iMac (Intel-based)

iMac (Intel based)

The Apple iMac 27" model
Developer	Apple Inc.
Type	Desktop
Release date	May 03, 2011 (current model) January 10, 2006 (original release)
CPU	Intel Core i5, Intel Core i7 (current model) Intel Core Duo (original release)

The iMac is a series of Macintosh desktop computers offered by Apple Inc. The current Apple iMac features either an Intel Core i5, or Intel Core i7 processor, Radeon HD 6750M graphics or a Radeon HD 6770M with options to upgrade to the HD 6970M (27" model only), and a choice of glossy 21.5" or 27" LCD screens.

While previous iMac models had a white polycarbonate enclosure as the iMac G5, the iMac as of 2011 had an enclosure shaped like Apple's Cinema Displays and styling reminiscent of the iPhone, made using the same unibody assembly as the MacBook Pro. Previous aluminum iMac models had a black plastic back, but later models have an aluminum back continuous with the front aluminum plate.

History

At the Macworld Conference and Expo on January 10, 2006, Steve Jobs announced that the new iMac would be the first Macintosh to use an Intel CPU, the Core Duo. The introduction of the new iMac along with the Intel-based MacBook Pro signaled the start of a six month transition from PowerPC to Intel processors.

The features, price, and case design remained unchanged from the iMac G5. The processor speed, however, according to tests run by Apple using SPEC, was declared to be two to three times faster than the iMac G5.

Polycarbonate iMac

17" polycarbonate iMac

Alongside the MacBook Pro, the iMac Core Duo represents Apple's first computers to feature Intel processors instead of PowerPC processors, a transition that completed in November 2005. Since the introduction of the iMac Core Duo, other lines have followed, including the introduction of the Intel Core powered Mac mini on 28 February 2006, the MacBook consumer line of laptop computers on May 16, 2006, the Mac Pro on August 7, 2006, and the Xserve in November 2006, completing the Macintosh family transition to Intel processors.

In early February 2006, Apple confirmed reports of video display problems on the new Intel-based iMacs. When playing video on Apple's Front Row media browser, some 20-inch iMacs (those built-to-order with upgraded video cards) showed random horizontal lines, ghosting, video tearing and other problems. The problem was fixed with a software update.

In late 2006, Apple introduced a new version of the iMac which included a Core 2 Duo chip and a lower price. Apple added a new 24" model with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA), making it the first iMac to be able to display 1080p content in its full resolution, and a VESA Flat Display Mounting Interface. Except for the 17-inch 1.83 GHz processor model, this version also included an 802.11n draft card.

Specifications of polycarbonate iMacs from 2006 through 2007

Component	Intel Core Duo		Intel Core 2 Duo
Model	Early 2006		Late 2006
Marketing Model No.	MA199xx/A	MA200xx/A	MA710xx/A	MA590xx/A	MA589xx/A	MA456xx/A
Model Identifier	iMac4,1
EMC No.	2104	2105	2124	2114	2118	2111
Enclosure	White polycarbonate
Display	17 ", 1440 × 900	20 ", 1680 × 1050	17 ", 1440 × 900		20 ", 1680 × 1050	24 ", 1920 × 1200
	widescreen 16:10, matte display
Processor	1.83 GHz (T2400)		1.83 GHz (T5600)	2.0 GHz (T7200)	2.16 GHz (T7400)
	2MB on-chip L2 cache			4MB on-chip L2 cache
	Optional 2.0GHz (T2500)			Optional 2.16GHz (T7400)	Optional 2.33 GHz (T7600)
System bus	667 MHz front side bus
Memory	667 MHz PC2-5300 DDR2 SO-DIMM SDRAM
	512MB (two 256MB) Expandable to 2GB		512MB (two 256MB) or 1GB (two 512MB) Expandable to 3GB
Graphics	ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB of GDDR3 SDRAM		Intel GMA 950 with 64MB shared memory	ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB of GDDR3 SDRAM		nVidia GeForce 7300GT with 128MB of GDDR3 SDRAM
		Optional 256MB		Optional 256MB		Optional 7600GT with 256MB
Hard drive1	Serial ATA 7200-rpm, 160GB or 250GB Optional 500GB
Optical drive	Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 2.4x DL recording (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)		24x Combo drive (dvd-rom/cd-rw)	SuperDrive
AirPort Extreme	Integrated 802.11a/b/g		Integrated 802.11a/b/g (draft-n disabled by default)²
Maximum Operating System	Mac OS X 10.6.8		Latest version of Mac OS X

Aluminum iMac

In August 2007, Apple introduced a complete redesign of the iMac, featuring an aluminum, glass and plastic enclosure. There is only one visible screw on the entire computer, located at the base of the iMac for accessing the memory slots. The back is no longer removable and is now a continuation of the aluminum body from the front and sides. The 17-inch model was completely removed from the lineup.

