Why the anticipation?

[Dr FranknFurter]

It's a computer, not a baby. Some people need a bit of perspective.

You're right it's soo much better than a screaming baby

 

[12dylan34]

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.

Yes, it is a pain in the ass the switch all the time, especially since the machine is enormous and weighs 30 pounds. However, I'm thinking it's what I need to keep me productive though, since working with Cinema 4D and After Effects on a 4 year old machine is agonizing now. I mean, I guess that I could do every 2 years, but I would just have to pay more out of pocket then.

I've got a 12 core Mac Pro to use at work, but this is my home machine on which I do personal projects and just play around and experiment. I still need the constant power upgrades if I wish to continue to make increasingly complex stuff, though.

 

[G51989]

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.

I have a 2011 iMac, its had its share of problems as well, again. Applecare.

I don't understand this whole " Macs Last Longer than PCs " thing going around either. Apple only supports hardware for 4-5 years tops.

I have a really old Athlon XP System, 4 gigs of ram, old horrible FX5900 video card, and a tiny little 120gb hard drive, I installed Windows 8 on it, and it FLIES. And this machine is almost 10 years old.
Cant do that on a Mac.

Hell, I was watching 720P video on it the other day ( its my kitchen computer ) while I was cooking, and its all about codecs btw. Watching 720P video on one monitor, and I also had like 10 tabs open in Firefox, didn't slow down one bit. My PPC macs from that era would just fall over and beach ball.

 

[G51989]

I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new iMac but often find myself rather confused what everyone is waiting for.

Is it a new form factor?

The iMac is just an AIO form factor, and its a pretty good one. There is no need to change that.

Is it a new thinner profile?

I hope not, its a desktop. It does not need to be any thinner.

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

Yeah it has. Ugh.

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

More performance, casual Mac users will say " oh specs and performance don't matter! Apple Loves you! It just Works! Windozer! Kool Aid! ".

But, lots of people do use Macs for work, and more performance really helps them out. Thats what they are waiting for. I'm luck I do all my work on a PC ( its a 23K GamePC Workstation, bad comparison, but still ), but if I was only on the Apple Platform, I'd be wanting some spec bumps pretty soon, it would help me get work done faster.

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.

Welcome to the Apple world.

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

You won't need to spend 4K. Get a base model, buy your own ram.

 

[jollino]

Well, personally I'm in the same position as the OP: 2006 iMac, beachball all the time, and just inability to cope with my current work needs. The funny thing is that this thing would probably still be functional for another couple of years if all I did was browse the web and use an office suite, barring the update to ML that just can't happen. I wonder if it has any resale value... even €100 would be better than keeping it somewhere and have it collect dust. It's a 20-inch after all.

 

[Moonjumper]

I hope to be able to afford a new iMac soon. If I could get one now I would definitely be holding off for the new model. Reasons include:

I would love a retina iMac. It would be very useful for my app development to be able to display a retina iPad screen in portrait at full resolution. I'm doubtful of it happening, but it would be brilliant.

I do expect the display to become less reflective using the same method the retina MBP has. I would love a really anti-reflective surface using Moth Eye technology or similar (very different to a matte display), but even the reduction in reflections from fewer glass layers would make a big difference.

USB3. I tend to keep my computers for a long time, so don't want to be excluded from the faster hard drives that will become the norm.

Hopefully there will be options for SSD / HDD combos at a reasonable cost. Fast performance combined with large storage capacity at a price I can afford would be very welcome.

 

[iMcLovin]

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 ).



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 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.
.

I guess I´m drinking apple cool aid because it has simply made my life easier, which is the opposite from all the pc´s I´ve owned over the years. I agree you can get kickass pc hardware, but I often get the feeling I have to reinstall windows from time to time - because I have to install small programs....somehow it seems windows doesn´t handle that well. The imac has stayed with me 3.5 years now without any slowdowns or problems, so it´s hard not to have a preference for mac.

 

[G51989]

I guess I´m drinking apple cool aid because it has simply made my life easier, which is the opposite from all the pc´s I´ve owned over the years. I agree you can get kickass pc hardware, but I often get the feeling I have to reinstall windows from time to time - because I have to install small programs....somehow it seems windows doesn´t handle that well. The imac has stayed with me 3.5 years now without any slowdowns or problems, so it´s hard not to have a preference for mac.

