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New iMacs With Up to Xeon E3 Processors, 64GB RAM, AMD Graphics, and Thunderbolt 3 Rumored for Late October
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I'd like to think nobody is going to complain about a nice lookign computer if it meets the required performance goals.
I think that's the biggest issue many of the "pros" have. There's nothing wrong with a slim and light computer. Or a tinny small form factor computer, IF it can achieve what they require first and foremost.
But having to introduce thermal limitations, or remove expansion and upgrade paths just to make a device 1mm thinner? that's not a trade off someone who relies on compute power is willing to make. Especially in a high priced premium aimed computer.
I agree. I know Intel is a major holdup, but Apple can still do incremental upgrades, as well. Why do we have to wait so long for NVMe SSDs, TB3? CPU support might not be available yet, but couldn't Apple put in the support chips anyways? It took Apple 3+ years to update the Mac Pro, and even then, it's just a price drop, basically. It's not like Apple doesn't have the resources.
I must say, all these juicy Mac rumors are getting me all giddy inside.
I agree. While many people are form over function, I'm the opposite. Give me something that does the job, and then worry about design. While I like design, it doesn't mean much to me if I can't do what I want or need.
my only comment is that if we're going to admit that 64gb ram is valuable in the iMac line, then we should acknowledge some of us who prefer mobile workstations need more than 16gb.
Xeon is Intel's line of workstation/server class CPUs, which is why it's interesting. iMacs already offer desktop class CPUs with i3/i5/i7.
8K is still relatively uncharted territory, and the few 8K monitors that have been released (like Dell's) do it over MST, which is not ideal and akin to the early days of 4K. I don't believe there is any single cable solution yet. You'll need 2 cables and a custom controller.
Sounds nice, although having to wait until October doesn't.
As to why Apple hates NVIDIA... my Opinion.. but in order..
1. Price -- AMD gives these things away.
2. Politics -- NVIDIA does NOT give their GPU's away and does not care that Apple is... well Apple.. Apple probably asked for discounts on their GPU's and Nvidia said.. TAKE A HIKE.
3. Metal OpenCL -- Apple does want to steer away from CUDA because its proprietary, but AMD and Intel can not make the GPU's that NVIDIA is making.. .
4. Apple GPU's -- Apple wants to make their own GPU's, but they won't scale to a desktop, their GPU's will always be in smaller devices, tablets, micro laptops, phones..
BUT considering they are going to market this iMac as PRO!!! Again, AMD doesn't make a lick of sense.
No one wants your budget class AMD graphics.
Thing is, AMD isn't in high demand. They probably give Apple a steep discount on hardware whereas NV likely demand a premium. And when you're primarily a hardware manufacturer, margins matter.
Full disclosure: Yesterday morning I was telling people to treat the news of an update with skepticism. But after releasing solid information about the iMac Pro, and not just rumors, and giving at least some information on Mini's and standard iMacs I feel better about what they will be offering than yesterday morning.
I'm sure that there will be items where they could push limits more than they are going to, but for the most part the only way to do that on a Win machine is to build it yourself or pay even more money tha it costs to buy an iMac. My Brother in Law just spent $2500 to upgrade components on his existing computer, and I'm sure it has specs to go with a water-cooled processor and a top of the line graphics card, but what he really wanted would have cost him another $2,000, according to him.
I feel much better about IMac update news now that there is some solid Apple provided information and even though a lot is still unknown I'm willing to see what comes out.
This is the problem for Apple though and my exactly point - Apple's quest for "Thinner and Lighter" which results in performance trade offs in favour of Form Factor. A quest which also impacts their desktop machines also.
If Performance means an uglier / thicker machine, so what, it shouldn't be a concern.
Thinner / Lighter / Beauty should come second for a supposed "Pro" machine. The primary factor should be performance.
If Performance means an uglier / thicker machine, so what, it shouldn't be a concern.
Thinner / Lighter / Beauty should come second for a supposed "Pro" machine. The primary factor should be performance.
This.. and why... why would any "normal" "pro" user want to use or need an XEON with ECC ?? Anyway... get ready for $10.000 iMacs when maxed out. Still no acces to Cuda with the new iMacs.. so, again, not an optimized machine for content creation which most of them, use opencl and cuda. Great move Apple!
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Agreed. Just checked with my sources who tell me none of this will come to pass.
What does a Xeon give you that we don't have with the current processors.
I'm hoping that Apple will make it a more upgradeable, i.e., drive's can be replaced. Plus stop using 5400RPM drives
I'm hoping that Apple will make it a more upgradeable, i.e., drive's can be replaced. Plus stop using 5400RPM drives
The iMac goes into vacuum cleaner mode if you actually use the CPU even now... how is it going to cool a Xeon and a more powerful video card?
Oh i get it, the ECC ram is there to fix the errors caused by overheating...
Oh i get it, the ECC ram is there to fix the errors caused by overheating...