In March 2009, Apple released a minor refresh of the iMac line. Changes included a fourth USB port, removal of the FireWire 400 port, and a slightly redesigned base. The exterior design was almost identical to the older Intel-based iMacs. The models were one 20-inch configuration and three 24-inch configurations (instead of two at each screen size as before).

Apple doubled the default RAM and hard-disk size on all models, moving the RAM to the DDR3 specification. This revision also introduced a new smaller and more compact Apple Keyboard that excluded the numeric keypad and forward delete key in favor of the fn + Delete keys shortcut.

Specifications of aluminium iMacs from 2007 through 2009

Component	Intel Core 2 Duo
Model	Mid 2007				Early 2008				Early 2009
Enclosure	Aluminum, glass and plastic
Marketing Model No.	MA876XX/A MA877XX/A MB199XX/A MB200XX/A		MA878XX/A MB201XX/A MB322XX/A		MB323XX/A MB324XX/A MB388XX/A MB391XX/A		MB325XX/A MB393XX/A MB398XX/A		MB417XX/A MC019XX/A		MB418XX/A MB419XX/A MB420XX/A MC020XX/A MC021XX/A MC022XX/A
Model ID	iMac7,1				iMac8,1				iMac9,1
Display	20 ", 1680 × 1050		24 ", 1920 × 1200 IPS		20 ", 1680 × 1050		24 ", 1920 × 1200 IPS		20 ", 1680 × 1050		24 ", 1920 × 1200 IPS
	glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:10
Processor	2.0 GHz (T7300) Intel Core 2 Duo with 4MB on-chip L2 cache		2.4 GHz (T7700) with 4MB on-chip L2 cache		2.4 GHz (E8135) Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB on-chip L2 cache		2.8 GHz (E8235) with 6MB on-chip L2 cache		2.66 GHz (E8135) Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB on-chip L2 cache		2.93 GHz (E8335) with 6MB on-chip L2 cache
	Optional 2.4GHz (T7700)		Optional 2.8GHz (X7900) Core 2 Extreme		Optional 2.66GHz (E8335)		Optional 3.06GHz (E8435)		Optional 2.93GHz (E8335)		Optional 3.06GHz (E8435)
System bus	800 MHz front side bus				1066 MHz front side bus
Memory	1GB (two 512MB) or 2GB (two 1GB) Expandable to 4GB				1GB (two 512MB) or 2GB (two 1GB) Expandable to 4GB				2GB (two 1GB) or 4GB (two 2GB) Expandable to 8GB
	SODIMM DDR2 SDRAM-667				SODIMM DDR2 SDRAM-800				SODIMM DDR3 SDRAM-1066
Graphics	ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB of GDDR3 SDRAM		ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM		ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB of GDDR3 SDRAM		ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM		nVidia GeForce 9400M with 256MB shared memory		nVidia GeForce GT 120 with 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM
	Optional 2600 PRO with 256MB				Optional 2600 PRO with 256MB		Optional nVidia 8800 GS with 512MB				Optional GT 130 or ATI Radeon HD 4850, both with 512MB of GDDR3 SDRAM
Hard drive	250GB Optional 320GB, 500GB, 750GB or 1TB		320GB Optional 500GB, 750GB or 1TB		250GB Optional 320GB, 500GB, 750GB or 1TB		320GB Optional 500GB, 750GB or 1TB		320GB Optional 640GB or 1TB		640GB Optional 1TB
	Serial ATA 7200-rpm
AirPort Extreme	Integrated 802.11a/b/g/n (draft-n enabled)
Video out	Mini-DVI								Mini DisplayPort
Optical drive	8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Unibody iMac

In October 2009, a 16:9 aspect ratio screen was introduced in 21.5" and 27" models, replacing the 20" and 24" 8:5 aspect ratio screens of the previous generation. Video card options entirely switched to ATI, save for the standard onboard nVidia card in the base model. The iMac's processor selection saw a significant increase.

