Apple's Core i5 / i7 27-inch iMacs now shipping to expectant owners
By Vladislav Savov 
posted Nov 10th 2009 7:53AM
posted Nov 10th 2009 7:53AM
Lovers of Snow Leopard, oversized IPS display panels, and Intel's very latest processors, your time for rejoicing has come. Apple has begun sending off shipping confirmations to customers who ordered up their slab of quad-core all-in-one nirvana in October, and the biggest and baddest iMacs should be arriving at their new homes imminently. To remind you, the reason for waiting on these units was the 2.66GHz Core i5 750 inside, which comes along with 4GB of RAM, a Radeon HD 4850, and a cool terabyte of storage. We're sure some of the eager new owners couldn't resist upgrading that spec to a 2.8GHz Core i7 860, which we can kind of see the sense in -- after all, an iMac is for life, not just for Christmas. That's how that saying goes, right?
Like or loath Apple, this is still a pretty great machine.
Upgradeable to 16 GB of RAM... Not something you see on the average desktop PC, that's for sure...
i challenge you to find an i7 mobo that cant upgrade to 16gb or more.
heffeque @ were have you bin all core i5 desktop systems support up to 16gb
4 x 4GB ddr3 ram cost around $ 800 - 1000 USD on a average desktop PC as you say and about 400 more on a Apple pc.
but i dont think most people would pay that much.
Andy @ The Core i7 Supports up to 24GB of DDr3 Ram
OMG were do they Come From i thought all if not most Engadget users should know this ...
@THEHAWK
They were obviously being sarcastic.
@heffeque
If you did your homework, which you obviously didn't, the latest and greatest Intel platforms support 16GB+++ worth of memory. Stop acting as if it's an exclusive feature on iMacs. :P If anything, Apple is so late to jump in the Core i5/i7 bandwagon.
I am no Apple fanboy, but man, always found iMacs to be sexy.
effeque.. noob...
@THEHAWKs: You're wrong. The Core i7 in the iMac is the i7-860, which is dual-channel (Lynnfield). It supports up to 16 GB of RAM. You're thinking of the triple-channel Core i7-9xx (Bloomfield) which supports up to 24 GB of RAM.
@THEHAWKs -
It's usually a good idea to buy the RAM 3rd party when purchasing a Mac from Apple - along with extra HD space - as it is cheaper 99% of the time than adding it to the order thru Apple.
But then you already knew this before bashing folks this morning - huh?
I meant the typical All-in-One computers. Obviously big bulky desktops can fit 16 GB and more.
Here's Dell's AiO: http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/desktops/desktop-xps-a2420/pd.aspx?refid=desktop-xps-a2420&s=dhs&cs=19
Here's HP's AiO: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/series_can.do;HHOJSID=LnZ2K5GCszW5twTb1wB4D7dGVQsMpQfHFyGClz8165NSrzrNswww!1796829287?storeName=computer_store&landing=desktops&a1=Category&v1=All-in-One%20PCs&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/desktops/All-in-One_PCs
Here's ASUS's: http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=3lDDGLp7Xa1NiCzy
None of them support 16 GB of RAM.
Mmmmmm I'd buy that if I had the money, of course Windows 7 and Ubuntu would go on there and I'd remove the Mac OS just so I wouldn't be completely gay. But only sort of gay. I wonder if all I had was Apple hardware if I would become a snob too? Eh, I'm not a millionaire so I wont be buying this thing anyways.
Great maching perhaps but NOT a great GAMING MACHINE
Apple still fails
STILL playing nfs carbon? :D
You guys are all missing the main shortcoming of this computer!!!
Even though it has a Corei7 CPU the motherboard still only supports DMI (10Gb/s) rather than implementing the only real advantage to Corei7 which is QPI (25.6Gb/s)
The current gen iMac is a serious letdown because Apple rushed it to market; If they'd waited until December/January to release them I'm pretty confident they'd have QPI and wouldn't be a waste of time!
athousandleaves:
This is the Core i7/860. It doesn't use QPI, as it doesn't have any fast devices to talk to that are off-CPU. This is because it doesn't do multi-chip multiprocessing, and the memory controller and PCIe controllers are on-chip.
