G5 iMac Video Card
What kind of GPU do you think the G5 iMac will have? Does anyone think that the video card will be user replacable like the G4 Cube? I don't understand why Apple makes the GPU hard-wired in its consumer machines. Aren't consumers the ones that play games? I hope it will play a decent game of Doom 3.
Comments
If they do plan to use the GPU for more work in Tiger, they may contemplate things like PCI express (for fast two-way communication, instead of the one-way-biased AGP.) Perhaps they have their own GPU design based on something that Nvidia or ATI has? Who knows..
If these iMacs are being built in anticipation of Tiger, we might see more emphasis on good GPU performance.. on the other hand, it's still unlikely that a fairly "ordinary" GPU would be saturated by an "ordinary" user.
Conclusion? Not only do I know nothing, I can't even guess much
Originally posted by volcom1206
Apple dosen't make "consumer machines", Apples are high preformance so thats why they are so expensive.
um..no.
Originally posted by Commodus
My guess is that it'll have a GeForce FX 5200 as standard. I couldn't rule out a Radeon 9600 or some 'surprise' ATI/nVidia chipset though.
I agree, for some stupid reason apple seems to think consumers who are also gamers dont want a video card, dont need or want speed in any fashion hence slow imacs with soldered on last years video chips. thats why such dismal sales of its poor performance consumer line along with a few other reasons. I would be very surprised to see more then a garbage fx5200 in the new iMac since the 2 base powermacs have fx5200. One other thing to consider is that Apple makes sure iMac doesnt take sales from powermac so what we have allways ended up with is a lackluster waterdown machine. i predict a fancy new product wrapped around stale hardware. They just cant seem to get out of this market loosing philosophy with reguard to its consumer desktop line. They want to force people into powermacs or make due with old technology in fancy clothes. they have done this for years. look for fx5200 mated to 1.4 and maybe 1.8 G5s and some fancy new clothes( all in one)
Originally posted by volcom1206
Apple dosen't make "consumer machines", Apples are high preformance so thats why they are so expensive...
The iMac is not high performance in video, processor, memory, or disk function. Apple has done their best to optamize all of these areas for best performance but they have consistantly laged behind the industry in adopting newer tecnology in these areas. Maybe we will see a more agressive and capable G5 iMac released this fall using the fastest memory available, a more modern GPU, serial ATA, etc. It would be nice if Apple brough back to the iMac brand the value and performance that they achieved with the original iMac, I thik it would definatly help sales if they did.
The current iMac is a boutique computer that offers outstanding exterior design, but little in the way of internal innovation. It's tech specs are no better than those of the PowerMac from 2 years ago when Apple was "late to the game" with a DDR implementation, which makes the technology in the G4 iMac what, 3-4 years out of date?
Originally posted by applenut
um..no.
um ya
Originally posted by volcom1206
um ya
You'd have a very hard time proving that.
The iMac is low-performance by all means.
Originally posted by Zapchud
You'd have a very hard time proving that.
The iMac is low-performance by all means.
ok ok the powermac is definetly high preformance, and the iMAC 2 isn't. Although it is not a low end peice of crap that dell made such as the one I am using now. The new iMAC 3 will be higher end though with a g5 in it.
Originally posted by volcom1206
ok ok the powermac is definetly high preformance, and the iMAC 2 isn't. Although it is not a low end peice of crap that dell made such as the one I am using now. The new iMAC 3 will be higher end though with a g5 in it.
I would say that the iMac 2 is a well engineered low performance computer sold at for a premium price which offers low performance for it's price point.
A Dell Dimension 2400 v. iMac G4
2.6Ghz Pentium 4 - 1 Ghz G4
256MB DDR (333MHz ) - 256MB DDR (333MHz)
80 GB HD - 80 GB HD
48x CD-RW / DVD-ROM - 32x Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive
15 in E152FPb Flat Panel Display - 15-inch
$870 -- $1299
The iMac has a slower processor, slower FSB, slower Optical drive, and over $400 more expensive. I'm not sure how this qualifies as a high performance computer, especially since the processor is only 38% the clock speed of the Dell. Even given that the G4 is faster at a given clock speed real world performance is still at best 75% of the Dell.
Originally posted by JCG
I would say that the iMac 2 is a well engineered low performance computer sold at for a premium price which offers low performance for it's price point.
