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Intel's New Haswell Desktop CPUs Could Arrive in May, Allowing for iMac Updates

knewsom said:
100mHz speed bump!? SIGN ME UP! :rolleyes:

Seriously, are they just phoning it in these days?
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Mhz speed alone is meaningless. Just like how many MP your camera has. A great 8MP camera can out performance cameras can outperform a 16MP camera, for example.

The Mhz race was over long ago.
 
Wouldn't be surprised if they completely stopped producing the Mac Mini and that the 'cheap' iMac becomes the 'entry' model Mac.
 
Yinmay said:
"Our surveys indicate that Apple’s last iMac model, released at end-2012 with an all-new-design, shipped fewer-than-expected units in the worldwide market."

Whoever thought a thinner desktop computer was a feature most customers cared about should read this. We voted with our wallets.
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Well, I find the new iMacs very pleasing. And I think that Mac user are more into style and design than pure performance.

The lower amount of units sold could also be a result of a general shift towards mobile computing. So, even with improved performance and no thinner design the iMac might have suffered from this paradigm shift.
 
Stella said:
Mhz speed alone is meaningless. Just like how many MP your camera has. A great 8MP camera can out performance cameras can outperform a 16MP camera, for example.

The Mhz race was over long ago.
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Sure, but we're talking about chip architecture that is essentially identical.
 
Gudi said:
We are waiting for iMacs to go Retina.
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Why? I've never understood this need for Retina desktop screens. I do a LOT of closeup work and have never thought it an issue. Just because it exists, it doesn't mean it needs it. It costs more, uses extra power and doubles the demand of the graphics card for negligible effect. I won't speak for everyone, but it's as much use to me as it being 5mm thick at the edges! I'd rather the machine just cost less.
 
A low-end iMac cannot replace a Mac mini except if it's available for the same price as the low-end Mac mini. In short, a free display.

There's also the environmental issue. I've been using the same monitor since I had a PC, which means the same monitor for my last four computers.
 
Nunyabinez said:
Intel is keeping me from getting a new machine. I would love a new iMac, but when I look at the benchmarks for these new machines compared to my mid-2011 i7 2600 iMac, the difference is really negligible.

It was great that they focussed on reducing power consumption for portables, but I'm not going to plunk down a wad of cash for a few hundred Mhz of speed.
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I've got about the same iMac. Come on, it is too early to be thinking upgrade for a 2011 desktop. Maybe in 2015. But the computers we bought are great.

I'm looking for serious screen resolution upgrade for my next desktop. And then I need a GPU that allows me to game in that native resolution. Hmm, I might be waiting a long time.
 
I wonder if the iMacs are also due for a redesign facelift.
Maybe a half height Mac Pro design or something.
 
good news. I super happy with my late 2012, and looking forward to get the 2014 iMac completely maxed out!. ...

For me, iMac is the man core of what I love about apple. I love the iMac, and without it, I wouldn´t buy the iphone or ipad and all the other stuff I happily pay for every year.
 
dazzer21 said:
Why? I've never understood this need for Retina desktop screens. I do a LOT of closeup work and have never thought it an issue. Just because it exists, it doesn't mean it needs it. It costs more, uses extra power and doubles the demand of the graphics card for negligible effect. I won't speak for everyone, but it's as much use to me as it being 5mm thick at the edges! I'd rather the machine just cost less.
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A 27" 4K iMac would be fantastic for productivity. You will be able to switch it to native resolution and have a massive amount of windows open on one screen while still having readable text.

Not everyone will use it in the default "Retina" mode.
 
I'll say this about the iMac. Seems like a tremendous value, but I will NEVER buy one again. They are just too tight to adequately handle the heat, and too difficult to replace failed parts. I've had three HDs go bad in my 27". At first I blamed Seagate, now - not so much. It's an obvious design flaw, and Apple isn't going to correct it.

...so I built my own, and just use the iMac as a display now. I'd sell it and buy a regular Cinema Display, but it'd barely cover the cost. Goes to show what these things are really worth.
 
Gudi said:
CPU speed is already fast enough. We are waiting for iMacs to go Retina.
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What I would worry about it the lack of power for the increase in res. I felt the same with the first retina iPhone/iPod, the same with the iPad 3 (4 times the res, 2X the GPU performance), and the Macbook Pro retina (especially the 13" once of 2012 having only Intel HD 4000 to push such a display). I would wait a generation or two before buying a new retina product from Apple.

