Should I Wait for Maxwell

[xsasha92x]

My research online has led me to believe that the next gen Nvidia Maxwell GPUs will be released in February 2014 including the GeForce 800m series. Should I wait for the next iMac refresh/update or should I just stick with the 780m model that is currently out? I don't want to spend $2.5k right now if a newer and more powerful model could potentially come out in a month or two. Do you think that Apple will immediately release a refreshed iMac with the new GPUs or will they wait for the release of Broadwell CPUs? Also, could there be a possibility of an improved resolution monitor in the next refresh? And maybe Thunderbolt 2 even though I wouldn't be able to utilize it past the potential of first gen Thunderbolt.

 

[Klae17]

My research online has led me to believe that the next gen Nvidia Maxwell GPUs will be released in February 2014 including the GeForce 800m series. Should I wait for the next iMac refresh/update or should I just stick with the 780m model that is currently out? I don't want to spend $2.5k right now if a newer and more powerful model could potentially come out in a month or two. Do you think that Apple will immediately release a refreshed iMac with the new GPUs or will they wait for the release of Broadwell CPUs? Also, could there be a possibility of an improved resolution monitor in the next refresh? And maybe Thunderbolt 2 even though I wouldn't be able to utilize it past the potential of first gen Thunderbolt.

They will probably wait to do a big update vs. a small GPU update which will piss some people off. For $500 more you can get the Mac Pro btw.

 

[xsasha92x]

I was considering the Mac Pro but that would require me to spend more money on a monitor and since I'm also going to be playing games, the GeForce is more beneficial than dual workstation GPUs. And then there's also the cost of upgrading the SSD size and/or buying an external drive. My other option is to buy a Samsung 840 EVO SSD for my early 2011 15" MBP with 2.3 GHz i7 and 6750m and wait for a refresh but I'm considering just going through with the iMac purchase and then buy a smaller SSD for the MBP for portability. I think the Seagate Hybrid drive that I bought failed or something because I can only boot in bootcamp and I have to do a full restore of the HD to have Mac OS X work on it again.

 

[pscl]

I was considering the Mac Pro but that would require me to spend more money on a monitor and since I'm also going to be playing games, the GeForce is more beneficial than dual workstation GPUs. And then there's also the cost of upgrading the SSD size and/or buying an external drive. My other option is to buy a Samsung 840 EVO SSD for my early 2011 15" MBP with 2.3 GHz i7 and 6750m and wait for a refresh but I'm considering just going through with the iMac purchase and then buy a smaller SSD for the MBP for portability. I think the Seagate Hybrid drive that I bought failed or something because I can only boot in bootcamp and I have to do a full restore of the HD to have Mac OS X work on it again.

i got the same descision to make.

i assume u want to play in bootcamp... so you have to upgrade to an 512ssd and at least the d500. and then u are at about 4000$. that is insane. despite the fact that you are forced to get external storage attatched to the macpro. this is in my opinion a step back in "design". imagine all the cables... iiiiiew.

the problem with my 2011 imac was the bad gpu that cant handle the 1440p native resolution provided by the gorgeous display. every resolutions scaled down to under 1440p looks totally crappy. trust me.

so im looking for some informations that proof that i can play battlefield 4 (e.g.) in native resolution with a (multiplayer)-playable fps rate! there are videos on youtube that show nice framerates by usind "msi-afterburner" to slightly overclock the gpu. pretty nice.

hard descision.

the overall answer is: buy it if u need it. if you begin the "waiting-game" then you are never happy.

my descision till now is: i get the 27" 3.5, 8GB, 780m, 1TB FusionDrive and look how it performs (im sure it will perform pretty well.)
if it does not in 1440p, then ill get an gaming rig for about 1000€ and plug it into my imac and use it as en external display (the benefit: switch between macosx and win8 on the fly).

and... wooooooohooooo 2500€ imac + 1000€ gaming rig that runs all of the current games flawlessly = 3500€ for a kick ass setup.

how does this sound? I look forward to your opinion on this...

