So realistically, what can we expect GPU wise this fall?

[cynics]

Ah, yes! You are correct. So it's been 3 years since Apple has announced an NVIDIA GPU equipped Mac. Kinda sad considering AMD is currently crap. I wish that weren't the case but it is.

Pretty without their Apple, PS4, and Xbox One contract AMD would be dead in a ditch.

I agree and disagree.

Currently yes, without there a top tier cards to compete with the monstrous 1080 and Titan X they don't appear to be as good.

However to me it's like saying the iPhone is crap the day the new Galaxy S(whatever) comes out. Or vise versa.

AMD's Fury X was on par with nVidias previous Titan X in many titles, sometimes better if you cherry pick the titles like AOS.

And we will see that again. I think at this point we won't see any leaps ahead of nVidia but we should be seeing things on par.

AMD has a fairly solid business model too with their cost of gaming graphics cards and 3rd party manufacturer support with Xbox, Apple and PlayStation like you mention.

If I were to run a business is rather be in AMDs shoes then nVidia that needs to push PC gaming. Meanwhile PlayStation Neo and Xbox project Scorpio will sell themselves.

Just my thoughts. Yes I rather have an nVidia GPU in my Mac but I'm ok with AMD especially at their price points.

 

[enc0re]

I'm due for a new desktop Mac this Fall. Looking at Nvidia's new laptop GTX 10X0 parts (they are now desktop equivalent!; http://www.anandtech.com/show/10564...series-for-notebooks-unveiled-launching-today), I really wish Apple would switch back.

Come on Apple: please put a mobile GTX 1080 in a Mac Mini, iMac, or Mac Pro. I'll pay you $5,000 for it. I don't even care which machine it goes into. I can work around the rest of the setup.

 

[Sakurambo-kun]

I'm happy with the M395 as well, its a solid performer, I certainly can understand the desire to get a better GPU especially given what AMD and Nvidia have rolled out recently. That of course has no bearing on me, since I already spent a lot money on my machine and I'm planning on keeping it a long time

I spent a lot of money on my iMac too, but the lack of performance is really hurting. If Apple fixed their hopeless OpenGL driver it would help a lot, but realistically I need a better GPU, a much, much better GPU.

 

[Krevnik]

I'm due for a new desktop Mac this Fall. Looking at Nvidia's new laptop GTX 10X0 parts (they are now desktop equivalent!; http://www.anandtech.com/show/10564...series-for-notebooks-unveiled-launching-today), I really wish Apple would switch back.

Come on Apple: please put a mobile GTX 1080 in a Mac Mini, iMac, or Mac Pro. I'll pay you $5,000 for it. I don't even care which machine it goes into. I can work around the rest of the setup.

I kinda wish they would as well, but for me, it's that Apple tends to favor the performance of things like Core Image when picking these parts. They care less about the raw 3D, and more about how well the chips handle these frameworks and creative apps (and how good a deal they can get). Since they went wide on the CUDA cores to keep performance up while clocking the chip down a bit from the desktop part, this feels like it could be very tantalizing in the iMac 5K for that reason. Lots of available power for the things Apple's engineers focus on.

Honestly, I would love to see 1060 and 1070 as standard on the 5K iMac, with 1080 as a BTO option for those willing to pay out for it.

 

[cynics]

I hope we see integrated graphics in all iMacs so my inner fanboy can shine!

 

[kblbn86]

My guess:

AMD RX 460M - Base Model

AMD RX 480M - Mid Model

AMD RX 490M - High Spec

Hopefully with an October update. Fingers crossed.

 

[AlexGraphicD]

My guess:

AMD RX 460M - Base Model

AMD RX 480M - Mid Model

AMD RX 490M - High Spec

Hopefully with an October update. Fingers crossed.

That would be great.

 

[AlexGraphicD]

From what I read on the web the Polaris gpu is gonna be miles better than the current ones. It would be a shame if Apple didn't do an upgrade to the iMacs this fall.

How much earlier does Apple usually announce new updated products?
Like how much earlier did the 2014 and 2015 iMacs announced before they got released? Are there any hopes that new iMacs could be announced on September for an October release?

 

[mpe]

From what I read on the web the Polaris gpu is gonna be miles better than the current ones.

Better in terms of power per watt. Practically it means that for what you required 180W TDP chip now you can have only 110-135W.

Apple is currently using 100-125W mobile parts which with no other changes let them use something up to desktop RX470 Polaris 10 in the high-end model. This would be good but not dramatically faster than what they have now. Most likely they'll go for lower power laptop parts if anything. And in worst case they'll recycle Tonga designs from 4xx series.

