Apple iMac range gets speed boost
By Alexis • Jul 28th, 2010 • Category: Mobile Computer News
- Photo: Stock.Xchng
The long rumoured Apple iMac update has come to fruition with the folks at Cupertino adding Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5, and Intel Core i7 processors in lieu of the Core 2 Duo, as well as introducing ATI Radeon HD graphics processors and IPS panels.
21-inch options
The entry-level iMac is priced at $1,199. It comes with a 21.5-inch 1080p display, a 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 CPU, an ATI Radeon HD 4670 256MB GPU, 4GB DDR3 RAM, and a 500GB hard drive.
The iMac a level up is priced at $1,499 and also shares the aforementioned 21.5-inch 1080p screen. RAM remains at 4GB as well. Where there is a difference is in the processing speed, with Apple opting for the 3.2GHz Intel Core i3. The GPU is also slightly different, with the ATI Radeon HD 5670 coming with 512MB onboard memory.
27-inch options
The next iMac, priced at $1,699 is the first of the 27-inch iMacs, with the generous LED-backlit display packing a resolution of 2560×1440. Fret not, cinema fans, that’s still the classic 16:9 aspect ratio. Processing here is done by the 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 as well, the usual 4GB of DDR3 RAM is packed in, and the graphics are also handled by the 512MB ATI Radeon HD 5670. At this level, however, Apple builds to order, with the option of including a 3.6GHz Intel Core i5 instead, 256GB SSD, a 2TB hard drive and up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM. It will cost you, of course.
- Photo: Apple
The top-of-the-line Apple iMac, priced at $1,999 sports the aforementioned 27-inch display. Behind that jarringly large display is a quad-core 2.8GHz Intel Core i5, which has 8MB of L3 cache. The usual 4GB of DDR3 RAM reappears, as do the 1TB hard drive and the ATI Radeon HD 5670. Built to order units see the ability to add a 2.93GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 256GB SSD, a 2TB hard drive, and up to 16GB DDR3 RAM.
Naturally Apple bundles these with a wireless keyboard and a magic mouse, too.
The updated iMacs are available from Apple’s store and resellers in the US, with the rest of the world likely to get a slow roll out of these computers over the coming weeks. Sometimes retailers try sell the older iMac versions at discounted prices to make space for the newer models, so this is could be a pretty good time to snap up an iMac at a discounted price.
Tags for this article: Apple iMac, iMac, intel core
