Other Sites
The newest iMacs also are the first consumer Macs to cross the 3 GHz clock speed threshold, with BTO-only 3.06 GHz CPUs available. Most of us should be able to happily get along with one of the less-expensive models (even the base, price leader unit has a pretty-potent 2.4 GHz chip), but if one just has to be the fastest, that option is now available.
The downside of the Penryn, so to speak, is that it's widely (and arguably correctly) perceived as a placeholder chip filling in until Intel's next generation "Montevina" CPUs are available later this year. Indeed, there was a flurry of speculation early in the week that the 3.06 GHz iMac chip was a "pre-release" Montevina supplied specially to Apple. However, that flight of fancy has been debunked by Intel spokespersons, who told BetaNews's Scott M. Fulton, III that the new 3.06 GHz option is a 45 nm Penryn-class Core 2 Duo CPU and not, as had been speculated, the yet-to-be-released 'Montevina' X9100. The report notes that X9100 would require an entirely new chipset which will be code-named "Cantiga, and thus re-engineered motherboard architecture, whereas the Penryn chips are compatible with the older "Santa Rosa" motherboards.
Nevertheless, the Penryn isn't exactly chopped liver, and benchmarking of the Penryn-based MacBook Pros and MacBooks that were released in late February indicates a modest but welcome performance boost along with less heat generation, which is all to the good. For more on benchmarks, we'll return to the topic in a bit.
With prices starting at just $1,199 for the base 20" model, the new iMac includes faster processors with a great, big 6MB L2 cache and moved from an 800 MHz front-side bus to a faster 1066 MHz across the entire line, although they've stuck with 800MHz DDR 2 memory.
The Penryn chips also include Intel's SSE4 instruction set, which speeds up some processes (SSE being a sort of Intel analog to Motorola/Freescale's AltiVec vector engine used in G4 and G5 PPC chips). The iMacs have two SDRAM slots in the bottom of the computer housing and come with at least one slot filled. You can use any Small-Outline dual inline memory modules (SO-DIMM) that meets all of these criteria:
PC2-6400
Unbuffered
Nonparity
200-pin
800 MHz
DDR2 SDRAM
You can use RAM module sizes of 1 GB or 2 GB in each slot, but note that if you're planning on going for the full 4 GB capacity, you'll be removing smaller chips.
The 24-inch iMac is now available build-to-order with a 3.06 GHz Intel processor ($200), an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics processor unit with 512MB of video memory (which Apple claims to be some 2.2x as fast as the previous top-end iMac GPU and will appeal particularly to serious gamers) ($150), a 500 GB hard drive ($50, or 750 GB for $150 or 1 TB for $300), and supports up to 4GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (which you really don't want to order from Apple whose RAM prices are astronomically inflated compared with those of third-party vendors).For example, Other World Computing (OWC) was quick out of the blocks in announcing Memory Upgrade Kits of 1GB, 2GB and 4GB for the Penryn iMacs at the following prices:
1GB Memory Module - $29.99
2GB Memory Module - $59.99
4GB Kit - $117.99 (configured as a matched pair of 2GB memory modules)
By comparison, Apple charges $100 for an upgrade to 2 GB (base model) and $200 for their 4 GB upgrade.
OWC's trade-in program also provides $10 cash back for the trade-in of each Apple 1GB RAM module. OWC is an Apple Developer Connection Premiere member and OWC memory upgrades meet Apple's electrical and mechanical design requirements, so having had excellent luck myself with several OWC memory upgrades, I would suggest that as an option to consider.
For more information, pricing, benchmarks, and immediate availability, see:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/iMac
iMacs come equipped with AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi networking; Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; Gigabit Ethernet; built-in iSight video camera; a dual-layer multi-format 8x SuperDrive; have 3 USB 2.0 ports (plus two on the Apple Keyboard); one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800 port; and a Mighty Mouse. Alas, there is no internal modem, so if you live beyond the reach of broadband as I do, you'll need to pony up another 50 bucks for Apple's external USB Modem. The 20" and 24" iMacs weigh 20 and 25.4 pounds respectively.