In short, the 860 moves the entire north bridge on-CPU, and since QPI was only needed to talk to the north bridge, you don't need QPI to go super fast.
Read a review. This chip smokes my Core i7/920 at all tasks, it even stacks up on (non-overclocked) memory bandwidth, despite only having two channels of memory instead of 3.
@ why not...
So you'd rather waste your CPU cycles on something the North Bridge could be taking care of?
Man, if only i had the cash.
I hear you.
Man, if only LG could release this monitor so I could plug it to my ridiculous average Joe PC without having to pay a fortune for a toaster that wouldn't even let me change the video card or add a secondary HD....
LOL 1000s of $ and what pathetic specs. 4850?? Which bloody year are they living in?!
i5?! A damn castrated CPU after charging you your left testicle (pun intended)?
I dont think Kurian gets it... you're not just buying processors and ram, youre getting a package. My roomate has the 21.5" and it is awesome! The 27" with an i7 and that form factor... DAMN
nVidia's CEO has enough money to buy all those new iMac powered by ATI Graph........oh snap!
hahaha engadget taking the piss out of apple! Never thought id see the day.
Honestly though, with an i7, theres no compromise for the all in one form factor now, i hope hp can step it up with a touchscreen i7 rig like this.
Have you used a touchscreen all-in-one? I've always wondered wether or not it would actually come in use, considering your arms are likely to tire quickly...
One in the family room is great, you just leave skype / whatever and simple stuff like solitaire open, you forget abut the mouse completely. But not for like documents and stuff.
Hehe, welcome to 2009 Apple... I've been running Core i7 920 and 6GB RAM for ages now. Waiting for my Radeon HD 5850 which I ordered yesterday :P.
I bet yours fits into the screen like the apple one too!
I rep windows hard, but thats a very capable machine for the form factor.
How many ages exactly?
Same thought here, Apple used to be leading in development but since they switched to Intel they seem to lag more and more behind their competition if it comes to hardware. Such a shame that they are slow, consider it a bag of hurt of simply don´t give their users the option to use the best hardware that is actually avaible without giving up 12 ribs, 2 arms and a testicle.
correction JZ,
that would cost you $1960.00, so roughly half a black market kidney would be more correct.
It's not about the proccesor in the new iMacs... it's the IPS display and its 2560x1440 resolution thats really amazing. I bet the screen alone is bordering on the $1000 -$1200 price tag. Dell is rumored to release a monitor with the same 27" LG panel as the iMac (the U2711) and i bet it wont be very affordable. The 30" Dell 3008WFP (which has almost the same resolution) is $1700 and its not LED backlit.
So you probably have i7 on your desktop PC for a few months now, but it's not really what this iMac is all about. With the i5 / i7 processors and 4850 radeon you can have a very decent workstation for editing video / CAD / or other graphical intensive stuff which doesnt cost a fortune.
Well I can't speak for Alexis, but my i7 940 PC was delivered in November LAST year. Having said that the iMac looks a nice bit of kit, would never buy one in a million year, but looks nice. Heat dissipation issues would worry me in a form factor like that though.
You know what's funny about this? Nvidia's CEO was ragging about how awesome the best technology is used in Apple machines.
So aren't we all just a bit amused, that the high end iMacs running the i5 and i7 CPUs, in fact, use AMD (ATI 4850) video cards?
OH MY GOD! I JUST LOOKED AT THE SITE. ADD $1960.00 TO GET 16GB OF RAM.
W T F.
LOL
You can get 16GB for the new iMacs for $980 from OWC:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/DDR3_21.5_27
Apple makes it easy to install on your own.
