Just ordered a new iMac should i have waited for Haswell?

[scofal]

This type of thing always happens to me for some reason.

I just order something and then I hear that it is supposed to get a refresh in a month.

I read that the imac is supposed to get a spec bump to Haswell around July.

Would you cancel the order and wait the month to see if what the Haswell specs look like?

I know haswell is great for battery life and integrated graphics (both non-issues with an imac) but what else might apple upgrade, maybe bigger SSD portion of fusion drive, better GPU's, who knows?

So should I cancel and see what happens or do you think the bump to Haswell won't make that much difference in an iMac?

Thanks

 

[forty2j]

The "killer feature" of the next iMac is 802.11ac WiFi. If you need Gigabit LAN speeds and can't use an ethernet cable, the next iMac is worth waiting for.

It is also likely to have faster speeds for SSDs, using the same technology they put in the MBAs and announced for the Mac Pro.

CPU and GPU gains will be minimal, to the point of being essentially not noticeable.

While none of us work for Apple and thus don't know actual release dates, I find the claim of a release within the next month to be somewhat dubious. The typical refresh time for an iMac is about 9 months, and the current 27" model has been on sale for 6.5 months (and you had to win some sort of manufacturing lottery to get them in December).

If you're not desperate for a new computer and you're willing to wait as long as October to see what the new specs actually are, feel free. If I were you, given the likelihood of the wait being as long as that and the gains not being amazing, I'd stay with what I ordered.

 

[Steve121178]

If you have absolutely no need for the iMac right now then maybe cancel and wait. If on the other hand you really need a computer then keep your order.

The updated model will include perhaps a modest GPU update (7xxM series) and 802.11ac which isn't really must-have right now.

 

[Hildegerd]

Not if you wanted the machine now.

 

[TyPod]

I say keep your order. If you really needed one of the predicted updates you would have known to wait. You will not regret the current model out right now, as the update will only bring some minor changes in speed.

 

[gnasher729]

I just order something and then I hear that it is supposed to get a refresh in a month.

I read that the imac is supposed to get a spec bump to Haswell around July.

Nobody knows. And the biggest advantage of Haswell is better battery life, which is no use for the iMac anyway. And the better integrated graphics, but iMac has a separate graphics card, so that's no use either. Worst case is you wait, then you wait some longer, then you give in and buy, and two weeks later the new iMac arrives. If you need the iMac now, buy it now. Or make your mind up 100% to wait for an iMac with Haswell chip, and don't give in.

 

[Maltkvist]

Not if you wanted the machine now.

This.

 

[phoenixsan]

If you really.....

need it now, go for it....! Otherwise, I found unlikely a July refresh to the iMac. Maybe a fall refresh. And as others had pointed, maybe the refresh comes with better SSD speeds, new wireless standards and so on. Plus the new Haswell. So, IMHO, would be realistic to wait a refresh in the fall-early 2014 timeframe.

 

[Hoko222]

re:

Faster internet speed is always a plus. The processing speed is not a big issue, even if you are doing a lot of video rendering (which you are more then likely not). I was thinking, doesnt Apple have a 30 Day return policy? good opportunity to try it out and see if its the right computer for you. If you really like it, which i am sure you will, you can return it in 30 days (then you are 30 days closer to the update) or keep it and just enjoy a very powerful desktop.

You are right though, the big thing about Haswell is advanced battery performance, which in the real world is a big difference, not like a 10% faster processor, which in the real world is barely noticeable.

 

[Hildegerd]

There is always something new around the corners, so if we should wait and wait, we would never buy anything.

 

[sedge]

i doubt you'd see the difference, i think the main jump in spec is to 802.11ac which a load of other guys before me have said too, so i think you should just keep your order, unless you expect to be transferring a truck load of data through wifi

 

[Bear]

I was thinking, doesnt Apple have a 30 Day return policy? good opportunity to try it out and see if its the right computer for you. If you really like it, which i am sure you will, you can return it in 30 days (then you are 30 days closer to the update) or keep it and just enjoy a very powerful desktop.

Apple has a 14 day return policy in the US. I am not sure what it is for other countries.

 

[Arfdog]

Let me put it another way. I find it best to buy after a big step increase in capability, because it's not usually accompanied by a big step increase in price.

This next iMac revision is 90% probable that it won't be as big of an increase as the original 2012 iMac. The 2012 iMac had a huge efficiency increase though, both in energy and space usage. It also had a huge GPU increase. The CPU and memory weren't big improvements.

So that's why I took the plunge to 2012. All subsequent marginal improvements may be important to someone who needs the machine immediately. But if you play the waiting game, wait for the big ones.

 

[A Hebrew]

Unless they stick a better GPU (Such as the 770m) into the 21" iMac expect nothing huge. The 3-6 month wait is not worth it.

 

[Serban]

Cancel the order and wait for it. Better wifi, better SSD and fusion drive, better GPU, if you took the 21.5" the new model can be take with 1g vRam ~750M or maybe 760M, and for the 27" maybe will get 780MX,the cpu performance will be the same 99%.

 

[Chippy99]

Does the OP even need wifi? I have mine on gigabit ethernet and much prefer it that way.

Regards the SSD, will he/she notice if it's getting 700MB/s instead of 450MB/s? No, they won't.

Is the 7 series graphics noticeably faster than 680MX? No again.

Nothing worth waiting for imho. And that's assuming the Haswell spec bump gets all of these things - it may not. And it might not even happen this year.

Waiting and waiting and waiting for things you don't even need = pointless.

