Apple iMac (17-inch, Late 2006) vs Apple iMac 24″ (M3)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleiMac (17-inch, Late 2006) | AppleiMac 24″ (M3) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | September 2006 | November 2023 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo T5600, Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 or Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 | Apple M3 |
| CPU cores | 2 | 8 |
| Graphics | Intel GMA 950 (64 MB shared DDR2) or ATI Radeon X1600 (128 MB GDDR3) | 8-core GPU or 10-core GPU |
| Memory | 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB or 3 GB | 8 GB or 24 GB (better) |
| Storage | 160 GB to 500 GB | 256 GB to 2 TB (better) |
| CPU | 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo T5600 with 2 MB shared L2 cache; higher configuration has 2.0 GHz T7200 or optional 2.16 GHz T7400 with 4 MB shared L2 cache. All use a 667 MHz system bus; exact identities cross-checked with EveryMac. | 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores |
| GPU | Intel GMA 950 with 64 MB DDR2 shared system memory on the 1.83 GHz configuration; ATI Radeon X1600 with 128 MB GDDR3 on the 2.0 and 2.16 GHz configurations | 8-core GPU (two-port model) or 10-core GPU (four-port models); hardware-accelerated ray tracing |
| AI engine | – | 16-core Neural Engine |
| Memory bandwidth | – | 100GB/s |
| Memory type | Two SO-DIMM slots for PC2-5300 (667 MHz) DDR2 SDRAM. Entry configuration has two 256 MB modules, configurable to 1 or 2 GB; higher configurations have two 512 MB modules, configurable to 2 or 3 GB. | – |
| Storage type | 160 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive; higher configurations can have 250 or 500 GB. Entry configuration has a 24x Combo drive for DVD reading and CD writing; higher configurations have an 8x SuperDrive with 2.4x double-layer DVD burning. | SSD |
| Media engine | – | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; video decode engine; video encode engine; ProRes encode and decode engine; AV1 decode |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 17″ | 24″ |
| Resolution | 1440 × 900 | 4480 × 2520 (better) |
| Panel | – | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | – | 60 Hz |
| Brightness | 250 nits | 500 nits (better) |
| Display type | Widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD, millions of colours; typical contrast 500:1, viewing angles 140° horizontal and 120° vertical. Panel technology and refresh rate unpublished. | 4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches |
| Pixel density | – | 218 ppi |
| Display features | – | 1 billion colours; wide colour (P3); True Tone |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | 2 × USB4, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | – |
| External displays | Up to 1 | Up to 1 |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11g; 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme | Wi-Fi 6E |
| Bluetooth | – | 5.3 |
| Camera | iSight camera | 1080p FaceTime HD |
| Back ports | Three USB 2.0 ports on the computer and two USB 1.1 ports on its keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports sharing 8 W, mini-DVI, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone/optical digital output and line-in/optical digital input. Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR is standard on higher configurations; not standard on the entry configuration, but listed as an order option in Apple's UK announcement. | Two-port model: 2 × Thunderbolt / USB 4 with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s), USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s), Gigabit Ethernet optional; four-port models add 2 × USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s) and Gigabit Ethernet as standard; 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones |
| External displays | One external display in extended desktop or mirroring mode; digital resolutions up to 1920 × 1200 and analogue up to 2048 × 1536. DVI, VGA, S-video and composite adapters sold separately. | One at up to 6K 60Hz |
| Camera | – | 1080p FaceTime HD camera; advanced image signal processor with computational video |
| Speakers | Built-in stereo speakers with internal 12 W digital amplifier and built-in microphone | High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo sound; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos |
| Microphones | – | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse; Apple Remote included with higher configurations and optional on the entry model; optional wireless keyboard and mouse for higher configurations | Magic Keyboard (two-port model) or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (four-port models), and Magic Mouse; Magic Trackpad or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad available instead |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | All-in-one | All-in-one |
| Weight | – | 4.43 kg |
| Width × depth × height | 426 × 173 × 430 mm | 547 × 147 × 461 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Maker weight 15.5 pounds (7 kg), varying by configuration and manufacturing process; shared scalar weight omitted | – |
| Power supply | Maximum continuous power 180 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz single phase | 143W external power adapter; power lead (2 m) |
| Colours | – | Two-port model: Blue, Green, Pink, Silver; four-port models also Yellow, Orange, Purple |
| In the box | iMac, Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation; Apple Remote except on the entry configuration. Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, iLife '06, Front Row, Photo Booth, Microsoft Office 2004 Test Drive and iWork trial. | iMac, Magic Keyboard (with Touch ID on four-port models), Magic Mouse, 143W power adapter, power lead (2 m), USB-C to Lightning Cable |
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