Apple updates iMac line with Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Apple on Tuesday refreshed its all-in-one desktop line of iMacs, bringing Intel's Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors, along with ATI Radeon graphics.



Starting at $1,199, the new iMac line is the fastest ever with dual-core processor speeds up to 3.6 GHz, quad-core speeds up to 2.93 GHz and discrete graphics including the ATI Radeon HD 5750.



"We took the world's best all-in-one and made it even better," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With the latest processors, high-performance graphics and signature aluminum and glass design, customers are going to love the latest iMac."



Dual-core Intel Core i3 and Core i5, and quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 bring the best performance yet to the iMac line, Apple said. The processors feature an integrated memory controller to access the system memory directly, allowing the new iMac to take full advantage of its faster 1333 MHz memory.



New discrete ATI Radeon HD processors deliver incredibly smooth, crisp graphics for the most demanding 3D games, creative software and technical applications. iMac displays feature IPS technology to deliver images across a wide 178 degree viewing angle.



The SD card slot on the iMac now supports the SDXC format to handle the latest high-capacity storage cards. Customers of the 27-inch iMac have the option to order a 256GB solid state drive (SSD) as a primary or secondary drive. The iMac SSD supports up to 215 MB/s data transfer rates for faster startup and application launch times.







Last week AppleInsider first reported that the iMac would be the first Mac to have Intel's Core i3 processor, and that the refresh would span Intel's new Core i3, i5 and i7 line across the entire product lineup.



Over the weekend it was revealed that iMac inventory was also limited ahead of an anticipated refresh. That came after Apple warned its direct and indirect sales channels of near-term shortages of hardware.



The new iMac line is shipping now and available through the Apple Store, AppleÂ?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.Â*



The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:

21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;

3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;

4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;

ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics with 256MB GDDR3 SDRAM;

500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;

slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);

Mini DisplayPort for audio and video output (adapters sold separately);

AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;

iSight video camera;

Gigabit Ethernet;

four USB 2.0 ports;

one SDXC SD card slot;

one FireWire 800 port;

built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and

Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include up to 8GB of RAM.



The new 21.5-inch 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:

21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;

3.20 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;

4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;

ATI Radeon HD 5670 discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3;

1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;

slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);

Mini DisplayPort for audio and video output (adapters sold separately);

AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;

iSight video camera;

Gigabit Ethernet;

four USB 2.0 ports;

one FireWire 800 port;

one SDXC SD card slot;

built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and

Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include a faster 3.6 GHz Core i5 processor, 2TB hard drive and up to 8GB of RAM.







The new 27-inch 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US), includes:

27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;

3.20 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;

4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;

ATI Radeon HD 5670 discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3;

1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;

slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);

Mini DisplayPort for audio and video input and output (adapters sold separately);

AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;

iSight video camera;

Gigabit Ethernet;

four USB 2.0 ports;

one FireWire 800 port;

one SDXC SD card slot;

built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and

Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include a 3.6 GHz Core i5 processor, 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM.



The new 27-inch 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:

27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;

2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor with 8MB shared L3 cache;

4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;

ATI Radeon HD 5750 discrete graphics with 1GB GDDR5;

1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;

slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);

Mini DisplayPort for audio and video input and output (adapters sold separately);

AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;

iSight video camera;

Gigabit Ethernet;

four USB 2.0 ports;

one FireWire 800 port;

one SDXC SD card slot;

built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and

Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include a 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor, a 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM.







Additional accessories include: Magic Trackpad, Apple Battery Charger, wired Apple Mouse, wired Apple Keyboard, wired Apple Keyboard with numeric keypad, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple Remote, the AppleCare Protection Plan; and pre-installed copies of iWork, Logic Express 9, Final Cut Express 4 and Aperture 3.



AppleInsider's Mac Pricing Guide for resellers has been updated to reflect Apple's new iMac hardware, and is included below. As inventory becomes available, remaining sellers will be added and heftier discounts could be expected over the next 24-to-48 hours.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 267
    giosacconegiosaccone Posts: 121member
    No USB 3.0
  • Reply 2 of 267
    elmcitywebelmcityweb Posts: 109member
    And the fast get faster...
  • Reply 3 of 267
    smiles77smiles77 Posts: 668member
    Also:



    SDXC card slot
  • Reply 4 of 267
    smiles77smiles77 Posts: 668member
    RAM is now:



    1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM

    instead of

    1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
  • Reply 5 of 267
    jonnyboyjonnyboy Posts: 525member
    one of these might well be mine in a few months. what's opinions on the video cards? any good? i'm not knowledgeable about such things
  • Reply 6 of 267
    kotatsukotatsu Posts: 1,010member
    No USB 3, no eSATA, no Blu-Ray...