 

[Serban]

Geforce 800 series will be completed after June so no imac refresh until late octomber

 

[pscl]

Geforce 800 series will be completed after June so no imac refresh until late octomber

i think there is a mid 2014 release in june/july

 

[Micky Do]

Why wait?

This website is littered with "Should I wait for………?" threads.

If you need a new computer now, then get one now. It will be good for several years.

If you don't need one, why bother? Whatever you get is gong to be the latest and greatest for only a short time, until the next generation comes along.

Most revisions are evolutionary, not revolutionary. For most folk a newer machine will bring only bragging rights for just a dozen months or so. In use there will be no great change.

The last time I bought a new computer was in 2009. It is a Core 2 Duo Mini that still does what I want it to do, and can run the latest software.

It replaced the original G4 Mini, in which the HDD and the power supply had failed. Although it had been good for my needs, it was not worth repairing. With my files backed up just a week before (pre Time Machine) I lost very little, and was good to go again within a day….. I use it for work.

Right now, should it break down, repair would probably still be my best option. A generation or two down the line the decision might be a different one. but there would be no waiting.

 

[xsasha92x]

i got the same descision to make.

i assume u want to play in bootcamp... so you have to upgrade to an 512ssd and at least the d500. and then u are at about 4000$. that is insane. despite the fact that you are forced to get external storage attatched to the macpro. this is in my opinion a step back in "design". imagine all the cables... iiiiiew.

the problem with my 2011 imac was the bad gpu that cant handle the 1440p native resolution provided by the gorgeous display. every resolutions scaled down to under 1440p looks totally crappy. trust me.

so im looking for some informations that proof that i can play battlefield 4 (e.g.) in native resolution with a (multiplayer)-playable fps rate! there are videos on youtube that show nice framerates by usind "msi-afterburner" to slightly overclock the gpu. pretty nice.

hard descision.

the overall answer is: buy it if u need it. if you begin the "waiting-game" then you are never happy.

my descision till now is: i get the 27" 3.5, 8GB, 780m, 1TB FusionDrive and look how it performs (im sure it will perform pretty well.)
if it does not in 1440p, then ill get an gaming rig for about 1000€ and plug it into my imac and use it as en external display (the benefit: switch between macosx and win8 on the fly).

and... wooooooohooooo 2500€ imac + 1000€ gaming rig that runs all of the current games flawlessly = 3500€ for a kick ass setup.

how does this sound? I look forward to your opinion on this...

One thing you'll have to keep in mind with the Fusion Drive is that Bootcamp doesn't utilize the SSD. I've been looking at solutions utilizing thunderbolt and an external ssd to run bootcamp off of but I think I'm going to wait for prices to drop. I actually never considered building another custom gaming rig and using the imac monitor as an external display. Are you sure that is possible? I know that target display mode only works with Mac-to-Mac (Correct me if I'm wrong). I'm getting the iMac as an upgrade to my early 2011 15" MBP 2.3 Ghz, 6750m. I think it would be nice to have a desktop for gaming and schoolwork and have a MBP as a portable computer. If my MBP died, I would definitely have just gone with a new MBP retina but I could have both portability and power with an iMac and older MBP. The only thing that I'm not too sure about with the iMac I just ordered was the Fusion Drive vs. SSD. I know for sure that 512 GB wouldn't be enough without an external HD and a 1TB SSD would bring it to the price of a Mac Pro. The Mac Pro is nice because it has upgradability and I think it will last much longer than an iMac. iMac's are refreshed every year and I'm assuming the Mac Pro won't see a refresh for a while since it's top of the line. I'm also considering buying 16gb of Crucial RAM from Amazon for $140 but I'll probably wait for the order status to change before buying it. If the iMac doesn't perform as well as Iyou want it to, you can always return it within 14 days. I'm quite interested in the gaming rig idea btw; just not sure if the iMac will work as an external monitor for it :/

 

[Bear]

My research online has led me to believe that the next gen Nvidia Maxwell GPUs will be released in February 2014 including the GeForce 800m series. Should I wait for the next iMac refresh/update or should I just stick with the 780m model that is currently out?
...

