PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS:
'mid 2010' iMac
Posted Tuesday, July 27th, 2010, by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist
Updated at 7PM PST with comments on the Mac Pro update.
Updated on July 29th, with addendum.
Here are the key changes to the iMac which appeared on the Apple online store today:
1. GPU upgrade
We list this first because it is the most significant update. The top model now sports a Radeon HD 5750 with 1GB of GDDR5 video memory. That's a serious GPU. We're looking forward to running our 3D graphics tests comparing it not only to the 'late 2009' iMac Core i7 with the Radeon HD 4850, but also to the Mac Pro with Radeon HD 4870 and GeForce GTX 285.
2. Dual internal drives
This is cool. You can custom order it with a 256G SSD and a 1TB or 2TB HDD. What's not cool is the cost for having both: $750 to $900. Hopefully the drive bay is "user serviceable" so you can add the SSD at a later time.
3. CPU speed bump
The Core i7 is now available at 2.93GHz -- same top core frequency as the fastest Mac Pro. It can run as fast as 3.60GHz when Turbo Boost kicks in and create up to 8 virtual cores when Hyper-Threading kicks in.
Which iMac to Choose?
We prepared this table to highlight the key differences in CPU and GPU:
|
Processor Name
|
Core i3
-540
|
Core i3
-550
|
Core i5
-680
|
Core i5
-760
|
Core i7
-870
|
|
iMac models
|
21" only
|
21" and 27"
|
21" and 27"
|
27" only
|
27" only
|
|
Core Frequency
|
3.06GHz
|
3.20GHz
|
3.60GHz
|
2.80GHz
|
2.93GHz
|
|
Turbo Boost?
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Max Boost Frequency
|
3.06GHz
|
3.20GHz
|
3.86GHz
|
3.33GHz
|
3.60GHz
|
|
Number of Cores
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
|
Hyper-Threading?
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
Max Virtual Cores
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
8
|
|
Level 3 Cache
|
4MB
|
4MB
|
4MB
|
8MB
|
8MB
|
|
Radeon GPU
|
HD 4670
|
HD 5670
|
HD 5670
|
HD 5750
|
HD 5750
|
(See Intel's processor specifications for more details.)
CONCLUSION (updated)
These are welcome upgrades to the iMac which was already very good. As we wrote last November, the iMac Core i7 more than ever brefore, bridges the gap between the iMacs and Mac Pros. But in August 2010, the Mac Pro will increase the gap with the Mac Pro 'Westmere' and optional Radeon HD 5870 GPU.
We're still puzzled by the lack of an external eSATA port on the iMac -- an option that would allow the user to take advantage of external SATA enclosures capable of 140MB/s with a single HDD or Port-Multiplier multi-bay SATA enclosures capable of 230MB/s. One FireWire 800 port maxing at 80MB/s is lame by today's standards. NEWS FLASH: OWC will add an eSATA port to your iMac.
ADDENDUM
If you are wondering if you can add a second drive after you received the 2010 iMac, the answer "yes and no." For details, see the Other World Computing "reveal" of the insides.
There is an OS X update for the 2010 iMac which "resolves compatibility and performance-related graphics issues." It will not install on 2009 or older iMacs -- for now.
ADDENDUM #2
We posted some 3D Game results for the 2010 iMac Core i7 versus the 2009 iMac Core i7 versus the 2009 Mac Pro.
ADDENDUM #3
If you order your 2010 iMac with a single HDD or SSD, you can upgrade it later with a second drive, thanks to Other World Computing's new iMac upgrade program.
And if you want to move your slot-load SuperDrive to an exernal enclosure and put two SSDs or notebook HDDs in its place, MaxUpgrades has a kit for that.
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