Unreleased iMac With 10-Core Comet Lake-S Chip and Radeon Pro 5300 GPU Shows Up in Geekbench

[Bregalad]

Wonder how many of them they're gunna sell.
I remember way back in the 90's shopping for my first Mac and it was right before the first PowerPC CPUs were to become available in the next Macs.
The vibe in the stores (no Apple Stores back then) was "now isn't a good time to buy a computer".
I heeded to their advice and as it turned out, the salesmen were right—the Power PC chips blew the doors off the old 68040 things.
I wonder if the ARM chips will do the same to Intel's offerings

Oh sure the PowerPC chips benchmarked really well, but 1994-1997 was one of the lowest points in history for Apple quality and reliability. I worked for an Apple dealer back then and things were really tough. Mac computers, especially the 603 based Performas, were junk and some of the Apple branded displays and printers were worse.

But the real problem was software. Early adopters of PowerPC spent their days patiently waiting for emulated applications on an OS that crashed at least three times a day. It took Apple years to get a version of MacOS that ran as well on PowerPC as it did on 680x0 and most software vendors took just as long to release native PPC applications and tools.

But that was the old Apple, a company with complacent leadership that was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. Since then Apple has proven itself capable of major transitions with only minor growing pains. I expect the move to Apple silicon will be a smooth one.

 

[Substance90]

What was your issue with the i9 in the MBP 16? I have one, and it seems quite good....<worried!>

The fans are very loud when I connect an external monitor even with just Safari open. Turning Turbo Boost off seems to improve it just a tiny bit. Overall it's much louder than my maxed out 2014 15" MBP. It's a known issue.

What does the P in MBP stand for?

Unfortunately, the P in Macbooks, iPhones and iPads definitely does not stand for Pro as in for "professional" use. At least not in the same way like the Mac Pro and iMac Pro.

 

[krell100]

"Pro" is just a marketing term, nothing more.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

I have a late '09 iMac. I think, I can wait a few more month to see what an iMac with an A (or whatever)-processor can offer. I am expecting great things.

 

[dannyyankou]

So does that mean Big Sur supports bootcamp on Intel Mac's but won't support Bootcamp on Arm Mac's

Yep, I updated to Big Sur beta and my bootcamp partition is still there. Some things you just can’t do on Mac, and then of course some things you can’t do on Windows. Best of both worlds.

 

[M3gatron]

The downside depends on how good the ARM machines are. It’s not so much that Intel machines will stop working (of course they’ll be supported), but it could be dwarfed in performance and usability by ARM machine equivalents. You can also be sure for the coming years, Intel based machines will be a second class citizen in terms of updates, features and bug fixes - and they’ll definitely make sure you notice it too as to push people towards ARM. Adoption is key.

I don't think Apple can treat Intel Mac users as "second class citizens" in order to force them to buy and ARM based Mac.
But one thing is for sure, for the next few years years, Intel based machines will be have most of the Mac market share anyway so I don't see Apple or software developers neglecting these machines in favor or ARM based Macs.

 

[vmistery]

Well I have a 16" MBP, I knew the transition was coming and I bought it anyway, why? Because in 3 years when I come to replace it the 2nd / 3rd gen the more mature Apple Silicon will be out, I will likely still be on the latest version of OS XI and I can resell it. I don't think we shall see Intel support totally dropped for at least 5 years yet and at least then a couple more for security updates.

 

[Val-kyrie]

How so? It'll be supported for years to come. it'll run all the current apps. It'll run Win x64.

What's the downside?

It depends on what you mean by "supported." During the last transition, PowerPC Macs received ONE OS upgrade and security updates only thereafter. As for third-party software, developers abandoned the PowerPC Macs within one year of the transition.

So define "support."
Would you be happy with only one OS upgrade (i.e. the OS succeeding Big Sur) after your purchase?
If so, buy an Intel Mac.

Would you still be happy without the additional features introduced in later OSes?
If so, buy an Intel Mac.

Would you be happy with your third-party software "as-is" without any further features or support?
If so, buy an Intel Mac.

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, wait for ARM-based systems.

Being overly optimistic about "support" will only leave you disappointed. We have already been through the same type of transition, with the same arguments, and with the same (empty) promises.

You have been warned.

 

[UK-MacAddict]

Announces Apple chips... releases new Intel Macs.
Organized /s

I wouldn't buy any Apple silicone Mac for at least 3 years whilst they iron out the bugs. I was actually hoping they release a redesigned iMac with intel chips. Boot camping Windows is also essential for me.

 

[TiggrToo]

It depends on what you mean by "supported." During the last transition, PowerPC Macs received ONE OS upgrade and security updates only thereafter.

So?

That was a different time and a different set of circumstances. 1 incident does not make a pattern.

You have warned.

I haven't been warned one little bit. Your chicken little post doesn't make any difference. All I read in your post was FUD.

Truth is, no one here knows the future.

 

[Nebulance]

About damn time. My tangerine G3 iMac starts showing its age.

View attachment 929716

wow! There's a memory -- that was my first Mac!

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

I'm still rocking a 2010 Mac Pro and a 2012 MacBook Pro Retina. What's a few more months? lol
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AMD Radeon Pro 5300 as RDNA1?! Are you kidding me? RDNA2 is just about to launch, what's up with them to always make sure for the iMac to be behind in GPU. The only worthwhile reason for them to update the iMac so late would be Big Navi and they gonna pull this again? 🙄

The answer is simple. A one year old SKU with a replacement around the corner is much cheaper to buy in volume...

 

[scaramoosh]

Why do they always use such crap GPUs?

 

[Tesix2]

Wouldn't expect Apple Silicon to be a contender in the high end desktop processing field until the end of 2022.
Hence the need to release high end Intel at the moment.

