New iMac worth it?


Recommended Posts

Alright a little back story first.

I used to be an iMac user (2005-2008), well in 2008 I bought the Mac Pro (8core 2.8ghz xeon), and I have not had to replace my computer since. Still feels pretty fast and snappy, gaming is average (I do use bootcamp a ton). So now the new iMacs are coming out and I'm wondering if its time to upgrade again, and if the new imacs are noticabily faster than what I currently have.

Here are my current specs:

Mac Pro 2008 (30" display near same res as the 27" iMac so no biggie there)

Processor 2 x 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon

Memory 10 GB 800 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM

Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024 MB

Storage Crucial c300 SSD 128gb + 1TB Samsung 7200rpm

Heres what I'm looking to get:

iMac 27" LED Display 2560x1440 resolution

Processor 3.4GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz

Memory 24GB (2x4GB Apple, 2x8GB Expercom) 1600MHz DDR3 RAM

Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB GDDR5

Storage 1TB Fusion Drive

So if anyone has any ideas in terms of the new cpu's and their performance vs the xeon's, same with the memory and graphics.

Am kinda afraid of going to a fusion (Software solution eeeeek), where as now I just use my ssd for everything, then media on the regular drive.

Anyway, thanks for the help, hopefully :p

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1122832-new-imac-worth-it/
Share on other sites

He only hits me because he loves me :'(

Honestly, if you have the money, it's clear you already want to do it.

This kind of thing isn't about need, it's a want. It's purely an economic decision :)

Also, Fusion is kinda :| I'd rather do what you're doing now and handle it all manually.

CPU wise, you will not see much of a difference, as those dual Xeons are on par with the i7,

neither on the "fusion" drive specially when compared to a standalone SSD+hdd configuration

(assuming the SSD is dedicated to the OS, and program data is on the HDD)

Ram, not so much, as the one on the PRO i assume it should be ECC (ddr3) even if is just 10gb

should run "more stable" than the 24gb on the new iMac

Graphics wise is where you would notice most of the difference, as the 680MX is technically a downclocked version of the 680

(very good card specially when compared to the 5770, but it all depends on what "gaming" you'll be doing)

All in all, it all comes down to what you want and what you're willing to trade off in terms of performance (or bottlenecks, such as the Fusion drive)

I just boosted my RAM on my Mid Year 2010 Mac Mini from 2 GB's to 8 GB's and still don't notice any real faster speed difference just yet other than the fact that it is no longer creating so many so called Recovered (Temp) Files on Boot Up to ML and/or Boot Camp.

I am hoping to see a better Speed Difference after I order my SSD from either Godaddy.com or Crucial.com. Just FYI.

I just boosted my RAM on my Mid Year 2010 Mac Mini from 2 GB's to 8 GB's and still don't notice any real faster speed difference just yet other than the fact that it is no longer creating so many so called Recovered (Temp) Files on Boot Up to ML and/or Boot Camp.

I am hoping to see a better Speed Difference after I order my SSD from either Newegg.com or Crucial.com. Just FYI.

Correction: Newegg.com or Crucial.com. This is the second time in 24 hours that I had to make such a Correction. My Bad. :-)

Also, Fusion is kinda :| I'd rather do what you're doing now and handle it all manually.

Handling everything manually won't make you look more interesting, nor will anyone question your masculinity for allowing the OS to do these things. But if you really really want to let your inner geek out you can always disable the software handling "Fusion Drive" and get two serperate drives: 128 GB SSD + 1TB HDD.

Back on topic - is there no official Apple sanctioned graphics card upgrades available? Sure those dual xeons are going to be still pretty decent even compared to the i7's... I'd guess only the graphics would really be holding you back unless you were a SERIOUS gamer.

I guess the RAM only being DDR2 would hold you back performance wise though... that said my Wintel PC only has a single Intel Core 2 Quad with DDR2 but a semi-reasonable graphics card and I'm able to play stuff like Battlefield 3 at 1080p and pretty high detail... so maybe it is just the graphics holding you back?

Edited by Charisma
: Removed reference to a deleted/troll post
Sure those dual xeons are going to be still pretty decent even compared to the i7's... I'd guess only the graphics would really be holding you back unless you were a SERIOUS gamer.

People should keep in mind that the 2008 Mac Pro has Xeon processors based on the Core 2 Duo/Quad architecture. The 2009 Mac Pro introduced Nehalem (first generation Core i7). In that light it could very well be that the 3,4 GHz Core i7 iMac outperforms his 2008 Mac Pro.

From what I remember from back in the day my 2010 2,93 GHz Core i7 iMac already had higher benchmarks than a friend's 8-core 2008 Mac Pro, but don't quote me on it. :p

I was looking at a breakdown of the two new iMacs and came to the conclusion that they really are nothing more then a MBP built into the iMac body. Now I could be wrong, however, having opened my iMac 29 (mid 2009) to add a SSD it occurred to me that it was nothing more then a MBP. Just my thoughts.

I was looking at a breakdown of the two new iMacs and came to the conclusion that they really are nothing more then a MBP built into the iMac body. Now I could be wrong, however, having opened my iMac 29 (mid 2009) to add a SSD it occurred to me that it was nothing more then a MBP. Just my thoughts.

The 2009, 2010, 2011 en 2012 iMacs all have desktop CPUs in them, so in that regard they're different. In the 27-inch iMac the only part laptop is de GPU from what I understand, and the optical drive in the previous models of course.

I'm confused though, did you expect to encounter a desktop-grade GPU inside the iMac's thin casing?