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Stella said:
Mhz speed alone is meaningless. Just like how many MP your camera has. A great 8MP camera can out performance cameras can outperform a 16MP camera, for example.

The Mhz race was over long ago.
Click to expand...

The CPU architecture is almost exactly the same though, meaning the 100Mhz increase would mean it is around 3.4% increase in CPU performance.

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TallManNY said:
I've got about the same iMac. Come on, it is too early to be thinking upgrade for a 2011 desktop. Maybe in 2015. But the computers we bought are great.

I'm looking for serious screen resolution upgrade for my next desktop. And then I need a GPU that allows me to game in that native resolution. Hmm, I might be waiting a long time.
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The GTX 780m w/ 4Gb of GDDR5 VRAM would easily game at native res. (1440p). My GT 750m w/ 1Gb of GDDR5 VRAM games at 1080p perfectly (also maxed out, sometimes just high) fine for all the games I play.
 
This reliance on Intel is part of the reason why Apple needs to develop their own in-house chip. The 64-bit ARM architecture may be enough to drive all iMac and below. It would be far less work for the software team to integrate desktop and mobile platform. Yet another compelling reason is to avoid me-too phenomenon.
From the supply chain stand point, partners can plan the production of newly introduced model according market reception. Additionally, Apple can separate itself from the crowd. Apple is now in the position to wall off their ecosystem with unique hardware and software, akin to Steve Jobs' desire back in the early days, with one caveat, OS X AND iOS are now much more competitive. Consumers are paying practically the same price for products(phne, tablet, and desktop) that are unique.
The lates Samsung S5 review shows the talent of the hardware and chip design team. I am certain ARM Holdings will continue to the performance of their platform to match or exceed that of Intel.
 
I think Tim Cook himself at some point last year said next year we would see a lower cost iMac in 2014.

And I agree.....show the Mac Mini some love! I need an upgrade, but not paying full price for 2 year old hardware!
 
knewsom said:
I'll say this about the iMac. Seems like a tremendous value, but I will NEVER buy one again. They are just too tight to adequately handle the heat, and too difficult to replace failed parts. I've had three HDs go bad in my 27". At first I blamed Seagate, now - not so much. It's an obvious design flaw, and Apple isn't going to correct it.

...so I built my own, and just use the iMac as a display now. I'd sell it and buy a regular Cinema Display, but it'd barely cover the cost. Goes to show what these things are really worth.
Click to expand...

The late 2012 iMac handles the heat very well - I guess you have the pre late 2012 design???
 
Stella said:
Mhz speed alone is meaningless. Just like how many MP your camera has. A great 8MP camera can out performance cameras can outperform a 16MP camera, for example.

The Mhz race was over long ago.
Click to expand...

However, great 8MP camera will never outperform great 16MP camera. The opposite is true though. Specs are never meaningless, they just should be interpreted correctly.
 
Top-end graphic card

Any idea on which graphic card will they use for the new top-end iMac? Nvidia just unveiled the new GTX 880m, which is basically a rebranded 780m, and still Kepler. It would be great if Nvidia was holding a 880MX for the new iMac, just like they did with the 2012 model and the 680MX.

Another option is going with AMD...
 
Gudi said:
CPU speed is already fast enough. We are waiting for iMacs to go Retina.
Click to expand...

Yes, I don't foresee buying a new iMac in the next few years unless it's to get a retina 27" monitor. Throw in a desktop class GPU without having to get the top-of-the-line customized version and I'll be really tempted. Make fusion drives standard equipment and they'll finally have what iMacs are meant to be.
 
Nismo73 said:
The late 2012 iMac handles the heat very well - I guess you have the pre late 2012 design???
Click to expand...

You mean the newer design that's even tighter? Time will tell on those, I don't have much hope for people who bought them, and I'm not gonna get fooled on one again. It'd be one thing if I could drop the HD out the bottom and slide in a new one, but that's not the way it is. If my drive goes down, I need to be able to replace it myself with a backup fairly quickly so I can be back up and running again ASAP.
 
cashxx said:
I think Tim Cook himself at some point last year said next year we would see a lower cost iMac in 2014.

And I agree.....show the Mac Mini some love! I need an upgrade, but not paying full price for 2 year old hardware!
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This exactly!^^^^ I am itching to upgrade my SEVEN year old MacBook, and have been holding out for a mini for about a year now. The other systems simply don't fit my needs, but I refuse to drop cash on a system that is two years old and as a result will be obsoleted by Apple by OS X 10.11.

What is the hold up??!!
 
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