Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Unboxing of the Early 2009 NVIDIA iMac, Early Benchmarks
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The whole reason Apple did this is a money saving move. There is no other reason. If they did it because people really wanted a smaller keyboard without the number pad then they would have made that the optional keyboard. The only way you get a choice is if you order directly from Apple. Since many iMacs are sold by re-sellers Apple can pocket the price difference on those consumers and if they want the other keyboard they will have to go out and buy it separately.
You might say well it probably only costs 2 or 3 dollars more to manufacture the keyboard with the number keys, but on thousands of units that is a huge amount of money.
It's still a problem, since the truncated keyboard is now the default retail choice. If you purchase your Mac from Amazon or Mac Mall (among others), you're going to have deal with the truncated keyboard.
Sure you can CTO your iMac from Apple (and pay full retail price + tax), but that doesn't excuse the retail configuration problem.
Maybe Amazon and Mac Mall will stock both versions? However, I doubt it.
It's just another move by Apple to eliminate a non-issue. I have a feeling they'll back down on it just like they did with the hockey puck mouse and the gimped original iMac/iMac DV/Power Mac G3 (B/W) keyboard.
Long live the Apple "Pro" Keyboard!
Attachments
Why do people complain so much? These updates are fine.
I agree, this is nice update, twice the RAM and a way better (ATI) GPU for less money than the previous model. Throw in the fact that it is DDR3 with 1066 RAM bus (over previous 866 or whatever) and that is bonus. I see all the people complaining about the lack of quad core, but this is an AIO, not a desktop. Dell, Sony and HP don't have quad in their models either, and when you check pricing, the iMac is less. Granted, Apple should have an xMac to have a better lineup, but for this model, this is great.
They can't use i7 with the nvidia motherboards they want to use because Intel has forbidden that and is taking it to the courts. Yes there is another quad they could use, but I bet for 99% of users out there it has no impact over a dual core, so Apple decided it wasn't worth the thermal design changes or whatever for this go around. I am sure we will see i7 quad later this year. I think these updates are decent and right where Apple had to come in.
I am going to buy my top of the line 24", this is good enough for me. They will have more updates later, relax and wait until then if you aren't happy with this.
I agree, this is nice update, twice the RAM and a way better (ATI) GPU for less money than the previous model. Throw in the fact that it is DDR3 with 1066 RAM bus (over previous 866 or whatever) and that is bonus. I see all the people complaining about the lack of quad core, but this is an AIO, not a desktop. Dell, Sony and HP don't have quad in their models either, and when you check pricing, the iMac is less. Granted, Apple should have an xMac to have a better lineup, but for this model, this is great.
They can't use i7 with the nvidia motherboards they want to use because Intel has forbidden that and is taking it to the courts. Yes there is another quad they could use, but I bet for 99% of users out there it has no impact over a dual core, so Apple decided it wasn't worth the thermal design changes or whatever for this go around. I am sure we will see i7 quad later this year. I think these updates are decent and right where Apple had to come in.
I am going to buy my top of the line 24", this is good enough for me. They will have more updates later, relax and wait until then if you aren't happy with this.
iLike.... well a little more at least.
I understand this is not a processor upgrade. But I am mostly excited about the ability to expand up to 8GB of RAM. I've been wanting to buy a MacPro, but I don't need that much processing power. I just wonder how much 3rd party RAM would cost. I just want to be able to run photoshop and for my iMac to my huge psd files smoothly without spending MacPro bucks.
I understand this is not a processor upgrade. But I am mostly excited about the ability to expand up to 8GB of RAM. I've been wanting to buy a MacPro, but I don't need that much processing power. I just wonder how much 3rd party RAM would cost. I just want to be able to run photoshop and for my iMac to my huge psd files smoothly without spending MacPro bucks.
There was a time when Apple did everything right.
It wasn't that long ago however, they did lots of things really badly (I won't go into details, but those that remember the 90s will attest to this)
Anyone else getting slightly worried that, (without Steve Jobs maybe) Apple are losing their way a bit...?
I'm just staring at that ****** little keyboard and wondering... "why the hell would I want one of those..."
I've been thinking it a lot lately...
It wasn't that long ago however, they did lots of things really badly (I won't go into details, but those that remember the 90s will attest to this)
Anyone else getting slightly worried that, (without Steve Jobs maybe) Apple are losing their way a bit...?
I'm just staring at that ****** little keyboard and wondering... "why the hell would I want one of those..."
I've been thinking it a lot lately...
My goodness. Someone should change the first post of this thread because it's misleading and people are getting confused.
Ok, to reiterate: the Radeon 2600 is markedly BETTER than the 9400M. The 9400M is more comparable to the 2400XT that was in the low-end imac. Moreover, there is nothing magical about nvidea that will make it the better choice for snow leopard. Snow leopard is going to take advantage of idle GPU power to take load off the CPU, and whether the GPU is made by nvidea or ATI has nothing to do with that.
