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Why the anticipation?

C

CultHero

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 20, 2007
281
1
I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new iMac but often find myself rather confused what everyone is waiting for.

It seems that most looking for a new iMac are already on a newish iMac and I am curious (from a non techie standpoint) what the hype is all about.

I am currently on a 2006 20 inch with 2.16 GHz and 4 Gig RAM. I haven't upgraded the OS as I don't see the point with the machine I have now. Heck I was on a 2004 G5 until 2006 when applecare replaced my computer so I still see it as the "new one". :D:D

I am STOKED there is a new iMac coming out as I have found the limitations of this mac (it won't play most of the high def video I am shooting now) and see the window closing to when this generation is supported, but not sure what those with a 2010 etc will particularly gain with a new mac.

Is it a new form factor?

Is it a new thinner profile?

Is it a retina display (this has been done to death)

Is it something else.......?

If yes, fill me in on the something else. I use my mac daily as I run a small business from my home and am finding all my accessories starting to drop off connectivity etc.

I get the beachball ALL the time etc, but apart from a faster machine, what will my $4k get me?
 
Yeah, I guess speed. I for one am very happy with my current iMac. It handles whatever I am doing with ease, I dont see needing a new one for atleast 3 to 4 years, especially since I am still using only 4GBs of RAM. I will upgrade that sometime soon though.
 
see it seems that most have lost sight of the beautiful underlying benefits of a mac. They move, grow and mature with you. Like I said my iMac is 6 years old and it still does most things that I want it to do.

That is why I am willing to pop for a new one as this one finally has things that it won't do (the screen resolution and the constant beachballing come to mind) but for those with newer machines, I urge you to look a the hidden benefit of a Mac.

IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE UPDATED EVERY 18 MONTHS!!!!

:eek:
;)
:D
 
Like I heard someone else say on here - why spend the same amount of money on dated parts from 18 months ago?

(That statement did it for me to wait a few more weeks):)
 
I've never done this before, but I've considered starting a "sell every generation and upgrade" strategy when I get the new iMac. Looking over eBay, it seems like I'll spend less in 4 years selling and upgrading (a $300-$400 loss per upgrade) than buying a new machine every 4 years and not selling the old one. I can use the incremental spec updates too, which is great.
 
Regardless of which generation computer you are upgrading from new iMac users will benefit from. A faster machine, USB3, bluetooth 4.0, improved GPU, a factory clean install OS.
 
yea, I knew I had no $ left in this machine so I figure I move this to my kids computer and move my 2005 powerbook out into my garage!:)

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!!
 
12dylan34 said:
I've never done this before, but I've considered starting a "sell every generation and upgrade" strategy when I get the new iMac. Looking over eBay, it seems like I'll spend less in 4 years selling and upgrading (a $300-$400 loss per upgrade) than buying a new machine every 4 years and not selling the old one. I can use the incremental spec updates too, which is great.
Click to expand...

isn´t that a bit overkill? I mean even if you end up paying the same all together, it´s a pain in the ass switching all the time.

----------
CultHero said:
IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE UPDATED EVERY 18 MONTHS!!!!
Click to expand...

Oh yes it does :) Many here use the machine for playing games. ANd some use it for demanding tasks (like myself) and the machines have still not reached the point were there´s no more speed or juice needed....while that´s still the case, frequent updates are needed.
 
CultHero said:
I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new iMac but often find myself rather confused what everyone is waiting for.

It seems that most looking for a new iMac are already on a newish iMac and I am curious (from a non techie standpoint) what the hype is all about.

I am currently on a 2006 20 inch with 2.16 GHz and 4 Gig RAM. I haven't upgraded the OS as I don't see the point with the machine I have now. Heck I was on a 2004 G5 until 2006 when applecare replaced my computer so I still see it as the "new one". :D:D

I am STOKED there is a new iMac coming out as I have found the limitations of this mac (it won't play most of the high def video I am shooting now) and see the window closing to when this generation is supported, but not sure what those with a 2010 etc will particularly gain with a new mac.

Is it a new form factor?

Is it a new thinner profile?

Is it a retina display (this has been done to death)

Is it something else.......?

