What would Apple lose?

[asiga]

What would Apple lose if they released an iMac with 4-core Skylake, 4GB and 8GB discrete NVIDIA GPU options, 32GB RAM (user serviceable) and two HDD/SSD bays (user serviceable) ?

I mean, do we really have to pay $4000 for a 4GB discrete GPU from AMD? Man, if it was an 8GB GPU I could justify $4000 for the machine... but... 4GB? Really? And do we really have to fill our desks with cables and gadgets if we need more than 1TB storage? Do we really need to pay for a display we don't want for getting a mid-range machine, when we'd prefer to invest that money in better GPU, better CPU, more RAM, and more storage?

Ah yes, there's the Mac Pro... with (cough) no drive bays either, and (cough) not updated for more than a year now.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Money?

I can not see what people would use 8GB VRAM for.

 

[asiga]

Money?

I can not see what people would use 8GB VRAM for.

Tell NVIDIA and AMD people don't want 8GB VRAM, because that's their current offering for us users who really exploit our GPUs.

 

[ericv]

What would Apple lose if...

I'm not saying it is right, but Apple has made billions in telling the masses what they want. They have also made those billions by being different. Being different costs money. Adding a 8GB options for 5%-20% of the market, of which 80% will settle for a bit less would be costly. Costly I say? Even it it is $20 more for apple to support another config, or dare I say $$$Millions as they don't get as much of a discount from AMD by only offering their cards in the current round. My advice to you (and myself as I often get a bit pissed with apple) is to suck it up or build a Hackintosh.

 

[macs4nw]

What would Apple lose if they released an iMac with 4-core Skylake, 4GB and 8GB discrete NVIDIA GPU options, 32GB RAM (user serviceable) and two HDD/SSD bays (user serviceable) ?

I mean, do we really have to pay $4000 for a 4GB discrete GPU from AMD? Man, if it was an 8GB GPU I could justify $4000 for the machine... but... 4GB? Really? And do we really have to fill our desks with cables and gadgets if we need more than 1TB storage? Do we really need to pay for a display we don't want for getting a mid-range machine, when we'd prefer to invest that money in better GPU, better CPU, more RAM, and more storage?

Ah yes, there's the Mac Pro... with (cough) no drive bays either, and (cough) not updated for more than a year now.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems you're into gaming a lot and we both know Apple has never catered to that market segment, and for that reason many serious gamers have stayed with souped-up custom PC rigs, some with video cards costing as much as a top-tier iPhone.

Could Apple come up with a dedicated dream gaming rig? Sure, but will they? Not likely, imho.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Tell NVIDIA and AMD people don't want 8GB VRAM, because that's their current offering for us users who really exploit our GPUs.

Doing what?

 

[ericv]

Doing what?

I don't really exploit my GPU, however if they would have had a faster option than the 395x I would have purchased it. For me it is about making the machine last longer. Another year is worth $200-$300. That said, I may be a bit crazy and foolish with my money. I really struggle to settle for less. It a condition, I'm not joking. I really struggle.

 

[asiga]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems you're into gaming a lot and we both know Apple has never catered to that market segment, and for that reason many serious gamers have stayed with souped-up custom PC rigs, some with video cards costing as much as a top-tier iPhone.

No, I'm not. But my main use is real time graphics, so I always benefit for having the balance with somewhat higher performance in the GPU than in the CPU. Apple has usually offered poor GPUs in comparison to PCs, but, however, they used to meet my needs: My old 20'' iMac G5 came with a very good (for its time) ATI GPU. That seems to be gone forever.

Doing what?

Ask it to Mac Pro users... the Mac Pro has a configuration with dual 6GB GPUs... for doing what? Anyway, you asked me, and in my personal case, 4GB GPUs are small for the large terrain textures I manage (if you know what ECW files are, I'm into that, and yes, with compression, culling, and caching I get acceptable performance on even 1GB GPUs, but 8GB GPUs are in the market for a long time now, and it's nonsense not being able to have them on Macs.