Ivy Bridge v/s Sandy Bridge & why Apple might skip Ivy for iMac ?

[mjoshi123]

I'm waiting for iMac 2012 just like many others and trying hard to do my research on what should I get if Apple keeps procrastinating on desktop front. Here is interesting article I found on Ivy Bridge v/s Sandy Bridge performance.

http://www.itproportal.com/2012/06/12/ivy-bridge-vs-sandy-bridge/



"4. Ivy Bridge is faster - but just a little. Performance generally improves more between "ticks" and "tocks" than between "tocks" and "ticks," and you can see this in the relationship between Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge. In our testing, for example, an Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge processor earned a score of 1.65 in our CineBench R11.5 multicore rendering test, compared with a Core i7-2700K (the fastest Sandy Bridge chip) in the same system earning 1.58. The chips' scores in PCMark 7 (3,679 versus 3,867) and times in Adobe Photoshop CS5 (2 minutes 47 seconds versus 2:50) and Handbrake 0.9.6 (32 seconds versus 31 seconds) also bear this out. So you will see speed bumps, but they'll be small this time around. Chances are, however, that next year's "tock" will boost the speeds of new processors considerably more.
"


Based upon this it looks like in a normal use we wont even notice any performance difference between two processors. I'm just trying to figure out if I should get 2012 MBP 13" with i7 processor (MD102LL/A) or wait for 2012 iMac or I should get refurbished 27" iMac 2011 as it is going for good price on Apple store.
My use is going to be for Lr4 + CS6 for photo editing and Aperture for creating slideshows and iMovie for movie editing. My current MBP is 2010 13" Core2Duo model with 256GB SSD + 8GB RAM connected to DELL 21" IPS panel.
What is processor performance difference between i7 processor in MBP v/s i7 processor in iMAC 2011 ?

 

[xlii]

There will be an ivy bridge iMac. My guess will be just after the back to school special ends on September 21st. USB3.0 is reason enough to do it. The next processor chip set from intel won't be out for another year and a half. That is quite a wait for a new iMac.

 

[fa8362]

"Reliable" sources say ivy bridge iMacs are in production now. That doesn't sound like "skipping" to me.

 

[Tankmaze]

I also have this on my mind, the ivy bridge is not an exciting upgrade. the ivy bridge mostly benefit the laptops with intel hd 4000, which is comparable to my amd6490m (this is the discrete gpu on my mbp) and also the low tdp. other than that, it is only marginally small performance compared to sandy.

but on the GPU front, it will be a different beast. so I'm still certain apple would launch iMac this october. even for a small margin performance on the cpu.
they can still add features such as : usb 3, better gpu, redesign, new size screen (?), sapphire glass maybe (ha, only joking).

 

[iSayuSay]

There will always a market for each tech generation. Whether it's a tick or tock Intel generation, different people will always crave for it.
People with Core 2 Duo or the very first gen i5 should go with IB. It's not terribly faster than SB, but also does not cost much more. So why settle with the second best when you're in the market for a new computer NOW?

Same case with the iPhone. I have my trusty 4s for 10months now, so I don't find iPhone 5 enticing considering I need to pay nothing for upgrades and still enjoy whatever the new features iOS 6 bring on my phone (sans the extra screen estate obviously)

But people with 3G(S) or 4? There is no reason to settle with 4s today. Why not going all out with the newest and latest since it's time for upgrade anyway?

 

[IGregory]

"Reliable" sources say ivy bridge iMacs are in production now. That doesn't sound like "skipping" to me.

This is a rumor forum. Rumors don't have to necessarily come true.

 

[CWallace]

I'm very confident we'll see an Ivy Bridge iMac (and Mac Mini) because Apple won't want those two machines on USB2 while the portables are all on USB3 (the Mac Pro can do it via expansion card).

I believe one can reasonably expect the Haswell Macs (at least the portables) to launch next summer (maybe announced at WWDC in early June), so October would give 8-12 months between releases.