Now that frenzy starts to subside after the announcements of new products by Apple, it is time to focus on those that have changed the most, the iMac. The 21,5" models keep an architecture that one had already on the preceding ranges, this has been inherited from the world of the laptops with a 9400M chip and does not include a second graphics card. One also keeps the two memory connectors, the maximum that this chip supports.
But things change radically on the 27" models. The possibility of putting 4 memory cards is revealing (also the adoption of the core i5 and i7 but will come back to this). Apple has chosen not to use products intended for the laptops, but for office machines, which is a return, the thing that has not happened for the iMac since the G5 models. It is difficult to say which controller Apple used for iMac Core 2 Duo, Intel offers a very large quantity of compatible controllers. The thing is easier with the high-end equipped with Core i5 or i7. The controller used is certainly the P55 Express.
This controller supports the core simplest i5 and i7, which are deprived of integrated memory controllers and which are the cheapest.
One thus waits indeed with these Mac a major change, all at least with the models 27" who are now based on a platform of a desktop machines. In the long term, it is probable that Apple will go this route for all the iMacs. This will certainly depend on the ease to make a good cooling system in the body of the 21,5". This change of strategy also explains the very weak variation of prices between the 21,5" model the 27" line entry is that of 150€ more. Although the larger screen and the body are much more expensive for Apple, they can be largely offset with the price of the processor that costs several hundreds of Euros less than those intended for the portables. One can note elsewhere that Apple has done everything for these difference not be obvious. The option to pass to a 3,33 GHz processor costs the same price on the two machines.
In exchange, Apple finds itself with having to manage an impressive quantity of mother boards for these new iMac. There are now 8 models of them:
- Two for the iMac 21,5" containing 9400M (one for each frequency of CPU).
- Two for the iMac 21,5" having in more one connector MXM to graft the graphics cards there
- Two for the iMac 27" Core 2 duo
- One for the iMac Core i5
- One for the iMac Core i7
There remains a question to which none of us yet has an answer. We do not know if it is possible to change the processors or if Apple also decided to solder them directly onto the mother boards. The fact that they are referred to by frequency makes us fear the worst.
