Next iMac - How much faster?

There are dozens of threads where this is being discussed:

What to expect from iMac 2012 - Discussion
iMac sept 12 release?
There will NOT be a 2012 iMac release
New shipping dates poll for 2012 iMac
Sept. 4th - Spec Bumped iMac(s)
WTF WHERE ARE THE iMACS
Still waiting for iMac 2012 or Hackintosh?
"Desktop era over - get a laptop and an external monitor instead…" - NO! Here's why:
Boot Camp Files Hint at New Mac Pro and iMac Models [Updated]
Shortages of 27-Inch iMacs Hitting Apple Retail Stores
Apple's Crowded Late 2012 Product Introduction Schedule Forced by Delays to iMac and iPad Mini
David Pogue: New iMacs and Mac Pro's Coming "Probably in 2013" [Update]
13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro and Updated iMacs Reportedly Due in September-October
iMac Update Might Be Coming Sooner Rather Than Later
More Claims of October Launch for Updated iMac Models
Hold on, an iMac is comming!

 

I would expect the next iMac, to be a little bit faster since the Ivy Bridge processors will be used for the upgrade. It's likely that you could see something that is significantly faster.

 

What? First you say "a little faster" then you say "significantly faster."

If the new iMacs a released anytime soon the top of the line model will very likely have an i7-3770 which is the same clock speed as the current TOTL model with an i7-2600. Processor-wise, I expect the new iMacs wll be about 10% faster, but throw newer GPUs, USB 3, and SSDs into the mix and the difference could be much more significant depending on what you use your computer for.

 

It will be slower but will be thinner.

 

Before I started typing this reply I remembered I have "dictate" now. So I dictated a reply. The hard thing about dictating to your computer is that your stream of thoughts is not exactly coherent. Therefore, the reply I wrote out is probably the most useless post I've made on these forums since I started around 7 years ago.

Please forgive me and understand that the new iMacs will be a bit faster, but super fast versus the old ones.

 

No. (Or at least I hope not...)

 

The bigger speed bump will be in the GPUs, not CPUs.

 

That's what she said?

 

15,6 mph

serious, this^^

 

Ivy bridge is about 10% faster. If you look at the SSD options on MBr, apple actually hadn't lowered the price point, they just added a 128, 512 and 780GB option. A 256 SSD will make any new iMac more expensive. A 2011 model or 2012. With apple heavily investing in cloud storage, massive hard drives aren't worth the money.

Graphics on the high end 27" won't have a noticable effect. Looking at benchmarks there aren't many cards better than the 6980M. You'd be looking at a 10fps improvement if apple went all out. Not a big deal because the current card already plays games on high/ultra. Your eye can't tell the difference betwee 40 and 30fps.

There is a possibility of bigger gpu improvement however on the 21.5" iMac. 512 MB of VRAM is showing it's age as is the 6770M card. An upgrade to what the MBPr uses--the 650M nvidia with 1G VRAM only shows about a 10fps improvement as well, but the 10fps is the difference between medium settings and high with these mid tier cards in new games. but there is always the chance they give the 21.5" a much better card, though doubtful.

The only real reaso to wait is if you hate iMac screens and want a matte option.

 

:Sigh:

It's a myth that the human eye only sees up to 30fps

But even if you refuse to accept that
An average of 30fps means that a chunk of the time you're going lower... sometimes substantially. So if you can average 40fps, then you can prevent the screen from going all choppy more often... and keep it closer to your idea 30fps.

On FILM, yes... you typically don't notice when things are in the 25-30fps range... but that's because the film's tend to store the blurred image. And in slow / minute motion, even on a PC it's fine. But when you have fast-moving stuff without blur built into each frame... your brain really notices it.


In any case, as a gamer for many many years... I can tell you... this 30fps thing is an old myth.

 

Sure there is a difference. But the question is "how much faster". The answer is 10-15 FPS from the GPU and 10% for the cpu.

Combined with less reflective screen lamintation design from removing a layer of glass, it's a nice spec bump for the imacs. But not anything they are going to make a key-note address about.

 

I gotta say I'm very impressed with my mid 2010 27", speed-wise. It has 16gb ram and a 2.8GHz i5 cpu with a regular hard drive (not SSD). The GPU is a 1GB Radeon HD 5750 and has done a fine job when I needed it to perform. Having said that, I'm ready for a SSD and a significant bump in GPU performance. Coming from this machine, the expected spec bumps in the 2012 iMac will definitely fit the bill for me.
At any rate the question of "how much faster" is going to be relative. The answer is that yes, it will be faster.