When will an iMac update come out and what will it bring?

dferigmu · January 13, 2005 1:57PM

The iMac G5 got released in mid-September. The current promos last till mid-April. I'm guessing the iMac G5 will be updated between April and May. What do you guys think?

Also, what do you think the update will bring? These would only happen with a Powermac update, of course. Here are my modest predictions:

- Up to 2Ghz G5, PowerPC 970FX

- 8X Superdrive

- 512MB RAM on two highest models

- 128MB video RAM on two highest models

timmy o'tool · January 13, 2005 3:35PM

I think those specs look about right. I heard they don't sell to many 17" models, maybe discontinue them and add a 23". Or maybe not, who knows?

krzysiek · January 13, 2005 4:45PM

Yes, who knows

But updated between April and May - good time.

dferigmu · January 13, 2005 5:05PM

Quote:

Originally posted by timmy o'tool

I think those specs look about right. I heard they don't sell to many 17" models, maybe discontinue them and add a 23". Or maybe not, who knows?

No...23" would be too big for a prosumer machine.

brunobruin · January 13, 2005 7:05PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dferigmu

No...23" would be too big for a prosumer machine.

Of course, we used to say that about a 20-inch iMac, too. "It would cannibalize tower sales!"

But I think you're right, we won't see a 23. And they have to keep a 17 on the low end, so there's a model at least in the neighborhood of $1,000. I'm hoping the recent price drops on the displays means Apple might move a 20-inch model to the middle of the line, with a combo drive, for around $1,599. $1,799 for a SuperDrive and larger HDD. It would be fantastic if they could get the 17 down to $1,099, it would make it easier to "sell up" to folks who come in to check out the mini but don't already have a display.

I'd also be interested in knowing how the sales break down. I know several people who have bought the 20, but nobody who has bought the 17. I read somewhere that when the G4 iMacs were all 15-inchers, the most expensive SuperDrive model outsold the other two (CD-RW and combo) combined.

gene clean · January 13, 2005 7:33PM

The 17" doesn't sell as well as 20" because of its horrible fan noise. Just look at Apple boards; a lot of people are complaining about the 17" but not that many about the 20".

I'm kinda undecided between an iMac G5 and a Mac mini. Ah, its choice and choice and choice... and when the choice comes its decisions, decisions, decisions...

isomething · January 13, 2005 7:40PM

I think that in Spring, Apple will merely update the processor speeds to 1.8 GHz and 2 GHz models.

jone · January 13, 2005 7:49PM

I want to see a GeForce 6200.

onlooker · January 13, 2005 8:09PM

PowerMac, PowerBook, and more Applications will be updated before the iMac.

dferigmu · January 13, 2005 8:15PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gene Clean

The 17" doesn't sell as well as 20" because of its horrible fan noise. Just look at Apple boards; a lot of people are complaining about the 17" but not that many about the 20".

I'm kinda undecided between an iMac G5 and a Mac mini. Ah, its choice and choice and choice... and when the choice comes its decisions, decisions, decisions...

I'm in exactly the same boat as you. I'm trying to decide between the mini and the iMac. I'm leaning towards the iMac because for $300 more (meaning the mini is configured to how I would want it and come with a 17" LG LCD), the iMac comes with much more.

Also, if I buy a display (which I don't have), I'm not sure Apple will keep making the Mini and I don't think I will ever buy a Powermac, so the display might go to waste.

About the iMac though, I'm still waiting for Apple to fix the fan problem since I want to buy the 17" model and ship the machine with iLife '05. I can't wait till Apple does this since I know I will be one of the unlucky ones to get a faulty iMac if I order now.

jone · January 13, 2005 8:25PM

I wouldn't get the iMac G5 17" if I had to choose again. I have one, and aside from the irritating fan noise, the LCD is terrible and very very low end. It only displays 262K colors, the viewing angles are very bad (the colors aren't consistent no matter my head position), the blurring is quite noticeable, and backlight is bleeding heavily from all sides (making the color black a joke). Avoid the 17" at all costs.

dferigmu · January 13, 2005 8:55PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JonE

I wouldn't get the iMac G5 17" if I had to choose again. I have one, and aside from the irritating fan noise, the LCD is terrible and very very low end. It only displays 262K colors, the viewing angles are very bad (the colors aren't consistent no matter my head position), the blurring is quite noticeable, and backlight is bleeding heavily from all sides (making the color black a joke). Avoid the 17" at all costs.

