Mac Pro, I question just how many other upgrades a user would do for it anyway (given the limited availability of aftermarket primary hardware components).

 

[BornAgainMac]

I noticed a 4x performance using Handbrake (Windows version) compared to a Core 2 running at 2.6Ghz on my Macbook Pro. The i7 is a screamer.

 

[Eidorian]

Very true. In fact, overall the i7 860/4850 27" iMac is probably a better deal all around than the base model Mac Pro also. Obviously the expandability is lost, but outside of upgrading the measly GPU on the Mac Pro, I question just how many other upgrades a user would do for it anyway (given the limited availability of aftermarket primary hardware components).

The biggest challenge for the iMac is external I/O more so than the limited GPU upgrade paths for the Mac Pro. You're capped at FireWire 800 for anything outside the local disk and that's much more limiting. Apple needs to add some eSATA/USB ports.

I noticed a 4x performance using Handbrake (Windows version) compared to a Core 2 running at 2.6Ghz on my Macbook Pro. The i7 is a screamer.

Going from my Q6600 to a Core i5 750 is noticeable as well. Handbrake really takes advantage of the CPU hardware available.

I don't want a performance comparison, I want to know what applications take good advantage of 8 virtual cores or otherwise have a notably better experience on i7 vs i5 or C2D.

Rocketman

Handbrake

 

[Rocketman]

I don't want a performance comparison, I want to know what applications take good advantage of 8 virtual cores or otherwise have a notably better experience on i7 vs i5 or C2D.

Is there a way/hack to plug into the PCIe bus and run a wire out to a RAID, or in to a SSD?

Rocketman

 

[AdeFowler]

I wonder if they have 10.6.2. pre-installed. Seems mad to have to update the OS on day one otherwise.

 

[Bafflefish]

The biggest challenge for the iMac is external I/O more so than the limited GPU upgrade paths for the Mac Pro. You're capped at FireWire 800 for anything outside the local disk and that's much more limiting. Apple needs to add some eSATA/USB ports.

Unfortunately I don't think we'll see Apple add eSATA. Given their interest in Lightpeak, I think they'll probably just stick to the "status quo" in regards to which connection standards they're using, until Lightpeak becomes available, at which time they'll hail it as a breakthrough new connection standard that they'll be using.

 

[Bubba Satori]

The Core i7 860 and Mobility HD 4850 are going to give the base single socket Mac Pro a lot of trouble.

Yep.

If there was a matte screen option, BD and an ATI 5800 in it, I'd be all over it. Maybe next year.

 

[Eidorian]

Unfortunately I don't think we'll see Apple add eSATA. Given their interest in Lightpeak, I think they'll probably just stick to the "status quo" in regards to which connection standards they're using, until Lightpeak becomes available, at which time they'll hail it as a breakthrough new connection standard that they'll be using.

LightPeak has captured a lot of mindshare for being a gray area future connector that's still vaporware.

I like the concepts behind it but it's not here. It also feels lot like Apple's fetish and long heritage of money making adapters.

 

[Bafflefish]

I wonder if they have 10.6.2. pre-installed. Seems mad to have to update the OS on day one otherwise.

It depends on when 10.6.2 went production, and the build date of the system. Remember, 10.6.2 was just released, and although the systems are just now shipping, that doesn't mean the system was just assembled. Between assembly, QA testing, packaging and shipping, that likely occured several days or more ago. Thus, if 10.6.2 had been finalized at that time, it very well may be installed. If not, meh, it's an update away.

Lots of products ship and have an update available on day one. In fact, I'd guess to say most software products (and by extension, hardware products that use software) usually have some type of update (be it drivers, firmware, patches, enhancements, etc.) available when the user gets the product setup and running.

 

[tezro]

Still too bad about the videocard.
If it had a 4890 or better I would seriously consider replacing my Mac Pro Early-2008. AlthoughI would have to miss out on my SSD as it's too small to hold both OS's.

At the moment my MP with a 4890 1GB can struggle quite a bit with WoW during a raid at 1920x1200. Let alone a mobile 4850 doing that.

Suggestion: 2 hard drives in that iMac, or it least one empty one ;-)

 

[Bafflefish]

LightPeak has captured a lot of mindshare for being a gray area future connector that's still vaporware.

I like the concepts behind it but it's not here. It also feels lot like Apple's fetish and long heritage of money making adapters.

Well, while there was a lot of discussion regarding Apple having "developed" the concept of LightPeak and presenting it to Intel for development, wasn't the actual reality that discussion and early conceptual design had already been started by Intel before Apple even knew?

Whether Apple takes credit, or Intel, I think ultimately whether it takes off or not will depend solely on how they present it to other manufacturers. Lost in the Apple lust is often the realization that when it comes to standards, Apple's track record has been fairly... unimpressive within the last decade or so. If they and/or Intel try and take the FireWire route, my guess is it'll not be very successful. If they take the free licensing route (a.la USB), it could take off quite a bit.

Personally I am happy to see though that Apple has somewhat learned from its ways, as it offered to not charge licensing fees for mDP.

 

[MrCyberdude]

Just got this email from Apple.

