iMacs crack 3GHz with new refresh

Apple is now, for the first time, offering processors running at faster than 3GHz in a consumer-oriented system. The company's newly refreshed iMac line now includes 6MB L2 cache and a faster 1066 MHz front-side bus across the entire line, and 2GB of memory standard on all except the cheapest model. The top-of-the-line 24-inch iMac now offers a 3.06 GHz Intel processor and the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics as options.

Available models now include:

20-inch 2.4 GHz iMac, $1200:

• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 1GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
• 250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB GDDR3 memory;

20-inch 2.66 GHz iMac, $1500

• 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB GDDR3 memory;

24-inch 2.8 GHz iMac, $1800:

• 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB GDDR3 memory;

24-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, $2200

• 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
• 500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB memory

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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