Both units come equipped with Apple's ultra-thin (0.33") laptop-esque form factor aluminum keyboard, with ultra-short travel. "Chiclet-style" keys (similar to the MacBook and MacBook Air keyboards0. A Bluetooth 2.0 wireless keyboard optional. The wired unit has an extended layout with a full complement of alphanumeric and function keys, plus document navigation controls and special function keys for features such as brightness, volume, eject, play/pause, Exposé, and more. The aluminum keyboard has an fn key that works similarly to the way it does on an Apple laptop
The base 2.4 GHz machine has a Radeon HD 2400 XT GPU, a gig. of RAM and a 250 GB 7200rpm SATA hard drive hard drive, while the 2.66 GHz, 2.8 GHz, and 3.06 GHz models ship with 2 GB of RAM, a 320 GB 7200rpm SATA hard drive hard drive, and use Radeon HD 2600 Pro GPUs. The Graphics processors are a bit of a mixed bag, value wise, with the Radeon HD 2400 XT a step up from the Radeon X1600 GPU used in the preceding 2.0 GHz base iMac, but the Radeon HD 2600 Pro is arguably a downgrade from the the nVidia GeForce 7300GT and 7600GT used in the former upmarket (24") models.
Every model in the iMac line is rated EPEAT Silver and the power-efficient iMac also meets the stringent Energy Star 4.0 requirements for power consumption. Customers who purchase any qualifying Apple computer can recycle their old PC or Mac for free via the Apple Recycling Program.
As for performance, by mid-week benchmarks were being posted. Primate Labs' Geekbench 2 benchmarking (calibrated against a baseline score of 1000, which is the score a Power Mac G5 @ 1.6GHz would receive), results of which you can check out here:
http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/2008/05/imac-performance-may-2008/
Primate Labs also has come up with what they call a “Cost Per Point” metric, which essentially boils down th the ratio of buck spent to how much "bang" you get. By that criterion they recommend that for maximum return on expenditure in terms of raw processing power, the best value iMac is the base model, which, even after upgrading RAM to two gigs. still more cost-effective than the mid-range 20-inch iMac. Food for thought. I've always been of a mind that when purchasing new, going for lower-end models provides the best value (the opposite obtains with used units) and it's interesting to see that principle objectively verified, although they actually recommend the I’d recommend the 2.66 GHz 20-inch iMac citing the extra hard drive capacity and better video as ofsetting the base model's value advantage in terms of performance.
Macworld has also published some initial Speedmark 5 benchmark results which you can find here:
http://www.macworld.com/article/133253/2008/05/imac_benchmarks.html?lsrc=top_1
The Lineup:
The new 20-inch 2.4 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,199.00 includes:
20-inch widescreen LCD display;
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 1066 MHz front-side bus;
1GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB GDDR3 memory;
built-in iSight video camera;
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
the Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.
The new 20-inch 2.66 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,499.00 includes:
20-inch widescreen LCD display;
2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
built-in iSight video camera;
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
the Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.
The new 24-inch 2.8 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,799.00 includes:
24-inch widescreen LCD display;
2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
built-in iSight video camera;
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
the Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.
And finally, a Build To Order configuration at $2,199.00 includes:
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB memory
500GB hard drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB memory
Personally, the one that entices me most is the 2.8 GHz 24" model for the gloriously expansive display more than the extra GHz, but whether the big screen is worth $300 to you is an individual decision. Even the base model is an awful lot of computer for twelve hundred bucks.
Ultimately, I'm likely to stick with a notebook myself, but the aluminum iMac is close enough to a desktop substitute notebook in form factor, only with that big display and deeper power/features profile, to tempt this consummate laptop aficionado with its siren song of performance and value, but the sticking point for me remains the umbilical to wall current. However, if you live where power outages are a rarity and really don't care much about portability, as I noted going in, these new iMacs are arguably the best value Apple has ever offered in computer systems.
Charles W. Moore
Tags: Blogs ď MooresViews ď Hot Topics ď
