Penryn iMac

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
IIRC the iMac uses the Merom family of Core 2 Duos rather than the Conroe family. If that's the case though then I figure the iMac must be in line for an upgrade as the Penryns Core 2 Duos come on line.



So, in the past have Apple upgraded the iMac's first or the MBPs? I see there's a lot of conjecture that the MBPs are going to jump to Penryn later this month (along with multi-touch etc etc). I'm wondering when the iMac might get the new procs.



I'm looking to buy a 24" Alu-iMac in the next few weeks but I could easily hold off until mid-April if I had to. I'd be pretty bummed to lurch out and buy an iMac and then find I'd have got the tweaked model if I'd waited a few weeks.



(Yes, I realise the Merom -> Penryn upgrade isn't likely to be too earth-shattering ... another 100 or 200Mhz of clock speed and the SSE4 instructions ... but (i) there might be some GPU changes etc and (ii) like all geeks I'd like to have the latest kit and I'd be bummed to find I'd been deprecated after just a week or two)

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by virtualmark View Post


    So, in the past have Apple upgraded the iMac's first or the MBPs?



    Unless there are exceptions that I am missing at this point, in general it is first the MBP.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by virtualmark View Post


    I'm looking to buy a 24" Alu-iMac in the next few weeks but I could easily hold off until mid-April if I had to. I'd be pretty bummed to lurch out and buy an iMac and then find I'd have got the tweaked model if I'd waited a few weeks.



    If you can hold off for this long, then just do it. By that time or a little after, the new iMacs should be out. Last update was in August 2007.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by virtualmark View Post


    (Yes, I realise the Merom -> Penryn upgrade isn't likely to be too earth-shattering ... another 100 or 200Mhz of clock speed and the SSE4 instructions ... but (i) there might be some GPU changes etc and (ii) like all geeks I'd like to have the latest kit and I'd be bummed to find I'd been deprecated after just a week or two)



    Well, it depends on what you are looking for. It is true that this time the CPU upgrade is not going to bring anything important (with probably the exception of the SSE4 instructions for specialised use), but a GPU upgrade could easily be more substantial. Fortunately or unfortunately, this depends on a combination of what Apple is willing to do and of the thermal characteristics of the iMac.



    The real CPU bound in the iMac is not coming before the quad core mobile CPUs later this year or beginning next year.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PB View Post


    Unless there are exceptions that I am missing at this point, in general it is first the MBP.





    If you can hold off for this long, then just do it. By that time or a little after, the new iMacs should be out. Last update was in August 2007.





    Well, it depends on what you are looking for. It is true that this time the CPU upgrade is not going to bring anything important (with probably the exception of the SSE4 instructions for specialised use), but a GPU upgrade could easily be more substantial. Fortunately or unfortunately, this depends on a combination of what Apple is willing to do and of the thermal characteristics of the iMac.



    The real CPU bound in the iMac is not coming before the quad core mobile CPUs later this year or beginning next year.



    Cheers PB



    Yeah, I'd love a quad-core iMac but I can't wait until the end of the year.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    The iMac tends to get the new CPUs first, but the MacBook Pro gets new GPUs first. The iMac was first to get the Core 2 Duo when the MBP was still using the Core Duo, but the MBP was the first one to depart from the ATI Radeon X1600. However, when the iMac gets a CPU boost, the MacBook Pro gets an even better one a little later. For instance, the iMacs were boosted to the 2.0 and 2.16GHz Meroms, and the MacBook Pros obtained the 2.16 and 2.33GHz Meroms shortly thereafter.



    Considering the iMac has a better max CPU option than the MacBook Pro (2.8GHz Extreme versus 2.6GHz Duo), I would expect the MacBook Pro to get a new CPU before the iMac does. However, thanks to the more lenient thermal dynamics, I can see the iMac going quad-core first.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    mjteixmjteix Posts: 563member
    It may be nothing at all, but today the REFURBISHED iMacs (current generation) at the Apple Store (US and Canada at least) are on top of the list and have a special price... I don't remember Apple doing something like that, but I don't look that much at the refurbished store.



    The discounts go from $200 to $400 (depending on the models) and all models are accounted for.



    direct link
  • Reply 5 of 10
    I wonder what is the actual amount of engineering/rewrite needed to throw a Penryn into an iMac? Many are arguing about whether Apple will wait to update 'til fall before they update, with Montevina, and that will no doubt happen, but if the work to add a Penryn is minimal, why not just do it? They're the same pin, speed, & price as the current CPU. The only hold back to not replacing everything w/ Penryn would seem to be availability. GPU upgrade would be nice, but CPU bump seems like a no brainer - no downside other than some Merom machines to sell out.
  • Reply 6 of 10
    frank777frank777 Posts: 5,839member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mjteix View Post


    It may be nothing at all, but today the REFURBISHED iMacs (current generation) at the Apple Store (US and Canada at least) are on top of the list and have a special price... I don't remember Apple doing something like that, but I don't look that much at the refurbished store.



    The discounts go from $200 to $400 (depending on the models) and all models are accounted for.



    direct link



    Yeah, I just noticed that on the Canadian site.



    It is highly unusual for Apple to make such a big deal about a refurbished iMac blowout.

    They either have a lot of refurbished iMacs to sell, or a vastly improved model is on the way.



    Those are great prices though. If you could access the hard drive in the current iMac, I'd replace both machines we have in the house right now.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    you see



    core 2 Extreme Qx9300 ?



    penryn 4 cores 2.53 ghz TDP 45w release may/june



    good for imac 24'
  • Reply 8 of 10
    mjteixmjteix Posts: 563member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hcyrano View Post


    you see



    core 2 Extreme Qx9300 ?



    penryn 4 cores 2.53 ghz TDP 45w release may/june



    good for imac 24'



    Unfortunatly, the quad won't be available until Q3 (july to sept quarter), certainly not in may.

    But I'm confident the quad will be an (expensive) option for the 24" iMac later.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shanmugam View Post


    http://www.9to5mac.com/imac-updates-coming-234563456



    next tuesday!



    2009





    More at http://www.yankodesign.com/index.php...has-your-back/



    Quote:

    Many things come to mind when I imagine new features that might be useful on my Mac; a touch screen, integrated 3G connectivity, pop-out remote control, integrated LCD projector,? Designer Nuno Teixeira believes every computer should be two faced and with more curves... but his ?iView? iteration of an Apple?s iMac definitely has a lot more appeal. Taking a cue from the 1950?s CINERAMA wrap-around movie theatre screens, this iMac iMock-up features a giant curved screen (for better orientation to the natural curvature of the human eye) and a second built in LCD screen on the back (useful for students and graphic designer.) While shooting for the stars, Nuno also included two webcams(front and back). The likelihood this will ever be made? 0%, the likelihood I would really like one of these? 100%



    Designer: Nuno Teixeira



    Most of all, this designer and I share the same last name, so we need to get in touch!
Sign In or Register to comment.