New iMacs Shipping January 2009?

[netnothing]

Well the problem with the DigiTimes report is that those chips aren't on the Intel roadmap. The Yorkfield chips flip the bill, but they are desktop units. Would they work in a iMac/Mac Mini? They are Quads.

As for notebooks, there are Penryn XE's. They would be 45nm and could work. But we're still in 2-core territory with those. Penryn QC might be a contender.

Well I know that Dell is using the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processors in their XPS ONE systems (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsdt_one?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&redirect=1)

I'm not an expert on chipsets so I have no idea what kind of chip that is and whether it would work in an iMac.

I know from a dimensions standpoint, the XPS is 18.0"H x 26.8W x 7.9"D and the iMac is: 20.5"H x 22.4"W x 8.1"D. (this is for the 24" versions).

-Kevin

 

[freiheit]

Skeptical about sales figures

Monthly shipment of 800,000 units seems highly unlikely. In Apple's best sales quarter, they only shipped (correct me if I'm wrong) 2.5 million Macs in total, which includes the very popular notebooks. 800,000 per month would just about reach that number with iMacs alone.

 

[fleshman03]

Monthly shipment of 800,000 units seems highly unlikely. In Apple's best sales quarter, they only shipped (correct me if I'm wrong) 2.5 million Macs in total, which includes the very popular notebooks. 800,000 per month would just about reach that number with iMacs alone.

Add the Mac Mini to the 800,000 units.

 

[Umbongo]

Well I know that Dell is using the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processors in their XPS ONE systems (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsdt_one?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&redirect=1)

I'm not an expert on chipsets so I have no idea what kind of chip that is and whether it would work in an iMac.

I know from a dimensions standpoint, the XPS is 18.0"H x 26.8W x 7.9"D and the iMac is: 20.5"H x 22.4"W x 8.1"D. (this is for the 24" versions).

-Kevin

I'm inclined to think this is the 65W version mentioned by Digitimes, but I haven't seen the XPS ONE 24 in person to make a better judgement. It does add weight to iMacs getting quad core though.

 

[Shiner]

32", Blu-ray, 4870-X2 vid and 8GB of memory, please. Ready to buy.

Keep dreaming!!! Apple would never release such a computer to the consumers. If they did it would be 3 years after everyone else did. Blu-ray is not going to happen and a decent video card is not going to happen period.

 

[greeneggs28]

Maybe they might make the iMac look more like the 24inch ACD...(Chinless with a white logo on the front, and aluminum on the back...)

I don't think that would make it better, but it would be different. Blu-ray would be nice too!

The option to keep FW400 and Matte is all I would really want.

 

[k86]

My PC blew up a few weeks ago so I’ve decided to move over to an iMac but I’m holding off until MacWorld09 but here are a few things I would like to see in the new Macs:

Intel Quad core CPU
3-4GB RAM as standard
More USB ports. 3 isn’t enough in the back of the machine
Snow Leopard. If not then at least a free upgrade or money off coupon
Some Memory Card reader options (maybe the reader could be attached to the keyboard?)
Maybe an increase of screen size to 26 or 28 inches but I don’t see it happening
On the topic of Blu-Ray, I don’t care. I’ve had DVD drives on my PC’s and Laptops for years and I’ve never once sat down at my desk to watch a film. Either way I prefer to watch Blu-Ray films on my 47inch HD TV with 5.1 surround sound instead

 

[billystlyes]

iMacs are lame education machines. I want an i7-based tower for the same price.

 

[Tallest Skil]

3-4GB RAM as standard

Sweet dreams...

Maybe an increase of screen size to 26 or 28 inches but I don’t see it happening

There would also be no point, as every display from 24" to 29" uses 1920x1200.

 

[Umbongo]

Add the Mac Mini to the 800,000 units.

The title was "Quanta to supply monthly shipments of 800,000 all-in-one PCs to Apple in 1Q09, says paper"

Monthly shipment of 800,000 units seems highly unlikely. In Apple's best sales quarter, they only shipped (correct me if I'm wrong) 2.5 million Macs in total, which includes the very popular notebooks. 800,000 per month would just about reach that number with iMacs alone.

Yes it's quite ridiculous. Apple sold 3.7m desktops in 2008 and desktop sales are on the decline. To suggest they would sell ~75% of the 2008 numbers in Q1 2009 doesn't make sense.

 

[winterspan]

The iMacs aren't going to have the latest processors anytime soon unless the laws of physics suddenly change. They just put out too much heat.

What part of "It's a desktop chip, it's too hot, and they don't use desktop chips." didn't you get?

I was with you on that until I looked up the history of the iMac. I didn't really get involved with Apple products until the Intel transition, so I wasn't real familiar with the PowerPC days. Now granted the iMac has undergone revisions and I'm sure it is thinner than iMac G5 of 2005, but that thing had to dissipate some massive heat. I can't find exact specs for the fastest model, but it looks like the whole machine could easily draw 150 watts! Whatever the exact specs were, I'm sure it was noisier and hotter than today's iMac. Still, I don't think its a stretch that Apple could use desktop processors or higher TDP mobile parts in future models.

