The New 2011 iMacs: Specs and Details
by Andrew Cunningham on May 3, 2011 5:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Mac
- AMD
- Apple
- Sandy Bridge
- Thunderbolt
Well, it’s happened again – Apple’s online store went down briefly this morning, meaning that the secretive company was stocking its virtual shelves with new product. As expected, when the curtain was pulled back, we all had new iMacs staring us right in the face, and they brought with them the customary slew of incremental upgrades over last year’s models. If you were paying attention when Apple refreshed the MacBook Pro earlier this year, a lot of this is going to be familiar to you.
There were two major improvements in the MacBook Pros that made most of the headlines: an upgrade to Intel’s new Sandy Bridge processors, and the introduction of the new Thunderbolt port in place of the former Mini DisplayPort. Formerly code-named Light Peak, this Intel-developed port enables two-way 10Gbps transfer speeds between a variety of devices while also maintaining compatibility with existing Mini DisplayPort dongles and cables.
To see more about the particulars of Thunderbolt, you’ll definitely want to read the extensive write-up we did about the technology when it launched in the 2011 MacBook Pros – everything written there is true of the port in the new iMacs. You’ll definitely see Thunderbolt crop up in other Macs as the year goes on, and you may start to see it pop up in PCs as well depending on how quickly people jump on the bandwagon. Until then, use of the port in peripherals is and will probably continue to be rare, so the more immediate concern for us is the hardware upgrades in the new Macs.
| 2011 iMac Lineup | |||||||
| 21.5-inch (low-end) | 21.5-inch (high-end) | 27-inch (low-end) | 27-inch (high-end) | ||||
| Dimensions (inches) | 17.75 H x 20.8 W x 7.42 D | 17.75 H x 20.8 W x 7.42 D | 20.4 H x 25.6 W x 8.15 D | 20.4 H x 25.6 W x 8.15 D | |||
| Weight | 20.5 lbs (9.3 kg) | 20.5 lbs (9.3 kg) | 30.5 lbs (13.8 kg) | 30.5 lbs (13.8 kg) | |||
| CPU | 2.5 GHz quad-core Core i5 | 2.7 GHz quad-core Core i5 | 2.7 GHz quad-core Core i5 | 3.1 GHz quad-core Core i5 | |||
| GPU | AMD Radeon HD 6750M (512MB) | AMD Radeon HD 6770M (512MB) | AMD Radeon HD 6770M (512MB) | AMD Radeon HD 6970M (1GB) | |||
| RAM | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 (16GB max) | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 (16GB max) | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 (16GB max) | 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 (16GB max) | |||
| HDD | 500GB 7200 RPM | 1TB 7200 RPM | 1TB 7200 RPM | 1TB 7200 RPM | |||
| Display Resolution | 1920x1080 | 1920x1080 | 2560x1440 | 2560x1440 | |||
| Ports | Gigabit LAN, Firewire 800, Thunderbolt, 4x USB 2.0, SDHC slot, separate audio in/out jacks | Gigabit LAN, Firewire 800, Thunderbolt, 4x USB 2.0, SDHC slot, separate audio in/out jacks | Gigabit LAN, Firewire 800, 2x Thunderbolt, 4x USB 2.0, SDHC slot, separate audio in/out jacks | Gigabit LAN, Firewire 800, 2x Thunderbolt, 4x USB 2.0, SDHC slot, separate audio in/out jacks | |||
| Price | $1,199 | $1,499 | $1,699 | $1,999 | |||
All iMacs now come packing quad-core Sandy Bridge processors, dedicated graphics with 512MB or 1GB of memory (the high-end 27” model can also be configured with a 2GB 6970M), Thunderbolt (one port in the 21.5” model, two in the 27” model), and an HD Facetime camera (which supplants the previous generation’s iSight camera, making the white MacBook Apple’s last product to carry the iSight branding). Update: Reader emails have alerted me to an iFixit teardown of the new iMac, which reveals that they're shipping with the new Intel Z68 chipset. We wrote a little about Z68 earlier this year - no word on whether OS X supports or plans to support any of its unique features at this point.
It's too bad to see that all iMac models across the board still come with 4GB RAM installed by default, and Apple's upgrade prices for memory remain ridiculous (bumping it up to 8GB across two 4GB DIMMS costs $200; market value for 8GB DDR3 kits is about $80). At least these iMacs continue to offer four RAM slots, versus the two slots on older iMacs - if 4GB is not a suitable amount for you, adding another 4-8 GB is easy and relatively inexpensive if you don't pay Apple's prices.
All of these internals are packed into a case that’s virtually identical to the aluminum unibody iMac design introduced in 2009, which itself was a gentle retooling of the aluminum iMac introduced in August of 2007. The point being, this refresh is all about the hardware inside: you’re not getting anything drastically thinner or lighter, and if you’ve seen an iMac in the last three or four years, you should have a pretty good idea of what you’re buying.