The move to the 9400M is a great thing for the mini and the macbook, which had intel integrated. But for the systems that already had dedicated graphics, the 9400M is a downgrade from everything but the 2400XT.
Really? So Snow Leopard doesn't use CUDA? Or how does that work? I assumed that by ordering the iMac with Radeon 4850 I was giving up some kind of nVidia snazzery.
Alright thanks. I was thinking there must be something magical about the NVIDIA 9400M that i did not know about for apple to do this. I was thinking maybe they did it to consume less energy, but I don't think many people give a damn about how green their desktop computer is.
Potentially Stupid Question...
This doesn't even seem possible but I'm going to ask anyway. With the mini-display port can the new iMac function as an external monitor for, say, the new mac mini?
I'm about 100% certain the answer is no but imagine if it was yes! How great would that be - if/when you move on from an iMac to a mini or a MB you could just hook it right up to the iMac
Wait, I'm dreaming again aren't I?
This doesn't even seem possible but I'm going to ask anyway. With the mini-display port can the new iMac function as an external monitor for, say, the new mac mini?
I'm about 100% certain the answer is no but imagine if it was yes! How great would that be - if/when you move on from an iMac to a mini or a MB you could just hook it right up to the iMac
Wait, I'm dreaming again aren't I?
This doesn't even seem possible but I'm going to ask anyway. With the mini-display port can the new iMac function as an external monitor for, say, the new mac mini?
I'm about 100% certain the answer is no but imagine if it was yes! How great would that be - if/when you move on from an iMac to a mini or a MB you could just hook it right up to the iMac
Wait, I'm dreaming again aren't I?
No, it's an output port, not an input port.
I love how Apple keeps taking away functionality little by little. While 90% of users probably don't use the number pad, for apps like Maya and After Effects, it is all but essential. By removing features like firewire, the number pad, dedicated graphics, matte screen... Apple further frustrates the creative professional crowd. Apple doesn't like a middle class. They want a crippled lower class and overly expensive high class. Before you know it, you'll need to pay at least $2500 for a computer that can run the Final Cut Suite well. They are sick of young punks pirating their professional software and running it on sub $1500 machines. One step further in hardware DRM.
As a 3.06Ghz w/8800 GS iMac user since May 2008, I don't miss much compare the current generation iMac. However, I am happy to see that the current generation iMac is even more affordable than last year models.
I literally just ignore the negative comments here.
I literally just ignore the negative comments here.
If you look at the 2nd from top row of your keyboard, you should notice there's a whole row with the numbers there as well. It's not as if Apple are going to stop you from ever typing numbers again. You can also find the various mathematical operators around the main section of the keyboard.
The only things that are totally inaccessible are F13->F19, the cancel button, and the return key (and I believe you can get to return with some modifier + enter?).
Apple won't even give us Blu-Ray. it is so frustrating that they keep stripping away features.
Maybe you should check out how the new iMac compares to some of the competitors before continuing to bash it and Apple.
Apple will give BluRay when they feel it is a viable and cost-effective option (especially the licensing fees).
What I like about the hardware refresh:
- Video processor upgrade ATi 4850
- DDR3 RAM, 4 GB Standard
What I don't like about the hardware refresh:
-No Quad-Core Processor
I won't be purchasing until Mid-July anyway, and I wonder if on Steve Jobs' return; Apple may do Quad-Core hardware update for iMac.
I want my new iMac to come with OS X 10.6 and a Quad Core, which is why I'm holding off - as well as there being a $1300 hole in my iMac budget.
- Video processor upgrade ATi 4850
- DDR3 RAM, 4 GB Standard
What I don't like about the hardware refresh:
-No Quad-Core Processor
I won't be purchasing until Mid-July anyway, and I wonder if on Steve Jobs' return; Apple may do Quad-Core hardware update for iMac.
I want my new iMac to come with OS X 10.6 and a Quad Core, which is why I'm holding off - as well as there being a $1300 hole in my iMac budget.
Fn+return for the other one and Fn+delete for the other delete. I know because I use laptops so I do not have the number pad anyway.
I don't think it's been said enough yet : The keyboard with a numeric keypad is still available and it is free.
Everyone says no one wants the new wired smaller keyboard, but my co-worker jumped up and scream "FINALLY!" as soon as it showed up on the Apple store Tuesday.
Everyone says no one wants the new wired smaller keyboard, but my co-worker jumped up and scream "FINALLY!" as soon as it showed up on the Apple store Tuesday.
Oh, man, I hated those. I opened the box and immediately thought, "what?" And then I went to Best Buy.
That said, I don't often use my numeric keypad. I would miss it, but a lot of people would not. And there is no way that it costs more than a few pennies less to make, despite what someone else postulated; it's about the footprint, not the price.
And it might be a bad idea, but as long as they're offering the full-size version for free, I don't see any reason why some of the people here have been complaining as much as they have....