Apple introduces iMac with Thunderbolt

by Tom Brewster  |  Wednesday 4 May 2011
Apple introduces iMac with Thunderbolt

The new iMac comes with a number of Intel-made goodies, like Thunderbolt technology and Sandy Bridge processors.

Apple has announced the latest iteration of the iMac, featuring Intel’s Thunderbolt technology and a choice of powerful processors.

The Thunderbolt technology will help users connect to high performance peripherals like RAID arrays at theoretical speeds of up to 10Gb/s.

The 21.5in iMac has a single Thunderbolt port, whilst the 27in model comes with two, Apple confirmed.

As for chips, the iMac comes with quad-core Intel Core i5 processors based on the Sandy Bridge architecture.

Users can choose Core i7 processors with up to 3.4 GHz of juice, whilst New AMD Radeon HD graphics processors also feature.

Apple claimed, thanks to these enhancements, the new iMac is up to 70 per cent faster than the previous generation, with three times the performance.

“With next generation quad-core processors, powerful new graphics, Thunderbolt technology and a FaceTime HD camera, we've made the world’s best desktop even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing.

The new iMac retains the aluminum and glass design of its predecessor, as well as a LED-backlit high resolution display and Apple’s Magic Mouse.

The desktops are available immediately with prices starting at $1399.

 

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Source: Copyright © ITPro, Dennis Publishing

See more about:  imac  |  apple  |  mobilecomputing  |  thunderbolt
 
 

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Comments: 4
amcmo
6 May 2011
 Wasn't it your un-esteemed mag that once said Macs were always a generation behind PC's?

Sandy Bridge out the door with the first of them (but wait there's more) - what you haven't mentioned is that the chipset is the Z68, shipping in product a full week before Intel officially releases it. The option of an SSD drive in addition to the standard 1TB shipped with the O/S installed and Apple Apps on the SSD for super fast boot. Thunderbolt before anyone else is even thinking about it, with external drives to use it on the way.

OK, the price of the 3.4 i7 is around $2k4 which is enough for a second thought, but then I guess on the sum of the parts it's not too far removed from anything else with the same spec (before you flame, don't forget the top of the range 27" display)

And before the Android/PC fanbois jump in, we have 1 only Macbook Pro amongst all our PC's as of this moment, but tempted to put one of these on my desk (I own the company, so I get to choose whatever I want). With Parallels I could get the best of both worlds.


Comment made about the PC & Tech Authority article:
Apple introduces iMac with Thunderbolt?
The new iMac comes with a number of Intel-made goodies, like Thunderbolt technology and Sandy Bridge processors.

What do you think? Join the discussion.
.:Cyb3rGlitch:.
6 May 2011
 Not sure what your point is. The Z68 chipset is nothing special, and the Sandy Bridge platform has been available for a while now.

The advantages of Z68 over P67 are:
- Can use the integrated GPU in the CPU and allow overclocking of the CPU at the same time (which means nothing on the Mac, since you can't overclock it anyway)
- Has SSD caching (which is nice if you have a small SSD)

It also allows QuickSync transcoding on-die, but you have a dedicated GPU anyway.

Z68 is what P67 should have been, but in saying that, it's an incremental upgrade.

amcmo, you should put your last paragraph in your sig, since you feel the need to point it out in majority of your posts. It'll save you typing it up all the time. ;)

But in all honesty, no one cares what you use/own, as long as your posts are valid and constructive. Then again, you tend to take snipes regularly, so you probably should tell everyone you have PCs and such. Because that makes you unbiased, or something. I mean, what would fanboy be doing on an "un-esteemed[sic]" magazine's forum, right?
amcmo
7 May 2011
 Yes, the Z68 is an incremental upgrade, however as this mag and a good number of the Android/MS fanbois never tire of claiming that Apple is always 1 gen behind PC's, the iMac/ipad2/etc latest gen Apples clearly put the lie to that claim.

I re-state that we are a PC centric company because every time I post anything positive about an Apple, other non-Android product or take this mag and it's columnists to task for inaccuracies the Android/MS Fanbois accuse me of being an Apple Fan.

My posts are all valid - even when I take a swipe at 'we only do evil' Google who have only just apparently gotten around to deleting the 'accidentally' collected data they collected from Australian idiots who don't secure their WiFi - Fined in Germany, still arguing in France.

Reality is I like good tech, regardless of who makes it. At present, with the iPad 2 and the latest Mac's Apple is leading that race. iPhone - about on par with the current Androids (if only I didnt have to trust my privacy to Google) Stick with the Nokia for now.
.:Cyb3rGlitch:.
7 May 2011
 Are they though? I mean, it's nice that it has SSD caching, but that tech has been available on the PC side for ages (just not integrated into the chipset). I mean, it's great that they have it a whole week early, but it's nothing to write home about.

The generation debate is silly on both sides. I wouldn't consider a new generation at all, just as I wouldn't call the H67 chipset a generation behind the P67. They're all the same generation, that is the six series express chipsets.

That's not to say these Macs should be ignored. They have their market, just as PCs have theirs. It's a matter of the users needs and wants. Personally, I would like a Z68 because I can overclock it and retain the internal GPU functionality (which would make for an interesting HTPC :P).
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