Switching to Apple
Hi,
My wife and I are considering switching to a Mac (having lived with Windows and Linux).
My impression is that a Mac has everything a consumer needs out of the box, the hardware and software are developed by the same company and the various software packages offer good (if not perfect) integration between each other. The decision to go to a Mac is mostly based on the very positive experience I have had with my 1st Gen iPhone.
We will be mostly using it to manage and perform basic edits of photos in iPhoto '09, manage music in iTunes, convert video for use on iPhone/PS3 using QT Pro, create documents in Pages '09 and keep track of finances in Numbers '09. In future we plan to manage and perform basic edits of hi-def video in iMovie '09+ and record and collaborate on music projects with my band using GarageBand '09+.
For this, we are opting for an iMac and at present, we are considering the 2.66GHz model. We would ideally like the Macbook Pro, but we can't justify the £400-£500 premium for portability and a battery.
I have read some recent rumours of a possible hardware refresh of the range that might include Quad-Core processors. I have a few questions:
1) If we bought a Dual-Core (DC) iMac now, would we be able to upgrade to a Quad-Core (QC) chip at a later date? Either DIY or at an Apple store?
2) I have read that OpenCL (in Snow Leopard) will allow developers to utilise the additional processing power of the nVidia GPUs for general processing tasks. Does this also apply to the ATI GPUs in current-gen iMacs?
3) When Apple refresh their hardware, is there usually a price hike? In other words, if a DC iMac currently costs £1000, is it reasonable to expect that a QC iMac would be the same price when it's released?
4) How 'well' does the 2.66GHz iMac currently perform the tasks that I've mentioned above? (Specifically the video editing and conversion tasks). I don't mind leaving the iMac to convert/import/export video projects over night etc. but I'd like the interface to be quick and responsive when I'm being 'creative'.
5) When Grand Central is released with Snow Leopard, should I expect an immediate improvement in performance on the dual-core CPU/ATI GPU architecture?
6) What about if the architecture was refreshed to quad-core CPU/nVidia GPU?
Just doing my research and want to gauge the opinion of present Apple users on the above issues.
Many thanks,
Glyn
Hi GlynC:
Welcome to Apple discussions.
You will get lots of feedback here - this is the best on-line community anywhere. One caution, a lot of people are like me - Apple through and through. I used both Apple and Windows based computing when I was in the work-a-day world. When I spent my own money, I have opted for Apple for about 15 years and have no regrets.
Now to your questions:
1) If we bought a Dual-Core (DC) iMac now, would we be able to upgrade to a Quad-Core (QC) chip at a later date? Either DIY or at an Apple store? +Speculation, as note below, on future Apple products, is not permitted under the terms of use of these forums.+
2) I have read that OpenCL (in Snow Leopard) will allow developers to utilise the additional processing power of the nVidia GPUs for general processing tasks. Does this also apply to the ATI GPUs in current-gen iMacs? +I do not know - I do not write code.+
3) When Apple refresh their hardware, is there usually a price hike? In other words, if a DC iMac currently costs £1000, is it reasonable to expect that a QC iMac would be the same price when it's released? +At the risk of sounding legalistic, speculating on future Apple plans is strictly against the terms of use of these forums. You can look at history and Apple, like most technology developers, has delivered more capability as new products are released (at prices similar to previous generation products).+
4) How 'well' does the 2.66GHz iMac currently perform the tasks that I've mentioned above? (Specifically the video editing and conversion tasks). I don't mind leaving the iMac to convert/import/export video projects over night etc. but I'd like the interface to be quick and responsive when I'm being 'creative'. +At the risk of using a platitude, 'performance' is in the eyes of the beholder. I have two iMacs, an older G5 and this one - with an Intel-based 2.4 Ghz processor. Both are quite fast enough for my uses, although the newer one is substantially faster when doing comparable computing. I use iPhoto, iDVD, and iMovie a bit - not much.+
5) When Grand Central is released with Snow Leopard, should I expect an immediate improvement in performance on the dual-core CPU/ATI GPU architecture? +See my comment about speculation above. Incidentally, if I did speculate, the post would be removed by a host.+
6) What about if the architecture was refreshed to quad-core CPU/nVidia GPU? Ditto.
Barry
P.S. I am sorry I could not address your questions about future Apple plans (even if I have an opinion). There are other web sites that engage in that sort of speculation. However, Apple is notoriously close-hold on future plans so I take any speculation about Apple plans with a grain of salt.
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http://www.macupdate.com/macintel.php
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