If yes, fill me in on the something else. I use my mac daily as I run a small business from my home and am finding all my accessories starting to drop off connectivity etc.

I get the beachball ALL the time etc, but apart from a faster machine, what will my $4k get me?
Click to expand...


Why would you spend 4K on an iMac?

As a owner of both " high end " Apple and Windows Systems, I can see why Apple only guys want a new iMac so bad.

It needs updated, you see the PC guys getting updates every few months, they get more and more speed, more performance, bigger hard drives, more options, and they get them all faster. So, they want a faster machine, and they don't feel like waiting over a year.
 
G51989 said:
Why would you spend 4K on an iMac?

As a owner of both " high end " Apple and Windows Systems, I can see why Apple only guys want a new iMac so bad.

It needs updated, you see the PC guys getting updates every few months, they get more and more speed, more performance, bigger hard drives, more options, and they get them all faster. So, they want a faster machine, and they don't feel like waiting over a year.
Click to expand...

I disagree. I will spend 4k on an iMac and I´ll do it with a smile on my face.
Just to give you an example why the entire pc specs are better just don´t matter that much because windows is a bloated piece of **** OS.

At my office I´m forced to sit on a PC because of 3d software that doesn´t exist on OSX. But I do most my work in photoshop.
3.5 years ago I bought an early imac 2009 with 8gb ram. I´m still on that machine at home.
At the office I had a Dell Precision with a quadro GPU card, super expensive machine which was suppose to be amazing 4 years ago. But, heavy photoshop tasks and whatnot started to slow. I reinstalled it multiple times, but because of vista it was buggy, laggy and struggled with large files. reinstalling and cleaning vista didnt help. With win7 I bought a i7 with 12 gb of ram and top of the line amd graphics card.
Recently I did a job which was a photoshop image of 24.000X12.000 pixels and about 50 layers. My office machine completely kneeled over, it just wasn´t workable.
Believe it or not, but my older imac with 8gb of ram managed. Ok it took 10 mins only to open the image, and it needed to scratch disk a lot before I could start working and I had to shut down all other programs. But, once it was up and running I could actually work flawlessly, even if the image took 7gb as an open file. So, even though the imac is an expensive machine with some mobile components its still outperforms better pc´s in a lot of heavy duty tasks.
The only thing my pc do better is 3d rendering and playing games.

If an iMac gets a kickass 3d gpu card there´s really NO reason for me to consider a pc, the imac then delivers a better package in a 100x times nicer form factor. If it´s only to get that extra tiny bit of extra specs for a cheaper price I can come up with 100 other reasons why I gladly swap that for a nice aio imac....sturdyness, product quality and lastbility being some of the good reasons why its worth the extra bucks. Don´t think of what you pay right there but what you pay in the long run with a crappy pc of mixed cheap components.
 
Personally as an older person I see it as a generational thing. I grew up in an era where you set your sites on something then worked and saved, worked and saved until you had the money to buy it - outright for cash, no credit in those days. The pleasure you got when you finally bought what you had saved for was immense, far greater than todays - see it - want it - get credit card out - buy it. Having worked and saved hard for your purchased you really savoured every minute of ownership and kept it for many years having formed an emotional attachment to said product. That simply doesn't happen today as there is little connection in an instant purchase re: attachment.

I'm sure many of our younger posters will think I am mad but I can assure you it's only something you will fully understand if you have done it. Financially I no longer need to save for what I want, however, that save and savour ethos has never left me. I will therefore be keeping my 2011 iMac for some years to come.
 
Lankyman said:
Personally as an older person I see it as a generational thing.
Click to expand...
Agree (as another older person). Another factor is the change of the computer from a tool to a toy. Most people I know who have a computer don't use it for earning a living. New toys are always more exciting than new tools.
 
I have a late 2009 Mac Mini. Before that, I had a non-Intel Mac Pro (forgot what they called them back then).

I tend to upgrade about every three years, just to keep up with technology. Software gets more and more features and I need a machine that will run it.

I ended up on the mini instead of an iMac because my husband convinced me that all-in-one's were a bad idea. If the monitor develops a problem, you lose the whole computer, instead of just replacing a monitor.