I thought it displayed millions of colors. I have used the 17" for almost an hour straight at the Apple Store and it looked pretty nice. Plus, I don't have enough money for the 20". Are you sure your problem isn't an isolated one?

My main worry is the fan noise problem.

jone · January 13, 2005 9:08PM

It does not display millions of colors, you can even tell when it's trying to display a harder color, it will flicker very fast (rare to come by, but it does happen if you're perceptive). I've went through 3 17" iMac G5s and they are all the same way, as well as the one at my local store (except their flourescent lights can deceptively make everything look good).

The fan noise has not been fixed yet, lord knows why. All they have to do is just replace the fan with one that has a higher quality bearing and doesn't make that whine.

gene clean · January 13, 2005 10:23PM

It looks real good on their stores and especially in CompUSA (for some reason, it looks better there than in Apple Store).

But, I've heard a lot of complaints too. So, I'm not quite ready to take the plunge and get the 17". The 20" is currently out of my price range.

I might get the mini... I just hope its good enough.

flounder · January 13, 2005 10:35PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JonE

It does not display millions of colors

You are making factually incorrect statements.

From the tech specs page for the iMac

Built-in 17-inch (viewable) widescreen or 20-inch (viewable) widescreen TFT active-matrix liquid crystal display

Millions of colors at all resolutions

jone · January 13, 2005 10:44PM

Do some more research, here are the real monitor specs, the 17" iMac uses a Quanta panel:

http://www.qdi.com.tw/main_07Cons.asp?Id=38

It does NOT display the full range of colors. I should know that it's terrible from owning one (and going through three).

dferigmu · January 14, 2005 7:33AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JonE

Do some more research, here are the real monitor specs, the 17" iMac uses a Quanta panel:

http://www.qdi.com.tw/main_07Cons.asp?Id=38

It does NOT display the full range of colors. I should know that it's terrible from owning one (and going through three).

I haven't heard anyone complain so much about the 17" screen though. The only thig I have heard is that the 20" is bigger and comes with better viewing angles. That's it.

aurora · January 14, 2005 7:42AM

The 20 inch is suppose to be a higher quality panel and the 17 wide isnt as large as a real 17" its a stretched 15 if you will. Iam waiting for a 2.0 model 20" with a 5700 class or better video then i could make do without the video card slot but as it stands now a Fx5200 doesnt cut the musturd for having that kind of sacrifice in a new $2000 machine. Fx5200 is the deal killer for me. I mean really this is a very cheap cheap videochip for Apple to be pushing and you end up running stuff in low resolutions when you have a nice high resolution LCD. Who wants that?

the general · January 14, 2005 7:56AM

Not sure if the g4 Imac and g5 imac 17" use the same screen, but on my g4 17" imac, the screen is great. I havent heard of any of these issues(but then again, there is only one guy here complaining about them, so maybe he just needs his eyes aligned(quick whack to the head would work).

jone · January 14, 2005 8:55AM

God forbid anyone complain about an Apple product. I was just posting my personal experience with the product, I like to think I am pretty discerning when it comes to quality. I am sure for general use the LCD would be acceptable to most people ("oh yeah it's fine huH whats this guy complaining about??"), but it is an undeniably cheap, low-end LCD (in stark contrast to the 20"). I am not the only person to say this in the slightest, so please spare me the belittlement.

dferigmu · January 14, 2005 9:15AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JonE

God forbid anyone complain about an Apple product. I was just posting my personal experience with the product, I like to think I am pretty discerning when it comes to quality. I am sure for general use the LCD would be acceptable to most people ("oh yeah it's fine huH whats this guy complaining about??"), but it is an undeniably cheap, low-end LCD (in stark contrast to the 20"). I am not the only person to say this in the slightest, so please spare me the belittlement.

I'm just wondering what non-Apple LCD you would compare it to. Is it better/worse than a 17" Dell, LG, NEC, or Samsung in your opinion?

When will an iMac update come out and what will it bring?

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