Ted Todorov

Re: New iMac Set for Tuesday Unveiling?

Exactly correct -- these drives won't appear on a consumer machine before the Pro machines. At any rate, right now Apple has joined Criterion in sitting out the format war. I doubt they will be in any hurry until either the war ends or combo drives (BD/HD) become ubiquitous. In any event, I don't think that ANY of the HiDeff drives are available in a slim enough format to fit in anything other than a MacPro -- and at this point Mac owners that need one can easily get an external Firewire version.

Hold on tightly, let go lightly.

Carlo Medina

Re: New iMac Set for Tuesday Unveiling?

I don't know many laptops with a 512MB video card, so in that sense you're probably right. But I'd wager it won't beat that many 512MB desktop video cards.

Don't forget that the iMacs use the mobile Intel chipsets and mobile ATI/nVidia solutions. They aren't using the desktop chipsets and standalone video cards in anything but the Pro. The iMacs are essentially upright, non-mobile Macbook Pros with a 20"-24" screen.

Craig S

Re: New iMac Set for Tuesday Unveiling?

I just got back from the Apple Store and checking out the new iMacs. My initial impressions:

• They're very attractive machines in person. Very sleek. The thinness of the 20" model in particular is impressive.
• The screen is REALLY glossy!! OK, part of it is the lighting in the Apple Store (the MacBook Pros look much more reflective than mine is). But it's gong to be a tough sell to folks who are sensitive to it. I suspect the first rev of this model will have to include a matte option.
• The iSight camera is nearly invisible behind the black border. There are reports that later model Macs with built-in iSights have an increased resolution (from .3 megapixels to 1.3). I fired up Photo Booth and the camera image did look sharper than my older Macs.
• Other than that I think the screen looks great. I had read some complaints, but I had no problems with it.
• I like the new keyboard. Frankly, it's a lot easier to type on than its predecessor, which I find a bit stiff. I do wonder about the ergonomic repercussions of it being so much lower than most keyboards.
• The machine is nice & snappy. No performance issues that I can see.

Overall, it's a beautiful machine. Like most of Apple's recent products, it just exudes a sense of style you don't get from many other consumer electronics products. Another winner for Jobs & co.!

Garrett Lundy

Re: New iMac Set for Tuesday Unveiling?

Starcraft 2 is due out soon. I'd really hate to buy a new Mac and not be able to run it properly.

"Did you know that more people are murdered at 92 degrees Fahrenheit than any other temperature? I read an article once. Lower temperatures, people are easy-going, over 92 and it's too hot to move, but just 92, people get irritable."

Carlo Medina

Re: New iMac Set for Tuesday Unveiling?

Garrett, if gaming is your high priority, you should know it is not the Mac's strength, especially the iMac which runs basically the Macbook Pro hardware (same mobile Intel C2D chip, Santa Rosa chipset, mobile nVidia or ATI video solution, PC5300 (DDR667) 200-pin DIMMs) with a faster hard drive. So if you think the MBP can run Starcraft 2 (and I'm not familiar with the game so I don't know how graphics intensive it is (as opposed to say a first-person shooter). Perhaps that hardware will be powerful enough.

If you want a Mac and be able to game fairly well, I think you'd have to go with a Mac Pro with a CTO (custom to order) graphics card, the ATI x1900 XT 512MB, as the standard nVidia GeForce 7300 isn't a great gaming card.

If gaming is really important to you (especially high quality/high framerate/graphics intensive 3D gaming), I'd move away from a Mac. Macs can perform well in 2D and light 3D games, but anything highly 3D intensive you should consider staying with a WIntel solution.

Garrett Lundy

Re: New iMac Set for Tuesday Unveiling?

I've been Mac for years and the games I do play have run fairly well (Starcraft, Fallout, Neverwinter Nights) its only been since WOW that I've really been left in the dust. Of course we don't know what Blizzard's new games will need and I guess I'm just concerned because PC land has 512, 1g, and 2g videocards now.

"Did you know that more people are murdered at 92 degrees Fahrenheit than any other temperature? I read an article once. Lower temperatures, people are easy-going, over 92 and it's too hot to move, but just 92, people get irritable."

Adam Lenhardt

Re: New iMac Set for Tuesday Unveiling?

Kind of looks like a Mac Pro, as set up by a slob.