But, I've never had any problems with any Mac in the 20 years that I've been using them. So, I think an iMac is a safe bet. If I didn't get one, then I still would have to get a new mini and a thunderbolt 27" display, but the iMac is a better machine than the mini.
 
CultHero said:
see it seems that most have lost sight of the beautiful underlying benefits of a mac. They move, grow and mature with you. Like I said my iMac is 6 years old and it still does most things that I want it to do.

That is why I am willing to pop for a new one as this one finally has things that it won't do (the screen resolution and the constant beachballing come to mind) but for those with newer machines, I urge you to look a the hidden benefit of a Mac.

IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE UPDATED EVERY 18 MONTHS!!!!

:eek:
;)
:D
Click to expand...



while you are technically correct your 6 year old machine is worth very little.

many mac users keep a machine for 10 months sell at a small loss and buy new.

the advantage is the machines never get out of date.

you are always under warranty.

your loss at 10 months may be under 20 percent. sometimes more sometimes less.


I had a 2009 27 inch iMac. grabbed it in feb 2010 direct from apple with the better gpu.

i sold it nov 2011. I sold it with apple care. I paid 1799 I sold for 1299.

(it ran snow and buyer needed snow not lion)

I used my machine for 21 months cost 500 pretty good. about 25 a month.

you have your machine for 72 months x 25 a month would be 1800 your cost was less as I do not think you paid 1800. also pretty good if the speed was good and it worked for you.
 
Lankyman said:
I grew up in an era where you set your sites on something then worked and saved, worked and saved until you had the money to buy it - outright for cash, no credit in those days. The pleasure you got when you finally bought what you had saved for was immense, far greater than todays - see it - want it - get credit card out - buy it...I will therefore be keeping my 2011 iMac for some years to come.
Click to expand...

I'm on the "older side," too, but I've always looked at credit as cash with benefits (extended warranties, help dealing with vendors when things don't go well). Even though I rarely pay with cash or write checks, I still look at credit purchases the same way. So maybe there is a generational component.

If I had an '11 iMac, I wouldn't consider replacing it. But my '09 iMac is a bit slow, and I need it to replace an even slower '06 iMac for my family. So if and when a newer iMac appears, I'll be all over it. (Actually, I'd strongly consider a mini-tower if Apple made one.)
 
not really. just because you have a different perspective than they do, doesn't mean theirs is inferior.
 
Occamsrazr said:
not really. just because you have a different perspective than they do, doesn't mean theirs is inferior.
Click to expand...

Honestly. A computer is not a child, it does not grow, mature or anything of the sort. It is filled with mass-produced parts that need replaced and/or become obsolete in 4-5 years or less.

It's not even a matter of perspective, it's fact.
 
NutsNGum said:
Honestly. A computer is not a child, it does not grow, mature or anything of the sort. It is filled with mass-produced parts that need replaced and/or become obsolete in 4-5 years or less.

It's not even a matter of perspective, it's fact.
Click to expand...

Well, can´t you love a child if it has a short life expectancy ? :D
I wouldn´t go as far as saying I Love my imac, but I sure appreciate it. It makes living more fun and it has also made me a lot of money. I call it iLove
 
iMcLovin said:
Well, can´t you love a child if it has a short life expectancy ? :D
I wouldn´t go as far as saying I Love my imac, but I sure appreciate it. It makes living more fun and it has also made me a lot of money. I call it iLove
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy using my Mac, but I'm not going to be sending it off to school one day with a packed lunch eagerly awaiting its return. It's just a computer.
 
iMcLovin said:
I disagree. I will spend 4k on an iMac and I´ll do it with a smile on my face.
Just to give you an example why the entire pc specs are better just don´t matter that much because windows is a bloated piece of **** OS.
Click to expand...

I spent about 3800 on mine ( bought my own Ram, Apple ram is rape ). and its a great living room machine, but trust me depending on what you do, specs do matter.

And stop drinking Kool Aid, Windows with the exception of Vista has been pretty great since Windows 2000/XP. OSX Is great to, I like them both. If you perfer OSX over windows 100%, but thats no reason to call windows bloated, because it isn't ( IMO ).

