imac

Apple unveiled the new iMac desktops today.  The new models keep the 21.5″ and 27″ screen sizes and step up to Core i5 processors across the board in the base configuration – with Core i7 processors available as an upgrade.

As expected, the iMac now has Thunderbolt I/O ports (like the recently announced MacBook Pro models), which deliver data transfer rates at a whopping 10 Gbps – up to 20x faster than USB 2.0 and up to 12x faster than FireWire 800.  The 21.5″ models sport one Thunderbolt port, while the 27″ models offer two ports.  Four USB 2.0 and a Firewire 800 port round out the I/O options on the backside of the new iMacs.

Although you’ll be hard pressed to find a Thunderbolt capable hard drive for the next couple of months, this I/O tech is shaping up to be the next Firewire.  By making it the defacto standard in its latest computers, Apple has assured adoption of Thunderbolt by the main players in the external storage world.

Apple went with the AMD Radeon 6750M and 6970M graphics cards as available configurations in the iMacs – with up to 2GB GDDR5 video memory.  The 21.5″ models come with 4GB RAM and are expandable to a max 8GB RAM, while the 27″ iMacs support up to 16GB RAM.

The new iMacs are up for ordering on Apple’s website.  Pricing remains $1199 for the entry-level model and up to $1999 for the top-end 27″ model – with additional configuration options available for all models.  Also look for availability on B&H Photo and Amazon.com.

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