Apple Releases Core 2 Duo iMac, Adds 24" Model

[Chundles]

Firstly, I think the upgrade is fantastic and also the release of the 24" iMac makes me believe we soon will have 24" Display instead of the 23" too and probably 49.99 Bucks cheaper?

Also this makes the event on 12th very interesting for the fact that iMac/Mac Mini are out and which only leaves out the MBP's and iPod's for upgrade and ofcourse any other surprise Apple may pull out on that day.

My question here is if you buy a 24" iMac can you hook your xbox360 to it like you can to a regular LCD?

Also if this does not include a tv-tuner built in can i use standard RGB cables from my cable box to watch TV on this?

Also anyone think Bluray/HD-DVD can play a important role on the event on 12th?

There are no video inputs on the iMac, you'll need a USB tuner to watch TV on the iMac.

 

[GForce]

Although I applaud the new 24" iMac, I have to say this upgrade is a horrible upgrade.

1) the 17" goes 1.5 years in the paste with video memory to 64MB!! Ridiculous! Just like the previous lineup the memory was at 128MB.

Why is that when the 'old' iMac 17" is still there, even for a lower price? The 64MB model is way cheaper, that's what you pay for IMO...

 

[flyguy451]

Well, ya, that's where the idea that they would go cubish came from

Though the G4 Cube was huge in comparison to what I'm thinking.

The G4 was an 8" cube. Not much bigger than what you suggested.

 

[milo]

The chipset can't address much more than 3GB, the processor can but the chipset can't. Santa Rosa might be able to address more.

So why did intel build a chipset that couldn't access more? Other macs have been going beyond 4 gigs for years now, it doesn't seem like it's that great a technical hurdle.

About the 3Gb max ram limit, would the new 64Bit processor limit the amount of memory available to the non 64bit OS?

I doubt it...if that were the case then wouldn't the G5's and Mac Pros be limited as well?

Although I applaud the new 24" iMac, I have to say this upgrade is a horrible upgrade.

1) the 17" goes 1.5 years in the paste with video memory to 64MB!! Ridiculous! Just like the previous lineup the memory was at 128MB.

2) with 24" of screen I half expected the top of the line would be bumped to 256MB of video memory.

The base model is a stripped down one for people who want the cheapest machine. It's obviously not the machine for you, get the $1199. I think it's a great idea, why not let people who have minimal graphic needs save some money?

On the 24, you can upgrade to 256 if you want it as well.

 

[kadajawi]

Yes, this is obvious. Yet you did not answer the question: what is the real advantage of a 24" screen over a 23" one if they are the same resolution? Everyone seems to be raving about what a great surprise that the screen size is one inch larger than predicted, so I am simply asking: why? Anyone?

Well... it's bigger. Guess that's all. Why do most people prefer a 19" over a 17" screen, when they all have the same resolution? Although I think that 1" isn't really alot, especially if you already have 23"...

 

[thedonga]

Yes, this is obvious. Yet you did not answer the question: what is the real advantage of a 24" screen over a 23" one if they are the same resolution? Everyone seems to be raving about what a great surprise that the screen size is one inch larger than predicted, so I am simply asking: why? Anyone?

advantage? cheaper
disadvantage? not as crisp...you are taking something that displayed on a 23" and streching it so it will display on a 24"

 

[LimeiBook86]

Well I noticed the only major difference in the 20" model is that they upgraded the CPU and lowered the price. I have the previous 20" Intel iMac and I'm very happy with it, although the "2x faster CPU performence" got me thinking. Oh well...I remember someone put a Meron CPU (Core Duo 2) inside an existing intel iMac before. So I guess if I really wanted to upgrade it and void my AppleCare...I could (makes me feel better about the iMac being updated)

 

[Chundles]

So why did intel build a chipset that couldn't access more? Other macs have been going beyond 4 gigs for years now, it doesn't seem like it's that great a technical hurdle.

Other Macs didn't use INTEL's Napa chipset. Santa Rosa next year should remedy this.

