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Apple iMac (24-inch, 3.06GHz)

Apple iMac (24-inch, 3.06GHz)

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Product summary

The aluminum-and-glass look remains the same, but underneath Apple makes some small but meaningful updates to its all-in-one iMac.

Specs: Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (3.06 GHz); Clock speed: 3.06 GHz; Environmental & energy standards compliance: EPA Energy Star See full specs >>

Price range: $2,199.00

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Reviewed by: Matthew Elliott

Reviewed on 5/5/08

Apple recently updated its iMac line, updating the components without touching the brushed-aluminum-and-glass design that it introduced last August. As in the past, Apple sells four iMac models--two 20-inch models and two 24-inch models--each of which allows for some degree of customization. The four default models keep their previous price points while moving to Intel Penryn processors, which offer higher clockspeeds and more L2 cache and operate on a faster 1066MHz frontside bus. Please see our full review of the 2.8GHz, 24-inch iMac for more information, including performance analysis.

Of the two 20-inch models, the biggest change with this update comes with the higher-end $1,499 model, which now offers 2GB of memory--double the amount offered by the previous model at that price point. All iMac models now use 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM--faster than the 667MHz memory from previous-generation iMacs. Aside from the new Penryn processors and memory differences noted here, the rest of the components remain unchanged from the previous generation 20-inch iMacs.

Model	20-inch 2.4GHz iMac	20-inch 2.66GHz iMac
Price	$1,199	$1,499
Processor	2.4GHz Core 2 Duo	2.66GHz Core 2 Duo
Memory	1GB 800MHz DDR2	2GB 800MHz DDR2
Hard drive	250GB, 7,200rpm	320GB, 7,200rpm
Graphics	128MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT	256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro
Screen size	20 inches	20 inches
Native resolution	1,680x1,050	1,680x1,050
Optical drive	SuperDrive	SuperDrive
Operating system	Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.2)	Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.2)

The highest-end 24-inch iMac model received the largest update this round, receiving both a processor and graphics bump. The $2,199 model features a 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo chip and a 512MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS graphics card. One of the few complaints we had with last year's 24-inch iMac was the fact that the otherwise high-end configuration saddled you with a midrange graphics card. Now, you get a 512MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS, a more powerful graphics card than the 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro it replaces. The GeForce card is a $150 upgrade option on the $1,799 model, while moving from the 2.8GHz CPU to the 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo is a $200 upgrade. You can also choose to double the RAM to 4GB for $200. Hard drive capacities go up to 1TB; it's a reasonable $300 upgrade from the 320GB drive and $250 from the 500GB drive.

Model	24-inch 2.8GHz	24-inch 3.06GHz
Price	$1,799	$2,199
Processor	2.8GHz Core 2 Duo	3.06GHz Core 2 Duo
Memory	2GB 800MHz DDR2	2GB 800MHz DDR2
Hard drive	320GB, 7,200rpm	500GB, 7,200rpm
Graphics	256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro	512MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS
Screen size	24 inches	24 inches
Native resolution	1,920x1,200	1,920x1,200
Optical drive	SuperDrive	SuperDrive
Operating system	Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.2)	Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.2)