Apple updates iMac as expected

Yup, another Apple store outage reveals yet another bump in product specs. This time, it's the iMac getting the treatment just as Geeksugar and our own sources predicted -- on a Monday though instead of Apple's customary Tuesday morning approach. So what's new? Well, for starters you're now looking at the latest Core 2 Duo Penryn processors. For the same starting price of $1,199, you now get a 20-inch iMac with 2.4GHz proc, 128MB of ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics, 1GB of memory and a 250GB 7200RPM disk. The top of the line 24-inch model now sports a 3.06GHz processor, 512MB of NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics, 2GB of memory, and a 320GB 7200rpm disk for $2,199. Rounding out the specs across the lineup are Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 802.11n WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet, built-in iSight cam, and 5x USB 2.0 (which includes the 2x on tethered keyboard) and 1x Firewire 400 and 1x Firewire 800. Same size, same weight and available now... yes, right now.

[ianzhere @ Apr 28th 2008 8:34AM]

YAY!

[Flashpoint @ Apr 28th 2008 8:49AM]

It can't play Crysis.

Therefore its nothing more than an overpriced LCD Monitor.

(you can low rank me, but, I don't care)

[thef1re @ Apr 28th 2008 8:51AM]

Hello I'm a Mac - and I'm a Pc

*MAC: So whats doing PC?

PC: Well I upgraded to 4gigs of RAM, a faster video card (not that you would need one) and a new sound card to replace my onboard one. How about you Mac?

*MAC: Ive been refreshing the Apple Store, hoping i get upgraded. Gee i Hate waiting to get upgraded.

^^ epic fail? perhaps!

[Haxxy @ Apr 28th 2008 9:09AM]

You know, in a worldly perspective, not everyone is a hardcore gamer or a power user. Regardless of your needs, it's still a good solution for what you would expect that average home user would need a computer for.

[Jason @ Apr 28th 2008 9:25AM]

Play Crysis? You do know the gaming market for PC in terms of actual people favors games like Mahjong, Hearts, and WoW, right?

All of which the 8800GS will do just fine on. But I guess it's just an overpriced LCD because it doesn't meet your needs and I suppose you were going to buy one right this instance if it did play Crysis. Guess Apple messed up again.

[James @ Apr 28th 2008 9:45AM]

"You know, in a worldly perspective, not everyone is a hardcore gamer or a power user"

If apple is aiming for the "average home user" then maybe they should price their products accordingly. You don't need to spend 1200 dollars on a computer for web browsing. And people wonder why Apple doesn't gain significant market share.

[kal326 @ Apr 28th 2008 9:58AM]

@Jason

So you mean the $2,199 model that has the 8800GS? With $2,199 I could build a PC that could not only run Crysis and all the other games mention, but I would also have enough left over to build/buy a seperate hackentosh.

[Patriks7 @ Apr 28th 2008 10:09AM]

well thats not a computer for just web browsing..

[rock99rock @ Apr 28th 2008 10:26AM]

Yea, dont forget it plays iTunes too. Geez

[Jason @ Apr 28th 2008 10:27AM]

@kal326

I am sure the ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT would probably play the games just as well, if you want the lower price, but that would be nitpicking the topic.

Also I'll let you know how my grandmother does when she builds her computer to save cash. Though it might be awhile as she still has trouble figuring out email, that and trying to pry her away long enough as she combos the speed/strength while snapping Chinese in her 'nana' suit. She really loves that.

[Dale @ Apr 28th 2008 10:34AM]

Can't play Crysis? Then Crysis' developers seriously need to look at optimising their engine. Unreal Tournament III runs perfectly at 1440x900 with all settings maxed on my nearly year old MacBook Pro.

[Kurian @ Apr 28th 2008 10:47AM]

I won't deny the coolness factor, but its still overpriced crap.

[Zak @ Apr 28th 2008 11:23AM]

I love how everybody loves to call it overpriced or say "I can build a PC for so much less blah blah blah" while apparently ignoring the fact that the $2199 model comes with a 24" S-IPS panel monitor. No go ahead, price one of those out. And notice I said S-IPS, not some shit TN panel monitor.

[Nick M. @ Apr 28th 2008 11:42AM]

I've fallen out of hardcore gamming, but if a 3.0Ghz Core2Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a video card with 512MB on board still cant play a game reasonably well... thats fucked up!

@ James
"If apple is aiming for the 'average home user' then maybe they should price their products accordingly. You don't need to spend 1200 dollars on a computer for web browsing."

