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Apple 27-inch iMac With Intel's Haswell Inside Tested
MojoKid writes "Apple's late 2013 edition iMacs are largely unchanged in external form, though they're upgraded in function with a revamped foundation that now pairs Intel's Haswell 4th Generation Core processors with NVIDIA's GeForce 700 Series graphics. The Cupertino company also outfitted these latest models with faster flash storage options, including support for PCI-E based storage, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology, all wrapped in a 21.5-inch (1920x1080) or 27-inch IPS displays with a 2560x1440 resolution. As configured, the 27-inch iMac reviewed here bolted through benchmarks with relative ease and posted especially solid figures in gaming tests, including a 3DMark 11 score of 3,068 in Windows 7 (via Boot Camp). Running Cinebench 11.5 in Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks also helped showcase the CPU and GPU combination. Storage benchmarks weren't nearly as impressive though, for iMacs based on standard spinning media. For real IO throughput, it's advisable to go with Apple's Flash storage options."
News at 11.
Seriously how is this news?
moox. for a new generation.
Let's let that dominate the discussion.
There's always some Apple fanboys (jo_ham, where you at?), who insist the machines are higher quality etc etc, but this is mainly nonsense.
They use almost the exact same components for PC's, and are ridiculous overpriced.
Not to mention the barriers to self-repair, amping up the cost over the lifetime of the machine.
The only value they have is in the aesthetics, or if you need OS X for some reason. Generally not worth the cost except to people who like to burn money.
The same people who buy a $100 burger in a restaurant that costs $12 to make, cause it costs $100.
If you ignore ACs because they are anonymous - you're an idiot.
Why are they so damn cheap they can't pop 2 x 8 GB in these things?
I spend a lot of my life sitting in front of my computer. Even if I pay $500 more for a nicer-looking machine, every five years, I'm paying $2 a week for nicer working conditions. I spend more than that for coffee.
I bought one - 27 inch, with all available upgrades except for the max memory. Memory is user replaceable, and it's cheaper to buy it elsewhere. Here are my impressions
Why don't support vesa mount?
Why no USB on keyboard?
Alas, nice package but more needed to be done to impress me...
Price up a PC based system including monitor with equivalent resolution, ssd caching, etc. Now find that spec in an all in one.
Moderation has modded down an 100% factual comment regarding Apple on Price. Ignoring that Apples PC continuing slump in sales because of this very fact. The bottom line is this iMac is a low resolution, small slow, and fast memory with the usual proprietary connection crap(Ironically lower specification than my old PC). The fact that it is non-upgradable as a justification is stupid; I personally plan throwing a high resolution 29" monitor or A Discrete graphics card or Another hard drive in...Depending on whether Linux gets android compatibility; or My games are struggling a little; Or I run out of space on my raid Array :). Ironically phone has equivalent resolution, ssd cashing etc.
Apple sell standard components in an attractive package at a massive mark up. If Monopolists like Intel and Microsoft weren't sitting on their 60% gross profits too it would look more obscene; Post PC...hardly just sick of being gouged on price. The bottom line is "Apple Still Costs A Fortune"
I spend a lot of my life sitting in front of my computer. Even if I pay $500 more for a nicer-looking machine, every five years, I'm paying $2 a week for nicer working conditions. I spend more than that for coffee.
No they are paring for an inferior hardware, that is upgradable so won't last five years...applying a salesman's hire purchase sell won't work especially when the competitors are $200 tablets. I drink tea :)
Are you one of those cheapskates ...
No its Apple that is the cheapskate.
It is an oversimplification to simply state that Apple uses many of the same components as PCs.
Apple *computers* use exactly the same hardware APU;Memory and Screen as I can get by walking into a high street the fact that they wrap it as an non-upgradeable electronics package to justify the price is insulting. Their selling point is the brand and the software...and they are worth nothing to me...and their sales are dropping.
Funny how my WIFI card i bought last month with Linux support on the box breaks every kernel upgrade
Lets get this right your prepared to argue the massive costs of $2000 for an iMac...but can't buy a $20 USB dongle that works. Ironically I have range of dongles that don't work on Vista+. Wireless under Linux is now second to none. Would you like me to give you a list :)
I have owned Macs since 2000. They are generally well engineer machines from hardware to the software. I have always like the Unix underpinnings (I get nostalgic). However, lately, I can no justify spending much on a Macintosh. I feel that Apple just seems to be laser focused on the casual computing market. The processors haven't really change in the last few years. The systems now skimp on the GPUs meaning gaming is essentially pointless (a console would be a better choice for the money). Right now, I feel that I can only use Macs for word processing and internet. Well, a MacMini can do that. Pretty soon, I will only need an iPAD. Apple should rethink marketing strategy.