The current 130W TDP Nehalem platform is still probably much too hot, but the future clarksfield/lynnfield quad-core (which has the northbridge on the CPU, and thus no Quickpath) should be a shoe-in for the iMac in H2 2009.

 

[nick9191]

My PC blew up a few weeks ago so I’ve decided to move over to an iMac but I’m holding off until MacWorld09 but here are a few things I would like to see in the new Macs:

Intel Quad core CPU Yes on the higher end.
3-4GB RAM as standard Yes on the higher end
More USB ports. 3 isn’t enough in the back of the machine No
Snow Leopard. If not then at least a free upgrade or money off coupon No
Some Memory Card reader options (maybe the reader could be attached to the keyboard?) Buy a USB card reader
Maybe an increase of screen size to 26 or 28 inches but I don’t see it happening No

.

 

[wizard]

Forgetting history are we?

What part of "It's a desktop chip, it's too hot, and they don't use desktop chips." didn't you get?

1.
Apple has used desktop chips in the past in iMacs. The G5 is one good example of a very hot chip in an iMac. A processor that notably had a very hot support chip. So having the label desktop chip slapped on a processor doesn't make it impossible.
2.
How hot it would be in the regime that Apple would apply is an open question. Plus one needs to take into account that power used by the chip also includes the memory interface hardware. It is the overall system power that makes the difference. That overall power demand might not be that bad if Nvidia had a 9400M like device with the new bus interface. You can't look at an i7 and automatically assume that it will result in to much power usage. It depends on the mix off chips and what the housing can reasonably cool.

3.
As to not using desktop chips nothing is wrtten in stone here as I pointed out in item #1 above. They could even switch to todays desktop chips if they wanted. They reality is the more cores you have on chip the more important the path to memory becomes. The move to quad cores could force Apples hand even on current generation intel cores. This doesn't even touch upon the possibility of using an AMD processor which might lead to a power profile lower than i7. I just think it is silly to be addament about no desktop processors in an iMac. Historically it has happened and there are "desk top processors" that could go into an iMac today. It is a question of what they want to achieve and how much they want to leverage quad cores.

4.
If this was a discussion about the Mini I might be more inclined to agree. There you have obvious thermal issues that limit the design. IMac though has far more potential thermally as has been demonstrated in the past.

I'm actually thinking that the iMac will just get a stop gap revision. Mostly because of the total lack of leaks and other excitment. That is verybsad actually.


Dave

 

[kenned]

You are forgetting one important thing

They have the PSU inside the iMac, and it is very limited how big it can be.

 

[shawnce]

If that's all that he meant, we would have seen Blu-ray drives that could natively burn data disks in Macs back in 2005.

While burning data disc is helpful and a useful feature it would be hard to say (from a marketing perspective) that they have Blu-ray drives yet you can't play Blu-ray movies, etc. with them. In that type of situation better to leave out the feature until you can bring out "full" support.

(leave it to a 3rd party to fill the need in the short term)

 

[wizard]

Who said anything about notebook chipsets?

What notebook chipsets would support an i7 chip?

What are you talking about here?

Go i7 and you get intels new bus tech quickpath. That means new tech for the support chips. Apple and Nvidia for example could be working on a quickpath based 9400M for the low end. Don't forget about PA Semi either, Apple may be promoting them as chip engineers for iPods but really that much engineering talent could be doing a lot more. How about a custom north bridge with quickpath and an interface to Nvidia graphics chips? They certainly could do that low power.


Dave

 

[Tallest Skil]

While burning data disc is helpful and a useful feature it would be hard to say (from a marketing perspective) that they have Blu-ray drives yet you can't play Blu-ray movies, etc. with them.

That's how the Windows world works. There are far more non-HDCP monitors, graphics cards, and chipsets than HDCP compatible ones.

 

[GeekLawyer]

iMacs are lame education machines. I want an i7-based tower for the same price.

I want a pony. I wish Apple would stop screwing around and make one for me.

Let me soften that up a bit.

It's unlikely that Apple will plug that hole in their product line-up. I don't see why the iMac is lame, nor why anyone would relegate it to being merely an education machine.

 

[fleshman03]

What are you talking about here?

Go i7 and you get intels new bus tech quickpath. That means new tech for the support chips. Apple and Nvidia for example could be working on a quickpath based 9400M for the low end. Don't forget about PA Semi either, Apple may be promoting them as chip engineers for iPods but really that much engineering talent could be doing a lot more. How about a custom north bridge with quickpath and an interface to Nvidia graphics chips? They certainly could do that low power.


Dave

Correct me if I'm wrong, alright?

The current iMac uses an Intel logic board (What I'm calling a chipset, is that the wrong term?) They are moving towards an Nvidia board. Still building off the Mobile Montivia Platform.

i7 is a desktop chip. There isn't a Mobile Montivia platform that will accept the chip. (At least I'm not aware of any.)