 

[Cougarcat]

I wonder why they didn't announce MBPs along with the new consumer macs. Perhaps it's getting a case redesign, to get the nice magnetic latch and accesible hard drive the macbook has. Steve will want to show it off.

 

[DavidLeblond]

Meh I think I'm going with the 20".

Here's how I see it:

I budgeted myself ~ $2k for a computer upgrade.

With that I can either get the 24" with 2 gb ram upgrade, or the 20" with 2gb ram upgrade, proc upgrade to 2.33, video card upgrade to 256. And still have $200 to spend on taxes and Paralells.

I don't have a use for Firewire 800.
The brighter monitor is good, but the iMac still bests my iBook
The larger monitor is good, but 20" still beats 14".
The better speakers are good, but 24 watts is still piddly anyway.
The video card was originally a deal breaker for me. But then again, the specs page states that the 20" tested was a slower model AND only had a 128 mb video card. So I suspect the one I'm getting will be better than that. Sure its no 7300 but #1 I'm not sure how many games I'll be playing and #2 it sure beats my iBook's ATI 9200 mobility.

 

[amin]

This is fantastic, fantastic news! It is so so so cool, and its really made my day. I have been waiting for the imac update and glad that it came around this time. I have been waiting since March and it has been agonising.

Congratulations for those who have been waiting for one. The time has come...

Exactly how I felt. I've been waiting for this for months now, and ordered right away this morning. I do wish they had Conroe, but no big deal to me. Would have liked the 20", but money is too tight for that right now!

 

[thedonga]

proc upgrade to 2.33

there's not much difference in a 2.16~2.33

 

[joshwest]

For those wondering why Apple came out with the new iMacs today.A Wednesday. It's probably because Steve Jobs didn't want the media to think the keynote was going to be about the 23" iMac..( now 24" )

Get the iMac's out of the way now so the media can speculate on other things.

Agree'd but I do belive he's going to say but there is One more thing, introduce the release of the new 24" and say but there is still another size we wanted to focus on because we just turned 30.... 30th aniversary 30" iMac in black or white...

 

[wisredz]

Well I noticed the only major difference in the 20" model is that they upgraded the CPU and lowered the price. I have the previous 20" Intel iMac and I'm very happy with it, although the "2x faster CPU performence" got me thinking. Oh well...I remember someone put a Meron CPU (Core Duo 2) inside an existing intel iMac before. So I guess if I really wanted to upgrade it and void my AppleCare...I could (makes me feel better about the iMac being updated)

exactly my thoughts and I'd really love to have the 24" version. The bigger the better. But I fiddled with the configuration a little bit and got myself a price which was close to $3100. If I hadn't got a 20" iMac before, I'd rather go with the mac pro in this case... Of course there would be the extra price of a screen, but I'd probably go with the mac pro.

Needless to say, I was a bit pissed off after seeing the 24" version. I don't care that much for core 2 duo, which won't make that difference for me.

 

[kresh]

Apple doesn't have what I'm looking for. The imac is not upgradable, it's not an option for someone who doesn't want AIO, and it's not as fast as it could be. And the mac pro is way overpriced for someone who just wants a reasonably fast machine with some expandability. On the PC side you can get a desktop with expandability for under a grand, apple has no excuse for not making such a machine.

And just because some people don't upgrade towers doesn't mean there's no market for them.



Nope. Sorry.



Useless? What is a mini tower missing that other macs have that makes it useless? If you're not interested in one that's cool, but quit drinking the kool-aid already.



That's fine, I really don't see the logic in yours.



Dell has a million models, and their website sucks. Apple would go from two desktops to three. You think the average consumer is so dumb they'd get confused by small/medium/large?

And the cube failed mostly because of pricing. It was a great machine, but way overpriced for what you got (it cost almost as much as the tower!). A minitower could be made extremely cheaply and priced very competitively, which would fare completely differently than the cube did, I think it could be one of apple's biggest sellers, especially to switchers.

Point taken. You can't use Apple's all-in-one for comparison purposes to a mid-tower pc. They are without a doubt different classes of machines.

That's why everyone is so upset that every single thread about the iMac gets hijacked into a rage against Apple for not having a headless mid-tower.