Didn't everyone who really cares about this article already get an email about it?
this article is for the non-caring ones! (sarcasm)
engadget reports everything, even non-relevant ones (to you/everyone), its their job!
and no not all apple product buyers received info about this on their mail.
and about the product, NICE, but no thank you.
its not as portable as my gigabyte m912x touch netbook / hackintosh. (lolwd)
Lovely in so many ways bar one - no blu-ray drive. So silly to make such an expensive system with such a beautiful display... only to give it an optical drive that is a decade old. Apple need to bury their anti-blu-ray hatchet now.
@Gus I lol'd
I really don't get the love affair with bluray. Who want's to spend $30 on a movie? So they can watch it on their computer?? Makes no sense.
Why the hell is Need for Speed Carbon on the display? That's like 3 years old
That's the only game it can play.
That was the last game released for Mac OS X.
lol. welcome to 2009 apple users.
hi alexis ;)
You mean welcome to September 2009, 2 months ago? Magnificent troll.
Pretty sad that Apple still offers a standard package whereby the video card can't handle the display without overheating.
694 posts re: problem with 24in iMac from 2006: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1107864&tstart=0
Now the new ones have more hardware issues: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=808339
There is even a class-action lawsuit being filed over the 2006 defect, since Apple refuses to address it.
Cool Story Bro....
That thing is going to be running HOT
Really a fail and stupid spam, the spam is bad in all regards, I am pissed to see this spam.
An undoubtedly compromised Lynnfield which will likely overheat come next spring (ah - *that's* why they release in winter!) combined with last year's GPU which won't be able to drive the big-shiny-glare-laden-ass WLED (and therefore practically non-calibrateable) screen with any game worth a ****.
Nothing new for Apple, but talk about form over function - this is it.
Yeah - amazing. For a few hundred more you can have have a real matte 30-inch monitor with a proper Lynnfield desktop and a current GPU, and enough flexibility to leave your desktop practically almost as tidy.
The whole "glossy is shit / matte is better" issue is debatable. I've been to a few design studios where many of the hardcore graphic artists still use CRTs (which are glass coated). Thats because in a studio you can have a controlled environment and when that happens the glossy screen really shines. I personally dont like the matte screens due to their grain and the not-so-rich blacks.
The "few hundred more" you are talking about is in fact $1098:
as I am actually interested in buying a powerfull desktop + monitor this size, i went and configured a Dell XPS desktop with the same processor, 8GB Ram, same hard drive capacity, etc. Only the video card is different - the Dell has an nVidia GT220. Adding the most similar monitor from Dell (the 30" 3008WFP - which has roughly the same res as the iMac) the total cost went up to $3297. So i'm actually inclined to pay the Apple tax at "only" $2199.
@ Bogdan
CRTs used in graphics design have anti-glare coatings and do not produce the same level of reflection that glossy flat panels do. Please get you facts straight.
On an aside, I can't believe how many times I've heard people try to use this same tired argument... like they've forgotten what a CRT even looks like. They are not shiny. They have a finish closer to a matte LCD than a glossy.
I say this looking at my old Viewsonic G771, getting ready to be donated. Still works after almost 13 yrs, but I replaced it with a 24-inch matte LCD 4 years ago.
I don't care about your geekies stuff with pc, videocard, ages, or whatever hardcore stuff excite you.
that high-end imac would be a very pleasant computer for works and hobbies.
Just what I care. And if you don't understand the value apple brings, it's your loss.
-
and yeah, you can buy huge memory to ANOTHER shop and not pay a fortune to apple.
What? Lose time? I buy all of my parts at once (after I decide) and once they arrive in about 3 days, I have it assembled in a couple of hours, which is hardly losing time. Keeping up with the hardware is just as important as the software, if not more important. I lose more time going to the grocery store than I do building a computer. :P
high-end mac? i thought the i5 was the weakest next generation intel cpu to date?
so far were not feeling any loss though, i7xtrmftw.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i5 750 2.66ghz no hyperthreading
i7 860 2.80ghz with hyperthreading
i7 870 2.93ghz with hyperthreading
i7 920 2.66ghz with hyperthreading
i7 950 3.06ghz with hyperthreading
i7 975 3.33ghz with hyperthreading
My i7 isn't shipping yet... I guess that could be because I upgraded to 8 GB of RAM.