Out of curiosity what is the value of your Mac Pro to resell, in the event that you go for the iMac? Should at least net you 30% of the cost towards the iMac?

Did a search on craigslist for other peoples postings (all of the states), and went by their pricing of a simliar spec'd mac pro, which was around 1200~. Mine has the ssd, newer graphics card (by apple's standards).

I'm confused though, did you expect to encounter a desktop-grade GPU inside the iMac's thin casing?

On a desktop computer? One would hope so. I don't understand what the value of going so thin is outside of aesthetics and price gouging when they make it nearly impossible to change components on your own.

I'm confused though, did you expect to encounter a desktop-grade GPU inside the iMac's thin casing?

why not? they don't take up that much room if they are integrated chips, NVidia had integrated chips that where desktop card quality that took up not much room at all

why not? they don't take up that much room if they are integrated chips, NVidia had integrated chips that where desktop card quality that took up not much room at all

If that was a reasonable option, even in the previous models, I'm sure they would have done so. In this regard nothing has changed between the 2009 and 2012 design. The only trade-off I find completely unacceptable in the current 21,5-inch iMac is the fact it comes with a laptop HDD and a 5400rpm model at that. From what I understand the 27-inch iMac doesn't suffer that issue luckily.

Anyone know where I could get benchmarks to compare the two cpus? Not even sure what model i7 is in the new iMacs

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-3770+%40+3.40GHz

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+E5462+%40+2.80GHz

(x2)

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • I am not a US citizen nor a Trump fan. Respect to both left and right. But I will, for the sake of fun, predict something for my own. There will come a day when the US and China will collide like titans ( over Taiwan or anything else ). Then, on that day, some people in this comment section will realize how good an idea it was to become independent in areas like that. ( Or atleast try )
    • Microsoft Edge gets tons of security features, including AI model that can see your screen by Usama Jawad Microsoft Edge may not be the most popular browser out there, but it does receive quite frequent updates that sometimes bring surprising new features and axe others that are not as popular. Now, Microsoft has detailed some of the new security enhancements that it has introduced in Edge for Business, typically used by commercial customers. Microsoft has emphasized that security features are baked into Edge for Business and offer native integration with security and governance tools like Defender and Purview. Browser sessions are governed by default on managed devices but can also be governed through dedicated work profiles on unmanaged devices. An important aspect in this area is controlling the use of shadow AI. We have talked about this before, but it essentially restricts employees from using unsanctioned AI apps through data loss prevention (DLP) policies, with Edge redirecting them to trusted AI services like Microsoft 365 Copilot. This feature, available as a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) license, ensures that confidential data never exits AI boundaries set by your organization in Purview. Additionally, Microsoft also has strong DLP policies for contractors. Contractors leveraging a Entra ID-joined work profile provisioned by their contracting company on a device managed by their actual employer can be restricted from downloading files locally. In such scenarios, the file is saved on the contracting firm's OneDrive rather than being downloaded locally. Another useful Edge security feature disallows copying and pasting from unmanaged locations and apps. Similarly, DLP policies can be configured at a granular level to restrict screenshots or downloading of files from certain locations. In the same vein, IT admins can block the installation of extensions, hosted apps, themes and scripts, and control if users can install extensions from external locations. They can also enable the installation of specific extensions and allow users to request access to certain extensions, so that they can be managed on a case-by-case basis. Finally, Edge for Business now has an on-device AI model that uses computer vision to see what's on your screen and block potentially malicious content immediately. This does not rely on site reputation, as it simply monitors what is being displayed on your screen, which means that it is effective against malicious content that takes over your screen and employs scareware tactics. Since this is an on-device AI model, it does use your system's resources, so it's enabled by default only on devices with at least 2GB of RAM and four CPU cores. You can find more details in the Microsoft Mechanics video here.
    • Could you come up with a slightly less depressing background for Tux instead of that gray gradient? Doesn't have to be cheerful, just less of a downer...
    • Linux 7.2's first release candidate gets off to a good start by Paul Hill Credit: Larry Ewing It has been a few weeks since the release of Linux 7.1, and in that time, the Linux 7.2 merge window has been open, where developers can submit their features and patches ready for the upcoming release. That window is now shut, and the release candidate phase has begun so that new features can be tested and further fixes applied. According to the founder of Linux, Linus Torvalds, this week’s release candidate looks “reasonably normal”. Although we are super early in the release candidates, this is a good sign as it makes it more likely that an eighth release candidate will not be needed. Torvalds even mentioned that the update’s stats are only larger than they really are because there was another AMD header drop with a third of the patch just being AMD GPU register definitions, which aren’t big changes but make the code contributed look larger overall. In addition to this, he noted that just over half the patch is drivers, even when excluding the AMD register dump. The rest of the changes are spread out over architecture updates, tooling, documentation, and core kernel updates. In the next week, Torvalds says that he will be chilling out, taking the week “mostly off”. Despite this, he will be reading emails and keeping up with things, so if he is slow responding, now you know why. He said he is hoping for a calm week, but we will just have to see if the second release candidate is actually like that. We should expect seven or eight release candidates before Linux 7.2 is released, so expect it around the end of August. If you missed it a few weeks ago, be sure to check out our coverage of Linux 7.1's release.
    • Ridiculous claim that the labor cost difference of $6000 annually would increase cost per phone by $200. The employees produce 3 phones per month or what?
  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Zeynel earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • One Month Later
      JKR earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Dedicated
      Asgardi earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Conversation Starter
      jessse3334 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Reacting Well
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      496
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      248
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      154
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      86
    5. 5
      macoman
      65
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!