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iMac Shipments Running Low Ahead of Refresh?
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Still working on my matte 24" white iMac
A couple issues with the iMacs that are present revision after revision it seems:
1) Lacklustre graphics card
Mobility 4670 and mobility 4850 were some of the best mobile gpus on the market when the iMacs were released last year though, only mobility 4870 and 280m/285m were clearly better.
Unfortunately, you are 100 percent right. (Same goes for cheaping-out on memory and hard drives.)
As an aside, I don't understand why this "premium" company with their premium-priced products can't seem to be able to afford to build their stuff right here in the US when they're charging 2500 bucks for 15 month old technology is beyond my understanding. China? Really? Obviously, they're making loads of money and its making Apple an absolute fortune, so why change anything? (watch me get call a "hater" by the fanboys for even saying this...)
Do you really think
will invest in new processors when they have a warehouse full of Core 2 Duos? If you don't know they put cost efficiency above all then you don't know Sorry to disappoint.
Do you really think
Sorry to disappoint.
This is hilarious. I guess Apple should've stayed with G4's too because they supposedly had warehouses full of those at the time instead of going to G5's, right? I guess Apple should've stayed with G5's because they supposedly had warehouses full of them at the time going to Core Duo's, right? I guess Apple should've stayed with Core Duo's because they supposedly had warehouses full of them at the time, right? Get real dude, I can't wait till Apple updates the iMacs and make you look like the complete imbecile you have proven yourself to be.
Also in the end the bulk price of the Core i3/i5 Clarkdale chips is less than the Core 2 Duo chips Apple was using. You presuming that Apple somehow has over-ordered Core 2 Duo's for their supply is a complete joke. You seem to have no grasp on how supply and demand works and you are just arguing for the sake of arguing. Furthermore, this is the first time Apple has even used Wolfdale processors in any of their computers making your argument of Apple supposedly having warehouses full of these chips even worse.
Yeah, what's with all the talk of redesign?
I'd be happy enough with eSATA. Firewire 800 is nice, but with eSATA than needing another internal drive wouldn't be a big deal.
An easier to replace HD sure would be nice. It's not THAT hard in the current iMac but it's harder than I like.
Still working on my matte 24" white iMac
A couple issues with the iMacs that are present revision after revision it seems:
1) Lacklustre graphics card
2) No matte option
3) Poor quality control on screens.
I took back a 27" iMac after the yellow tinge issue. My iPad has a yellow tinge as well but I'm too busy right now to deal with it.
From a business perspective you can't argue with the way they build them.
1) Cheap graphics card
2) Shinny products sell
3) Savings on quality control!
And they sell- so why make them better? Seriously!
The problem is in LED-backlit not the LCD panel itself. Two different things.
I might just be tempted by a 27" if SSD is an option, but knowing Apple it would probably be a very expensive BTO.
I don't see larger screens coming and would be surprised to see them changing the exterior so soon.
New firewire and usb3 might make it, though the former might come to Mac Pro first. BluRay? Not a chance, not now, not ever. It simply doesn't match Apple's business model (selling movies through iTunes).
More likely that optical drives are abandoned completely, but not yet.
User-replaceable harddrive would be awesome, but this would eat into BTO sales, so I am not too hopeful.
Really like my Mini and 30" IPS Dell. New Mini is just too expensive compared to the iMacs :-(
I don't see larger screens coming and would be surprised to see them changing the exterior so soon.
New firewire and usb3 might make it, though the former might come to Mac Pro first. BluRay? Not a chance, not now, not ever. It simply doesn't match Apple's business model (selling movies through iTunes).
More likely that optical drives are abandoned completely, but not yet.
User-replaceable harddrive would be awesome, but this would eat into BTO sales, so I am not too hopeful.
Really like my Mini and 30" IPS Dell. New Mini is just too expensive compared to the iMacs :-(
Couldn't wait any longer, so purchased my 21.5" 413B version last friday. Have to say, I am very impressed, my work load has been halfed in a few days. Cant wait to have a full weekend to use it and really road test. 
I agree that the new Mini isn't at all price competitive compared to the outdated iMacs. It will be even worse once the iMacs gets updated. I guess Apple no longer need the price competitive entry level computer that the Mac Mini was introduced as.
On the iMac:
I've also been thinking about the need for user replaceable hard drives, to be able to swap it for an SSD without any problems (and/or warranty). But if we get either FW3200 or eSATA there wouldn't be a need for disk swapping. There's a lot of nice eSATA 2,5" enclosures to use for this purpose.