You don't have to be smart to use a Mac, you just have to be smart enough to buy one
According to Apple's earnings release, Mac market share among PC sales has been increasing in 29 of the 30 last quarters.
http://investor.apple.com/results.cfm These are Apple Earning Releases *Show Me* The only information is the "The Company sold 4.6 million Macs, compared to 4.9 million in the year-ago quarter." down 7% That is as I said *another drop in sales* The only increase has come from Chrome/Android/Linux.
The fact that you are going back to a Apple makes lots of money, for a shareholder like yourself that might make sense but its shitty for customers.
And most people know that most of that slump is due to Apple selling iPads.
Hilariously...and I do mean this Hilariously especially as you have quotes the Apples earnings. iPAD sales have dropped over the last few quarters with *cough* inventory shenanigans, and in the latest results http://images.apple.com/pr/pdf/q4fy13datasum.pdf show sales down sequentially and flat year on year. In a market *exploding*...here are IDC's figures http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24253413 to show how far Apple is falling behind the rest of the market with its market share *plummeting* from 60% to 30% Market Share.
It just shows you most people don't know.
iPad sales are only one reason. Other reasons are that (1) older PCs are good enough for most people and (2) people hate Win 8.
iPad sales are down http://images.apple.com/pr/pdf/q4fy13datasum.pdf
If Older PC's are competition, you compete. by price or specification, and fails in both
Win 8 is not available for Apple...Chrome/Android/Linux continue to grow.
Apple's late 2013 edition iMacs are largely unchanged. STOP.
That's all that needs to be said.
iMac's are just laptop hardware in a desktop "all in one". Nothing to see here. The put in ridiculously slow hard drives for such a device and brag about a mobile graphics GPU that does the basics just fine but you'll never find it enough for high resolution gaming. I never much cared for a all in one. Once the hardware has become out dated or failed. You left with a monitor that still probably works fine. I see a bit of a trend where people are looking beyond Mac's because of price.
I think Apple has peaked and now more valued oriented products have attracted some consumers away from Apple. If your a hard core gamer, I hardly think your buying a iMac anyway and then buying a copy of Windows 7 to play mediocre 3D setting to get mediocre frame rates?
It's always interesting to hear of novel (to me) industrial processes Apple uses to make its product. Case in point: the article mentions Apple has switch to friction-stir welding.
The rebranding from PowerPC was done to Power, but the original RS/6000 architecture that ran in parallel was known by an all-caps POWER. So Power and POWER are different. Both are instruction set architectures, mostly overlapping, but w/ some instructions exclusive to one or the other.
are a buncha hamburgers. With a soggy dill pickle on the side.
What always frustrates me about the "they're overpriced" crowd, aside from the failure to consider the whole experience of the options for the actual user instead of their autistic "it if works for me, it must for him/her" selves, is how willing too many of these folks would be to spend a hell of a lot of extra money [unnecessarily] on a fancy car.
I keep expecting to see one of these guys sitting in a 2014 BMW outside an Apple Store telling the customers going in just how damn expensive those Macs are. To them I say, "Find something better to do."
Apple does design them. Apple still writes the specs; Apple decides what materials and parts are used.
Mac OS X tends to be a less problematic experience for the novice than Windows.
Your anecdote doesn't negate the value of his or anecdotes in general and I dare to suggest there are more like his than yours.
That all said, I agree with most of what you said about build quality. It does make more sense now to spend some on it than it did in years past. However I still consider myself ever so slightly closer to hard core than an average user, and I left the upgrade treadmill some time ago.
I've installed a few more than "dozens" in this year alone so your bluff has failed.
You are a lying sack of shit and you know it.
Get a life? LOL - it's called a "job" and since it's so quick and easy to set up linux nodes, servers and desktops I've done a lot of them over the last decade and a half instead of the windows weenie way of getting things installed for me.
The life experience I've got when I was getting a life has been plenty to show that your disgusting little fanboy slur on something that competes with the thing you are a fan of is a pile of lies and you are happy to cheapen yourself into utter worthlessness to do it.
So, I'd say get a real life instead of your stupid cheerleading.