The 2017 iteration of the iMac is expected to hit the store shelves sooner rather than later. The latest buzz surrounding Apple's highly anticipated all-in-one desktop computer suggests AMD will be teaming up with the Cupertino-based tech firm in a bid to provide its processor and graphics solution.

Although not officially confirmed, this move perfectly aligns with Apple's current 'energy economy with maximum performance' strategy. While the AMD Ryzen is known for offering unparalleled performance-per-watt value, the Polaris 10 GPU, on the other hand, is devised to lower consumption and waste heat and at the same time, pave the way for VR (virtual reality) capabilities for the iMac 2017.

Last year, a Best Buy posting allegedly spilled the beans about the aces Apple has up its sleeve for its new iMac 2017. The said post hinted at a 27-inch iMac packed with Intel's latest seventh-generation Core i7-7700K processors. Aside from that, the listing claimed that Apple's long overdue iMac 2017 would pack 32GB of RAM with 2TB Fusion Drive. According to the listing, those looking to get their hands on the new iMac will have to shell out $3,199.99.

Despite the lack of an official confirmation and the possibility of this being a mere placeholder, the Best Buy post ended up adding more fuel to the already burning rumors about iMac 2017's imminent launch. Moreover, this also indicated that the new iMac will be powered by Intel's latest Kaby Lake chip. All this seemed to make perfect sense until the advent of Ryzen 7 processor chips.

Apple Switching Over To AMD For iMac 2017

Apparently, Apple's decision to oust Intel in favor of AMD is based on determinants such as benchmark scores or multi-threaded performance. Moreover, Apple has deviated its focus more on energy economy than performance; an approach that fits AMD chips to a tee, according to Architosh. The website alludes to AMD Ryzen as "Apple-esque."

The reports point out that contrary to the 1800X and 1700X, which packs identical 95 watts TDP (thermal design points), the i7 boasts a 140 watts TDP. That could lead to more than a considerable 30 percent savings as far as power consumption is concerned. Also, the top tier AMD chip comes bearing an economical price tag of $499 as compared to the steep $1,089 price tag the Intel chip carries.

In addition to beefing up the iMac 2017 with an array of awe-inspiring features, the AMD Ryzen technology has a lot more to offer. Ryzen employs the 14nm FinFET technology comprising more transistors in a single core along with the Neural Net forecast that facilitates forecasting instructions in order to expedite processing. It also comes with the Smart Prefetch that notifies about future locations of data and stores it in a cache. In fact, some sources go as far as claiming that AMD tailor made its Zen architecture taking Apple's requirement into consideration.

In the case that Apple goes for Intel's Kaby Lake processors for its iMac 2017, the company will still use AMD's graphics chips for the highly anticipated desktop computer. Multiple sources attribute this to an existing contract between Apple and AMD, which was signed in Oct. 2016.

The said contract involves a couple of AMD's Polaris graphics cards -- the Radeon Polaris 10 and the Radeon Polaris 1. The iMac 2017 and the company's upcoming desktop and laptop computers are likely to use either one of the aforesaid graphics chips.

iMac 2017 Specifications

The iMac 2017 is expected to feature a 27-inch, 5K display, just like the current generation iMac, according to PC Advisor.

 Although existing iMacs are incapable of supporting VR, things are likely to change in near future with the arrival of Pro version of the iMac. It can be recalled that during a recent internal employee network session, Apple's chief executive Tim Cook indicated that the company has "great desktops" in its roadmap, pointing out that the iMac 5K has the best Retina display in the world.

Cook further added that nobody needs to worry about the future of Apple desktops, thus making the seemingly long wait for the iMac 2017 even more dramatic.