The disk part is the only real argument for not getting the iMac, I've become really accustomed with the nice and fast SSD in my MBP and do not want to take the step back to mechanics for the system drive.
Give me this 27" iMac and I'll go all in:
* Core i7 870 2.93GHz
* at least HD 5870
* Possibility to add a SSD drive without "hacks". (internally or FW3200/eSATA doesn't matter).
* It would also be nice to have an HDMI-in option, probably wont need it.. but it would be nice to have from time to time. Don't think this will be the case though.
I would like that the display issues are fixed.. it would be a shame if a new IPS panel isn't perfect when my 4.5 years old IPS (NEC 20WGX2) is perfect in all aspects.
On the iMac:
I've also been thinking about the need for user replaceable hard drives, to be able to swap it for an SSD without any problems (and/or warranty). But if we get either FW3200 or eSATA there wouldn't be a need for disk swapping. There's a lot of nice eSATA 2,5" enclosures to use for this purpose.
The disk part is the only real argument for not getting the iMac, I've become really accustomed with the nice and fast SSD in my MBP and do not want to take the step back to mechanics for the system drive.
Give me this 27" iMac and I'll go all in:
* Core i7 870 2.93GHz
* at least HD 5870
* Possibility to add a SSD drive without "hacks". (internally or FW3200/eSATA doesn't matter).
* It would also be nice to have an HDMI-in option, probably wont need it.. but it would be nice to have from time to time.
Don't think this will be the case though.I would like that the display issues are fixed.. it would be a shame if a new IPS panel isn't perfect when my 4.5 years old IPS (NEC 20WGX2) is perfect in all aspects.
Are you talking about the iPad or iPhone? You know, Apple products also get dirty even if they have a holy halo around as protection.
How's this for a powerhouse dream iMac...
30" LED screen(matte optional)
3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7
32GB RAM maximum
Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 dedicated GPU
512GB SSD system drive
2TB HDD
6 USB 3.0 ports
1 FW3200 port
Mini DisplayPort
eSata port
media card slot
gigabit ethernet port
optical audio i/o
BluRay Superdrive
Apple EXTENDED wireless keyboard with integrated MULTITOUCH TRACKPAD
30" LED screen(matte optional)
3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7
32GB RAM maximum
Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 dedicated GPU
512GB SSD system drive
2TB HDD
6 USB 3.0 ports
1 FW3200 port
Mini DisplayPort
eSata port
media card slot
gigabit ethernet port
optical audio i/o
BluRay Superdrive
Apple EXTENDED wireless keyboard with integrated MULTITOUCH TRACKPAD
How's this for a powerhouse dream iMac...
30" LED screen(matte optional)
3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7
32GB RAM maximum
Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 dedicated GPU
512GB SSD system drive
2TB HDD
6 USB 3.0 ports
1 FW3200 port
Mini DisplayPort
eSata port
media card slot
gigabit ethernet port
optical audio i/o
BluRay Superdrive
Apple EXTENDED wireless keyboard with integrated MULTITOUCH TRACKPAD
dream on...
There was a rumor that GPUs up to the "6770" will be 40 nm while the "6870" will be 28 nm in 2011. But since 28 nm may now be slated for late 2011 that probably won't happen.
The other reason I can think of is the increased die sizes of Southern Islands, although rumors say the die sizes won't be a lot bigger (≈20%?). I'm also thinking of supply constraints although I don't know if that'll be a problem.
If Apple does add the i5/i7 to the 21.5'' line, they will most likely only be the Dual Core chips.
I would love to see in this iMac update, for the 27" at least:
Core i7 875K (or something somewhat/slightly faster than the i7 860)
Official support for DDR3-10666 (I mean, my current i7 iMac uses it just fine)
Matte display option (please?!??!)