Those who predicting double speed will be disappointed. I predict we'll see just another rather small bump. If they go for Polaris, then we'll have less fan noise or even thinner design of iMac, not much faster performance. I think this is what they probably go for.

 

[iMcLovin]

Better in terms of power per watt. Practically it means that for what you required 180W TDP chip now you can have only 110-135W.

Apple is currently using 100-125W mobile parts which with no other changes let them use something up to desktop RX470 Polaris 10 in the high-end model. This would be good but not dramatically faster than what they have now. Most likely they'll go for lower power laptop parts if anything. And in worst case they'll recycle Tonga designs from 4xx series.

Those who predicting double speed will be disappointed. I predict we'll see just another rather small bump. If they go for Polaris, then we'll have less fan noise or even thinner design of iMac, not much faster performance. I think this is what they probably go for.

Anything that can give me current max speed on the 5k iMac but without heating and trotthling when Im running the machine hot is worth the upgrade. Currently, Im running my iMac hard, frequently, and the 5K maxed out 2014 iMac doesn't handle this very well. I feel the hardware and the thin design of the iMac isn't completely compatible. So, if they have managed to make GPUs that can lower the overall temperature, meaning you can run the components harder without the iMac struggling, then I would say its worth releasing new machines only for that.

 

[mpe]

Anything that can give me current max speed on the 5k iMac but without heating and trotthling when Im running the machine hot is worth the upgrade. Currently, Im running my iMac hard, frequently, and the 5K maxed out 2014 iMac doesn't handle this very well. I feel the hardware and the thin design of the iMac isn't completely compatible. So, if they have managed to make GPUs that can lower the overall temperature, meaning you can run the components harder without the iMac struggling, then I would say its worth releasing new machines only for that.

I agree. Fortunately, thermal throttling and GPU issues are much less common in 2015 update. I have 2015 model with M395 and experience no such issues. The combination of M295X GPU and i7-4790K CPU in 2014 iMac was problematic.

I think if Apple refreshes iMac this fall we'll see cooler and less power hungry GPUs rather than faster GPUs.

 

[cynics]

I agree. Fortunately, thermal throttling and GPU issues are much less common in 2015 update. I have 2015 model with M395 and experience no such issues. The combination of M295X GPU and i7-4790K CPU in 2014 iMac was problematic.

I think if Apple refreshes iMac this fall we'll see cooler and less power hungry GPUs rather than faster GPUs.

I don't think so. There isn't much option for cooler less power hungry GPUs without upgrading speed. Unless they under clocked a Polaris GPU but that would be pointless, it will already be cooler and less power hungry without an artificial under clock.

I feel the Polaris GPU is a good fit for the iMac. Its the right price, its the right speed bump, it offers the right features (without going overboard with gaming features), it uses a reasonable amount of power.

The only thing I won't like about it is Apple Tax, paying 250+ for just the GPU with likely less VRAM when I can get an entire card for cheaper irks me but I guess its the price of doing business.

 

[AlexGraphicD]

Is there any hope apple will announce an october release for polaris gpu? Is it still early for that to happen?

 

[cynics]

Is there any hope apple will announce an october release for polaris gpu? Is it still early for that to happen?

I don't see why not. The Radeon 300 series was launched last year about the same time and made it into the 2015 iMacs.

 

[vapourtrails]

I don't see why not. The Radeon 300 series was launched last year about the same time and made it into the 2015 iMacs.

It would be nice to see some leaked images. Should't there be something more than endless speculation if a genuine release was this close?

 

[cynics]

It would be nice to see some leaked images. Should't there be something more than endless speculation if a genuine release was this close?

Not sure, I don't usually see too many iMac leaks. I'm assuming because they are just typical spec bumps. The 5k came out of no where for me.

 

[Macmamamac]

Pretty significant because Apple doesn't want to lose out on the VR market. Either because they are releasing their own system or because they want Oculus and Vive to be able to run on their system.

 

[vapourtrails]

Not sure, I don't usually see too many iMac leaks. I'm assuming because they are just typical spec bumps. The 5k came out of no where for me.

You are probably right. I'm just getting ready for school to start and I need to make a decision to either buy the current iMac or wait it out. It would be nice to have more to go on. I can wait until October but not much longer as I will need to start marking.

 

[mpe]

Just bear in mind that commercial names (300, 400 series) is misleading. Even if they refresh iMacs with 400 chips it doesn't mean it will be Polaris.

