Apple’s all-in-one iMac line is being upgraded with new Intel Core 2 Duo processors with 6MB L2 cache, a faster 1066-MHz front-side bus throughout the entire line, two gigabytes of memory for most models, and the most powerful graphics yet available.
The 24-inch iMac can now have a 3.06-GHz Intel processor and optional, high-performance NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics with 512MB of video memory. Apple said it can provide up to twice the standard performance for graphically intensive applications.
‘An Incredible Hit’
Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said the iMac has been “an incredible hit with our customers” and that it is “just one of the reasons Mac sales are growing three and a half times faster than PC sales.”
The new iMacs have suggested retail prices from $1,199 to $1,799. The new 20-inch 2.4-GHZ iMac features one gigabyte of 800-MHz DDR2 SDRAM that is expandable up to four gigabytes. The 20-inch is also available with a 2.66-GHz processor, and two gigabytes of memory expandable to 4 GB. The new 24-inch iMac comes with a 2.8-GHz Core 2 Duo processor that can be upgraded to 3.06 GHz, two gigabytes of memory, and a 320GB serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm that can be upgraded to a terrabyte.
Richard Shim, an analyst with industry research firm IDC, noted that the upgrades were “pretty standard and nothing dramatic.” But this upgrade is a regular step in moving the iMac up the ladder of performance, he said.
“While these things might seem to be pedestrian, the significance is that they are ‘revving the engines’ of performance,” he said.
Regular Upgrades
He said this kind of regular upgrading is, at least in part, a direct result of Apple’s decision to use industry-standard hardware components, especially Intel processors. When Apple machines were still built around…