Does anyone have a good guess on the future updates of the iMac? I really like the current design, but then again I want a G5. . . Do you think there will be an update of the iMac G4 before they go G5? And when will the iMac G5 be available? And will it have a new design? Any thoughts . . ?
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The Future of the iMac
- Thread starter Kirk
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Apple Insider has been talking a lot about that, saying that the new iMacs will have a cube form with a G5. As for me, I expect an iMac update in February going up to a 1.42 GHz G4 with 167 MHz bus. But, if the new G5s come out before then then there is a chance of an iMac G5 topping out at 1.8 or 2 ghz single. Myth thoughts...
i think we'll see another g4 revision of the imac before we go to G5.
but the 1.42 hasnt been seen since the june of last year.
even though the new moto chips have lower clock speeds than the old ones, the new moto chips are significantly faster because of archi. updgrades (L2 cache, bus).
i'm guessing that the new 1.42's will have lower heat dissipation and lower power requirements, as well as the same archi- improvements as the 1.25, and the 1.33.
but the 1.42 hasnt been seen since the june of last year.
even though the new moto chips have lower clock speeds than the old ones, the new moto chips are significantly faster because of archi. updgrades (L2 cache, bus).
i'm guessing that the new 1.42's will have lower heat dissipation and lower power requirements, as well as the same archi- improvements as the 1.25, and the 1.33.
The way I see it is that the imac has increased in processor speed by 25% over the last two revisions, 800->1000 and then 1000->1250. So, based on this the next revision might be approx 156.25, or more likely 1.6 Ghz.
At this speed, I reckon (pure speculation) that they could put either a G4 (if there is one fast enough) or a G5 in it. Which they will do.... I don't know.
This is not based on anything apart from my own instinct, but I think anything under a 25% increase would not impress.
At this speed, I reckon (pure speculation) that they could put either a G4 (if there is one fast enough) or a G5 in it. Which they will do.... I don't know.
This is not based on anything apart from my own instinct, but I think anything under a 25% increase would not impress.
Originally posted by Kirk
So we probably wont see an iMac G5 before the summer then?
We're not going to see an iMac G5 before 2005.
i'm sure the iMac G5 won't come out until after the PowerBook G5's release. Maybe MWSF 05? They would probably want a big forum to announce it, and I don't see it happening by this year's WWDC. But once the Power Mac hits 3.0GHz, they could have an iMac topping out at 1.8 or 2.0GHz...
Why would they wait for a MacWorld? They didn't announce the iBook G4 there. Also, there's no reason why a G5 iMac would wait until after the Powerbook; the iMac has a much better cooling capability. If they were making radical changes to the shape, that might wait for a MacWorld, but frankly, how likely is that?
Nah, none of those reasons hold any water. Now that the Xserve is using 90nm G5's, there should be PowerMac updates next week, and there's no technical reason that iMac G5's couldn't follow within a month or so.
The next step for us rumor-mongers is to start watching inventory levels of iMac G4's. When they start becoming very hard to find, that's when to start looking for the iMac G5. At present, iMac G4's are selling well and in plentiful supply, so it won't be very soon.
Nah, none of those reasons hold any water. Now that the Xserve is using 90nm G5's, there should be PowerMac updates next week, and there's no technical reason that iMac G5's couldn't follow within a month or so.
The next step for us rumor-mongers is to start watching inventory levels of iMac G4's. When they start becoming very hard to find, that's when to start looking for the iMac G5. At present, iMac G4's are selling well and in plentiful supply, so it won't be very soon.
You have to remember Apple plays these games with its own product line, if they do wait for G5 powerbook first then it would look like the next imac will be at 1.33 or 1.4 so a lame almost non measurable bump. So like i love to rant on about as many have pointed out the Imac instead of being made into a fantastic machine that could be sold in the millions like the original crt will get more of the old non advancing G4. This would make 1/2 of a powermac from a year ago. As a user of a g4 that i can change the speed on going from 1.25- 1.4 you will not notice much. it may look ok on paper but in reality no real gain. im sure they will do something like put fx5200 in every model after all they cant let Emac get to close. also 1 more thing a new G4 isnt much faster if any then a old one, they gave it more L2 took away the l3 so in otherwords cheaper to make about the same performance. G4 has gone nowhere in the past year or more. Its good for laptops, but for a system sitting on your desk it is lacking.
The real shot i nthe fooy for the G4 is the fact that its FSB, currently cannot be pushed over 167MHz. Given that AMD intel are only @ 200MHz, but remember that on the PC side of the fence, these FSB clocks are double and quad pumpped to give 400 and 800MHz respectivly. Thus being able to take better advantage of the advancements in DDR over the past few years.
In Real terms you might as well run 167MHz SDRAM, as it should give equal preformance to the DDR333 (double pumped 167SDRAM,) Since data can only be transfered to the CPU as fast as the FSB allows.
Q: why do you think we saw 2mb of L3 Chace, a year or so ago?
A: To try and make up for this short comming.
In Real terms you might as well run 167MHz SDRAM, as it should give equal preformance to the DDR333 (double pumped 167SDRAM,) Since data can only be transfered to the CPU as fast as the FSB allows.
Q: why do you think we saw 2mb of L3 Chace, a year or so ago?
A: To try and make up for this short comming.
True, DDR is more of a marketing gimmick in the G4 machines since it is only half used. Just more G4 subpar stuff.
Originally posted by rdowns
Shoot me now please!
I want a G5 iMac so bad to replace my 600MHz iMac. I bought a 900 MHz iBook G3 from CompUSA auctions ($601) so maybe that will tide me over.
WHOA.... CompUSA has auctions???? Where? When?