iMac Supplies Becoming Constrained Ahead of Potential Refresh

[ericinboston]

My Mom's iMac is on its last legs. I think I got it for her in early 2006 and its screen is having some streaking problems. Otherwise it still works, but a lot of the latest Apple software won't load on it. ...

I'd be pretty ticked if my 4+ year old, $1300+ personal computer was a)having screen problems and b)was basically on it's last leg.

Every single Wintel and Mac machines I buy last at least 5 years...a high percentage of them last until 10 but by then they are so old it's almost pointless (such as only having USB 1.1 ports or old screen resolutions or floppy drives or small storage space) even though they run just fine.

You might want to spend $200 and see if it's just a memory and/or general performance problem that you can fix yourself.

 

[dr Dunkel]

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2. HDMI out

Why would be ever see this on an iMac? Mac mini, yes (it was overdue). iMac, never.

HDMI-in would be nice

 

[Herdfan]

Common Upgrades

1. Thunderbolt port
2. HDMI out
3. Sandybridge

Why would they put an HDMI port on it when they can just put the TB port on and then sell an adapter? Win-win for them.

 

[dr Dunkel]

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Yeah, following industry standard is boring

 

[zombierunner]

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HDMI-in would be nice

hell yea xbox 360 on imac in 1080p ... kanex xd and similar can only do 720p atm . need 1080p target display mode support

 

[Irishman]

Why would they put an HDMI port on it when they can just put the TB port on and then sell an adapter? Win-win for them.

You're forgetting that if the iMac user was shunting video to a big-screen TV via HDMI, the user might want to keep that port for that. Would leave the Thunderbolt port for other devices that they might want to keep plugged in without having to swap.

Not all of us want to plug and unplug...plug and unplug

 

[afrowq]

I think that's one of the reasons why Apple has held off with the iMac upgrade. They wanted the MacBook Pro to be ahead for a few months because it's a "pro" model line.

When I don't see hipsters, students, and soccer moms using Macbook "Pros" at Starbucks, then I'll believe that it's a "Pro" model

 

[Trauma1]

When I don't see hipsters, students, and soccer moms using Macbook "Pros" at Starbucks, then I'll believe that it's a "Pro" model

Performance and specifications determine whether or not it's a "Pro", not the people who use them. I'm not a professional race car driver, but my car has over 400hp. Does that mean that my car is not the high-performance sports car that the automotive world widely claims it to be?

And besides, how do you know those people aren't using heavy-duty applications? Is a thirty-second observation at Starbucks enough to justify such a statement?

 

[zombierunner]

Performance and specifications determine whether or not it's a "Pro", not the people who use them. I'm not a professional race car driver, but my car has over 400hp. Does that mean that my car is not the high-performance sports car that the automotive world widely claims it to be?

And besides, how do you know those people aren't using heavy-duty applications? Is a thirty-second observation at Starbucks enough to justify such a statement?

dang .. afrwq just got burned lol

 

[Frosticus]

Performance and specifications determine whether or not it's a "Pro", not the people who use them. I'm not a professional race car driver, but my car has over 400hp. Does that mean that my car is not the high-performance sports car that the automotive world widely claims it to be?

And besides, how do you know those people aren't using heavy-duty applications? Is a thirty-second observation at Starbucks enough to justify such a statement?

Agreed, the "Pro" bit is referring to it's spec relative to the standard MacBook.. not to the users..

BTW - has anyone else noticed the shipping times for the Mac Pros? 12-core and server are now 3-5 days in UK and US stores. Is this a slip also ahead of potential refresh? /optimism

 

[gnomeisland]

You're forgetting that if the iMac user was shunting video to a big-screen TV via HDMI, the user might want to keep that port for that. Would leave the Thunderbolt port for other devices that they might want to keep plugged in without having to swap.

Not all of us want to plug and unplug...plug and unplug

Thunderbolt is daisy chain-able. Now I give HDMI *in* a 1% chance on the 27" model since Apple sold a few on the virtue of the Mini-DP in on that model. However, HDMI costs Apple money and it is more likely you'll see Thunderbolt capable of turning the internal display into an external display for another device, or perhaps, TWO thunderbolt ports with said functionality.

I give the two thunderbolt ports a 2-3% chance but for me that's worth dreaming about.

 

[dr Dunkel]

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I guess the "pro" in the notebook world weighs a little less than in the world of racing

 

[afrowq]

Performance and specifications determine whether or not it's a "Pro", not the people who use them. I'm not a professional race car driver, but my car has over 400hp. Does that mean that my car is not the high-performance sports car that the automotive world widely claims it to be?

And besides, how do you know those people aren't using heavy-duty applications? Is a thirty-second observation at Starbucks enough to justify such a statement?