At my office I´m forced to sit on a PC because of 3d software that doesn´t exist on OSX. But I do most my work in photoshop.
3.5 years ago I bought an early imac 2009 with 8gb ram. I´m still on that machine at home.
At the office I had a Dell Precision with a quadro GPU card, super expensive machine which was suppose to be amazing 4 years ago. But, heavy photoshop tasks and whatnot started to slow. I reinstalled it multiple times, but because of vista it was buggy, laggy and struggled with large files. reinstalling and cleaning vista didnt help. With win7 I bought a i7 with 12 gb of ram and top of the line amd graphics card.
Recently I did a job which was a photoshop image of 24.000X12.000 pixels and about 50 layers. My office machine completely kneeled over, it just wasn´t workable.
Believe it or not, but my older imac with 8gb of ram managed. Ok it took 10 mins only to open the image, and it needed to scratch disk a lot before I could start working and I had to shut down all other programs. But, once it was up and running I could actually work flawlessly, even if the image took 7gb as an open file. So, even though the imac is an expensive machine with some mobile components its still outperforms better pc´s in a lot of heavy duty tasks.
The only thing my pc do better is 3d rendering and playing games.
Click to expand...

Reading all of this, it seems like you need either a Mac Pro, or a better Workstation, or hey! A New iMac, or a new new didn't come yet iMac.

Now personally, a Mac doesn't exist that can handle the software I use at the office every day ( the hard ware doesn't exist ), so I don't know how well OSX would handle it ( it wouldn't, 96gb of ram just isn't enough )

If an iMac gets a kickass 3d gpu card there´s really NO reason for me to consider a pc, the imac then delivers a better package in a 100x times nicer form factor. If it´s only to get that extra tiny bit of extra specs for a cheaper price I can come up with 100 other reasons why I gladly swap that for a nice aio imac....sturdyness, product quality and lastbility being some of the good reasons why its worth the extra bucks. Don´t think of what you pay right there but what you pay in the long run with a crappy pc of mixed cheap components.
Click to expand...

If you compare a cheap PC to a Mac, yes. But you do realize, high end PCs do exist, right?

Specs do matter, big time if your doing intensive stuff. Which is why the Mac Pro and iMac guys are getting so pissy about updates right now.

----------
mapleleafer said:
Agree (as another older person). Another factor is the change of the computer from a tool to a toy. Most people I know who have a computer don't use it for earning a living. New toys are always more exciting than new tools.
Click to expand...

It also depends on what you do for a living, my job depends on having the fastest hardware possible, sure it might only save 5-10 mins per simulation run, but that adds up over the days/weeks/months really fast.

I think lots of people lusting for a new iMac use their iMacs for work. And need something better than currently offered.
 
new imac

I too am using an imac that is 5+ years old.I too am getting an occasional beach ball and I've noticed with the more recent games I need to set my graphics level to the lowest level possible.I am noticing a bit of "lag" and every so often my screen freezes in game because my processor just can 't handle it.I only buy a new Imac when I NEED one,for me thats about every 5- 6 years.Even though my current Imac is showing its age in newer Applications,it is still usable.I am waiting for the Ivy Bridge Imac,I am sure I'll see a massive improvement over the one I have now :)
 
CultHero said:
see it seems that most have lost sight of the beautiful underlying benefits of a mac. They move, grow and mature with you. Like I said my iMac is 6 years old and it still does most things that I want it to do.

That is why I am willing to pop for a new one as this one finally has things that it won't do (the screen resolution and the constant beachballing come to mind) but for those with newer machines, I urge you to look a the hidden benefit of a Mac.

IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE UPDATED EVERY 18 MONTHS!!!!
Click to expand...

Well, I used to keep my Windows-PC's for about 6 years average. However, I have had quite a few problems with my 2009 iMac (thankfully all solved by AppleCare) that I'm serious considering buying a new one every three years so it is constant under AppleCare.

Maybe it is just a wrong feeling, but it looks like quality of hardware (PC or Mac) has gone down the last few years.
 
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