If you just want web browsing pay less and get a mac mini if you want a Mac.. if not then buy something else. iMacs are typically for more than just web browsing. They are more for the active family that would want to do some multimedia stuff. And actually if you break down the price its not a bad deal. 20" monitor at best buy would be like $279... Stand alone Desktop with similar specs around $750 - 800... not including the iLife perks of having a free consumer level programs for Video Editing, Photo Editing (thats more than just taking out red-eye/roatating/croping), Web Page maker. Yes there are much better deals for people to find, but if you put it in perspective of what it offers and compare that to competition and then figure in that it is an Apple product.. its not a bad deal.

"And people wonder why Apple doesn't gain significant market share."

Who wonders that? Apple has gained significant market share considering their business model. Apple price's itself and views itself as a High End Luxury good. And they continue to sell more and more products to more and more new comers... I'd say they are doing pretty well.

[Chris @ Apr 28th 2008 12:17PM]

Zak, according to Wikipedia, they are using H-IPS on the iMacs. 24" H-IPS monitors currently cost over $1000 BTW. With that in mind, the price doesn't seem so bad.

[rv @ Apr 28th 2008 12:34PM]

Either way you can't argue that its not expensive.wayy overpriced

[clak @ Apr 28th 2008 12:51PM]

Actually you can play Crysis on the older iMacs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlwmP9kp7m0&feature=related

Bioshock on an iMac

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-f5KsGsBFE&feature=related

[Michael Chastain @ Apr 28th 2008 6:41PM]

I'm not familiar with the intricacies of S-PVA vs. S-IVS but I can tell you that I just ordered a Core2Quad Inspiron 530 from Dell with a Q6600, 3GB RAM, 8600GT 256MB video card, 500GB 7200 RPM HD, dual optical drives (DVD/RW & CDRW/DVD combo), card reader, and TWO (yes, two) highly ranked Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP S-PVA monitors for $1,866 (PC was $668, monitors $599 each).

You'll have a hard time convincing me the iMac screen is twice as good as a 2408WFP. I'll also be using my monitors for at least two or three computers, saving me even more. 2408WFP Review: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/184416/dell-ultrasharp-2408wfp.html

[Ferdinand @ Apr 28th 2008 8:37AM]

Can't keep track of all these nvidia GPUs. Isn't 8800GT supposed to be better than the GS variant? Why the 'weaker' GPU for imac?

[thef1re @ Apr 28th 2008 8:39AM]

perhaps GS= GameSupported edition?

[Lurch @ Apr 28th 2008 9:23AM]

Maybe because you can't stuff the ginormous radiator+fan/water cooling system in the 2" thick case. Or because the 8800GT will suck the whole of the electricity the power supply of the iMac delivers.

Top of the line GPUs are nice and all, but they are power hungry and hot as hell.

[bobartig @ Apr 28th 2008 11:37AM]

It's probably a mobile chip, or a a low-power variant of the 8800 family. Apple tends to use one of those two for the iMacs to keep the thermals in check.

[David @ Apr 29th 2008 5:48PM]

nVidia usually names their cards like this (from low to high):


GS -> GT -> GTS -> GTX

so the GS is the low end of that particular model, the GT is the standard, GTS is higher performance, and GTX is top of the line.

[Juaquin @ Apr 28th 2008 12:58PM]

Cus if they used a GT it would compete with the Mac Pro, and we can't have that. Of course, they could pony up and release an 8800GTX/ULTRA or 9800GTX for the Mac Pro.

[The Engadgeter @ Apr 28th 2008 3:44PM]

First of all, the 512mb 8800gs and 512mb 8800gt are not all that different to begin with - same chip (g92) and same memory (512), but thats about where the similarities end. To put it simply, you can think of the 8800gs as the cheaper version of the 8800gt, with nvidia basically putting the breaks on the card so it doesn't compete with 8800gt.

Second of all, the 8800gt isn't exactly a huge card and doesn't need water cooling by any means (its actually a single slot card). It definitely produces more heat than the 8800gs, but apple is never really known for graphical power, so thats why they can be expected to never choose the card that gamers want. For a computer as expensive as the mac pro, people would expect a 9800gtx or similar card, but you're lucky if you get an 8800gt. Put simply - if you plan on gaming at high res with the latest games, you're stuck with console or windows.
:: uses honesty magic to keep the apple fainbois at bay ::

[Joe @ Apr 28th 2008 8:37AM]

No more "Millions of colors" on the 20-inch. Funny how that works ain't it.

[ScooterDe @ Apr 28th 2008 12:18PM]

iPhone ripoff

[Joe @ Apr 28th 2008 4:33PM]

Actually Joe,

it still says millions of colours for the specs for all iMac systems.

from Joe. :)

[thef1re @ Apr 28th 2008 8:38AM]

So can this new graphics card play COD4 or TF2??

Why so much excitement? Seriously i can upgrade my PC anytime.

[Sean @ Apr 28th 2008 9:32AM]

u do aware this is an Apple fanboy site right?

[Esat Dedezade @ Apr 28th 2008 9:35AM]

I dont think so.

