As I said when I posted the link, I didn't consider the source trustworthy. The lack of standard configurations with i7 processors doesn't make much sense these days after seeing what's in the new Macbook Pros. On the graphics side, I don't know what's coming out. If I was the one to decide, I'd rather go with nVidia but that's just me... personal taste.
I don't care what the specs are as I know it will be a lot faster than the current model but I just need it to be released soon! I'm in need of an iMac NOW and the current ones do not fit my needs (lack of Thunderbolt).
I don't care what the specs are as I know it will be a lot faster than the current model but I just need it to be released soon! I'm in need of an iMac NOW and the current ones do not fit my needs (lack of Thunderbolt).
What kind of Thunderbolt devices do you plan on using with your iMac? Right now, only Promise (Pegasus RAID arrays, Q2 availability) and LaCie (Liitle Big Disk, summer availability) have announced actual products...
I don't know if Apple will go Xeon in the iMac but there are models with extremely low power profiles. More so there are models with clock rates up to 3.5GHz.
An iMac with 4cores/8threads running at 3.5 GHz would be pretty impressive to say the least.
Xeon iMac means the death of the Mac Pro*, pure and simple.
I'm not in either camp. I don't believe that Apple won't do it. I don't believe that Apple will do it. I'm just saying that's what will happen.
*Current incarnation. Professionals will need something with multiple internal HDDs, PCIe cards, and more RAM slots than at which you can shake a stick, but the current Mac Pro would be dead in the water.
What kind of Thunderbolt devices do you plan on using with your iMac? Right now, only Promise (Pegasus RAID arrays, Q2 availability) and LaCie (Liitle Big Disk, summer availability) have announced actual products...
I don't know if Apple will go Xeon in the iMac but there are models with extremely low power profiles. More so there are models with clock rates up to 3.5GHz.
An iMac with 4cores/8threads running at 3.5 GHz would be pretty impressive to say the least.
The 3.5GHz model is a little expensive for my taste (and the iMac), but there are lots of those chips that could be used in an iMac 21.5" and 27", and offer better performance and power profiles than regular desktop models, for just a few more $. And the added PCIe lanes would be useful for TBolt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Xeon iMac means the death of the Mac Pro,..
Don't be so afraid of the name Xeon, those (E3-1200 series) cpu are closer to the desktop Core i5/i7-2000 series than to the Xeons used in the MP (even the single cpu models). They can't be used in pairs, dual-channel memory controller only, fewer PCIe lanes,.. it's a desktop chip with a workstation/server twist, nothing more.
Using a 3.40 Xeon E3-1270 or a 3.40 Core i7-2600 would make no difference.
But I agree that Apple should do something about the single cpu MP models, they need to be better than that. IMO, they need to adjust both specs and prices, until SB and a complete redesign.
Mobile chips are different from desktop ones though and the i7 in the 13" is dual-core. But they could have used the 65W quad i7-2600s in the iMac as it pretty much costs the same as the 73W i5-580.
It makes sense to me that Apple would do this though to coerce people into buying the 27" models to get a quad, like they do now.
It's clear to see why when you see the two quad-core models with those specs. You do get 8GB RAM in the $1999 model but I suspect people will just go for the lower quad this time. For reference, the configs listed are:
21.5″ / 3.2GHz Core i5 / 4GB / 750GB / ATI Radeon HD 5630 512MB $1199
21.5″ / 3.6GHz Core i5 / 4GB / 1.5TB / ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB $1499
27″ / 2.8GHz Quad-Core Core i5 / 4GB / 1.5TB / ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB $1699
27″ / 3.3GHz Quad-Core Core i5 / 8GB / 1.5TB / ATI Radeon HD 6850 1GB $1999
The problem with this is that the 5850 is actually faster than a 6850. I hope it's a typo and they mean the 6950 or better yet a 6970.
Comments
I don't care what the specs are as I know it will be a lot faster than the current model but I just need it to be released soon! I'm in need of an iMac NOW and the current ones do not fit my needs (lack of Thunderbolt).
What kind of Thunderbolt devices do you plan on using with your iMac? Right now, only Promise (Pegasus RAID arrays, Q2 availability) and LaCie (Liitle Big Disk, summer availability) have announced actual products...
An iMac with 4cores/8threads running at 3.5 GHz would be pretty impressive to say the least.
I don't know if Apple will go Xeon in the iMac...
Xeon iMac means the death of the Mac Pro*, pure and simple.
I'm not in either camp. I don't believe that Apple won't do it. I don't believe that Apple will do it. I'm just saying that's what will happen.
*Current incarnation. Professionals will need something with multiple internal HDDs, PCIe cards, and more RAM slots than at which you can shake a stick, but the current Mac Pro would be dead in the water.
What kind of Thunderbolt devices do you plan on using with your iMac? Right now, only Promise (Pegasus RAID arrays, Q2 availability) and LaCie (Liitle Big Disk, summer availability) have announced actual products...
Exactly that, likely the Pegasus 6-bay RAID.
I don't know if Apple will go Xeon in the iMac but there are models with extremely low power profiles. More so there are models with clock rates up to 3.5GHz.
An iMac with 4cores/8threads running at 3.5 GHz would be pretty impressive to say the least.
The 3.5GHz model is a little expensive for my taste (and the iMac), but there are lots of those chips that could be used in an iMac 21.5" and 27", and offer better performance and power profiles than regular desktop models, for just a few more $. And the added PCIe lanes would be useful for TBolt.
Xeon iMac means the death of the Mac Pro,..
Don't be so afraid of the name Xeon, those (E3-1200 series) cpu are closer to the desktop Core i5/i7-2000 series than to the Xeons used in the MP (even the single cpu models). They can't be used in pairs, dual-channel memory controller only, fewer PCIe lanes,.. it's a desktop chip with a workstation/server twist, nothing more.
Using a 3.40 Xeon E3-1270 or a 3.40 Core i7-2600 would make no difference.
But I agree that Apple should do something about the single cpu MP models, they need to be better than that. IMO, they need to adjust both specs and prices, until SB and a complete redesign.
Exactly that, likely the Pegasus 6-bay RAID.
Let us know when you get both!
Mobile chips are different from desktop ones though and the i7 in the 13" is dual-core. But they could have used the 65W quad i7-2600s in the iMac as it pretty much costs the same as the 73W i5-580.
It makes sense to me that Apple would do this though to coerce people into buying the 27" models to get a quad, like they do now.
It's clear to see why when you see the two quad-core models with those specs. You do get 8GB RAM in the $1999 model but I suspect people will just go for the lower quad this time. For reference, the configs listed are:
21.5″ / 3.2GHz Core i5 / 4GB / 750GB / ATI Radeon HD 5630 512MB $1199
21.5″ / 3.6GHz Core i5 / 4GB / 1.5TB / ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB $1499
27″ / 2.8GHz Quad-Core Core i5 / 4GB / 1.5TB / ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB $1699
27″ / 3.3GHz Quad-Core Core i5 / 8GB / 1.5TB / ATI Radeon HD 6850 1GB $1999
The problem with this is that the 5850 is actually faster than a 6850. I hope it's a typo and they mean the 6950 or better yet a 6970.