I doubt we'd see an iMac update before September or so. Apple will wait until the can upgrade both the GPU and the CPU. And there's no guarantee of which brand GPU Apple will choose when they do the update, although they have been using Nvidia GPUs lately.

And as it has been said elsewhere, only you can decide when you want or need a new Mac.

 

[comatory]

and then there are cheap gaming pcs or consoles...

 

[xsasha92x]

Already have the PS4 haha. I used to build custom gaming rigs but then I would still be using a lower quality monitor than the one on the iMac and I like the features of Mac OS X (syncing across iphone, ipad, mbp) and I love my Apple TV. The operating system is also better imo. Either way, the form factor, ability to dual boot, the 1440p monitor, and the decent power are why I'm choosing another Mac.

 

[DJJAZZYJET]

Build a hackintosh. I use windows for gaming and OS X for audio production/general daily driver, its much cheaper and allows you to upgrade/fix problems when you want. My hackintosh Specs:

i5 3570K Overclocked to 4.3GHZ
8GB 2133MHz Overclocked RAM
GTX 770
750W PSU

First port of call would be 'tonymacx86' for all hackintosh help, installation and build guides

 

[pscl]

One thing you'll have to keep in mind with the Fusion Drive is that Bootcamp doesn't utilize the SSD. I've been looking at solutions utilizing thunderbolt and an external ssd to run bootcamp off of but I think I'm going to wait for prices to drop. I actually never considered building another custom gaming rig and using the imac monitor as an external display. Are you sure that is possible? I know that target display mode only works with Mac-to-Mac (Correct me if I'm wrong). I'm getting the iMac as an upgrade to my early 2011 15" MBP 2.3 Ghz, 6750m. I think it would be nice to have a desktop for gaming and schoolwork and have a MBP as a portable computer. If my MBP died, I would definitely have just gone with a new MBP retina but I could have both portability and power with an iMac and older MBP. The only thing that I'm not too sure about with the iMac I just ordered was the Fusion Drive vs. SSD. I know for sure that 512 GB wouldn't be enough without an external HD and a 1TB SSD would bring it to the price of a Mac Pro. The Mac Pro is nice because it has upgradability and I think it will last much longer than an iMac. iMac's are refreshed every year and I'm assuming the Mac Pro won't see a refresh for a while since it's top of the line. I'm also considering buying 16gb of Crucial RAM from Amazon for $140 but I'll probably wait for the order status to change before buying it. If the iMac doesn't perform as well as Iyou want it to, you can always return it within 14 days. I'm quite interested in the gaming rig idea btw; just not sure if the iMac will work as an external monitor for it :/

im pretty sure this would work. why not?
but honestly... i just tested it with my rmbp.
but few months ago i did research about using the imac as an PC display.

you know... i dont like pc at all... but sort of high end gaming is just a pain in the ass... but anyway... i think the 780m will perform really well!

 

[thekev]

It's highly unlikely that you'll see an imac update prior to Q4. Apple almost always updates notebooks first. Notebook broadwell won't be out until at least fall. There's no way to know whether it will be NVidia. If NVidia's power management in the notebook type gpus remains better than AMD, it'll probably be NVidia again. I wouldn't call it a foregone conclusion though. You might see anything in the next update.

 

[appledude222]

I think it would be beneficial to wait. Maxwell for notebooks is going to be a huge leap and we may see some higher resolution speeds. Although you are going to have to wait quite a while, I think your current MBP will work well for the time being (with a new ssd).

 

[pscl]

I think it would be beneficial to wait. Maxwell for notebooks is going to be a huge leap and we may see some higher resolution speeds. Although you are going to have to wait quite a while, I think your current MBP will work well for the time being (with a new ssd).

wich cpu/gpu update wasn`t a big leap in the past?

its always the same. buy it when you need it, at least there are serious rumors ongoing.