Default RAM has also been increased across the iMac range. With the advent of the larger screens, Apple doubled the number of memory slots from two to four. Consequently, the maximum memory capacity was also doubled (to 16GB).

On May 3, 2011, Intel's new Core i5 and Core i7 chips, based on the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, became available standard, and for the first time in the iMac's history the complete lineup is now running on quad-core processors. The current iMac ships with the wireless Apple Magic Mouse, or Apple Magic Trackpad and a wireless Apple Keyboard, Bluetooth and AirPort cards, an internal FaceTime HD camera, and a power cord.

Specifications of Unibody iMacs from 2009 through 2011

Component	Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i5, and Core i7				Intel Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7				Core i5, and Core i7
Model	Late 2009				Mid 2010				Mid 2011
Release date	October 20, 2009				July 27, 2010				May 3, 2011
Marketing Model Number	MB950xx/A	MC413xx/A	MB952xx/A	MB953xx/A	MC508xx/A	MC509xx/A	MC510xx/A	MC511xx/A	MC309xx/A	MC812xx/A	MC813xx/A	MC814xx/A
Model Number	A1311		A1312		A1311		A1312		A1311		A1312
EMC Number	2308		2309	2374	2389		2390		2428		2429
Model ID	iMac10,1			iMac10,2	iMac11,2		iMac11,3		iMac12,1		iMac12,2
Enclosure	Aluminum and glass
Display	21.5 ", 1920 × 1080		27 ", 2560 × 1440		21.5 ", 1920 × 1080		27 ", 2560 × 1440		21.5 ", 1920 × 1080		27 ", 2560 × 1440
	glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology
Processor	3.06 GHz (E7600) Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB on-chip L2 cache			2.66 GHz i5 (750) with 8MB on-chip L3 cache	3.06 GHz i3 (540) with 4MB on-chip L3 cache	3.2 GHz i3 (550) with 4MB on-chip L3 cache |		2.8 GHz i5 (760) with 8MB on-chip L3 cache	2.5 GHz i5 (2400S) with 6MB on-chip L3 cache	2.7 GHz i5 (2500S) with 6MB on-chip L3 cache |		3.1 GHz i5 (2400) with 6MB on-chip L3 cache
	Optional 3.33GHz (E8600) Core 2 Duo with 6MB on-chip L2 cache			Optional 2.8GHz i7 (860)	Optional 3.2GHz i3 (550) or 3.6GHz i5 (680)		Optional 3.6GHz i5 (680)	Optional 2.93GHz i7 (870)		Optional 2.8GHz i7 (2600S)		Optional 3.4GHz i7 (2600)
System bus
	Front Side Bus			Intel Direct Media Interface
	1066 MHz 1333MHz with 3.33GHz Core 2 Duo option			2.5GT/s
Memory	4GB (two 2GB, two slots empty) Expandable to 16GB				4GB (two 2GB, two slots empty) Expandable to 16GB				4GB (two 2GB, two slots empty) Expandable to 32GB
	1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM				1333 MHz PC3-10600 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM
Graphics	nVidia GeForce 9400M with 256MB shared memory	ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM		ATI Radeon HD 4850 with 512MB of GDDR3 SDRAM	ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM	ATI Radeon HD 5670 with 512MB of GDDR3 SDRAM		ATI Radeon HD 5750 with 1GB of GDDR5 SDRAM	ATI Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB of GDDR5 SDRAM	ATI Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB of GDDR5 SDRAM		ATI Radeon HD 6970M with 1GB of GDDR5 SDRAM Optional with 2GB GDDR5 SDRAM
Hard drive	500GB Optional 1TB or 2TB		1TB Optional 2TB		500GB Optional 1TB or 2TB	1TB Optional 2TB	1TB Optional 2TB and/or 256GB SSD		500GB	1TB Optional 2TB and/or 256GB SSD
	Serial ATA 7200-rpm
Optical drive	8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
AirPort Extreme1	Integrated 802.11a/b/g/n
Video out	Mini DisplayPort								1 Thunderbolt port		2 Thunderbolt ports
	Mini DisplayPort to VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort adapters available								All Mini DisplayPort adapters supported
Camera	iSight Camera (640 x 480 0.3 MP)								FaceTime HD camera 720p (1280 x 720 0.9 MP)

Timeline of iMac models

See also: Timeline of Macintosh models and Timeline of Apple Inc. products

See also

• Apple's transition to Intel processors
• iMac