 

[Serban]

he/she probably will be wait just for one time for this..is not likely he waits from 2 generations ago. And yes the future of wifi is ac for the next 5 to 10 years..maybe a better fusion drive for the same money, maybe a better GPU for the same money, so yes for the same money overall you will be getting a better machine, yes step by step in each performance if you watch you will see probably 10% most, but overall is ok.

 

[Chippy99]

he/she probably will be wait just for one time for this..is not likely he waits from 2 generations ago. And yes the future of wifi is ac for the next 5 to 10 years..maybe a better fusion drive for the same money, maybe a better GPU for the same money, so yes for the same money overall you will be getting a better machine, yes step by step in each performance if you watch you will see probably 10% most, but overall is ok.

I have no idea what this means.

But it is always true that if you wait you get faster/bigger/better components for the same money. If you used that logic you would wait forever and never buy anything.

AC wifi is no big deal at all on an iMac imho> 1. It is a DESKTOP machine, not a laptop. Plug it in to an ethernet port. 2. If you don't have ethernet, and you must have 802.11ac, buy one of these:

 

[Serban]

iMac is suppose to be all in one...so no others 3rd parties accesories
i like to have all in one include wifi ac

 

[Serban]

we can put on imac from 2010 even a ssd usb, an usb wifi ac, maybe a better GPU and for the last usb port hmmm there are no CPU's or more RAM..so we will have an imac and a bunch of 4 others accessories around him

 

[forty2j]

i like to have all in one include wifi ac

That's a level of future-proofing that most people won't need. Most of us have our desktop computer sitting right on top of our router, plugged in with gigabit ethernet. Most of the rest of us won't be ready for a house move to gigabit wifi for another 3-4 years, at which point it's probably time for a new iMac anyway. Until Netflix starts streaming 4K and Cablevision updates the local pipes to handle it, there's nothing I could do to begin to fill a gigabit wifi channel right now.

 

[Bear]

...
AC wifi is no big deal at all on an iMac imho> 1. It is a DESKTOP machine, not a laptop. Plug it in to an ethernet port. 2. If you don't have ethernet, and you must have 802.11ac, buy one of these:
Image

There is no guarantee that this external WiFi adapter will work. OS X would have to have the device drivers for it.

That's a level of future-proofing that most people won't need. Most of us have our desktop computer sitting right on top of our router, plugged in with gigabit ethernet. Most of the rest of us won't be ready for a house move to gigabit wifi for another 3-4 years, at which point it's probably time for a new iMac anyway. Until Netflix starts streaming 4K and Cablevision updates the local pipes to handle it, there's nothing I could do to begin to fill a gigabit wifi channel right now.

You have no use for gigabit wifi, that doesn't mean other people don't have a use for it. Among various uses include network attached storage, streaming to Apple TV or similar device and assorted sharing between computers in the house. So for some people, it's not furture-proofing, it's enhancing their current environment.

...
I just order something and then I hear that it is supposed to get a refresh in a month.

I read that the imac is supposed to get a spec bump to Haswell around July.

Would you cancel the order and wait the month to see if what the Haswell specs look like?
...

Intel has only released some of the Haswell desktop processors. More will be available in September - we don't know which proicessors Apple will be using in the iMac update.

So the question is how long do you want to wait for a new iMac? How long can you wait before it impacts what you will be using it for?

As for what is likely to be in the next iMac update:

• Haswell processor - except performance boost depends on which processors Apple chooses to use.
• 802.11ac
• The faster PCIe SSD that the new MacBook Air has.
• Improved graphics is most likely, but it might be less than a 10% increase for some of the options.
  [8]Also based on the MacBook Air, possibly slightly lower prices for the SSD.

I too would like to see a larger SSD portion to the Fusion drive, but who knows what Apple will do there.

we can put on imac from 2010 even a ssd usb, an usb wifi ac, maybe a better GPU and for the last usb port hmmm there are no CPU's or more RAM..so we will have an imac and a bunch of 4 others accessories around him

Putting most of those on a 2010 or earlier iMac that has only USB 2.0 would not gain you any performance improvement. And some of those might actually hurt performance.

 

[Chippy99]

There is no guarantee that this external WiFi adapter will work. OS X would have to have the device drivers for it.

You have worded this incorrectly. What you should have said is "it would need to have drivers for OS X".

So you buy one that does have drivers for OS X and then there is a 100% guarantee that it will work!

 

[forty2j]

You have no use for gigabit wifi, that doesn't mean other people don't have a use for it. Among various uses include network attached storage, streaming to Apple TV or similar device and assorted sharing between computers in the house. So for some people, it's not furture-proofing, it's enhancing their current environment.

I'm sure there are people that have a use for it. I didn't say nobody needs it.. my contention is that most people don't need it. In 2013-2014 its use will be rather narrow, and the OP has given us no indication that it matters in his particular environment.

 

[mmcgann11]

When I buy a computer -- I look at the maximum lifespan I can expect.

I assume 30 months or so from an iMac, and 4 years from a Mac Pro. My current Mac Pro 3,1 is an year past that and feeling it. While there are a few things I could do to perk it up, it would probably not be a sound investment.

I'm kind of leery of the cost structure of the new Mac Pro, so buying a maxed-BTO iMac makes sense to me. And yes, maybe I will miss 802.11AC (assuming that can't be added via USB later) and maybe Thunderbolt 2 would be nice (if that even comes — to run an upgraded GPU out of down the road).

I don't see Haswell as anything beyond an incremental improvement, so that wouldn't stop me.

I feel pretty confident that this new machine will be a solid solution for me for 30 to 36 months. At that time, I'll evaluate the options, but based on what I see with 2009 iMacs out there now, most of the top-end machines can still handle video editing pretty well.

So...there's always going to be bigger, better and faster around the corner. It's the nature of tech...but if you wait forever, you buy nothing.