Same config and I'm still waiting too (i7 + 4x2GB)
Why did you buy your RAM through Apple?
Buying Apple RAM is easy, simple as that. It was a mere $200 for the bump from 2x2Gb to 4x2GB. I chose that over the hassle of buying and installing 3rd party. When I'm ready for 16GB I'll buy some 3rd party 4GB DIMMs that have come down in price.
Got an email late last night that my i7 iMac had shipped. Woohoo !
Mine was just delivered!!!
4 days earlier than Apple estimated and 1 day earlier than FedEx estimated, woohoo!!!
I'm interested in knowing what motherboard apple uses for this baby, particularly with the i7 920 processor. I might might wanna make a hackintosh, and i dont want Apple to lock me out.
Apple engineers their own motherboards. Not sure what combination of chip sets they install in them though.
No Macs use S1366 CPUs such as the 920, its using the 860 S1156 chip
Absolute overkill! Dell and BestBuy still sell Pentium Dual Core PCs, and Apple is trying to sell Core i5 and i7 to home users? I think Apple would sell more if they offered more average-spec hardware for more mainstream prices.
The Core 2 series is as dead as a doornail; that's why Apple's moving away from it.
You can also buy essentially the same iMac with 3 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors.
Three of the four pre-configured iMacs use Core 2 Duo chipsets. Only the high-end version offers the i5 with an optional i7 upgrade.
Overkill?? I thought all the mac bashers were clamoring for better specs & features. I can guarantee that these bad boys are going to sell like hotcakes. Just take a look at one of these in an Apple store and tell me that it's not a thing of beauty. I, for one, am very impressed with the price, and that's become less common for me and mac products.
"overkill"
typical re_tard comment from the Apple haters.
the core i7 8xx was officially launched in sep 2009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_i7
Why cant they offer a Radeon 5850 with the Core i7/i5 ?? I know 4850 is pretty good on its own but I expect premium GPUs to go with top end CPUs.... Im saving up for the 27 incher with i5 right now:)
I am a pretty big mac fan, but I wanted to be able to play more games with the graphics turned up pretty high (without spending an arm and a leg). Sadly, because Apple does not offer anything "good" video cards (without going to the crazy expensive Mac Pro), so I built a computer. $1300 got me Core i7 920, Dark Knight heat sink, 6gb Corsair XMS, Nvidia GTX 260, Antec case, 750 watt Corsair PSU, 640gb WD Black series HDD, Sony DVD burner, and Windows 7.
Yes, I know it is not all integrated and did not include a monitor so it's not "apples to apples", but I really think Apple is missing out on a segment of the population that want an upgradable computer that does not cost over $2,500.
in some cases the 4850 is actually faster than the GTX260 - when you turn on AA/AF - http://www.techspot.com/review/109-geforce-gtx-260-280-versus-radeon-4850-4870/page6.html If you play just by the benchmark numbers, I'm sure you'll see the 260 is better in most other areas/games, but for me I'll settle for a bit less in gfx power, and a bit more in everything else (e.g. small gfx compromise) for the whole i7 iMac package.
@ Chris
IIRC, I have think Apple "throttles" the video cards in iMac to keep heat down, therefore the 4850 in that mac may not perform like the one that was benchmarked.
But the real question is why not use the 5850 cards??? They use less power, generate less heat, and are faster. I just think they missed the mark using a year old card, when the new ones would make ALOT more sense in a setup like this.
I know what you mean. That graphics card is what prevents me from getting one of these. I'm guessing it's because the imac uses a mobile gpu and the mobile gpu's from the 5xxx series are not ready yet.