    Wow, that's absolutely laughable, especially at the price. Well at least I don't to find the money for a new PC for another 6 months at least, or I'll just go back to Dell.
  • Reply 7 of 267
    No firewire 1600, 3200, no USB 3.0 no Blu-ray. WTF? Looks like computers are no longer Steve's priority. Only iPads and iPhones
  • Reply 8 of 267
    ricmacricmac Posts: 65member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kotatsu View Post


    No USB 3, no eSATA, no Blu-Ray...



    Wow, that's absolutely laughable, especially at the price. Well at least I don't to find the money for a new PC for another 6 months at least, or I'll just go back to Dell.



    Yeah, I think you'll be happier with the dell, pretty sure of it in fact. Bye now.
  • Reply 9 of 267
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kotatsu View Post


    No USB 3, no eSATA, no Blu-Ray...



    Wow, that's absolutely laughable, especially at the price. Well at least I don't to find the money for a new PC for another 6 months at least, or I'll just go back to Dell.



    I would not accept a Dell as a gift, much less pay money for one.
  • Reply 10 of 267
    gotapplegotapple Posts: 115member
    No USB 3.0, No eSATA, not even an ATI 5770? I'll skip also this iteration, thanks.
  • Reply 11 of 267
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kotatsu View Post


    No USB 3, no eSATA, no Blu-Ray...



    This is a mid summer update... what woud you expect more?
  • Reply 12 of 267
    ssquirrelssquirrel Posts: 1,196member
    Browsing the Tom's Hardware graphics card guide for comparison sake:



    4670 256 Couple of steps below the 3 year old 8800GT 512

    5670 512 Equal to the 3 year old 8800GT 512

    5750 1GB Couple of steps above the 3 year old 8800GT 512





    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...tx,2676-7.html





    Glad the iMacs have better video, I just wish they were all actually better than what I've been running for 2 1/2 years at home now. I wouldn't mind an upgrade and platform switch at the same time.
  • Reply 13 of 267
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by holywarrior007 View Post


    No firewire 1600, 3200, no USB 3.0 no Blu-ray. WTF? Looks like computers are no longer Steve's priority. Only iPads and iPhones



    Was not that obvious since... long ago? However I think the iMac is still a solid computer. And if I am not mistaken, this is the first time a mainstream Apple computer gets 1 GB of memory for graphics (27" model).
  • Reply 14 of 267
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kotatsu View Post


    No USB 3, no eSATA, no Blu-Ray...



    Surprised at no USB3 as well. Given USB and FW, what would eSATA get you?



    I'm not happy, but realize iMac will never see blu-ray. That want you to modify the OP to include their copy protection scheme, and that will never happen. Given the rumors that even iDVD is being pushed to the back of the shelf just puts another nail in the coffin for BR on macs...
  • Reply 15 of 267
    allblueallblue Posts: 393member
    Just been to the UK store and the 'Buy Now' button takes you to an iMac information page - there doesn't appear to be a page where you can actually make a purchase. Rather sloppy rollout I'd say.
  • Reply 16 of 267
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member
    Why would I need USB 3 and eSATA exactly? What might I be hooking up to this that would benefit from those interfaces (that Firewire 800 and USB 2 don't already deliver)? It's an honest question. Are those "omissions" a big deal? I can see why Blu-Ray would have been cool for watching movies, but I don't know why a typical user would need a super-highspeed port for external devices in an all-in-one. All I can think of is really fast backups, but that can't be what people are so excited about, right?
  • Reply 17 of 267
    damn_its_hotdamn_its_hot Posts: 1,209member
    As they say "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out" - and don't turn off the lights cause the rest of us will all still be here!



    Bye now.
  • Reply 18 of 267
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PB View Post


    Was not that obvious since... long ago? However I think the iMac is still a solid computer. And if I am not mistaken, this is the first time a mainstream Apple computer gets 1 GB of memory for graphics (27" model).



    Well iMac is a solid computer but no longer the one that used to have best of technologies to justify its price. Getting 1 GB of memory is nice. However, lack of faster connections is a deal breaker for me.
  • Reply 19 of 267
    walneywalney Posts: 70member
    .....
  • Reply 20 of 267
    bdblackbdblack Posts: 146member
    Curious about the SSD option. It says you can add an SSD with a hard disk. Does that mean there is an extra sata port in there? I must know!



    Hey, if there is an extra sata port it would be fairly easy to hack that into an esata port.
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