Should I get a new Mac now or wait for the next Gen?

ozboybrian

I want to get a new iMac, but I hear rumours of a new one coming out this year.

It's going to be 100% GS purposed and for nothing else. (Well that's the intension lol.)

Would love to hear what you all think/know!

Cheers

patapple

Wait october

The_Gamesalad_Guru

Apple has already done an iMac update. They added quad core to all models. They are doing a major update to the iMacs and will be release next year. There will be no October iMacs this year. I know myself I 'm waiting for the major update to buy mine.

LumpApps

I just got the 21.5 inch for 999 euro.
It's an awesome machine for that price. I have an external display attached. it has a great amd graphic card.
So in my opinion yes, you can buy one now.

ozboybrian

Thanks for the advice everyone!

ultima

depends on how much money you want to make and how much time you want to dedicate.. a 1-2 month wait is a lot of development time lost if you ask me. any mac in the apple store will handle gamesalad just fine.

RP

Yeah, typically when we see such a delay in the iMac bumps, it means an overhaul to the productline is coming. Typically we would see something by fall, but the word is that we may be looking at next year for the new iMacs. Note that this is Apple's fist entry into fall without Steve at the helm, so the announcement /launch dates will potentially be out of the norm).

I need a new iMac myself, but the last small update was not enough to warrant the purcahase of a new Machine. The 2 +year old GPUs alone kill the sale for me (sure they will work fine [confined to open gl], just not keen paying top dollar for old tech). Hopefully the Nvidia line will extend out onto the iMacs once again along with new dsiplays and other cool bells and wistles.

lycettebros

I think waiting for Retina based models is a good move. If you are developing for retina iOS platforms you need a Retina based Mac. (well you do not NEED it but it is a new standard)

jtoelle

Good information, thanks

ozboybrian

Great points... See I was thinking of getting one with High Ram incase I use Music, Video & Image editing Software along side GS and of course Skype.
I also have to wait if I get more ram cause they have to have it built.

jonmulcahy

I'd wait a few more weeks. There is a rumored iMac release coming out this fall, and new Mac pros early next year, and possible 13' retina MacBooks this fall as well.

The_Gamesalad_Guru

The rumor for iMacs is for 2013 if you check Apple's site you will see they already released iMacs all now have quad core. There is no fall release for iMacs.

jonmulcahy

Yea, those were just speed bumps, when people got. Upset that the Mac pros didn't get any love apple responded that they were working on something new. That led to the rumors that iMacs would be getting updated this fall:

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/359532/20120704/apple-imac-release-october-2012-retina-rumors.htm

It is a rumor, but I think it holds some weight.

tenrdrmer

I would wait till fall and see what's coming. Then decide if you want to buy a discounted older model or the new latest and greatest. I would imagine though a retina iMac is gonna be $3000 min. I personally won't be going toa retina Mac until they make it reasonably priced.

Retina didn't bump iPhone or iPad prices at all. Why should it have doubled and trippled the Mac prices? Ridiculous if you ask me. And this BS about retina Mac is the new standard to develop on for retina iOS is just that BS. Your a fool if you buy into that

ozboybrian

lol very strong point @tenrdrmer - the Retina stuff doesn't really interest me at all to be honest.

Braydon_SFX

Your a fool if you buy into that

...Oops.... Just kidding.

RP

Soo true! Selling folks on the necessitation of a retina display for production purposes. Hee hee!

LumpApps

Retina is in fact a nice trick to be able to give you a reason to buy a faster Mac with a bigger hard drive. You will need it if you make graphics for retina macs. It doubles the size of your graphic files.

lycettebros

Retina may not be necessary but it will make life easier for some developers.
I am a designer and if the environment I design in is changing to more detail in imagery and also screen presentation and resolution then I have no choice but to stay up to date.

It is a personal choice as always and often a monetary one. Those arguments usually win out.

It is coming whatever people may say or not. By the middle of next year that is what most people will be using IMO.

CobraBlade

I wouldn't worry too much about how much RAM your iMac comes with as that is the one thing you can upgrade on a iMac. But yeah, as some others have said you might as well get one now. There is a lot of time between now and when the new iMacs will be out and you could have done a lot on your game(s) between now and then.

johnkostrzewski

Here's the deal, if you check out the "buyer's guide" (http://buyersguide.macrumors.com) they usually release the iMac every 273 days (roughly) and now they are on 493 days since the last update. They are due for a new iMac, but they are also due for a lot of other updated products as well. Apple doesn't want to release a lot of product on their consumers at once because it will mess up their advertising (they can't specifically focus on one product to push on consumers). That being said, they will announce at their next event the new iPhone and iOS 6, then after that they MIGHT start to announce new products shortly after spread out over time to try get them in before the ever so important Christmas shopping season. However, rumor has it they may not even get updated until early next year. All this I have written has been based off of rumors, websites and my conversations with certain people. Only Apple truly knows when this will happen.

If you can hold off and use your current set up for a few months, do it. If you're just looking to upgrade RAM, save yourself money and go to a website like Crucial.com, buy your own and install it. It's easy and a lot cheaper. If you absolutely can't wait then I would say buy a refurbished model or find one that's used (from somebody that you know you can trust).

I would wait.

ozboybrian

Everyone makes some Fabletastic points, I agree with the Pros and Cons of getting one now and/or later.

However, I think I might get one this weekend. I've been very slack lately and I think getting a $2,500 Mac might just push me a bit more! And if not, then it's my own fault.

Thanks everyone! But feel free to leave anymore input, I haven't gotten it yet!

Since i'm blind (figuratively speaking) I wanted the 27" but can get better features on a smaller screen in terms of budget so might to that.

I considered the Mac Air, but probs will stick with a new Desktop.

RP

I hear ya @oxboybrian I've been sitting on the fence knowing that something is just right around the corner while my production machine is coughing and sputtering. It's a hard call to make but unless there was going to be a major overhaul to the iMac hardware (primarily the CPU and logic board layout and features) I would not sweat it. The screen resolution and videocards currently available are perfectly viable for the next few years.

ozboybrian

@RP - Thanks mate.

I got a new 27" i15. I would of got the i7 but I don't want to wait 3 weeks for it.
Slightly regretful however lol. But It's nice having a big screen and i'm sure it's more than enough to run all the latest stuff.

I got it updated to 16 gig ram though, cause they could do that in store. I wish I could update it to a i7 later. As I hear the i7s are amazing.

It's really nice starting fresh though, my macbook was my first Apple computer and I just filled it with Junk. I'm going to respect this machine a heck of a lot more than my last one that I took everywhere with me lol.

Photics

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com

blorsch

I think wait.