Apple on Wednesday introduced a refresh to the iMac range. As expected, the Intel Core 2 Duo chip is now at the heart of every iMac, starting with a 1.83GHz in the 17-inch model and going up to 2.16GHz in the newly announced 24-inch iMac.
The entry level 17-inch iMac features a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor with 2MB of shared L2 cache, 512MB DDR2 memory, 160GB hard drive, Combo drive, Intel GMA 950 graphics and Airport Extreme. This model is essentially the previous educational iMac model and ships without Front Row but is available as a build to order option. Whilst perfect for those who want to test the waters, at £679 this is the entry-level iMac for those who want to get a foot in the door.
Moving up in the range, you get the fully featured 17-inch iMac, complete with a 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo chip with 4Mb of L2 cache, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, Dual Layer SuperDrive, 128MB X1600 graphics and Bluetooth 2.0 for £799.
The 20-inch iMac improves upon the 17-inch model with a 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo and 250GB hard drive at £999.
Apple’s new entry, and the now flagship iMac model at £1349.01 with a stunning 24-inch widescreen LCD display running at 1920×1200 resolution completes the line up. The only difference apart from the screen from the 20-inch model is the more powerful NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT graphics, FireWire 800 port and a 24-watt digital amplifier for improved sound quality and volume.
The 20 and 24-inch models can be upgraded to a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo with up to 3GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive and 256MB graphics.
The new machines are shipping from 24 hours to 4 days for the 24-inch model and exceed the performance levels of the previous generation iMac. It’s not been long since the iMac Core Duo first shipped until it has received the much-expected Core 2 Duo makeover.
What’s most impressive is the screen real estate you’ll be able to get from the 1920×1200 resolution 24-inch display. Aimed at the prosumer market, this machine really packs a punch with its most impressive first being the display, second being its improved 24-watt audio system and third, the first introduction of FireWire 800 on a non-pro Mac.
The Apple web site shows performance benchmarks up to 50% faster with the 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo chip than the 2.0GHz Core Duo model. This processor does however come in at a painful £170 build to order upgrade which increases lead-time up to 2 weeks.
It’s great that Apple have refreshed the iMac line to include the Core 2 Duo chips and the introduction of such a large iMac is definitely going to persuade those who are unsure whether to get the Mac Pro or an iMac.
I do have one criticism though, and that relates to the 24-inch model. The introduction of the larger display, now increases the overall dimensions of the chassis of the iMac. So what troubles me is the fact that it lacks extra build to order options. Whilst the GeForce 7300GT is a welcome upgrade, surely there’s room for an even higher end card? What I would like to have seen is build to order options for a more powerful graphics card, which I’m sure they could have squeezed in to the chassis. NVIDIA have so many other graphics options available on the market, it puzzles me as to why Apple would want to close of these options to its customers.
Apart from those reservations of these new models, prices are even better with the 20-inch model now at £999 and the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo model at £799 with both systems now featuring 512MB of RAM.
I can’t wait until they release the 30-inch iMac next year.
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