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

alcarazr said:
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...
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One of the reasons I'm holding off - DDR4 + better flash + better GPU. I'm sitting on a 680MX iMac right now and it'll be all good for at least another year or two (I'll probably donate it or sell it to a relative) with Skylake being something worth while holding back for which will be around 2015 - especially looking forward to seeing it in a MacBook Air with the improved GPU.
 
WallToWallMacs said:
One of the reasons I'm holding off - DDR4 + better flash + better GPU. I'm sitting on a 680MX iMac right now and it'll be all good for at least another year or two (I'll probably donate it or sell it to a relative) with Skylake being something worth while holding back for which will be around 2015 - especially looking forward to seeing it in a MacBook Air with the improved GPU.
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I assume you mean GDDR6, as graphics cards don't use standard DDR RAM of any sort.
 
quagmire said:
I wonder if Apple will just quietly add the Haswell refresh to the lineup or will also add the NVIDIA 800M series to the lineup and make it an announced update.
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I could se it being a silent update unessa it comes with 4k or retina display. Which it most likely wont.
 
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.

Give us for instance desktop-grade GPU and we might have a differentiating feature from Apple's currently equally powerful laptop lineup.
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Exactly! They should offer an iMac Air, plus an iMac Pro with a thicker body and desktop GPU.
 
Nightarchaon said:
the last iMac may have shipped fewer units because people dont like the idea of a glued shut desktop machine..
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I don't like dust behind the glas, so I welcome a glued shut iMac. The problem is to justify an upgrade, when a Core2Duo is still fast enough for average computing and the screen resolution hasn't changed since 2009.
Yinmay said:
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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A thinner and (a lot) lighter iMac definitely is an improvement people care about. It just isn't a reason to buy a new one, if you already have one. iMac sales rise only when there is an awesome new screen. And all complaints about glue and thin will be forgotten.
 
knewsom said:
100mHz speed bump!? SIGN ME UP! :rolleyes:

Seriously, are they just phoning it in these days?
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That's what we get when Intel has no competition. AMD bumbled away their opportunity and now we are stuck with 2-3% year over year improvements.
 
Interested in the next generation Intel CPUs, Broadwell, Skylake, Skymont, etc...

I wonder when will they achieve a point where they can provide move processing power than now, 24H battery life and also be fanless.
 
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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I'm with you man, it's a fantastic machine. And in 2015 I doubt I will be upgrading either.

A "retina" display would likely be the only thing that would push me to get a new iMac.
 
all glass patent

Why not sandwich the entire imac in between glass? They have a patent for it, we assumed it was for an apple tv set. No fan no spinning disk and sealed, not to be opened. The assembly could be done on a robotic assembly line of screens, and a glass plate will cost less then an alu enclosure. The design would feel insanely high tech (even sic-fi) gloss black slab of glass, like a screen belonging to the mac pro: In fact make it a feature to act as screen only, a separate line (much lower volume) without gpu and cpu for the Mac Pro only would cost more to setup? So unify imac-as screen. Or at least make them identical; screen with a slot for a computer-board (or TV board).
 
redscull said:
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.
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Fusion Drive is a great technology with huge moneysaving potential, if you build one yourself. Unfortunately Apples upgrade pricing ruins most of the benefit for the customer. But if they make Fusion Drive standard, there is little reason left to upgrade to a real Flash Drive. In fact I believe the over 128 GB SSD market would almost collapse, if the fusion software would be available on Windows. With consequences for investments in new factories.
 
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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The 1440p screen in the 27" iMac sure looks impressive, when you only look at pictures. But the menus and other UI elements look too small for my taste and when I activate HiDPI mode, the UI suddenly is too big. The current 1440p display is stuck in the middle, considerably higher than 1080p, which makes normal resolution too small and lower than 2160p, which makes double resolution too big.

Retina iMacs will not only sharpen the image by making double resolution the new default, they will also bring back right sized UI elements and enable five levels of scaling for everyones personal screen estate preference. That's why they are desperately needed. I don't want Retina just because it exists, it doesn't exist yet in the way that i want it to be.
 
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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The cpu difference might be negligible but thr graphic chip improvement is a big leap. Radeon 6970m is well known to be very hot and slow compared to the newer nVidia chips on iMac.
 
How long for development?

If the new chips aren't released until May 2014, won't it take several months for Apple to design a new computer around the new chip?
 
Nunyabinez said:
I'm with you man, it's a fantastic machine. And in 2015 I doubt I will be upgrading either.

A "retina" display would likely be the only thing that would push me to get a new iMac.
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Yes "retina" is worth it to me. But it has to be retina without compromise. So it would have to run the 27 inch monitor fast and relatively cool. I'm just not sure if the tech is there for the GPUs that the iMac has. And I want it to run games in retina resolution with high frame rates.

I don't think I'm upgrading in 2015 either. But some of my upgrade path is determined by family members machines failing. Really I will upgrade ahead of schedule if my Mom's older iMac fails. She gets my machine and I get a new one. Also if my Sister needs a desktop and doesn't want to buy new, she knows she can convince me to get my older machine for cheap and then I will get a new one. That is where my iPad 1 went and it is still being used happily.

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iSayuSay said:
The cpu difference might be negligible but thr graphic chip improvement is a big leap. Radeon 6970m is well known to be very hot and slow compared to the newer nVidia chips on iMac.
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Hot, maybe. But I can run most games at a pretty good frame rate. Bioshock Infinite went fine. Boarderland 2 played fine as well. Two years later, sure GPUs are faster. But it was a good a chip when it came out and it has served me well. I'm not concerned about it being a bottle neck this year.
 
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