Yes, a 30 second observation of people surfing FB on their Macbook (pros) is sufficient for me to assume that they are not performing complex video rendering or multi-filter Photoshop layering.

Laptops are not Pro machines. A 13" laptop with shared memory and a glossy screen is not professional. Unless your profession is being a writer. The "pro" moniker is a marketing ploy.

I realize the 15" and 17" are more powerful, but you still can't edit 4K RED footage on one, for example. But a Mac Pro? There's nothing professional you can throw at it that it can't do.

Also, regarding the car metaphor: put your 400hp car up against a NASCAR or Formula 1 vehicle and see how well it does on the racetrack against other REAL professional cars.

The car is nice, I'm sure, but is not a vehicle doing professional high performance driving. The same is true of macbook pros. They're solid machines, but they are not professional performance machines.

 

[Jimmy Guphanti]

Not expecting a huge update here other than Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt, and 6XXX series AMD graphics.

Will the higher end models having the chance of 6XXX cards, will the lower end models, the $1199 and the $1499 have better graphics like 5XXX with 1GB GDDR5 or do you all think that they will stay the same? I say that the refresh will happen on either May 3 or May 10. If it does not happen on either of these days, it will happen at WWDC.

 

[andrewbecks]

Does anyone have any insight in how the ability of Thunderbolt to daisy chain will be impact by older Mini-DP devices, such as a 27" Cinema Display? Will it be possible or will the 27" Cinema Display be prevented from functioning in a Thunderbolt daisy chain?

I'm holding off on buying an iMac until the refresh, but if I won't be able to use my Cinema Display with Thunderbolt devices, than I may not need to wait.

 

[MCIowaRulz]

SNIP

21.5" (1920x1080) display
3.5 GHz i3 processor
8 GB RAM
1 TB HD
Thunderbolt
ATI Radeon HD 4870 (256MB)
HDMI out
$1499.99

SNIP

That is the one I'll be getting. Why an i3 SB and not an i7 SB? I don't see Apple using an i3 in anything

 

[Hellhammer]

I'd welcome HellHammer's thoughts on this as he generally has a well informed perspective on these things.

I have made my predictions and I still stand behind them. I don't really follow this thread though so if someone has me a question, you may be better off PMing me.

1199$ 21.5" iMac

Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1GHz)
AMD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5
500GB HD
2x2GB RAM; option for 4x2GB

1499$ 21.5" iMac

Intel Core i5-2400S (2.5/3.3GHz); option for Core i5-2500S (2.7/3.7GHz)
AMD 6750M with 512MB GDDR5
1TB HD; option for 2TB
2x2GB RAM: option for 4x2GB

1699$ 27" iMac

Intel Core i5-2400 (3.1/3.4GHz)
AMD 6750M with 512MB GDDR5; option for AMD 6950M with 1024MB GDDR5
1TB HD; option for 2TB
2x2GB RAM; options for 4x2GB, 2x4GB and 4x4GB

1999$ 27" iMac

Intel Core i7-2600 (3.4/3.8GHz)
AMD 6950M with 1024MB GDDR5
1TB HD; option for 2TB
2x4GB RAM; option for 4x4GB

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/11688279/

I'm sure it's been done to death, but I spent some time actually thinking about realistic-ish speculations of what the new line could look like. I think they're going to get rid of one SKU ( the step up 27" without the quad i7), because it's kind of redundant, and for the $100 price difference, I can't imagine anyone NOT spending the extra modey to get the quad core). The only spec that is more of a wishful thinking piece is the inclusion of the HD6800M 1GB card in the 27" quad i7. THAT would be a beast!

Common Upgrades

1. Thunderbolt port
2. HDMI out
3. Sandybridge

Now, here's the model breakdown:

21.5" (1920x1080) display
3.2 GHz i3 processor
4 GB RAM
500 GB HD
Thunderbolt
ATI Radeon HD 4870 (256MB)
HDMI out
$1199.99

21.5" (1920x1080) display
3.5 GHz i3 processor
8 GB RAM
1 TB HD
Thunderbolt
ATI Radeon HD 4870 (256MB)
HDMI out
$1499.99

27" (2560x1440) display
2.8 GHz i5 processor
4 GB RAM
1 TB HD
Thunderbolt
ATI Radeon HD 5870 (512MB)
HDMI out
$1699.99

27" (2560x1440) display
3.2 GHz quad i7 processor
8 GB RAM
2 TB HD
Thunderbolt
ATI Radeon HD 6970 (1 GB)
HDMI out
$1999.99

ATI 4870M has TDP of 65W, there is no way it is going to fit in 21.5". Also, it makes absolutely no sense to use three different generations as that, if something, would confuse consumers a big time. The only possibility I see is that the low-end gets ATI 5670 (aka 5730M) like Apple did in previous update. Other models will very likely feature AMD 6000M-series graphics.