CPUs: The iMac Gets Sandy Bridged
Prior to the MacBook Pro refresh (and excluding the Mac Pro), the iMac was Apple’s only product line to transition completely away from Core 2 Duo processors to newer Nehalem-based Core i3, i5, and i7 processors – the white MacBook, the Mac Mini, and the MacBook Air lines continue to use the Core 2 Duo along with nVidia chipsets to save space and energy, and to get around using Intel’s previous-generation integrated graphics processor.
So the iMac wasn’t as far behind in CPU architecture as some of Apple’s other products, but the switch to quad-core processors across all models and price levels should give new customers a healthy speed bump over the previous generation. As we saw in our review of the Sandy Bridge MacBook Pros, Apple makes use of Intel’s Turbo Boost feature to make up for the quad core parts’ lower clock speeds relative to dual core parts in single-threaded applications.
The Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt upgrades are more or less known quantities at this point – what impressed me most about the new iMacs was the GPU upgrade, especially in the entry-level iMac and the high-end iMac.
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psychobriggsy - Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - link
I didn't realise that the white iMac that was last sold in 2007 is still your reference point for a 'boring white iMac'. Shiny white case - only the low-end MacBook is white these days. White poop - again, where's the white?You've probably got Foxconn components in your computer. If not, then the motherboard and other components was assembled elsewhere under worse conditions. It is only Apple and HP that force Foxconn to provide better working conditions, do checks on employee welfare, and so on.
Glad you can make your PC look awful like the one in the link.
Targon - Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - link
Mac users really need to understand that it is more of a religion than about which is the best. Back in the days of MacOS X vs. Windows XP, there was a fair argument that MacOS X was a better OS, but Windows has come such a long way since then that it is really hard to say that anymore.PCs have the advantage that we can mix and match parts, order replacements from all over, and UPGRADE our machines by doing a simple CPU swap in many cases. It is far easier for even a casual user to upgrade a video card or add memory on a PC, and while most people will not do that, it is nice that it can be done fairly comfortably by users with only a little bit of guidance, if they even need it.
Macs come out of the box easier, but in general are not really better at this point, and there comes a point of stagnation that Apple has already hit in terms of improvements. Seriously, MacOS X, no matter what, is still MacOS X. In the same way that people were crying that they had to finally move away from Windows XP and go to Windows 7 and they couldn't handle the change in UI, what will happen if/when Apple finally releases a new OS? Will Apple users be able to cope with ANY change at this point?
alent1234 - Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - link
who cares? Mac's retain their value so well that you can sell one every year and buy a new one and it will cost you less than most PC DIY upgrades.Tamz_msc - Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - link
Another stupid comment from someone who has no idea of what he's talking about.You can overhaul your system(CPU, GPU, HDD, RAM etc) and still it will cost half that of a new iMac.
PeteH - Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - link
I think his point is that if you can sell your old Mac for more than half its original cost you come out ahead.Tamz_msc - Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - link
I guess Mac users will never understand the the efforts needed to make a PC look like the one I linked. You're blinded by fanboyism to understand such things.FYI I have an Intel CPU which are made in Malaysia, and an Intel motherboard which is made in China, and they're nearing four and a half years of usage without a single problem.Wizzdo - Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - link
So many PC users seem to have such a narrow view. Myself, as a developer and serviceman, I use Windows (because I have to due to legacy and saturation) and OS X "intensively" on a daily basis. I have 3 hand built PCs sitting right here in front of me. PC guys seem to think its rocket science to toss together a motherboard, ram, drive, power supply, fans and case and plug-it in the wall. Even the simplest application I've written is 10 times more involved.I know the statistics first hand and it is rare that I will recommend the Windows\obsoletePCbyTheTimeYouGetItHome to most users as I know the pain they are typically in for. And the results speak for themselves - happy users ALL of them. Not a single virus call. "Problems", if any, that can be solved within minutes over the phone.
I could go on and on. PC users (and much of the world) see face value only (ugly as that face may be ;) and that's what they argue about. There is SO MUCH more to the user experience than a bucket full of bolts. If you use your computer daily and don't enjoy mucking around then Macs are the best value by a country mile for countless reasons.
araczynski - Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - link
apple isn't about selling hardware/specs, its about selling an image, the hardware just has to be sufficient to maintain that image.darwinosx - Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - link
Really?A display worth $1000 by itself.
Much faster Sandy Bridge Procs.
Thunderbolt which is dramatically faster and more useful than eSata and USB 3.0 which are dead technologies.
4 GB of ram is more than enough for most and memory is cheap.
Much faster gpu.
Sam Spade - Tuesday, May 3, 2011 - link
Does this mean triple monitor? Finally Apple has caught on with the times. I still hate the idea of an all-0in-one as you just can't upgrade it at all in any way shape or form other than adding more RAM, but 3 monitors may make this relevant again, at last for graphic designers who don't really need a ton of power (Maya and Autocad guys run the fuck away).