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27-inch iMac gets a major update

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Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#32
post #19
post #15

It just feels wrong to buy anything new from Apple with "Intel Inside" - when they're clearly going to dump it soon, in favor of ARM (excuse me for not using the cringey term Apple Silicon).

Why does it matter? There will be a period where the Intel Macs are still supported and probably more stable, and it could be ~2y before your upgrade is available if it's ARM based. If you have a retina macbook pro from 2014~ it definitely makes sense to upgrade to a macbook pro 16" today. The thing will see you through another 5-6y easy.

Yeah I agree. Since this is an iMac thread.. I think notebooks will definitely be first to go ARM, and I wouldn't be surprised if the iMac user base would prefer that native x86 based processor for at least the next 5 years or so.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#33
post #18
post #8

When we read "10th generation Intel Core" then we have to go and research whether than means real 10th generation (like i5/i7 MBA, some MBPs) or just another rebadged Skylake (6th gen) derivative.

All 10xxx parts are either Ice Lake (10nm) or Comet Lake (14nm), none are Skylake. I mean, if you want to get technical both are "Skylake derivatives", I guess.

The uarch and core differences between Skylake, Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake and Comet Lake are neglible. The most significant changes were claims of hardware fixes for some Spectre and Meltdown variants in Coffee Lake, which is still a really minor change. The minor IPC differences arise from different cache sizes and interconnect.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#34
post #15

It just feels wrong to buy anything new from Apple with "Intel Inside" - when they're clearly going to dump it soon, in favor of ARM (excuse me for not using the cringey term Apple Silicon).

This (and the 16" MacBook) are well timed upgrades. Apple is giving their more conservative/ cautious users a good upgrade choice right before they launch their new line. So if you want to stick with Intel, you can buy a system now and put off making the riskier move to ARM for a few years.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#35

Finally they ditch spinning media on the base models. Also notable, the rumored iPad-like style changes are conspicuously absent, these look pretty much identical to the older iMacs. Otherwise this looks like a decent bump all around. Notably, the iMac Pro also got some love (though not too much it seems?)

Massive upgrade for people working at companies whose IT refuses to buy anything but the cheapest model.

Still only 8GB RAM though, a bit of a bummer.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#36
Just when you think they've forgotten the iMac. Can't wait for Barefeats to post the benchmarks, and compare the top level 27" to the Pro. The 27" is interesting now because you can get 10Gbe.

One gripe is the 27" iMac comes standard with only 8GB, while the 15" MacBook Pro has came with 16GB standard since 2014... I'm guessing most people are going to the aftermarket to throw 32-64GB in there anyway. Apple offers the 16GB upgrade (from 8GB) for $200, but you can buy 32GB of RAM for $150 and install it yourself.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#37
post #5

Honestly a fairly mediocre upgrade considering the pricing. It's good that they've finally improved the webcam, but Apple clearly went out of their way to ensure people looking to get an Intel Mac because they need to dual boot weren't going to get anything too compelling. Edit: Downvotes be damned, it is mediocre. Not bad, because it is a spec bump, but there are lots of things about the iMac's architecture that are…

>> upgrade considering the pricing.

Don't forget it includes a 5K display...

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#38
post #26

Likely this is the machine to buy if you want one of the last Intel Macs that can natively run x86 code

erm, no. During the introduction of Apple SOC they stated that they will produce and support Intel based macs for some time together with the apple SOC versions.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#39
post #15

It just feels wrong to buy anything new from Apple with "Intel Inside" - when they're clearly going to dump it soon, in favor of ARM (excuse me for not using the cringey term Apple Silicon).

This (and the 16" MacBook) are well timed upgrades. Apple is giving their more conservative/ cautious users a good upgrade choice right before they launch their new line. So if you want to stick with Intel, you can buy a system now and put off making the riskier move to ARM for a few years.

I'm sitting around waiting on the 2020 CPU revision of the 16" MBP. Will be getting that top GPU too. Just don't want to buy right now if we might get that CPU upgrade in the next 1-3 months.
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