Four flavors of iMac
The iMac has come such a long way from the days when it resembled a very chic lampshade. The best part about the refresh of the iMac line is the introduction of a 24-inch model for only $1,499, thus proving that the rumor mill is right once again, though the mutterings of an iMac refresh have been audible since prior to Macworld.
We're now down to one 20" model for $1199US, which features a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 duo processor, 2GB memory (upgradeable to 8GB), 320GB hard drive, 8x double-layer SuperDrive and a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M video card with 256MB of shared DDR3 memory.
We now have three flavors of 24" iMacs to choose from now, ranging from $1499US up to $2199US. The $1499 model has the same 2.66GHz processor as the 20" while the $1799 bumps you up to 2.93GHz (3.06GHz optional) and the $2199 has 3.06GHz. All three 24" models come with 4GB memory with the option to upgrade to 8. The two lower-end 24" models come with 640GB hard drives (can be upgraded to 1TB), while the high-end comes with a 1TB drive.
The $1499 24" has the same video card as the 20", but the $1799 model has a NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory video card and the $2199 model has a NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory video card. Both of these models can upgrade to a ATI Radeon HD 4850 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory for an additional $200.
All the models come with six USB ports, sorta: Four on the machine itself and two on the keyboard, then a single FireWire 800 port, built-in iSight camera and MiniDisplayPort. It also comes with a wired keyboard -- sans numeric keypad. If you want a wired keyboard with a numeric keypad, it's free but you'll have to indicate it when doing a BTO order on Apple's site.
Apple seems to be out to make 20" displays a thing of the past as the iMac narrows its line down to the one 20" machine, and the 20" Cinema Display has disappered completely. By introducing a third 24" iMac at the same price of the former high-end 20", Apple is making sure that these larger machines are becoming more affordable.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dave Barnes said 10:54AM on 3-03-2009
Disappointed.
I was really hoping for a 28-inch hi-res iMac.
Not complaining, just disappointed.
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ctsttom said 11:11AM on 3-03-2009
Hi-res is not really necessary at the moment the 24" display already has a greater than 1080 video size so you can play your videos at full upscaled resolution, why do you need an even larger display, this 24" is perfect for the consumer/prosumer market it is clearly aimed at.
Alexander said 10:59AM on 3-03-2009
The ATI Radeon HD 4850 update is cheaper with the high-end 24-inch model.
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cc said 11:02AM on 3-03-2009
I was really hoping for a real speed bump! Complaining and disappointed!
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ToddJ said 11:19AM on 3-03-2009
I wonder if they replaced the 20" screen with a better one....
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carrespondent said 11:23AM on 3-03-2009
Not that more screen space isn't awesome, but sometimes one only has so much physical desktop space to go around. I think there's still quite a demand for display sizes that aren't the size of Volkswagens.
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Steven said 11:26AM on 3-03-2009
Really disappointed here also. I was hoping for a 4 core in the top models at least.
These 'new' machines are really the old ones with a new graphics card.
I did a BTO on the top range model before the update and got nearly the same price as the top model with same specs, in other words no real update.
I think Apple is going to have to try harder than this.
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hmlong said 1:41PM on 3-03-2009
"These 'new' machines are really the old ones with a new graphics card."
With DDR3 memory on a 1066MHz front-and-rear-side bus, these machines are more than simple graphic card upgrades.
RJR said 11:29AM on 3-03-2009
And now from the Department of Redundancy Department:
"We now have three flavors of 24" iMacs to choose from now..."
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james said 11:38AM on 3-03-2009
your math is off for USB ports if you're including the keyboard. it may have two ports, but it has to plug into somewhere.. with the keyboard, you'd have 5 available ports, not 6.
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Greg K said 1:46PM on 3-04-2009
You might buy a wireless bluetooth keyboard, so then you'd have 6 ports.
Quix said 12:11PM on 3-03-2009
So the tiny Mac mini now has more USB ports than the massive 24" iMac? WTF Apple? Only 4 USB ports and no built-in card reader ensures my desk will continue to be covered with hubs and cables (and a media card reader).
Thanks Apple. Not.
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Kirk said 12:30PM on 3-03-2009
I think they were spot on with everything. I'm in college and the iMacs are exactly what i was waiting for. The minis blew me away too, they're as powerful as my laptop (which is my only computer ATM) and it does everything i need it too. One thing i did notice, as of 9:30 PST, the Apple store does not have the AppleCare protection plans available on the iMac customization page. Maybe they ask later and i just didn't get to it?
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jodamiller said 12:33PM on 3-03-2009
Lampshade; have we already forgotten the gumdrop?
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mac4me said 1:10PM on 3-03-2009
Just ordered the high end iMac to replace G4 Chic Lampshade and am sure I will be stoked on it once it arrives. I know there has been a lot of speculation about quad core, 28" iMac and some folks are disappointed.
I think this could quite possibly be the last round of this design because they are going to have to get to quad cores to take advantage of Snow Leopard, and that MAY require a redesign. At any rate, I'm stoked on the update, from a G4 125GHz w 1GB of Ram to 3GHz and 4GB of Ram should be quite noticeable.
The high end machine actually got cheaper too.
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Kelmon said 1:32PM on 3-03-2009
I may have missed something but wasn't Snow Leopard supposed to make better use of multi-core processors and isn't a Core 2 Duo a multi-core processor? While I would have liked to have seen a quad core processor in the new iMacs, I don't think there is any need placed on Apple to put one in the iMac simply because Snow Leopard is available. No doubt they'll do it when they are ready, which likely will be many months after everyone else is ready.
Dave Hanks said 9:20PM on 3-03-2009
I too wanted a faster CPU. Very, very disappointed. Had planned on buying two 24 inch iMacs. Now I will just wait.
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Andy said 2:43PM on 3-03-2009
Oh, heck. Down to one FireWire port now, are we? I'm happy it's FW800, but the previous versions had FW400 and FW800, albeit without the extra USB. This was perfect for our hot-desk studios; FW400 for the audio interface, FW800 for the drives. But this update means that we would now have to unplug the audio interface, attach a HDD, get a FW800 -> FW400 cable and daisy-chain the two. For every studio user who brings in a drive. And Pro Tools isn't a fan of USB drives... oh, no.
There's enough space on the back of those 24"-ers for a FW400 port as well. Probably even on the 20". Bad Apple. You're going to make life difficult for me when upgrade time comes around.
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Tony said 3:02PM on 3-03-2009
I've been waiting forever for Apple to make more affordable workstations like they used to, but they keep on making them more expensive. (More powerful, definitely, but also more expensive.) In addition, finding refurbished low-end models has become increasingly more difficult than it was in the past. However, I don't customize as much as I used to and a terabyte drive is enough to hold all the crap I keep on my computer... but I do love swapping in the latest big hard drives when they come along and internal ALWAYS outperforms external.
On the flipside, Apple's continuously lowering the prices of the iMacs. Not only do nearly all the frills come standard, but you can also upgrade the high-end iMac to a Radeon HD for only $50. (HELLO!!!) I've been waiting for Apple to stuff a quad-core in their high-end iMacs, but they wouldn't be as affordable as they are now and I bet it's a year off at the earliest. I hate the opaque box/non-swappable parts model of the iMac, but I do like 24 inch built-in monitors and I need to get an Intel Mac. I know I'll have hard drive and quad processor envy eventually, but the G5 PowerMac is quickly losing eBay resale value.
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Kyp said 4:36PM on 3-03-2009
"you can also upgrade the high-end iMac to a Radeon HD for only $50." Yeah but, as I just found out, it won't ship until April 14th =(