I would also like to have one, but why always hijack the iMac threads with the same crap, time after time.

As you claim, they are not in the same class, they are totally different, ect...

It's well documented by now, in every single thread about iMacs, that some people want a headless mid-tower $1200.00 Mac just please stop the thread hi-jacking!

 

[scmacdaddy]

new parts

are the hard drive and processor upgradeable by user (sorry if this has been answered but this is a huge thread)

 

[thedonga]

Agree'd but I do belive he's going to say but there is One more thing, introduce the release of the new 24" and say but there is still another size we wanted to focus on because we just turned 30.... 30th aniversary 30" iMac in black or white...

yea why not just sell a 30" with a 750GB drive that works in tandem with the new iTunes movie downloads so people can use it in the living room as a pc, media center, etc

 

[rjgonzales]

# Headphone/optical digital audio output (minijack)
# Audio line in/optical digital audio input (minijack)

http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html

Thanks, but I was refering to an aux video input.... sorry

 

[daneoni]

are the hard drive and processor upgradeable by user (sorry if this has been answered but this is a huge thread)

Officially..No, unofficially..yes

 

[Dr.Gargoyle]

Enough already with Mini-Tower crap. It will never happen. Apple does not like to copy the PC world.

Except for swapping out a video card, why would anyone need one! You have two options, an iMac or a Mac Mini.

What about MediaMac the 12th? You could fit a TV tuner in a minitower and a 3.5'' HD to store movies from iTunes or record from the TV tuner

 

[jbembe]

I ordered a 20" iMac a couple of weeks ago, but it hadn't been dispatched yet (in fact, it was due to be dispatched today). The Apple order status site was down earlier, until just after the Apple Store came back up with the new iMacs, and lo and behold, my order has been replaced with a 20" iMac Core 2 Duo!

They've even upgraded the RAM to 2GB (I'd paid for an upgrade to 1GB on the original order), and dropped the price I pay!

So top marks to Apple - a brand new iMac, specced higher than the original, for £80 less! I don't know many other manufacturers that would do this - it's the kind of service that keeps Apple customers loyal.

The only downside is, I was expecting it to be delivered on Friday but now I have to wait until the 19th! But really, I don't mind!

Now that is just spectacular! Apple ROCKS!

 

[HecubusPro]

Has anyone ordered a Macbook Pro lately and have the ship times? I think i saw someone post saying its not supposed ship until the 13th....

The site still says 24 hours, but then again, so did the imacs before they got the update.

 

[Phazotron]

dang it!

I'll have to sell my 20inch intel imac now. I never thought they'd put out a 24 inch imac! Argh!

Geez I only had this thing for 8 months and it's already surpassed. I'm seriously having some jealousy over that 24 inch screen.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Memory limit...

The Intel chipset in the iMacs can address 4 GB of RAM.

My guess is that this is purely money-based. As you can see, a 2 GB DDR2-667 SO-DIMM is insanely expensive. Adding this much memory to the low-end iMac would double the cost of the iMac. It's $575 to upgrade one 1 GB chip to a 2 GB chip. That's $1150 just for the memory, starting at 2x1GB. Add $175 more to start at the 2x512 the 2.0 GHz 17"er starts at, and you're spending more on the memory upgrade than the stock cost of the computer. ($1325 for the memory upgrade vs. $1199 for the stock computer.) For a consumer machine, that's just not worth it.

Of course, there could be another cause. It could be that Apple's design somehow limits one slot to only 1 GB. We won't know for sure until someone takes delivery, and tries two (insanely expensive) 2 GB modules. Pricewatch doesn't even list any 2 GB DDR2-667 SO-DIMMs, at any price. CDW lists them at $982 per module... (Crucial is $1600 per.)

 

[zwida]

What about MediaMac the 12th? You could fit a TV tuner in a minitower and a 3.5'' HD to store movies from iTunes or record from the TV tuner

Seems pretty unlikely that they'll be revving Macs on Tuesday at this point.

Maybe we'll see some action on that front if they ever decide to swallow Elgato.