Four flavors of iMac
The iMac has come such a long way from the days when it resembled a very chic lampshade. The best part about the refresh of the iMac line is the introduction of a 24-inch model for only $1,499, thus proving that the rumor mill is right once again, though the mutterings of an iMac refresh have been audible since prior to Macworld.
We're now down to one 20" model for $1199US, which features a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 duo processor, 2GB memory (upgradeable to 8GB), 320GB hard drive, 8x double-layer SuperDrive and a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M video card with 256MB of shared DDR3 memory.
We now have three flavors of 24" iMacs to choose from now, ranging from $1499US up to $2199US. The $1499 model has the same 2.66GHz processor as the 20" while the $1799 bumps you up to 2.93GHz (3.06GHz optional) and the $2199 has 3.06GHz. All three 24" models come with 4GB memory with the option to upgrade to 8. The two lower-end 24" models come with 640GB hard drives (can be upgraded to 1TB), while the high-end comes with a 1TB drive.
The $1499 24" has the same video card as the 20", but the $1799 model has a NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory video card and the $2199 model has a NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory video card. Both of these models can upgrade to a ATI Radeon HD 4850 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory for an additional $200.
All the models come with six USB ports, sorta: Four on the machine itself and two on the keyboard, then a single FireWire 800 port, built-in iSight camera and MiniDisplayPort. It also comes with a wired keyboard -- sans numeric keypad. If you want a wired keyboard with a numeric keypad, it's free but you'll have to indicate it when doing a BTO order on Apple's site.
Apple seems to be out to make 20" displays a thing of the past as the iMac narrows its line down to the one 20" machine, and the 20" Cinema Display has disappered completely. By introducing a third 24" iMac at the same price of the former high-end 20", Apple is making sure that these larger machines are becoming more affordable.
