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27-inch iMac gets a major update

apple.com

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Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#431

Post by ogre_codes »

_ph_ wrote: post #368
rsynnott wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I am just not sure they will start with the 16", as they would have to replace a dedicated GPU for that machine. Why? The 2015 15" came with an integrated GPU option (and that was by far the most popular SKU, AFAIK).

Because one important feature of the large MB Pro is the availability of a dedicated GPU making it a decent graphics machine when connected to an external screen. I am certainly stressing the GPU of mine :)

My thinking is this is exactly the use-case Apple needs to prove they can compete with and arguably the case where they should shine. With ARM's much better thermal characteristics, Apple should be able to get much better graphics performance.

It's certainly the tougher nut to crack.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#432

Post by m0xte »

cactus2093 wrote: post #428
m0xte wrote: post #424

Well they can quite frankly fuck off with that one. The 32gb additional memory option costs 4x the price of the entire 32gb of ram in my desktop. It costs independently 60% of the cost of my desktop pc base unit just for the upgrade. The bottom end unit features 256gb SSD (probably soldered) and the next tier up wants +£200 to go from 512 to 1TiB. My entire 1TB Samsung evo plus nvme cost £165. The 5k display isn’t wo…

Yes, Apple charges a premium over custom building a PC with equivalent parts. Not anything new or shocking there.

So add £200 to the base. Where’s my £1679 advantage?

Also I’m paying full retail not OEM prices for these parts.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#433

Post by woobar »

_ph_ wrote: post #341

The one thing I keep missing on my 5k iMac is some form of video-in. Would be great if I could connect my MB Pro to it and use the iMac as a display. Perhaps even in a window and all mouse and keyboard events to the window get passed to the connected MacBook.

I use Luna Display[1] for this. It is a bit laggy and some keyboard shortcuts are broken. But it let me use my 5K iMac (and it's keyboard) as a second display for the MBP.

It is a shame that iMac does not provide normal video input.

[1] https://shop.astropad.com/

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#434

Post by ogre_codes »

cactus2093 wrote: post #421
ogre_codes wrote: post #11

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?)

The iMac Pro is starting to seem pretty redundant even with this slight spec boost. If you upgrade the new 27" iMac to the same specs, you can get a faster machine than the base model $4999 iMac pro for $900 less - it's a faster clock speed 10-core processor, better performing GPU with Radeon 5700 XT 16GB (as opposed to Vega 64 8GB), and same 32GB RAM and 10Gb ethernet and 1TB SSD for that price. The iMac pro has eve…

Particularly when you consider they didn't even add the anti-glare display upgrade to the iMac Pro. It seems likely the iMac Pro will go its entire life with only this one small processor bump before it's retired.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#435

Post by cactus2093 »

_ph_ wrote: post #426
askafriend wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the reason I went Mac Mini + LG 5k display. It's much more expensive but I needed to be able to hook in my work laptop to a 5k display while working and switch easily to my home setup with a single cable when I want to. Ended up being perfect! It's paying off big time with COVID and WFH.

I had a Mini before the iMac, but the Mini had the problem of the lacking GPU. Also, at the time I got the iMac (2015), the Mini was really falling behind. The iMac gave me a quad-core i7 and a GPU. I wished the Mini was available with hardware comparable to the 16" MB Pro. (8 cores, GPU) If Apple only offered a desktop class Mac, I would even start thinking about the pro display.

In some ways the outlook for the Mac is much better today than it was a couple of years ago.

But I agree it does suck that you can't get a decent desktop that's not an all-in-one iMac. Users have been asking for it for years, and Apple's response was "Fine, you want upgradeability? Here's the entire kitchen sink with terrible base specs for $6000. Oh that's too expensive for you? Guess you're not a real pro after all so shut up and buy the consumer level products we sell you."

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#436

Post by kstrauser »

dopamean wrote: post #427
kccqzy wrote: post #412

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People who want a Mac but don't need performance.

I meant who shells out the extra 1k and is ok with that.

My boss. I mean, we don't have unlimited cash to throw away, but let's say I'm going to keep a new Mac for 4 years (which is a lot less time than I'll probably actually have it, but we'll round down). I work about 2,000 hours a year, or about 8,000 hours over the time I'll own it. That $1,000 amortizes out to be about $0.13 per hour, which is a rounding error compared to salary, benefits, air conditioning at the office (back in the old days when that use to be a thing), etc. If that makes me 0.2% more efficient -- say by making compiles or "docker build" commands run faster -- then the company made a profit off of it.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#437

Post by EricE »

bserge wrote: post #231
jjoonathan wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can still judge the macbook cameras by looking at the images they deliver. They're bad, really bad. I suspect that apple's laptop guru / team moved to iPhone and never got backfilled, leaving the macbooks with budget flat cameras from 2007 or something.

High quality cameras have been around since ~2015 even on midrange smartphones. Why can't laptops get one of those? Is there a supply issue?

Compare the thickness of the lid of your laptop to that of your phone.

There is your answer - Physics is a harsh mistress!

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#439

Post by EricE »

jeffbee wrote: post #47

I'm always interested in the differences between Apple's Intel OEM CPUs and the ones Intel lists in their catalog. There is no 10th-gen Core i9 CPU that exactly matches what Apple is selling here. In the iMac Pro they are installing a Xeon-W part that has almost twice as much cache as the standard part (43MB vs 25MB). They're not saying how much cache is in the new 27" iMac.

Usually it comes down to either not being socketed or as with the cheese grater mac Pro's the CPUs lacked the integrated heat spreader. Sometimes it's cache or clock variations, but usually it's more along the lines of the chip packaging that differs.
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