IMAC 27"/4850-512MB Z0GF

Shipment Date:11/11/2009
Delivers by:18/11/2009

http://www.tnt.com/

Destination TRARALGON (Australia)
Delivery Date
Signatory
Date Time Location Status
11 Nov 2009 22:09:25 Pudong International Airport Shipment Received At Transit Point.
11 Nov 2009 22:02:41 Pudong International Airport Shipment In Transit.
11 Nov 2009 21:37:00 Shanghai Shipment In Transit.
11 Nov 2009 21:22:56 Shanghai Shipment In Transit.
11 Nov 2009 20:26:28 Shanghai Shipment Collected From Sender.

 

[Eidorian]

Well, while there was a lot of discussion regarding Apple having "developed" the concept of LightPeak and presenting it to Intel for development, wasn't the actual reality that discussion and early conceptual design had already been started by Intel before Apple even knew?

Whether Apple takes credit, or Intel, I think ultimately whether it takes off or not will depend solely on how they present it to other manufacturers. Lost in the Apple lust is often the realization that when it comes to standards, Apple's track record has been fairly... unimpressive within the last decade or so. If they and/or Intel try and take the FireWire route, my guess is it'll not be very successful. If they take the free licensing route (a.la USB), it could take off quite a bit.

I think my point overall is that all this LightPeak mindshare is giving Apple a lot of leeway from the user base to completely ignore eSATA, SATA 6 Gbps, and USB 3.0 while every other vendor moves on right now.

Personally I am happy to see though that Apple has somewhat learned from its ways, as it offered to not charge licensing fees for mDP.

That is rather refreshing. Though I think mini Display Port is more useful on an Eyefinity 5870 more so than a notebook with a single output.

 

[DipDog3]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

Can't wait to see the benchmarks!

 

[Scottsdale]

Very true. In fact, overall the i7 860/4850 27" iMac is probably a better deal all around than the base model Mac Pro also. Obviously the expandability is lost, but outside of upgrading the measly GPU on the Mac Pro, I question just how many other upgrades a user would do for it anyway (given the limited availability of aftermarket primary hardware components).

I doubt it will affect the true "pro" buyers at all. Now, those who are just buying the Mac Pro to be cool can now buy an iMac and get the 27" display for free essentially over the Mac Pro. So, it will affect a very small group of Mac Pro buyers who would have been better off with the iMac anyways. The real "pros" will definitely need more customization than the iMac allows... especially when wanting to upgrade graphics and etc down the road. I am sure Apple has done the math on it.

One last note, this iMac really shows us that Apple has no plans for the "headless" Mac no matter how many want it. Apple has to sell the display too for the margin and revenues required to keep stakeholders happy.

 

[Scottsdale]

I think my point overall is that all this LightPeak mindshare is giving Apple a lot of leeway from the user base to completely ignore eSATA, SATA 6 Gbps, and USB 3.0 while every other vendor moves on right now.


That is rather refreshing. Though I think mini Display Port is more useful on an Eyefinity 5870 more so than a notebook with a single output.

And I think talking about LightPeak is ridiculous as it's going to be several years before any manufacturer uses it. And there is no proof that Apple has any intentions of using it. It takes a long time for a standard like this to be implemented and accessory makers to incorporate it into their peripherals.

Ever since the LightPeak post, and RUMOR that Apple wants to use it, hit this site everyone wants to talk LightPeak in every thread... it's a long ways off... No, longer than that. USB 3.0 is now getting pushed back to 2011 for Intel chipsets, and that has been in progress for years.

 

[Nitrox]

My Core i7

I ordered mine on October 30th and it hasn't shipped yet...Can't wait any longer!

 

[eliotw]

Mine's on the way too...

Apple's email suggested a Nov-16 delivery, but FedEx say it will be this Friday Nov-13!!!

MAC 27"/4850-512MB Z0GF

Ship Date: Nov 11, 2009
Estimated delivery: Nov 13, 2009 by 10:30 AM

Destination: San Francisco

Nov 11, 2009 9:52 PM In transit SHANGHAI CN
Nov 11, 2009 8:46 PM In transit SHANGHAI CN
Nov 11, 2009 11:02 AM Left FedEx origin facility SHANGHAI CN
Nov 11, 2009 10:59 AM Picked up SHANGHAI CN
Nov 10, 2009 8:44 PM Shipment information sent to FedEx

 

[Bafflefish]

Still too bad about the videocard.
If it had a 4890 or better I would seriously consider replacing my Mac Pro Early-2008. AlthoughI would have to miss out on my SSD as it's too small to hold both OS's.

At the moment my MP with a 4890 1GB can struggle quite a bit with WoW during a raid at 1920x1200. Let alone a mobile 4850 doing that.

Suggestion: 2 hard drives in that iMac, or it least one empty one ;-)

A mobile 4850 at a much higher resolution than 1920x1200, mind you

Honestly though, I'm guessing one of the primary reasons they didn't go for anything beyond the mobile 4850 is simply thermal output. While the Lynnfield-based i5 and i7 are fairly cool/efficient processors, they're still consuming considerably more power than the prior mobile Core 2s, and so since Apple probably wanted to keep the total thermal envelop of the system down, they decided to stick with the 4850.

 

[nicroma]

Apple's email suggested a Nov-16 delivery, but FedEx say it will be this Friday Nov-13!!!

Same here