2014 iMacs had M290X which was a Pitcairn chip and optional M295X which was Tonga.
2015 iMacs had Tonga chips with different configurations.

There is at least one 400-series chip (R9 M485X) which could theoretically make it to iMac is yet another Tonga reincarnation.

Also there is currently no signs of high-end mobile Polaris products.

 

[iMcLovin]

I agree. Fortunately, thermal throttling and GPU issues are much less common in 2015 update. I have 2015 model with M395 and experience no such issues. The combination of M295X GPU and i7-4790K CPU in 2014 iMac was problematic.

I think if Apple refreshes iMac this fall we'll see cooler and less power hungry GPUs rather than faster GPUs.

Yeah, so I read too. But, it came out so quickly after mine with such minor improvements in general that it felt like a bad investment to sell my 6 months old maxed out iMac for an incremental update. Now though it would feel even more silly to switch from my current to the current "new". Im considering upgrading every time new iMacs comes, and sell my old one from now on. The re-sell value is good enough for it to not be a big loss. And you never know when Apple decides to let it go 2 years between updates.
[doublepost=1471802369][/doublepost]

It would be nice to see some leaked images. Should't there be something more than endless speculation if a genuine release was this close?

Theres never been any image leaks of new iMacs as far as I can remember. When they were releasing the new thinner deisng, there were rumors about iMacs coming out and that they were delayed and that apple was unsure if they would announce them when they said all the way until the last minute of the presentation. but thats pretty much the only iMac rumors I can remember. Never any image leaks. I guess they are too large to sneak out of the factories and with too little fuzz to bother.

 

[moep]

Just bear in mind that commercial names (300, 400 series) is misleading. Even if they refresh iMacs with 400 chips it doesn't mean it will be Polaris.

2014 iMacs had M290X which was a Pitcairn chip and optional M295X which was Tonga.
2015 iMacs had Tonga chips with different configurations.

There is at least one 400-series chip (R9 M485X) which could theoretically make it to iMac is yet another Tonga reincarnation.

Also there is currently no signs of high-end mobile Polaris products.

A mobile GTX1080 in the 5k iMac would be so perfect it almost hurts.

 

[Malus120]

A mobile GTX1080 in the 5k iMac would be so perfect it almost hurts.

Yeah that's how most of us felt about the 980m two years ago...

 

[mlody]

The way Apple treats their Mac and iMac lines, I think the best would be to expect NOTHING new. Given the Apple's track record, it is more likely that a headphone will get removed from desktops and laptops then a high end gtx 1080 card be available.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Metal in El Captain is offering DX9 and DX 10 level features, but in some sense, it didn't reach even that far. It really was the first step. Now, with macOS 10.12, Metal is receiving DX 11 level features and something from DX12. So we still need to wait to macOS 10.13 before Metal is mature enough to have all bells and whistles.

openGL has been in legacy state for some time. Only bug fixes for old drivers and new drivers for new GPU's. Most likely Apple will move openGL to work on Metal, maybe next year with 10.13. So we are living on a (minimum) three year long transition era from slow and old openGL to fast and furious Metal.

What comes to next iMac, I see AMD's Zen based APU as one option that Apple will use. They can offer similar CPU performance as today and quite strong iGPU performance for smaller price that today. But this could be Apple's' roadmap for next year, and this year Apple will use Kaby Lake instead.

Remember, that iMac 21.5" has ~100W thermal limit for all components inside the display casing. 27" 5k has ~250W. Besides, Intel has had a problem with its Iris Pro 580 for desktops... small yields or something has been cursing it... but if they can ramp up the production, we could see Skylake with Iris Pro 580 in 21.5" medium and high models and it could replace M380 in 27" too.

RX 480 and 470 both are ~125W or under chips, but the high clocked memory used in 480 makes the card lose its efficiency. The memory really is its bottleneck. So, Apple could use both chips in their next iMac, but the memory will be limited to 4GB and it'll run with lower clocks. This is my prediction.

Nvidia could make a return to Apple, but I think AMD and Apple are Cooking something together, hence Apple has been AMD only for past three years. I think AMD is more open with its APIs and architecture than Nvidia, and also cheaper, so that could be another reason. But custom APU a la consoles (Xbox, Playstation) could be more viable for Apple... Intel is just too expensive and Apple wants bigger cut from Macs.

 

[maflynn]

Nvidia could make a return to Apple,

I think Apple and AMD signed an exclusivity contract to the point where Apple will only use AMD for x years, so unless Apple wants to walk away from that, they'll stick with AMD. Just my opinion as I have no real information on that