Published in News

New iMac 27 has 5120x2880 panel and AMD graphics

by on01 October 2014



Haswell refresh too

It's no surprise that Apple plans to refresh its iMac range of computers this time of the year and since Intel Broadwell is not available in U-series flavor that can fit the iMac format, the refreshed models will get Haswell refresh processors.

This is not a huge leap forward from the current Haswell driven processors, but the 27 inch iMac will get a 5120x2880 5K screen and new AMD graphics. 

Current generation iMac 27-inch computers start at $1,790 and come with a 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5. Nvidia GeForce GT 755M with 1GB or 2 GB of video memory deliver the eye candy. The more expensive iMac SKUs currently feature GeForce GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5 graphics.

5120x2880 boasts 14.7 megapixels per frame


With a 5120x2880 5K screen you have to render 14,745,600 pixels which is significantly more than 8,294,400 pixels on a 3840x2160 UHD panel and you need faster graphics. Nvidia's Kepler architecture based GeForce GT 755M did a good job for the current generation and 2560x1440 panels, but it will reportedly be swapped for AMD graphics. 

iMac

The new 5K iMac should come with a Haswell refresh Core i7 4790K with a 4GHz Turbo clock and you can bet that Intel is working on a Broadwell / Skylake version for 2015, as these CPUs bring less power consumption and faster performance at the same time.


Important design win for AMD


The 21-inch models will apparently stick with 1920x1080 panels and they currently use Intel HD 5000, Iris Pro or Geforce GT 750M graphics. We wonder if we will see a GPU change in 21-inch Macs as well.

The 27-inch 5K design win will be important for AMD, as the company gained a lot of positive coverage from its Mac Pro design win and apparently there will be more AMD graphics in Apple products, beyond the professional segment.

The new 27-inch iMacs are expected this fall running OSX Yosemite.

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Read more about: