When might we see an iMac with a BD writer, and a quad core CPU?
I'm currently mixing it up with a Macbook for portable computing, and a quad core Shuttle XPC for desktop work. A Mac Pro is total overkill for me but as much as I'd like to go Mac on the desktop I'd want an iMac with a quad core chip, and a BD writter (as I couldn't upgrade the optical later with an iMac as I can with my XPC, and I'd rather stay clear of ugly external drives)
BD writer prices seem to have come down a lot lately so it's surprising (to me at least) that they still don't offer one as an option, and the quad core chips also seem to have dropped in price dramatically. So... any ideas when Apple might offer an iMac with this type of build to order spec?
BD writer prices seem to have come down a lot lately so it's surprising (to me at least) that they still don't offer one as an option, and the quad core chips also seem to have dropped in price dramatically. So... any ideas when Apple might offer an iMac with this type of build to order spec?
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I'm currently mixing it up with a Macbook for portable computing, and a quad core Shuttle XPC for desktop work. A Mac Pro is total overkill for me but as much as I'd like to go Mac on the desktop I'd want an iMac with a quad core chip, and a BD writter (as I couldn't upgrade the optical later with an iMac as I can with my XPC, and I'd rather stay clear of ugly external drives)
BD writer prices seem to have come down a lot lately so it's surprising (to me at least) that they still don't offer one as an option, and the quad core chips also seem to have dropped in price dramatically. So... any ideas when Apple might offer an iMac with this type of build to order spec?
After we see them on the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro.
... and the quad core chips also seem to have dropped in price dramatically. So... any ideas when Apple might offer an iMac with this type of build to order spec?
the only quad-core chip from Intel, for notebooks and hybrid desktops like the iMac, will be available in september (or so). It will be a 2.53GHz cpu and will cost $1,038 by the thousand. Since it is still a 45W part, Apple may offer it in the 24" iMac for a nice $2,499 (or so).
I don't think DESKTOP quad-core cpus are more affordable than 6 months ago, but today you can buy a desktop 2.50GHz quad-core cpu for $266 (by the thousand) from Intel. And manufacturers are offering quad-core desktop computers for about $999 (some with a 20/22" LCD display included). If that's what you are looking for...
Since you say that a Mac Pro is overkill, I doubt you're doing anything that would benefit from 4 cores.
I'd get a more reasonably priced computer now and worry about the high end CPUs when there are actual gains to be had from them.
I would would be less concerned about having a quad-core CPU just now. The number of applications that can take advantage of them fit on one hand.
Since you say that a Mac Pro is overkill, I doubt you're doing anything that would benefit from 4 cores.
I'd get a more reasonably priced computer now and worry about the high end CPUs when there are actual gains to be had from them.
I do a fair bit of video conversion, so my quad core Shuttle comes in pretty handy. It tears through HD H.264 encoding in no time at all.
2010.
Yep.. 2010
I do a fair bit of video conversion, so my quad core Shuttle comes in pretty handy. It tears through HD H.264 encoding in no time at all.
From what I've read, the quad-core CPUs can do well at video encoding. But I think QuickTime doesn't handle them as well as it could. A single video encode will max out a CPU core, but won't utilize more than 1 core at a time. But you can encode 4 separate videos at once, each on a different core.