Apple Plotting a Quad-Core iMac?

The latest rumor to do the rounds in Mac world is that the company could be planning to use both dual-core and quad-core processors in the new, updated version of the iMac.

Late last week AppleInsider speculated that Apple might be getting ready to introduce a new iMac. Citing people familiar with the matter AppleInsider says that the Cupertino-based company has warned that new reseller orders for the high-end 24-inch 3.06 GHz iMac are unlikely to be fulfilled.

This rumor has since evolved and now people beginning to wonder what will make up the guts of this machine. CNet speculates that Apple might decide to offer both a dual-core and a quad-core processor.

Citing Shaw Wu of Kaufman Brothers, CNet reports that, while Apple currently offers two different screen sizes (20-inch and 24-inch) for the all-in-one iMac and two different configurations for each size, the company could either further differentiate the 24-inch line with quad-core chips, or even a choice of dual-core or quad-core processors for each screen size.

Which do you think Apple is likely to do? On the one hand we can see Apple only offering users the quad-core in the 24-inch, forcing customers looking for that kind of power to pay a higher price. On the other hand, the company would probably shift more units if they offered a choice of one or the other in either the 20-inch or the 24-inch.

  • joebob2000
    Quad apple cores. nice.
    Reply
  • jsloan
    what's the big deal, what's so nice and sweet? quad core based pcs are like been there done that. does everyone go ooh-aah everytime apple announces something. what kind of cool-aid or multi-coloured glasses are they selling. i bet they expect people to pay 3-4 times what it's worth. what would really be impressive is a i7 920 quad core mini with 6 gb memory, 1 tb 7200 sata and ati 4850 for around $1,000, now that is ooh-aah.
    Reply
  • apoq
    More like quad Intel cores.
    Reply
  • Mach5Motorsport
    oh gee, a quad core? Will Mac ever figure it out and offer blu ray on am laptop too?
    Reply
  • jsloan
    Mach5Motorsportoh gee, a quad core? Will Mac ever figure it out and offer blu ray on am laptop too?
    no more super drive :-( that's blasphemy ;-) if having to go from motorola to intel was not a bad enough insult.
    Reply
  • SneakySnake
    This will be a nice upgrade, but I'm pretty that the more aggresive mac owners (hardware wise) would rather have a mid-range tower, that could have upgradable PCI-E ports.

    At the moment the only mac that offers that is the Mac Pro, which is complete overkill for almost everything. It has 2x Xeon processors (8 core), with speeds being up to that of the C2E QX9770. Who honestly needs two of those in there. Drop it down to one i7 920, a nice GPU, with up to 8 GB's of RAM. Couple that with expandability and Mac would finally have a nice tower to purchase.
    Reply
  • ravenware
    Apple Plotting a Quad-Core iMac?

    Why is this news?

    Which do you think Apple is likely to do?

    I would imagine the user base that would take advantage of a quad core chip would be using the mac pros anyway.

    So, who knows, who cares?
    Reply
  • falchard
    Better late then never. Its only coming at the time when PCs are preparing to move on to 6 and 8 core processors.
    Reply
  • ThePatriot
    Why do ppl insist on comparing pc's with Apple computers?

    Its like comparing an Audi to the crap from Detroit's 'car' makers.

    Makes no sense al all.
    Reply
  • Tindytim
    Why the hell is this here? Tom's, why do you continue to hypocritically talk about products that can't use any of the other products on this site?
    Reply