I also think you are putting a little too much faith in a non-SJ keynote at MWSF. I think Spec bump to 4-core Penryn chips and maybe a case design to look like the new ACD.

 

[iMacmatician]

According to supply chain sources, Apple is expected to launch a new iMac in the first quarter of 2009.
...
The news confirms other hints that we've seen that Apple will be releasing a new iMac at Macworld San Francisco. Based on hidden configuration files, it's been revealed that the new iMac will be based on the NVIDIA chipset.

I'm all for iMacs and Mac minis at MWSF now, due to the quad-core rumor and the redesigned Mac mini rumor.

I really hope that with this iMac, Apple jumps on the quad-core bandwagon (about time too). It's a good time, due to the 65 W desktop quad-cores coming in Q1 too. I suppose we could see these configurations:

• 24" iMac: Quad-core (2.33~2.67 GHz), Firewire 800, 4 GB RAM (?)
• 20" iMac: Midrange dual-core (2.53~2.8 GHz), no Firewire (?), 2 GB RAM
• High-end Mac mini: Low-end dual-core (~2.0 GHz), no Firewire, 2 GB RAM
• Existing Mac mini: One of the existing Mac minis at $499

So that's a fairly wide range.

 

[kadicel]

My PC blew up a few weeks ago so I’ve decided to move over to an iMac but I’m holding off until MacWorld09 but here are a few things I would like to see in the new Macs:

Intel Quad core CPU
3-4GB RAM as standard
More USB ports. 3 isn’t enough in the back of the machine
Snow Leopard. If not then at least a free upgrade or money off coupon
Some Memory Card reader options (maybe the reader could be attached to the keyboard?)
Maybe an increase of screen size to 26 or 28 inches but I don’t see it happening
On the topic of Blu-Ray, I don’t care. I’ve had DVD drives on my PC’s and Laptops for years and I’ve never once sat down at my desk to watch a film. Either way I prefer to watch Blu-Ray films on my 47inch HD TV with 5.1 surround sound instead

Sounds like you need to fix your PC and stop whining

 

[iMacmatician]

1.
Apple has used desktop chips in the past in iMacs. The G5 is one good example of a very hot chip in an iMac. A processor that notably had a very hot support chip. So having the label desktop chip slapped on a processor doesn't make it impossible.

I heard somewhere (on these forums I think) that the G5 in the iMacs was 55 W. Since the largest display size then was 20", it's not a stretch to imagine 65 W in the 24" iMacs.

And no, Core i7 can't go in the iMacs, as it is 130 W, far too hot for the iMacs. Besides chipset considerations, Apple would have to either downclock it like crazy or disable 2 cores, and then they might as well use a quad-core Penryn.

And a case design isn't impossible, as the iMac G5's case was tweaked a bit a year in. Whether it's likely or not is another story.

 

[bilbo--baggins]

be careful what you wish for. i'm betting the new imacs won't have FW400, and unlike the unibody laptop designs, there's not much more Apple can do to make the iMac look any better.

I agree. I'd be really surprised to see Firewire 400 on any new Macs from now on. It's going to be Firewire 800 or nothing. My guess is the next generation of iMacs WILL have Firewire 800.

I'm expecting the following in January:

Same case design
LED Backlit 24" display (same as the 24" Cinema display)
NVIDIA chipset
Firewire 800 (no Firewire 400)
Mini-display port
DD3 memory

Hopefully Quad core processor.

 

[winterspan]

Go i7 and you get intels new bus tech quickpath. That means new tech for the support chips. Apple and Nvidia for example could be working on a quickpath based 9400M for the low end. Don't forget about PA Semi either, Apple may be promoting them as chip engineers for iPods but really that much engineering talent could be doing a lot more. How about a custom north bridge with quickpath and an interface to Nvidia graphics chips? They certainly could do that low power.

Dave

// For the people who are going to interpret your comment incorrectly, he means an nVidia chipset with the 9400 integrated GPU that supports Quickpath for the current Nehalem processors, *not* a GPU that connects via Quickpath //

Does anyone know if Intel has licensed the new architecture to nVidia to make motherboards?

While burning data disc is helpful and a useful feature it would be hard to say (from a marketing perspective) that they have Blu-ray drives yet you can't play Blu-ray movies, etc. with them. In that type of situation better to leave out the feature until you can bring out "full" support.

(leave it to a 3rd party to fill the need in the short term)

Well, I know it is unlikely, but they could just sell the drives for video and data burning purposes (and non-hollywood video) and just say that full Blu-ray movie support will come in a future software update. Then they would have an installed base once it is ready..

 

[Bubba Satori]

8Megs RAM - what are you going to do with that much memory???

HDR photography, 3D modeling and animation, and multitrack recording using lots of soft synths and plugins. Lots of PCs I sell are coming with 6-8GB ram. I don't expect the iMac to come with 8GB on the base model, but it would be nice to be able to expand the memory to what current comsumer PCs can do.