The newest Apple iMacs were announced last October and feature a number of significant improvements. Most notably, the new iMacs are much slimmer and lighter. In fact, the new iMac is just 5mm thick along its edges. This was achieved using a process called friction-stir welding, which removes the 2mm gap of air that used to separate the front glass panel and display and creates a seamless and super strong bond. Additionally, the new iMac also loses its optical drive.
In terms of specifications, our 21.5-inch iMac came with a top-spec 3.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory, NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M discrete graphics and (optional) 1TB Fusion Drive.
In a nutshell, when you opt for either the 1TB or 3TB Fusion Drive, what you get is a 128GB flash drive and a 1TB / 3TB mechanical hard disk. The two drives are then virtually combined into a single volume, and thanks to algorithms within OS X Mountain Lion, files that are frequently used are copied over to the flash drive, while other files are left on the mechanical hard disk. The end result is apps that both launch and run much faster.
We found that the new iMac didn’t boot or reboot quite as quick as mid-2012 Retina MacBook Pro which has a 500GB flash drive. However, it did fire up Adobe Photoshop CS6 in a mere 2.8 seconds.
We also tested the three systems using Geekbench and found that the new iMac’s overall score was about 5% better than that of the Retina MacBook Pro, and over 30% superior to the late-2011 MacBook Pro.
All things considered, the new iMac is a sexy and powerful all-in-one system. However, as is the case with all Apple products, such levels of design and performance comes at a price. Our test system came with the optional Core i7 processor and 1TB Fusion Drive, both of which are pretty costly add-ons at $280 and $350 respectively. This brings the total cost of our system to $2,717.
Additionally, the new 21.5- inch iMac no longer has any user-upgradeable components, as the memory is soldered on to the logic board, and the hard drive is pretty much inaccessible by design. This means you’d have to decide while ordering if you need that 16GB upgrade or perhaps the 3TB Fusion Drive. Incidentally, the 27-inch iMac does have user-upgradeable memory.
However, if you are not picky about performance, the entry-level 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.7GHz quad-core Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M graphics can be had for a much more affordable $1,788.
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7-3770S (3.1GHz)
MEMORY: 8GB DDR3-1600MHz (Up to 16GB)
GRAPHICS: NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M 512MB GDDR5
STORAGE: 1TB Fusion Drive (optional)
DISPLAY: 21.5-inch Full HD IPS displayDIMENSIONS 45 x 52.8 x 17.5 cm
WEIGHT: 5.68kg
CAMERA: FaceTime HD camera
I/O PORTS: 4 x USB 3.0 ports, 2 x Thunderbolt ports, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet
WIFI: IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible
AUDIO: Stereo speakers, Headphone jack
In a nutshell, when you opt for either the 1TB or 3TB Fusion Drive, what you get is a 128GB flash drive and a 1TB / 3TB mechanical hard disk. The two drives are then virtually combined into a single volume, and thanks to algorithms within OS X Mountain Lion, files that are frequently used are copied over to the flash drive, while other files are left on the mechanical hard disk. The end result is apps that both launch and run much faster.
We found that the new iMac didn’t boot or reboot quite as quick as mid-2012 Retina MacBook Pro which has a 500GB flash drive. However, it did fire up Adobe Photoshop CS6 in a mere 2.8 seconds.
We also tested the three systems using Geekbench and found that the new iMac’s overall score was about 5% better than that of the Retina MacBook Pro, and over 30% superior to the late-2011 MacBook Pro.
All things considered, the new iMac is a sexy and powerful all-in-one system. However, as is the case with all Apple products, such levels of design and performance comes at a price. Our test system came with the optional Core i7 processor and 1TB Fusion Drive, both of which are pretty costly add-ons at $280 and $350 respectively. This brings the total cost of our system to $2,717.
Additionally, the new 21.5- inch iMac no longer has any user-upgradeable components, as the memory is soldered on to the logic board, and the hard drive is pretty much inaccessible by design. This means you’d have to decide while ordering if you need that 16GB upgrade or perhaps the 3TB Fusion Drive. Incidentally, the 27-inch iMac does have user-upgradeable memory.
However, if you are not picky about performance, the entry-level 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.7GHz quad-core Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M graphics can be had for a much more affordable $1,788.
SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7-3770S (3.1GHz)
MEMORY: 8GB DDR3-1600MHz (Up to 16GB)
GRAPHICS: NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M 512MB GDDR5
STORAGE: 1TB Fusion Drive (optional)
DISPLAY: 21.5-inch Full HD IPS displayDIMENSIONS 45 x 52.8 x 17.5 cm
WEIGHT: 5.68kg
CAMERA: FaceTime HD camera
I/O PORTS: 4 x USB 3.0 ports, 2 x Thunderbolt ports, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet
WIFI: IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible
AUDIO: Stereo speakers, Headphone jack
