iMac and eMac Index

iMac (Mid 2011)

Tweet this! Google + Digg it! Reddit Del.icio.us Short link: http://bit.ly/iA2Ocy

For 2011, the entire iMac line goes quad-core with Core i5 CPUs (and even faster i7 build-to-order options), moves to Intel's Sandy Bridge chipset, gets Turbo Boost 2.0 technology, adopts the next generation of AMD Radeon HD graphics processors, and gains the Thunderbolt technology introduced with the Early 2011 MacBook Pro models. The 27" iMac is Apple's first product with two Thunderbolt ports.

The entry-level iMac has 4 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive, and Apple's aluminum keyboard and Magic Mouse. All other models ship with a 1 TB hard drive and even more powerful Radeon graphics.

Apple now offers a solid-state drive (SSD) option on all iMacs except for the 2.5 GHz 21.5" model, an improvement over the 2010 iMac, where only the top-end model had SSD as a build-to-order option. With the 2.7 GHz and faster models, you can choose to replace the hard drive with a 256 GB SSD or have both a hard drive and an SSD installed, an Apple first. The 2011 iMac EFI Update, released 2011.05.05, enables 6 GBps SATA for even faster drive performance.

With all these changes, the iMac looks like it has ever since Apple moved to 21.5" and 27" screens in October 2009.

CPU speeds start at 2.5 GHz, and there's a 3.4 GHz i7 option for the 27" iMac making it the most powerful iMac to date. The optional faster i7 CPU (2.8 GHz on the 21.5" and 3.4 GHz on the 27") adds $200 to the iMac's price.

Apple has improved AirPort performance by building three WiFi antennas into the new iMac, allowing three channels with 150 Mbps bandwidth for a maxmimum bandwidth of 450 Mbps.

The smaller iMac has the same 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution as high-def television, and the 27" beastie provides an incredible 2560 x 1440 pixels. Both sizes are LED backlit, and the 27" iMac also allows video input over Thunderbolt, allowing another computer or video device (DVD or Blu-ray player) that supports DisplayPort or Thunderbolt to use the iMac's screen (it's not compatible with HDMI, DVI, or VGA, although there are third-party adapters). The SD Card slot, located on the right side below the SuperDrive, supports SDXC.

Apple's wireless keyboard is standard, as is the Magic Mouse. The new iMac can be ordered with Apple's Magic Trackpad.

4 GB of RAM remains standard across the line, and maximum RAM stands at 16 GB using four 4 GB modules (the 27" i7 model supports up to 32 GB).

The base 2.5 GHz 21.5" model has AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics with 512 MB of dedicated memory. The 2.7 GHz 21.5" and 27" models use Radeon 6770M graphics with 512 MB of video memory, and the top-end 3.1 GHz 27" iMac haa Radeon 6970M graphics with 1 GB of video memory (expandable to 2 GB).

The Mid 2011 iMacs have 4 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800 (which is backward compatible with 400), gigabit ethernet, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, an SDXC Card slot, and an 8x SuperDrive.

Intel-based Macs use a partitioning scheme known as GPT. Only Macintel models can boot from GPT hard drives. Both PowerPC and Intel Macs can boot from APM (Apple's old partitioning scheme) hard drives, which is the format you must use to create a universal boot drive in Leopard. PowerPC Macs running any version of the Mac OS prior to 10.4.2 cannot mount GPT volumes. PowerPC Macs won't let you install OS X to a USB drive or choose it as your startup volume, although there is a work around for that.

Details

Mac OS

Core System

Video

Drives

Expansion

Physical

Upgrades

Online Resources

Go to the iMac and eMac index.

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Opinions expressed are those of their authors and may not reflect the opinion of Cobweb Publishing. Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all.
  Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2013 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Low End Mac, LowEndMac, and lowendmac.com are trademarks of Cobweb Publishing Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad, iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, Mac Pro, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
  Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it, and we don't share the information we have with others. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

FollowLow End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Macon Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Quantcast

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
Cult of Mac
Shrine of Apple
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac Museum
Deal Brothers
DealMac
Mac2Sell
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End Mac FAQ

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
Macgo Blu-ray Player
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeatMedia. For price quotes and advertising information,please contact at BackBeat Media(646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link