Join the world of 3d rendering, my friend! Rendering engines punish those processors with hyper-threading!
I honestly can't think of any other app I use besides C4d which will use the HT.
Oh well, that's why I'm getting it anyway.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Hands-On Impressions and Other Tidbits From Today's Releases
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Join the world of 3d rendering, my friend! Rendering engines punish those processors with hyper-threading!
I honestly can't think of any other app I use besides C4d which will use the HT.
Oh well, that's why I'm getting it anyway.
Overall, I like it - I'm getting the Ci7. However, I'll probably wait a couple of weeks before buying on the off chance we'll get some really terrible feedback from early buyers (massive overheating etc.).
That said, I'm only 90% satisfied. I don't care that much about BluRay. I'd much prefer a matte option, but I can live. The weakest link here is the HDD. No option for a SSD = bad. Also, if indeed there is no easy user access to the HDD = bad. Two nasties. I'd also prefer height adjustable. Finally, I'd have liked another FW access point, and 6 USB instead of 4.
It looks like the Ci7 is a good buy, because not much will happen for a year at least - it will be pretty future proof. The HDD though is a disaster - drives fail, and fail frequently; it should be a no brainer to have easy access. And the SSD option would be wonderful - really the single greatest performance booster at this point... of course, I understand that controllers are not standardized as yet, and capacities are tiny for stupid prices, but going forward that will change... only again, you won't be able to easily swap the HDD for a shiny new SDD when the time comes, because there's no easy access.
Still - 90% there. I'm very, very, pleased with this update. Frankly, I did not expect this until at least March of 2010, and even then I didn't think they'd do as nice a job with the top of the line iMac. I'm very, very impressed. Can't wait to buy it!!
That said, I'm only 90% satisfied. I don't care that much about BluRay. I'd much prefer a matte option, but I can live. The weakest link here is the HDD. No option for a SSD = bad. Also, if indeed there is no easy user access to the HDD = bad. Two nasties. I'd also prefer height adjustable. Finally, I'd have liked another FW access point, and 6 USB instead of 4.
It looks like the Ci7 is a good buy, because not much will happen for a year at least - it will be pretty future proof. The HDD though is a disaster - drives fail, and fail frequently; it should be a no brainer to have easy access. And the SSD option would be wonderful - really the single greatest performance booster at this point... of course, I understand that controllers are not standardized as yet, and capacities are tiny for stupid prices, but going forward that will change... only again, you won't be able to easily swap the HDD for a shiny new SDD when the time comes, because there's no easy access.
Still - 90% there. I'm very, very, pleased with this update. Frankly, I did not expect this until at least March of 2010, and even then I didn't think they'd do as nice a job with the top of the line iMac. I'm very, very impressed. Can't wait to buy it!!
Thanks for this....very informative.
So let me ask:
1) Is the HT in these chips similar to the Mac Pros Xeons? Doesn't the 8 core Mac Pro show up as 16 virtual cores?
2) How would the i7 iMac compare to my 1st gen 2.66 Mac Pro Quad?
-Kevin
Depends on what you are going to do with the computer. Do not buy the imac if you are going to game whatsoever. Most people usually just surf the internet, email and run office applications. This iMac is way overkill for that but it will be great at those tasks. i7 for video encoding will be great. When the first reviews come out for gaming and people see that a 512MB video card running a screen of that size at that resolution will immediately force you into low to medium settings people are going to be upset. If you don't care about that then I think this iMac is great for you.
Pretty much yeah. Unless you're doing a lot of computation (image/audio/video stuff) you're probably better off without HT. Might be interesting to enable HT for a one-off ripping of a DVD if you have an i7, but overall the lack of HT in the i5 shouldn't be a big issue.
It's the same tech yes, works the same way. HT isn't exactly young (Intel's first HT CPU was released in May 2003)
Quite favorably as far as the CPU is concerned I think, disk access might be a bigger issue (the i5 would have been limited in memory bandwidth, but the i7 is a monster on that front so…)
SATA is not a standard?
That's the second time today that someone has claimed that, and I don't understand what they mean.
SSD drives are available in 2.5" PATA and SATA/SATAII controller interfaces, and right down to the screw holes for mounting they're plug-in compatible with 2.5" PATA and SATA spinning drives.
There are also 1.8" drives using the Micro-SATA connector standard, and some Mini-PCIe standard drives.
What do you mean by the "controllers are not standardized as yet"?
That's the second time today that someone has claimed that, and I don't understand what they mean.
SSD drives are available in 2.5" PATA and SATA/SATAII controller interfaces, and right down to the screw holes for mounting they're plug-in compatible with 2.5" PATA and SATA spinning drives.
There are also 1.8" drives using the Micro-SATA connector standard, and some Mini-PCIe standard drives.
What do you mean by the "controllers are not standardized as yet"?
I was looking at a PATA 2.5" SSD for an iBook last week.
Yes, I realize it was silly.
What memory bandwidth limits? I know it's dual channel but Anandtech looked at it in depth. It's not a problem.
The issue is TRIM. I guess you could say the problem is at the other end, but regardless, it's an issue.
This is tangential and really future oriented, but if you're looking at performance, hardware has to improve. SSD is new tech and not well integrated at all.
For what? The iMac? It’s built-in with just a regular power cord coming out the back. No idea the wattage yet though.
I would say fraying “regular” MacBook adapters.
Attachments
It has been on the iMac's spec page for hours.
What it draws from the outlet is going to be greater.
It has been on the iMac's spec page for hours.
Your link doesn’t work.
But you’re right, it’s here:
http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html
I wouldn’t call it gimmicky. It’s been a big request of students for a while (gaming, one device in a dorm room, etc). It also prolongs the all-in-one lifecycle since now you won’t have to ditch the perfectly fine monitor when you get your next computer.
My question is how does it work? Is it an EFI function? Or do you have to boot into Mac OS X first?
"27-inch models also support input from external DisplayPort sources (adapters sold separately).”
Does it work with just DisplayPort sources? Or would a DisplayPort to female HDMI/DVI cable work?
I am almost salivating at these new iMacs, but I cannot and will not get one because it lacks a matte screen. There's tons of people like me who will not get glossy screens. There's a petition website http://macmatte.wordpress.com where I think people who want matte screens should group together to petition. Writing individually to Apple is good, but the problem is that those emails are hidden, and there's no public record of the groundswell of emotion against these glossy screens. I left a comment at the petition website, and I think everyone who wants matte screens should too.
Just ordered:
2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
2TB Serial ATA Drive
Apple Magic Mouse
8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) and User's Guide
ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
Country Kit
8x double-layer SuperDrive
+ Apple Remote + iPod Classic
Can't wait til November!!!!
2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
2TB Serial ATA Drive
Apple Magic Mouse
8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) and User's Guide
ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
Country Kit
8x double-layer SuperDrive
+ Apple Remote + iPod Classic
Can't wait til November!!!!
Youll need an adapter or a $20 USB audio adapter/card-on-a-stick. Star Tech makes a few that work just fine with OS X.
It appears to be two sockets...
Edit: if you're talking about the MacBook, nevermind. I don't know what to do with that either.
Someone at Apple is mixed up. MBs (like the iMacs) should include the SD slot, but the MBPs should have an ExpressCard slot for the pros--besides the fact that many pro photographers use CF cards.
As others have noted, the lack of FW is designed to push the consumer toward the MBP.