Nothing but you don't NEED a quad core. I can run Crysis perfectly fine on max res and high settings with my current iMac. It handles any game I throw at it in spades.
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Online Ad Evidence of Imminent iMac, Mac Mini and MacBook Updates?
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About this, I'd like to point out that the upcoming iMac design will have a lifespan (at least 2 years as usual, if not more) that will enter in a era of affordable SSDs (2010-2011).
SSDs are faster and are usually 2.5".
Why not dropping the 3.5" format at all in the iMacs? Please apple use 2.5" disks in the next iMac, we will put SSDs inside them anyway. And people who need 1tb can buy a WD Scorpio Blue 1tb (2.5").
In this way they would save space and get the thing thinner without sacrificing other components. 3.5" bays are a bag of hurt nowadays, with affordable SSDs on the way.
Again, complete baloney.
Some of you Apple users amaze me. If the tables were turned and PC's were still on C2D's while Apple was sporting i5's you would be mocking Windows as using tired obsolete hardware. But because they populate mac's you guys say it's still great stuff! Come on now. This is completely disingenuous.
Quad cores don't benefit games all that much still. Some games yes, but not many. Doesn't apply to the argument.
A quad core would benefit OSX, any editing, 3D rendering etc, music production. It would be noticeable for MANY users. People, please stop making excuses or defending them with any half baked defense you can cook up. It is certainly not a "pro" thing, this is the direction all computing is going. Apple is behind. PERIOD.
So, stop defending them just because they are your choice of platform. They are my choice as well, but I have to call it like it is. Apple has to do better or I will pretty much have no choice but to go to Windows 7 in the future (blah). If I can't do my work nearly as efficiently on OSX, how can I possibly justify staying? It's a maddening situation they perpetuate.
What the...so an affordable 1 terabyte SSD is on the way? It's going to a be a hundred bucks? And how much does that Scorpio blue cost again?
Thinner or not?
Who cares about a thinner iMac? We want cheaper and more powerful iMacs. Ideally, I'd love the 20" model to go away, so that the cheapest one would be a 24", for the same price ... and a better GPU as well
Maybe they'd focus on a thinner iMac for marketing reasons. The ad would say: "Buy an iMac, the thinnest computer in the world". While most people wouldn't care, when buying a computer at the store, they'd remember that Apple has a slick one that doesn't eat up desktop space.
Who cares about a thinner iMac? We want cheaper and more powerful iMacs. Ideally, I'd love the 20" model to go away, so that the cheapest one would be a 24", for the same price ... and a better GPU as well
Maybe they'd focus on a thinner iMac for marketing reasons. The ad would say: "Buy an iMac, the thinnest computer in the world". While most people wouldn't care, when buying a computer at the store, they'd remember that Apple has a slick one that doesn't eat up desktop space.
I dont think Apple would merge the MBA and the MB, and here's why: The MBA is quite an expensive machine, and has quite low performance, and that's because it's thin. The MB, on the other side, is thicker, so allows for better performance AND lower price. So unless Apple makes the MBA really cheaper, they're going to stay two separate models. They could, however, make a MB without a DVD drive, and make it way thinner, but isn't the MacBook about "Does everything you need"? So no compromises I think, it's mostly aimed at students and people who don't have lots of money to spend. I think the MacBook is supposed to be cheap, the MacBook Air is supposed to be thin and the MacBook Pro is supposed to be fast.
But we are talking Apple so anything can happen, they might find some super duper compromise that would allow them to make ultra thin MacBooks and merge it with the Air...
It's true that the Air needs updating, it still has the old trackpad with a button, it still has the old style glossy plastic screen, so I think the next update would make it have a glass trackpad and a glass screen, and of course better HD and RAM, etc...
So tu sum it up: The MB and MBA would be difficult to combine into one product (price wise) but they sure do need updating, both of them.
That's great, man. Listen, if you are trying to do 'heavy lifting' on your computer and you need the best and fastest processors out there, maybe you shouldn't be using (or even be interested in) an ALL IN ONE PC that is marketed for it's thinness and simplicity.
If you want to talk about whether Apple should make a normal desktop and change the absurd pricing on the Mac Pro, that is another discussion. We are talking about the ALL IN ONE iMac, that is a consumer desktop, marketed for it's design.
No, I would not suddenly start by claiming that i5's are the future simply because Apple uses it. The AVERAGE user does not NEED a quad core. Get that. The iMac is not targeted at people who need to do a lot of editing, 3d rendering or music production. Even though it can handle all of those in no sweat RIGHT NOW. The iMac is Apple's consumer based product. Not the music/movie producer who does 3d rendering. If Apple were to release a quad core imac soon, then great do a happy dance. My iMac is as fast as i'll need it to be for the next 3-5 years. If you really can't stand the way Apple does things then build a Hackintosh or stop complaining.
I can safely assume that a (relatively, but hey we're talking about a huge speed boost!) affordable 2.5" 512gb or 640gb SSD (using twenty-something nanometers technology) will happen during the lifespan of the upcoming iMac design.
No...you'll get lower end capacities for that money. (like 80/128/160gb)
But who needs 1tb for the system + applications? People could use FW800/FW3200 (or LightPeak
) external HDDs for storage purposes...no need to store porn on ultra-fast SSDs...It's a 5400rpm HDD and costs about 200$. But you can always get a 500gb 7200rpm 2.5" hdd for less than half that money. That would be only 140gb less than current default 640gb capacity of most iMacs.