Now thats your experience, and thats fine. Nothing wrong with that. Now personally, I have been a very heavy computer user snice I was like, 5. ( 486s mostly ), so Im not to impressed by " easy to use ". If I had it my way, GUIs wouldnt exist.

I like that kickass PC hardware ( My office workstation ran about 23 grand, good thing I didnt pay for it! Dual 8 Core Xeons overclocked to 4.1ghz, 256gb ram, and 4 Quadro 6000 video cards, 2 SSD's and 12 hard drives as well as a sexy fiber card ). is easy to come by to.

That windows Flaw has not been around in well over a decade imo, I've had zero problems with XP and 7, and 2000. Vista I had some issues with ( they ****ed up that driver ).

3.5 years if I'm honest, isn't that long. I have 10 year old PC rigs that I still use ( Kitchen Computer, bathroom computer, deck computer, pool computer, sun room computer ), and they still fly.

I love my Macs to, but I do think PC's tend to be more useful, longer.

 

[lexvo]

I have a 2011 iMac, its had its share of problems as well, again. Applecare.

I don't understand this whole " Macs Last Longer than PCs " thing going around either. Apple only supports hardware for 4-5 years tops.

I have a really old Athlon XP System, 4 gigs of ram, old horrible FX5900 video card, and a tiny little 120gb hard drive, I installed Windows 8 on it, and it FLIES. And this machine is almost 10 years old.
Cant do that on a Mac.

I think hardware-wise, there is not that much difference in reliability between Mac and PC nowadays. I have a 9 year old PC which is still working OK.

I really like my iMac and OS-X though and wouldn't want to go back to Windows. Just wish the hardware would run a bit more trouble-free

 

[G51989]

I think hardware-wise, there is not that much difference in reliability between Mac and PC nowadays. I have a 9 year old PC which is still working OK.

I really like my iMac and OS-X though and wouldn't want to go back to Windows. Just wish the hardware would run a bit more trouble-free

Apple makes looking nice hardware, the issue with Apple's computers is that except for the Mac Pro, they put looks over performance. Which explains why iMacs run hot as hell. And they're loud under load.

Kind of shame how far Apple desktops have gone downhill, OSX has gone downhill as well IMO.

 

[ihuman:D]

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.

He's wrong. You can replace the screen/lcd/monitor or connect it up to an external display.

----------

Apple makes looking nice hardware, the issue with Apple's computers is that except for the Mac Pro, they put looks over performance. Which explains why iMacs run hot as hell. And they're loud under load.

Kind of shame how far Apple desktops have gone downhill, OSX has gone downhill as well IMO.

iMacs are designed to run hot, the aluminium is a natural heat dissipator.

 

[G51989]

iMacs are designed to run hot, the aluminium is a natural heat dissipator.

Doesn't mean it doesn't run hot as hell, it still does. My liquid cooled gaming rig has twice the power of an iMac, and I can't even feel the heat coming off it

Heat = Death. Thats probably why iMacs have such a high hard drive failure rate, not that its crazy high like they all die, but most people I know with iMacs, and problems I see online tend to be related to the hard drive.

The problem with the iMac is that its what I call uselessly thin, its a desktop. Who cares how thin it is? Make it a little bit thicker and put in better hardware and better cooling.

 

[ihuman:D]

Doesn't mean it doesn't run hot as hell, it still does. My liquid cooled gaming rig has twice the power of an iMac, and I can't even feel the heat coming off it

Heat = Death. Thats probably why iMacs have such a high hard drive failure rate, not that its crazy high like they all die, but most people I know with iMacs, and problems I see online tend to be related to the hard drive.

The problem with the iMac is that its what I call uselessly thin, its a desktop. Who cares how thin it is? Make it a little bit thicker and put in better hardware and better cooling.

I agree about it being too thin they should make it fatter, have a desktop GPU and a removable back like the early iMac G5's.

 

[fastlanephil]

Back to the original post.

There has always been great fun to see the release of a new iMac even if you're going to pass on it. For those that are really serious about upgrading it's like buying a shinny new sports car and taking it out for a spin.

With the IOS devices now taking the spotlight Apple seems much less interested in updating it's desktop computers.

I think it's best to accept this and hope for the best but be prepared for something "different".