Apple iMac Goes Core i5, i7; Mac Mini Updated

News
By Marcus Yam
published

iMac gets i5, i7.

Along with the new MacBook and Magic Mouse, Apple today refreshed its entire iMac line with LED-backlit 21.5 and 27-inch widescreen displays in a new edge-to-edge glass design and all aluminum enclosure that pulls it even closer in line with the unibody MacBook Pros.

The new iMac line starts at $1,199 with the 21.5-inch screen and Core 2 Duo at 3.06 GHz. Those willing to shell out top dollar can upgrade all the way up to the new Nehalem-based Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors (but expect to pay $2,000 to get there).

The new 21.5-inch iMac features a 1920-by-1080 pixel display and the 27-inch iMac features a 2560-by-1440 pixel display. Pleasantly, both 21.5 and 27-inch displays use IPS panel technology.

Powering the pixels will either Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics (ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics in the 27-inch model).

If you're not into the idea of having a screen built into your computer, there's also an upgraded Mac Mini today. Starting at $599, the entry level Mac Mini features a faster 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, a 160GB hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and a SuperDrive. The $799 Mac Mini features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of memory and a larger 320GB hard drive.

For those using the Mac Mini a server, Apple now offers a $999 Mac Mini that is specially configured with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server. Mac Mini with Snow Leopard Server features two 500GB hard drives for a total of 1TB of server storage in the tiny 6.5-inch square by 2-inch tall Mac Mini enclosure.

Apple today also announced the new plastic, unibody MacBook and the Magic Mouse.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
89 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Spanky Deluxe
    Those new iMacs really are pretty good deals imo. I know I'll get negative votes to the extreme for saying a Mac is good value but $1999 for a Core i5 system or $2199 for a Core i7 system with a built in LED 27" display with a 2560x1440 resolution (beyond Full HD) is a relative steal.

    As a comparison, a Dell XPS 8000 with similar specs comes out at $1069 (without Bluetooth). Considering the cost of LED display panels and the fact that Apple's $899 for its 24" 1080p LED panel is meant to be a relative steal for the cost of manufacturing, the extra $930 for an LED display with that resolution is really quite reasonable. When you factor in things like Education or Higher Education discounts, the iMacs really start to look very attractive price wise.

    Adding the fact that the 27" built in display can be used as an external display for a separate device, I'd have to think long and hard about buying an Octo core workstation or a 27" Core i7 iMac and Core i7 gaming machine for pretty much the same price.
    Reply
  • wildwell
    This is great news for Apple users. I think it may be time to look into one of these 27" units.

    Mac OS Users: Tom's is currently conducting a poll with regards to a Mac OS forum.
    http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/32340-12-forum

    http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/32339-12-apple-macintosh-unix-forum
    Reply
  • burnley14
    It's about time. Now they'll keep these processors for a year and a half, always at the same price point, and claim to be faster than newer windows-based machines.
    Reply
  • Spanky Deluxe
    burnley14It's about time. Now they'll keep these processors for a year and a half, always at the same price point, and claim to be faster than newer windows-based machines.
    Not quite. They tend to update their iMac lines every 6-9 months. The average is about 7 and a quarter months. True they'll keep their price point though which is why its always worth buying Apple machines when they first come out. Macs tend to be pretty good value for money just after a line's been refreshed. Some models have been considerably cheaper than PC equivalents for quite a while after release (such as all Mac Pros until the Nehalem based ones).
    The benefit though is that since their prices remain pretty constant also because there are only a few models to choose from and also since Macs are so fashionable and desirable, they retain their value very well. I.e. the resale value of one of these iMacs will not have dropped very much at all in six months. In three years time they'll also be worth a fair chunk more than similar priced Dells etc.

    The 27" LED display makes these a fair bit better value than any PC and will stay so for a while imo because of the cost of LED displays of this size.

    For anyone considering ever buying an iMac, now is certainly the best time ever.
    Reply
  • cliffro
    wow where are all the PC guys, this looks like a Mac© LoveFest® ;)
    Reply
  • ohim
    cliffrowow where are all the PC guys, this looks like a Mac© LoveFest®they went core i7 about an year ago. oh well what`s an year behind nowdays and at 2k $ pricetag for a computer with 1 radeon HD 4850 card inside ...
    Reply
  • liemfukliang
    The only thing that I like Mac is it Apple Cinema Display is a true 24 color LCD, not like most of PC LCD where its only 18 bit emulation :(.
    Reply
  • SneakySnake
    @ohim

    i5 came out when? a month or so ago? and the i7 in there is the 860. Don't call mac people ignorant when your post is clearly biased and misrepresenting the facts
    Reply
  • ohim
    SneakySnake@ohimi5 came out when? a month or so ago? and the i7 in there is the 860. Don't call mac people ignorant when your post is clearly biased and misrepresenting the factsas you can clearly see i pointed out only i7 and talking about it as architecture not the model number in particular. Shall i continue about the graphic card too ? :) I got to admit macs are pretty nice computers too have on desk they look awesome ,but the price tag for the components inside ... to be honest nobody gives a shit about how my computer looks at home , only i will be able to see it so why pay overprice for the gear ? :P here you go the lack of PC user flame.
    Reply
  • Spanky Deluxe
    ohimthey went core i7 about an year ago. oh well what`s an year behind nowdays and at 2k $ pricetag for a computer with 1 radeon HD 4850 card inside ...
    Or a $2k price tag for a machine with an LED backlit 1440p 27" IPS panel. Which makes it a relative steal. The 4850 isn't a bad card and is pretty much the best mobile graphics solution currently available and thus pretty much the best that can fit in this form factor.

    If you're a gamer, you won't be buying a mac for gaming. If you're not a gamer then a 4850 is pretty respectable graphics.
    Reply