Filed under: Rumors, iMac, Mac mini
New iMacs and Mac minis to use NVIDIA chips?
AppleInsider is reporting that the speculated refresh for the iMac and Mac minis lines might include NVIDIA graphics chips. This information was discovered while an InsanelyMac forum poster found some extension files included with the new MacBooks/MacBook Pros. The exentions were named, "iMac9,1" and "Macmini3,1."Currently shipping iMacs and Mac minis have the model numbers of "iMac 8,1" and "Macmini2,1," respectively. The kernel extension .plist file is part of the SMC (System Management Controller) and ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface), and made reference to "CFG_MCP79."
The MCP79 is a graphcis chipset offered by NVIDIA that is found on the current line MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. For more information, you can read the forum posting at InsanelyMac.
[via AppleInsider]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rowdehaj said 3:01PM on 12-19-2008
That would be awesome. It seems putting off buying an iMac was a very good idea indeed.
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vandil said 3:04PM on 12-19-2008
Now if only they will come with FireWire 400 ports (or any FireWire at all!)
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Simon Arch said 3:14PM on 12-19-2008
I'm not holding my breath on that one. Apple seems to think that home users are content using USB 2.0. At least the mini has a plethora of USB ports to work with. I'm sure the iMac will have Firewire though.
I would actually pay a little more for a mini with a Firewire port, Apple. And give it a proper video card while you're at it. I'd pay more for that, too.
Le Big Mac said 3:54PM on 12-19-2008
I guess it depends on Apple really things firewire is dying for home users, or whether they used that as an excuse to allow the design of the new macbooks. Or maybe it's a bit of both . . . clearly there's space on an iMac for a FW port or two. And they should put one on a mini, since that's a machine that a lot of folks seem to use as a mini server, plus it's harder to upgrade teh drive on.
John from Buffalo said 8:58AM on 2-25-2009
Vandl, as in Vander :)
Jash Sayani said 3:25PM on 12-19-2008
Definitely !!
But I am worried about the fake Nvidia chips in the Mbps with high lead !!
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Stephen.4 said 3:27PM on 12-19-2008
"The MCP79 is a graphcis chipset ..." Graphics typo. And cool, but i just bought my Unibody Macbook. :)
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dylanbrown said 3:28PM on 12-19-2008
I'm glad I waited, as I was going to go out and buy one a few weeks ago. It makes sense to go with NVIDIA completely, rather than both NVIDIA and ATI.
Should also be a nice graphics boost on the cheaper models of the iMac too!
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Paul Kierstead said 3:28PM on 12-19-2008
Am I missing something? iMacs are already available with nVidia and have Firewire, both 400 and 800.
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Ashwin said 4:18PM on 12-19-2008
The chipset is still provided by Intel and is switching to nVidia.
CrisisDog said 4:03PM on 12-19-2008
I hope they are making sure to go high-end and put a G9600M chip in these, not just the G9400M. If they went the less expensive route, the iMacs won't have any graphics performance improvement over the current Radeon HD2600. There would be some graphics improvement for the Mac Mini over the current Intel chipset, but I'd still have trouble justifying a purchase when my G5 can keep up with a G9400M using its 7800GS card.
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ZeroCorpse said 3:00PM on 12-20-2008
Speaking as a former owner of a 24" iMac with the 2600 Pro, and a current owner of an aluminum MacBook, I can say that the 9400M is a GREAT graphics chipset, and that it beats my former iMac in many ways.
I'm playing City of Heroes (Mac beta) on my MacBook and it's smooth, perfect, and has everything turned up high. On the Windows XP side, as of SP3 the MacBook is handling games like Oblivion with ease.
While a better chipset is certainly possible, I can't imagine anyone griping over the 9400M. It's one of the best moves Apple has made in a long time, and it was well worth the money I spent upgrading from a White Santa Rosa MacBook to the aluminum 2008 model.
Si said 5:44PM on 12-19-2008
I've been waiting for the announcement of nVidia GPUs across the entire Mac line since the release of the new MacBooks/Pros. I can't wait to see the new specs for the iMac and especially the Mini.
What I'm more interested in though is a new Mac Pro with full nVidia chipset and a decent graphics card as standard. I'll be ordering one as soon as they're announced (hopefully) in January.
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sleepcountry said 1:39AM on 12-20-2008
Having seen nvidia's sketchy history in building chipsets for PCs in this area, I'm extremely skeptical of the reliability of their offerings. Chipsets are very complex things, and from experience, I'd say Intel is the only player who can make a bulletproof product.
Fortunately, it is doubtful that nvidia would develop a chipset that supports the workstation-class Xeon processors on the Mac Pro.
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Carl Dobbins said 5:06AM on 12-21-2008
For a new mini connected to my 20in Apple display, a 2GHz or 2.4GHz chip, an eSATA port, 4GB RAM and a decent graphics device with a DVI connection while keeping firewire, superdrive, 10/100/1000 ethernet and four USB ports would make me spend money as long as it was not crippled functionally by some DRM. I'd even buy some more Apple stuff like an Extreme and Time Capsule but I want functionality. Disappointment with Apple's limiting designs turns me off upgrading or spending. I want a Super-mini.
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macgirl said 6:44PM on 12-21-2008
Little hope for Apple adding more poerfull graphics than the already in the MCP79 (aka 9400), as also for the firewire port. But I hope they put faster Core 2 processors.
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Timothy said 3:27AM on 12-22-2008
I won't buy a new iMac until we see a i7 processor and a desktop video chip. There is enough room in a 24" iMac for that and an accessible hard drive.
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