This would probably be a pretty good gaming computer when upgraded with the i7, but the things is to utilize that awesome resolution, that 4850 would be struggling and in a years time will probably be unable to without everything on low. I think this Imac is actually a good value with that awesome display and pretty good specs, but I still can't do it with that 4850. :(
" think Apple "throttles" the video cards in iMac to keep heat down" ---- Well that sucks and is a bummer. I don't play many games, but on my current iMac 24 3ghz core duo, L4D will play okay at 1 notch lower resolution. I can only guess whey they don't use up to date gfx chips/cards --- I think the political answer from them would be "seasoned drivers" but we all know that is BS. I'll be testing out the new one soon enough (as soon as they finally ship it -- ordered on 29OCT)
I've got mine last week on Thursday. Pretty cool machine, except for the lack of Bootcamp drivers for Vista x64, so I cannot use the wireless keyboard or the Mighty Mouse.
If only I could replace my 4y.o. G5 20" with this. I'd put Tiger on it though. Tiger rocks.
I dunno man. As most PC gamers know, the 4850 is known for getting extremely hot without proper cooling and a decent heatsink, sometimes 80c+. Fitting it into such a small package kinda worries me. Of course I wouldn't purchase this product, but if apple can figure it out, good for them.
1. will it run crysis smoothly even with the necessary bootcamp software? very unlikely
2. will i be able to take full advantage of the hardware with current Apple OSX limitations, lack of software, and support for said hardware? No
3. huge game and software library? No
4. is it only a decent machine with windows installed? yes
5. over priced? yes
6. case poorly designed for gaming ( low to non-existent cfm)? Yes
7. possible overheating issues? Yes
8. same specs on a windows based machine and at a lower price? or spend the same amount and get something that crushes this? Yes
Solution to all of these questions?
Newegg + Win 7
There is a reason why Microsoft IS the computer market.
>1. will it run crysis smoothly even with the necessary bootcamp software? very unlikely
WHAT? Crysis again ?! now? it's old.
>2. will i be able to take full advantage of the hardware with current Apple OSX limitations,
>lack of software, and support for said hardware? No
lies.
and os x has all it needs to take "full advantage" of these multi-core and big gpu and all the memory.
I use some virtualisation software on a macpro and yes, it uses aAAAaall the twelve gigabytes of ram in it
>6. case poorly designed for gaming ( low to non-existent cfm)? Yes
I do not want to game on it.
>7. possible overheating issues? Yes
WTF?!
any computer is hot, with the same logic I say I stop to buy ANY PC because they can all "possibly" have overheating issues. Stop buying stuff.
>There is a reason why Microsoft IS the computer market.
microsoft is not the market, microsoft is not making computers
speak about hp, dell, nc, acer...
the main point is : I do not want to buy a pc or to use it for games. I would like a clean, efficient desktop for works (networks, coding, and so on) and hobbies (okay maybe a game sometimes but I'm not a gamerz for se, but mostly, photos, musics, internet, reading, and so on).
I don't care if some crappy box are less expensive, I do not want to hassle with windows, crappy manufacturers, and so on. I have to pay ? I can pay.
I don't care about the latest crysis
I don't care if you cannot understand me. Yes I have my own rational reason. yes I understand your point : there is not my world. I don't care about games.
You don't have to be concerned by that computer if it's not what you need.
Not everyone wants a gaming rig. This is not a machine aimed at the gaming population. It is geared toward people who don't want to build their own machine, and who don't need blistering speed. Web browsing, MS Office tasks, photo/video/music storage and playback -- all in a singular enclosure.
Apple doesn't want every customer; there is a specific target audience and they make that audience very happy. Those who don't fit into that group don't need to feel offended or put off by the lack of products geared toward them. No one is forcing you to buy one machine over another -- just choose what works for you.
9. Will Apple sell many of these, and continue to still be the highest profit margin computer maker? Yes.
Back to your parent's basement you ignorant, adolescent troll, your gaming rig & non existent social life awaits you. Not all computers are glorified toys, and Windows 7 is not superior.
Overpriced? As many others have said, even a comparable machine that has an external monitor will be more expensive. There is no comparable monitor out there. The only that's close (the 30" Dell) is still expensive, has around the same resolution, but isn't LED backlit. The entry-level 27" is a bargain by any standard, given the quality of the display.
Don't believe me? Go build a computer with similar specs and tack on a monitor like that. It will probably cost you around $3500.
My roommate and I just built a i7 950, 12gigs of ddr3 1600, nvidia 295 SLI (yes he even got the second one and put it in sli, but that didn't appear to speed things up), 30" Dell monitor, 1000W power supply, and a kick-ass silver stone case with 3 huge fans at the bottom, and yes, Windows 7 Pro. Installs Steam, and L4D plays full resolution, everything high or very high, even 16xAA - perfect even on a 30" monitor.... installs Crysis and has to bring everything down a notch for it to run smoothly, but most of the boss scenes (especially the last one on the carrier) got very jittery and not smooth at all. Summary of my novel: nothing will play Crysis perfectly.
This have been available some how, a guy on YouTube posted an unboxing, and went on the about this Mac right after booting, and it was Core i5...? Maybe some were already available in store?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsmeq6aslTY
Charlie -
PS, this isn't spam, that is not my youtube account.
nice information ... thumbs up !!!
thanks,
Deny
perfectlyhomerugs.com
Putting all of those components into the display is just fail waiting to happen, not matter who makes it. I have never bought a piece of electronics that had combos of anything because I've seen too many of them fail and you usually have to do without the entire thing while its being repaired. I'll buy my components separately, thanks. I would rather have hours of downtime instead of days/weeks.
Troll, pure and simple. However, I guess if you were not trolling and were really honest, you'd also be stating the same for NASA, I mean they use all-in-ones too, they're called Thinkpads. But I guess you're far smarter than those guys huh?
Chris, nope, not trolling at all. Just making a point of what I have seen, as I stated before. I'm well aware laptops and thinkpads can fail also, but you can also swap the drive from those and still use it while it's being repaired. Most people I know, unlike us, only own a desktop system, so they would be without the entire until it came back from being repaired. You try to open it, you void the warranty, as per the norm. If I had been trolling, I would have said Apple in particular, but I didn't, I said all-in-ones. The last time I checked, quite a few companies make those. It helps when you actually read the comment smart guy.
" I'll buy my components separately, thanks. I would rather have hours of downtime instead of days/weeks."
when I was younger, I learned a LOT making my own computer with separate components and my custom compiled linux.
Now, I don't care at all. I just want one tool, to unbox it, to plug it and Just Works(tm). And I want ONE enterprise to deal with it, no dell+microsoft or no acer+microsoft or whatever the little computer shop+whatever creative+nvidia+microsoft
it's just over. you are young, it's not my time anymore, I don't care.
in one package I have an efficient computer, well conceived, a great Unix, I can use all my old linux/unix software, I can use all great mac applications, I can still code in cocoa or C, and make my own websites and make works for my enterprise.
Why will you want to stil lose time making a computer? Software is more interesting.
Really? Mine still says 'Not Yet Shipped', unless it's only american iMacs that are shipping?
Oh but where the nvida graphics gosh nvidia's ceo is going to be very unhappy then again he did say apple know best they only put the best in there computers does that make nvidia sub-par under their standards :O well he did say they know best so i guess it has his blessings
Lol, Core i5/i7 rig with ATI HD 4850 GFX Card and 24/27"monitor only to be playing NFS: Carbon as indicated by screenshot...lol lmao..
nice display. i guess the i7 will become very standard in the months to come but you cant beat this 27" monster. oh wait, did you know you can't use HDMI to this monitor. so if you wanna hook up ur vudoo or xbox you have to buy an adapter...too bad for the form factor
who cares, and I'm buying one of these iMacs! Besides, MDP is a far superior standard than HDMI, which is just a repackaged DVI cable anyway.
HDMI is so 90's - get with the 2010s - use mini display port and catch up!
i will buy one down the track, i mean once apple fix the overheating, freezing and everything else that will be wrong with these imacs