User replaceable hard drive (harken back to the original iMac G5)
Option of no built-in speakers on the high end (allow for more cooling for GPU/CPU, more room for other stuff)
nVidia GeForce GTX 460/470 or ATI Radeon 5850 or 5870 (if the no speaker thing works) with >512MB VRAM (seriously, you're pushing a 3MP display, 512MB of VRAM barely does it, at least include 1GB of VRAM)
2.5" SSD slot somewhere in there
>=2 USB 3.0 slots and >=3 USB 2.0 slots (and space them out a bit better please)
>=1 Firewire 1600/3200 (don't be daft, and at least add a converter to 800 and/or 400)
Blu-Ray (lol, it'd be nice, but it won't happen)
mDP/HDMI in and out (even if it's just in, if Apple is too cheap/lazy to add a scaler that doesn't use the GPU, then 720p would be fine, as that pixel doubles nicely to the 27" res)
Ability to use Target Displayport In without requiring the computer to be on and booted into the OS
Target Displayport toggle to not require specific Apple keyboards
9K jumbo frames (ie. Apple, don't skimp out on the NIC controller this time, it's sad when my original MacBook Pro 15" unibody does network transfers almost 2-2.5x as fast)
Higher quality iSight camera (2.0-3.2MP sensor would be nice)
More frequent Boot Camp driver updates for GPUs (that's across the board) or just allow stock Catalyst/GeForce drivers from ATI/nVidia to work fine)
Remember when the original Power Mac G4s had DVD-RAM drives in there? They failed, and it got shuffled under the carpet.
Steve, even if Blu-Ray is a bag of hurt, choice would be nice. Given that there is no competing HD disc format anymore, I don't think there'd be a repeat of the DVD-RAM dismissal. A burner isn't necessary. Combo drive would be fine.
I assume that you can make Blu-Ray projects in FCP. I assume it would be nice to play that disc back without having to boot into Windows just to view it.
As for eSata, yes it's faster than FW800/USB2, but it can be a pain to hook up, since the eSata cable doesn't provide power. (Quite the oversight.)
If a good majority of this happens, my i7 iMac is so gone.
Core i7 875K (or something somewhat/slightly faster than the i7 860)
Official support for DDR3-10666 (I mean, my current i7 iMac uses it just fine)
Matte display option (please?!??!)
User replaceable hard drive (harken back to the original iMac G5)
Option of no built-in speakers on the high end (allow for more cooling for GPU/CPU, more room for other stuff)
nVidia GeForce GTX 460/470 or ATI Radeon 5850 or 5870 (if the no speaker thing works) with >512MB VRAM (seriously, you're pushing a 3MP display, 512MB of VRAM barely does it, at least include 1GB of VRAM)
2.5" SSD slot somewhere in there
>=2 USB 3.0 slots and >=3 USB 2.0 slots (and space them out a bit better please)
>=1 Firewire 1600/3200 (don't be daft, and at least add a converter to 800 and/or 400)
Blu-Ray (lol, it'd be nice, but it won't happen)
mDP/HDMI in and out (even if it's just in, if Apple is too cheap/lazy to add a scaler that doesn't use the GPU, then 720p would be fine, as that pixel doubles nicely to the 27" res)
Ability to use Target Displayport In without requiring the computer to be on and booted into the OS
Target Displayport toggle to not require specific Apple keyboards
9K jumbo frames (ie. Apple, don't skimp out on the NIC controller this time, it's sad when my original MacBook Pro 15" unibody does network transfers almost 2-2.5x as fast)
Higher quality iSight camera (2.0-3.2MP sensor would be nice)
More frequent Boot Camp driver updates for GPUs (that's across the board) or just allow stock Catalyst/GeForce drivers from ATI/nVidia to work fine)
Remember when the original Power Mac G4s had DVD-RAM drives in there? They failed, and it got shuffled under the carpet.
Steve, even if Blu-Ray is a bag of hurt, choice would be nice. Given that there is no competing HD disc format anymore, I don't think there'd be a repeat of the DVD-RAM dismissal. A burner isn't necessary. Combo drive would be fine.
I assume that you can make Blu-Ray projects in FCP. I assume it would be nice to play that disc back without having to boot into Windows just to view it.
As for eSata, yes it's faster than FW800/USB2, but it can be a pain to hook up, since the eSata cable doesn't provide power. (Quite the oversight.)
If a good majority of this happens, my i7 iMac is so gone.
It probably wont. Due to some licensing restrictions, apple was forced to put crappy intel graphics into the latest MBP, because intel isn't allowing any other manufacturer create iX sockets on their motherboards... At least they aren't letting them be used, not sure exactly what the wording is. The point is, if apple included the iX processors on a computer that doesn't have enough room for discrete graphics, then it'll have to be integrated graphics, which means they'll have to use intel graphics as the sole GPU, to replace the current offer of the Nvidia GeForce 9400m GPU on the 21.5 inch models. That would blow so hard... Say goodbye to performance... There's a games don't support intel graphics usually, they just plain suck.
No, not the only one. I believe that at least the entry level model will be Core 2 Duo with the 320/330 video. The current entry level MB and MBP still have Core 2 after their revision, so I see no reason the iMac won't.