Should I buy iMacs now or wait?
- Thread starter Toratora
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We don't know when they are coming, nor will we. They were last refreshed in August 2011, so I doubt we'll see any updates before late this year.
Actually, I think the last refresh was in May of '11. The refresh rate has averaged about 10 months I think over the last few releases, so were it I looking for a new iMac, I would personally wait just a couple of months to see what happens. Then again, I would likely go with refurbs if buying multiples for my company, so the date wouldn't be as essential.
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Your both correct.
There were "regular" consumer-based iMacs released in May, 2011...and an "education only" iMac released in August, 2011.
- Nick
There were "regular" consumer-based iMacs released in May, 2011...and an "education only" iMac released in August, 2011.- Nick
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Your both correct.
Ahhhh! That's right! I had done a quick check on EveryMac.com and had thought they had been earlier than that. I forgot about the education model.
Given that… an update by mid-year is a bit more likely.
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If you need something now, get it now.
The consideration isn't really a minor refresh but Ivy Bridge, the next Intel chip which is imminent. This iteration brings an improved fab process (22nm down from 32nm) which means faster/cooler/lower powered chips (take your pick) which will have more impact on notebooks than desktops.
More importantly a much improved HD4000 GPU is due (probably 50% faster than the HD3000), which might be better for Apple than the end user. The reason is that Apple might be tempted to drop the dedicated GPU from more models, and even a 50% faster HD3000 won't come anywhere close to the performance of a Radeon 6750, especially on a high resolution screen. It'll be interesting to see what Apple does, more so on the notebook side.
Anyway, who knows when the new machines will come out. I'm guessing new MacBook Airs in the next 8 - 10 weeks, followed by new iMacs before the end of June. But I'm guessing, and my guess is no better than anyone elses.
The consideration isn't really a minor refresh but Ivy Bridge, the next Intel chip which is imminent. This iteration brings an improved fab process (22nm down from 32nm) which means faster/cooler/lower powered chips (take your pick) which will have more impact on notebooks than desktops.
More importantly a much improved HD4000 GPU is due (probably 50% faster than the HD3000), which might be better for Apple than the end user. The reason is that Apple might be tempted to drop the dedicated GPU from more models, and even a 50% faster HD3000 won't come anywhere close to the performance of a Radeon 6750, especially on a high resolution screen. It'll be interesting to see what Apple does, more so on the notebook side.
Anyway, who knows when the new machines will come out. I'm guessing new MacBook Airs in the next 8 - 10 weeks, followed by new iMacs before the end of June. But I'm guessing, and my guess is no better than anyone elses.
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As Zoolook says "If you need something now, get it now."
No sense trying to second guess. If you need to upgrade now, do it now, if you don't then wait til you do.
In my experience, early upgrading with any computer product is foolhardy.
No sense trying to second guess. If you need to upgrade now, do it now, if you don't then wait til you do.
In my experience, early upgrading with any computer product is foolhardy.
I'm sure most would agree, but often times 'early upgrading' is not such an easy thing to define. A while back while I administered a network of Macs we had several people who were desktop publishing folks and graphic designers. To them their Macs were ALWAYS 'outdated'. Every time a new system was released, they thought that it would run InDesign, Photoshop & Illustrator better, and to some extent they were right. Unfortunately there was no capacity to continually upgrade their machines, so we worked through a three year attrition plan for the heavy graphic and video users.
Typically, by the end of cycle they were ready for a new machine and we could allocate the older machines elsewhere with other users or as kiosks, etc. We could have forced a couple of more years with each user, so upgrading wasn't a 'must' per se, but it also kept things fair across the board and kept the users relatively happy (it also helped reduce grumbling b/c they knew when they would get a new machine).
Just another perspective.
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I see that perspective but that's something quite different.
My point was that if you are in a position to upgrade (financially etc) the question should be, do I need to upgrade?
Whether this was a financial constraint or something else, this just ends the question and uncertainty of upgrading. In this situation it can't be done.
My point was that if you are in a position to upgrade (financially etc) the question should be, do I need to upgrade?
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