Weeks? The first news of an update to the iMac/Macbook/Mac Mini that was reliable came in July.
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...rdable_imacs_from_apple_expected_by_fall.html
I think myself it seems to leak an unusual amount of info from Apple, with this update.
Wait why are people surprised/complaining that the iMac is gonna be thinner? Thats been the direction ever since the G5 iMacs were introduced. iMacs get thinner with each revision end of story get with the program or go buy an XPS
Most likely the iMacs will be using 'special' penryn chips exclusively designed for them as i doubt Core i7s will make it in there...hopefully i'm wrong...maybe the i5s will
The iMac will NOT be filling in the gap between the Mac Pro and the Mini. Its an all in one, in fact its merely a laptop with a desktop drive & a big screen attached. Translation: Design/aesthetic comes before performance, no modular drives, no high end GPUs, probably not even a quad core processor...not whilst the Mac Pro still offers one anyway. Doesn't make sense marketing wise
Most likely the iMacs will be using 'special' penryn chips exclusively designed for them as i doubt Core i7s will make it in there...hopefully i'm wrong...maybe the i5s will
The iMac will NOT be filling in the gap between the Mac Pro and the Mini. Its an all in one, in fact its merely a laptop with a desktop drive & a big screen attached. Translation: Design/aesthetic comes before performance, no modular drives, no high end GPUs, probably not even a quad core processor...not whilst the Mac Pro still offers one anyway. Doesn't make sense marketing wise
I would have to agree, people looking for more power should go with the Mac Pro. I see the iMac as a family computer and one for shiny offices, not for NASA hackers.
Next year MacPro will probably be 6-core/12-core with single/dual Gulftown cpus. (just saying)
not been all ranting.
also the problem is that people all want to do different things with the iMac form basic stuff to gaming. Would be nice if there are some more configuration options when you order your iMac. If you want a basic one then you go for low end stuff like C2D and a 9400 GFX card.
if your into gaming then you can order a i5 or i7 with a better GFX card or whatever you want to do..
one size does not fit all
also the problem is that people all want to do different things with the iMac form basic stuff to gaming. Would be nice if there are some more configuration options when you order your iMac. If you want a basic one then you go for low end stuff like C2D and a 9400 GFX card.
if your into gaming then you can order a i5 or i7 with a better GFX card or whatever you want to do..
one size does not fit all
I bought a 24" iMac 2 weeks ago, returned it on Friday. The main reason is that I need a top spec reliable mac that will last me 3 years. If it means I have to wait another couple of weeks then so be it.
I don't care about quad core, mainly because I don't know what it does.
I don't care about thinner, it's thin enough.
What I want is the latest version with better graphics and lots of memory and reliability. It will be used for all my coursework.
I don't care about quad core, mainly because I don't know what it does.
I don't care about thinner, it's thin enough.
What I want is the latest version with better graphics and lots of memory and reliability. It will be used for all my coursework.
I bought a 24" iMac 2 weeks ago, returned it on Friday. The main reason is that I need a top spec reliable mac that will last me 3 years. If it means I have to wait another couple of weeks then so be it.
I don't care about quad core, mainly because I don't know what it does.
I don't care about thinner, it's thin enough.
What I want is the latest version with better graphics and lots of memory and reliability. It will be used for all my coursework.
perhaps you need to read up on what your buying. You what "Top Spec" & the "latest version" and yet your not bothered about quad core. Ok you dont know what that is. You cannot be that bothered about "top spec"
I suggest some more homework is needed
Well, it obviously has been proven to be an information from inside the company, that obviously people at large do not know!
How more ignorant can you get tofagerl, Apple has done it in the past already, and having people from Google on the board of directors isn't helping that either? I wish people would just shut their face and read what has been posted before making such idiot comments!
Come on Apple i want the new imac to be more powerful than a dell LAPTOP
I, or rather my wife has a dell laptop with specs that put it ahead of my white macbook by a large margin - processor, ram, hard drive, video card... it's nowhere near as fast in real life usage. Startup, wake from sleep, connecting to wireless networks, playing back video, multitasking, not to mention all the software I can run that she can't... I do love the hdmi output though... ANYway - specs don't tell the whole story.
-Matt
So you type in "iMac Air" instead of "iMac"you can see imac air configurator links on the right
People need to stop bitchin, the new imac is allways better then the last imac.
You are assuming you know what people needs and do. Do you? Really?
You are not Apple marketing department, so why giving up our power as consumer to push for better products and better value? You know, demand, not just competition, is one of the force of innovation.
And yes I will prefer a new iMac with better specs, one that will not be outdated in a year or so. Price drop welcome.
perhaps you need to read up on what your buying. You what "Top Spec" & the "latest version" and yet your not bothered about quad core. Ok you dont know what that is. You cannot be that bothered about "top spec"
I suggest some more homework is needed
To be perfectly honest I get enough "Homework" from university.
With regards to quad core, from what I have read on these forums, I would never use them to their full potential so why pay for them.
I need a machine that is as up to date as possible seeing as it has to last me 3 years. (length of my law degree course). In 3 years it will be a relic (thats a joke by the way).
It will be used for mainly; coursework, AVCHD editing, photo editing and general email and web surfing. All of which the current machine can do very well but it is now outdated slightly.
I switched to Macs because the OS is so user friendly, the machines are fast, sexy and the customer service is second to none.
If I wanted the latest technology I would buy Dell or HP for example.
Also, if all the predictions are correct then the price drop would be cool as well, I am a mature student with a family to support so every penny counts.