It should be competitive in smaller MacBooks.
The smaller iMac will be given as many other selling points as possible to help it along.
The 16inch MBP has been deliberately held back, CPU/memory wise, to give Silicon a chance at the end of 2021.

 

[imran5720]

About damn time. My tangerine G3 iMac starts showing its age.

View attachment 929716

Beautiful

 

[Avalanche66]

How so? It'll be supported for years to come. it'll run all the current apps. It'll run Win x64.

What's the downside?

Because it would be out dated....what if u try to sell ur mac in 2024 when u want a refresh? Just because u bought it in July of 2020 doesnt mean much when its an “early 2019” model.

you lose tremendous value in it just because you dont want to wait a month or two for apples next conference. We know a new imac is coming real soon. College kids potentially staying home this year, september or possibly sooner is a perfect time to announce a brand new desktop.

i just purchased the $2299 imac and havnt opened it yet because its gonna go back to the store. Just waiting on an announcement to solidify the return. Waiting that extra month or two and you get a new generation imac would be worth it especially when they are the same price

 

[_Skyfire_]

Radeon Pro 5300 = "Beast machine" ?
GPUs don't seem to be your specialty 😂

If Apple is putting out a machine like this now, I feel like it has to bode well for Intel support even after the ARM transition is complete.

Or maybe they're just putting out a beast machine that their ARM iMac will demolish, just to prove a point 🤣

 

[pldelisle]

i just purchased the $2299 imac and havnt opened it yet because its gonna go back to the store. Just waiting on an announcement to solidify the return. Waiting that extra month or two and you get a new generation imac would be worth it especially when they are the same price

I think you must return it after 14 days to get full refund.

 

[Ursadorable]

Now your Spectre and Meltdown attacks can happen quicker! Hurrah!

Bring on the ARM Macs.

 

[Jamie0003]

Then you are in for a huge disappointment.
We have compiled FFmpeg for ARM and did run on the latest iPadPro. Encoding a 2h 4K movie to HEVC did take +2hours. On an Intel i7 (not the fastest) it took less than 20minutes.
The fastest ARM CPU is still way slower compared to a mediocre Intel.
Basically this means Apple silicon will be good for basic things as long it does not need heave pure CPU power. Ofcourse the Metal APIs will use the GPU too, still in general use it will be a lot slower.

ARM CPU's in Macs are going to be more powerful than what we currently have in the iPad. Also, even if we are talking about iPad CPU's, the latest one is now 2 years old.

 

[TiggrToo]

Because it would be out dated....what if u try to sell ur mac in 2024 when u want a refresh? Just because u bought it in July of 2020 doesnt mean much when its an “early 2019” model.

you lose tremendous value in it just because you dont want to wait a month or two for apples next conference.

FUD. What if pre Arm Macs fetch a premium because they can still run Windows x64?

We know a new imac is coming real soon. College kids potentially staying home this year, september or possibly sooner is a perfect time to announce a brand new desktop.

We don't know anything short term other than a potential new Intel powered iMac may be on the way. As for anything else, all we know is that Apple have said the rollout will take 2 years.

What if it takes 2 years for a new Arm powered iMac?

i just purchased the $2299 imac and havnt opened it yet because its gonna go back to the store. Just waiting on an announcement to solidify the return. Waiting that extra month or two and you get a new generation imac would be worth it especially when they are the same price

Great. If that is what works for you then that's exactly what you should do. Now, what would you do if there is no new Arm powered iMac in a couple of months?

Myself, if the signs of a new Intel iMac are correct, cannot believe one instant they Apple would follow that up instantly with a Arm based one.

Everything I've read states you're looking at either MacBook/Pro or Mini first.

 

[drd79]

Hopefully it comes with a new thermal design. The current design already throttles with the lower wattage chips. Maybe this is a troll from Apple to see how bad they can make Intel look before dropping them? Remember those Nvidia GPUs that weren't cooled properly and would melt the soldering, detaching themselves from the motherboard? Sounds like we may see that again with this part.

 

[Avalanche66]

FUD. What if pre Arm Macs fetch a premium because they can still run Windows x64?



We don't know anything short term other than a potential new Intel powered iMac may be on the way. As for anything else, all we know is that Apple have said the rollout will take 2 years.

What if it takes 2 years for a new Arm powered iMac?



Great. If that is what works for you then that's exactly what you should do. Now, what would you do if there is no new Arm powered iMac in a couple of months?

Myself, if the signs of a new Intel iMac are correct, cannot believe one instant they Apple would follow that up instantly with a Arm based one.

Everything I've read states you're looking at either MacBook/Pro or Mini first.

Im not talkin about the new ARM powered iMac im talkin a new design. I personally dont care if its Intel or ARM. I will care if its a new design. Like i said earlier...a new imac will come out soon. Even if its a spec bump it would still be worth waiting that extra month or so instead of investing so much into something that is gonna be 18months old with the value plummeting to the second hand market.
[automerge]1593709856[/automerge]

I think you must return it after 14 days to get full refund.

Elite plus at Bestbuy gets me 45days🙌🏼

 

[brucie1dog]

I am wondering how much better the proposed 2020 iMac will be for gaming (specifically flight simulation) compared to my current system and what kind of cost I may expect? In 2017 I believe I paid about 3300.00 for this after the apple discounts.

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
Mojave 10.14.6
4.2 GHz Intel Core i7
32 GB 2400 MHz DDR4
Radeon Pro 580 8192 MB

 

[poematik13]

Depends on how thin they push the new design or what the new design will even be? It's generally a notch or 2 faster card for the iMac's of the same generation. We shall see.

iMac will get one more spec bump this year in the current body (from 2012!) and then next year there will be a full rebirth/redesign with apple silicon