A Dell Dimension 2400 v. iMac G4
2.6Ghz Pentium 4 - 1 Ghz G4
256MB DDR (333MHz ) - 256MB DDR (333MHz)
80 GB HD - 80 GB HD
48x CD-RW / DVD-ROM - 32x Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive
15 in E152FPb Flat Panel Display - 15-inch
$870 -- $1299
The iMac has a slower processor, slower FSB, slower Optical drive, and over $400 more expensive. I'm not sure how this qualifies as a high performance computer, especially since the processor is only 38% the clock speed of the Dell. Even given that the G4 is faster at a given clock speed real world performance is still at best 75% of the Dell.
the key words in the last thread were the powermac is high preformance and the iMAC 2 (meaning the G4) ISN'T
However, that's all tangential to the *real* topic. I'd be happy if apple stayed from the "stripped down" options like the MX series of chips; I'd also be happy to see them taking advantage of the GPU in creative ways, which in many cases requires good programmable pipeline support. I think one step above the 5200 would be nice, whatever that is
If there was the option of upgrading the graphics hardware, then it would make more sense to ship with lower end components, but if it's going to be soldered to the motherboard a little headroom can convince people that this is a solid investment.
Originally posted by Powerdoc
I truly expect better than a geforce 5200 fx. But concerning video cards, Apple has disapointed us so many times.
u would think apple would dish out something better but it is very likely, since the PowerMac 1.8 ghz and 2 ghz run on a geforce 5200 fx.
I might as well admit that what I really want is for someone to give me a dual 2.5Ghz with an Nvidia 6800
Originally posted by volcom1206
o and another thing my 2 year old dell is such a piece of crap ... [cut] ... That is why I am buying a G5 iMAC first five seconds it comes out.
Well, it depends on how you treat the machine. I've seen 2-year-old PCs that are fine, and have none of the problems you say - probably purely because they've been well-maintained, reinstalled every so often, and otherwise cared for. Perhaps try reinstalling the machine, which will mean it'll perform as well as it did when you originally bought it. I would definately upgrade to a iMac G5 though, when they come out.
As it stands, the G4 is a low-end machine. I could get a similarly-specced machine for a huge amount less than a FP iMac. While the PM G5 is something that all "geeks" everywhere drool about, the iMac is something they'd not bother to look at twice - the design however means that most consumers do. Hopefully, with the intro of the G5 iMac we'll see a better price/performance ratio, hopefully heading the way of PCs...
Going back on topic: I'd expect that you won't be able to upgrade the GPU, and that it'll be an nVidia card, more than likely an on-board AGP. Not top-of-the-line, but enough for the average user.
Originally posted by dfryer
I'd be interested in knowing what the graphics card specs of the posted dell and iMac are, respectively. The $400 difference isn't all that much when you consider that processor is only rarely a bottleneck (even, I think, in games), you get a quiet, ergonomic small form factor computer (if the Dell is quiet that's another point in its favour though).
However, that's all tangential to the *real* topic. I'd be happy if apple stayed from the "stripped down" options like the MX series of chips; I'd also be happy to see them taking advantage of the GPU in creative ways, which in many cases requires good programmable pipeline support. I think one step above the 5200 would be nice, whatever that is
If there was the option of upgrading the graphics hardware, then it would make more sense to ship with lower end components, but if it's going to be soldered to the motherboard a little headroom can convince people that this is a solid investment.
A major point you may be missing or not understanding is that a videocard has to be fed if you will. A g4 cant feed a 9800 let alone whats coming. the cpu is the bottleneck and so are the fx5200s at anything higher then 640 x 480. benches show it drops frames right away with AAA new titles. sure it looks ok doing internet and sending grandma a letter but try running doom3 at 1024 x 768 or even UT2004 and you will feel the pain. A great video card has to be fed and that is why many g4 owners see little frame improvement with high end cards. they allow higher resolution but if the cpu isnt feeding it your frames arent going up much. hope that helps.
Originally posted by Mike Peel
...Going back on topic: I'd expect that you won't be able to upgrade the GPU, and that it'll be an nVidia card, more than likely an on-board AGP. Not top-of-the-line, but enough for the average user.
As I see it the real advantage for Apple to deliver a consumer computer with an upgradable GPU is to get more commitmet from both ATI and Nvidia in developing GPU's for the Mac and potentially garnering some future cost savings from that effort. An upgradable GPU in the iMac will once again create a market for consumer video cards.
For those nay sayers that are adamant that consumers don't upgrade their computers or video cards you need to walk down the video card isle at CompUSA or Best Buy, they arn't stocking those things for fun and a lot of them are geared to consumers not Pros. Also note that ATI not only makes cards that are sold under their brand but also a plethora of other brand names like PowerColor and Saphire.
Originally posted by volcom1206
o and another thing my 2 year old dell is such a piece of crap it takes ten minutes to get onto internet explorer with cable, no joke I timed it. You know when a program stops responding which happens every half hour on my computer you push ctrl+alt+delete and windows task manager pops up well, that stops responding also. So my computer is jacked up. That is why I am buying a G5 iMAC first five seconds it comes out.
you're a troll