I also doubt that Apple will use i3 in other than the low-end iMac. All MBPs have i5 or better, even the 1199$ one. Using i3 in 1499$ iMac sounds stupid because in the end, the consumer thinks that i5 is better because 5 is greater than 3, even though that doesn't really mean that when comparing desktop and mobile CPUs. Moreover, there is no 3.5GHz i3 either.

HDMI doesn't sound too likely, seeing that only Mac Mini has it. Thunderbolt or mDP can provide the same functionality and much more.

 

[Troll]

Bri@n T0ng? Seriously? HE is your source?

Why would Apple release an iMac refresh a couple of months before a new OS debuts? Also, this would be the FASTEST REFRESH IN APPLE HISTORY at 9 months.

You all fell for the hype and made Bri@n T0ng (eat that SEO) and Sea-NET advertising revenue.

 

[Trauma1]

Yes, a 30 second observation of people surfing FB on their Macbook (pros) is sufficient for me to assume that they are not performing complex video rendering or multi-filter Photoshop layering.

Laptops are not Pro machines. A 13" laptop with shared memory and a glossy screen is not professional. Unless your profession is being a writer. The "pro" moniker is a marketing ploy.

I realize the 15" and 17" are more powerful, but you still can't edit 4K RED footage on one, for example. But a Mac Pro? There's nothing professional you can throw at it that it can't do.

If you walked by someone using a high-end machine and they happened to be underutilizing their resources for a few seconds, would you also say the same thing?

I agree 100% that it's a marketing tactic. And you never specified size, that does make a difference. But I'm sure you you can find many people, both here and in the real world, that use 15" and 17" for heavy-duty, professional use in the field and can attest to it. There have been plenty of instances where I have seen them put to use. Perhaps your standards are higher. Yes, there is a tradeoff in resources between a laptop and a desktop. But don't knock a fully-blown 17" MacBook Pro because someone is casually using it in a public place.

Also, regarding the car metaphor: put your 400hp car up against a NASCAR or Formula 1 vehicle and see how well it does on the racetrack against other REAL professional cars.

The car is nice, I'm sure, but is not a vehicle doing professional high performance driving. The same is true of macbook pros. They're solid machines, but they are not professional performance machines.

The NASCAR and F1 cars are not consumer, road-driven vehicles. This is like comparing a Mac Pro to the giant supercomputers that run NASA. Keep in mind, there are varying degrees of professionality (I may have made that word up).

 

[Trauma1]

Why would Apple release an iMac refresh a couple of months before a new OS debuts?

Because they did it with Snow Leopard and the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air in the summer of 2009.

 

[Alistair.nz]

Hi, i'm probably pushing my luck by asking this but, i was wondering if anyone knew how long after the U.S. release the rest of the world gets the imac released?

I realise there is no set U.S release date at the moment, but judging from past releases will it be staggered like the iPad 2 or will it be released simultaneously across the world?
Cheers

 

[Icaras]

Because they did it with Snow Leopard and the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air in the summer of 2009.

Yup, exactly. I had purchased the 2009 MBPs in July, which came out in June....SL came out in August...Fortunately, Apple offered a nice grace period for new Mac purchases made a month before SL's release and I was able to get the upgrade for free.

I imagine the same will happen with Lion.

 

[dr Dunkel]

The NASCAR and F1 cars are not consumer, road-driven vehicles. This is like comparing a Mac Pro to the giant supercomputers that run NASA. Keep in mind, there are varying degrees of professionality (I may have made that word up).

I think one could make the same comaprison with the M3 and the M3 GT2. The former is a high-ish end consumer product, much like the MBP and the latter is a professional product for three times the money.

The NASA supercomputer/F1 comparison is too extreme.

 

[Irishman]

SNIP

21.5" (1920x1080) display
3.5 GHz i3 processor
8 GB RAM
1 TB HD
Thunderbolt
ATI Radeon HD 4870 (256MB)
HDMI out
$1499.99

SNIP

That is the one I'll be getting. Why an i3 SB and not an i7 SB? I don't see Apple using an i3 in anything

Fixed!

 

[alent1234]

Why would Apple release an iMac refresh a couple of months before a new OS debuts? Also, this would be the FASTEST REFRESH IN APPLE HISTORY at 9 months.

You all fell for the hype and made Bri@n T0ng (eat that SEO) and Sea-NET advertising revenue.

because a lot of people will buy the iMac and then 10.7 for another $29 or so. more money in their pockets