But he may BE aware of it.

I'll let myself out.

[Isaac Solomon @ Apr 28th 2008 9:56AM]

you mean sort of like the old one could? do your homework.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8hUxhqYb3o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCrwmARnKCk

[CM @ Apr 28th 2008 10:06AM]

I play both of those games with ease using the last version 24 inch imac and updated drivers from ATI. Looks great.

[XGM @ Apr 28th 2008 3:37PM]

I play both of them on my 1 year old MacBook Pro. Not only that but i also play TF2 native on OS X and CoD4 is being worked on too.

[Joe @ Apr 28th 2008 8:40AM]

Well http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html still shows the old iMac with "Millions of Colors" for now.

[Joe @ Apr 28th 2008 8:41AM]

They updated it... still "Millions of Colors" it's probably unlikely they they're using a different LCD panel anyway.

[CT A @ Apr 28th 2008 8:40AM]

Store is back up with iMac updates! 3.06 ghz speeeeeeeed!


Speed racer?

[Mike Cerm @ Apr 28th 2008 8:53AM]

No quad-core? No thanks.

It's like they're encouraging people to build Hackentoshes.

[supermeerkat @ Apr 28th 2008 11:04AM]

@Mike Cerm

You want quad core? Buy a Mac Pro - Quad Core x 2.

Troll.

[maz @ Apr 28th 2008 8:49AM]

now am debating whether to get the dell laptop gaming machine with the dual sli geforce 8800gtx or this slick imac..advice people?

[Peter @ Apr 28th 2008 9:57AM]

If you want to game, then the dell. For any other purposes, by the imac. If you run bootcamp, just use rivatuner to up the frequencies on 8800gs, and you'll make it basically equivalent to an 8800gt, which will run most games almost as well as the dual 8800mgtx's in the laptop. I would rather have the imac, but if you're a hardcore gamer, then the dell is what you'd want.

[MeatyPi @ Apr 28th 2008 8:49AM]

This is somewhat exciting I guess, but I was expecting a bit more, like a blender and billions of colors.

[Michel @ Apr 28th 2008 8:55AM]

Such nicely underpowered machines at way too much $$

And people still buy that crap, tjeez...

Just built a comp for my bro : E6600, 2GIG DDR2 800mHz RAM, SLI abit mobo, 8800gt 512mb, 320GB HD, DVD burner, keyboard+mouse(logitech), 20" TFT acer....and all the other usual bells and whistles.

800$

Yes i did assemble it myself but hell...double the performance for 1/3rd price? Thank you very much indeed.

[TheSpecialist @ Apr 28th 2008 8:58AM]

@ Michel

And this is the difference between an iMac and your new 'super' computer.

http://images.apple.com/imac/design/images/gallery/imac_5_20071026.jpg

[thef1re @ Apr 28th 2008 9:04AM]

owned

[Fenix @ Apr 28th 2008 9:05AM]

@TheSpecialist

And you're willing to pay $1400 more for a few hidden wires and an all-in-one machine you can't even upgrade yourself (barring RAM and hard drive, of course)? I'd take Michel's $800 over this iMac any day. Nothing a few zip ties and wire enclosures couldn't fix.

[jax @ Apr 28th 2008 9:24AM]

@ Fenix:

So what, you are going to zip-wire a monitor to an ATX case? eeewww...

[Ryan Trevisol @ Apr 28th 2008 9:28AM]

I'm not in love with the hardware as much as I'm willing to pay the price of admission to use OSX. I'm absolutely in love with Leopard.

I'm just pissed they didn't bump the Mac Mini.

[Kizorblade @ Apr 28th 2008 9:35AM]

You ask any average guy out there on the street, ask him which one he will choose.

Most will go with the iMac, they don't need such power and tend to put looks over performance. Plus, they would crap themselves if you told them to upgrade the Random Access Memory, they don't need to upgrade.
And those on Engadget don't really count for the majority of the people.

[John @ Apr 28th 2008 9:47AM]

Seriously... Every time i use Windows on Parallels the damned thing makes me restart for "critical updates," and I'm rudely reminded about why I made the switch. Part of the problem, admittedly, is that Apple comes off as so elitist that it makes DIYers and gamers see red, which is understandable, but you really do get a lot for your money. I couldn't even think about not having Front Row, iChat, and iMovie, plus you can get a ton of freeware programs that are fully functional (Quicksilver, Shakespeer, and Transmission (also on Linux) for example). For Windows, every little utility costs money or bugs you for it on a splash screen, and most don't work quite the way you'd like.

To OP, your $800 rig is pretty nice, but keep in mind that you're not really saving money on the hardware, you're saving money by cutting out parts of the product chain. Your labor costs are zero and the profit that would normally go to the company stays in your pocket.