HardMac has unearthed some information regarding a possible iMac and Mac Mini update this Tuesday.
While the specifications are a little thin (no mention of a GPU) I have a feeling that the iMacs may be using NVIDIA’s new GTS 250 card that’ll be announced today at CeBit in Germany.
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“The GeForce GTS 250 is an update to the highly popular GeForce 9800 GTX+ GPU. It offers the highest performance and richest feature set of any GPU at the $149 price point. The GeForce GTS 250 appeals to today’s value conscious gamers who desire a GPU with maximum performance per dollar, and features that guarantee the best gaming experience when new games are released.”
There is some concern that NVIDIA are trying to rehash the 9800GTX+ with a new name, confusing customers or leading them to believe the card is based on the new range of Series 200 cards.
NVIDIA explained that the release of the GTS 250 was to streamline the perhaps confusing range of GPUs currently on offer and also a result of the new features of the card, namely a larger frame buffer (1GB), reduced board size and lower power requirements.
The GTS 250 is a competitor to the HD4850 and NVIDIA claim that their card is a faster and cheaper alternative, with support for CUDA, PhysX, SLI and of course, 3D vision.
As for the card appearing in the latest iteration of the iMac, that’s a guess on my part. The GTS 250 is a brand new card and Apple can market it as such. With a smaller size and lower power requirements, it’s size could be a factor in the choice for the iMac.
Let’s hope that Apple don’t choose the new dedicated mobile chips from NVIDIA for the iMac and choose a high performing, desktop card.
UPDATE: Bit Tech has an interesting article on the GTS 250.
