Apple iMac (17-inch, Mid 2006) vs Apple iMac 24″ (M3)

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iMac (17-inch, Mid 2006) compared with iMac 24″ (M3)

	AppleiMac (17-inch, Mid 2006)	AppleiMac 24″ (M3)
Overview
Released
Released	July 2006	November 2023
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core Duo T2400	Apple M3
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	8
Graphics
Graphics	Intel GMA950	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU
Memory
Memory	512 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB	8 GB or 24 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	80 GB to 160 GB	256 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo; exact T2400 identity cross-checked with EveryMac. Existing chip record is reused; no sibling processor figures are borrowed.	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Intel GMA950 integrated graphics, sharing system memory.	8-core GPU (two-port model) or 10-core GPU (four-port models); hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	100GB/s
Memory type
Memory type	667 MHz DDR2; 512 MB standard, configurable to 1 or 2 GB. The exact maker manual specifies matched pairs of 512 MB or 1 GB modules for the upgrades.	–
Storage type
Storage type	80 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 160 GB; 24x Combo drive reads DVDs and reads/writes CDs, rather than burning DVDs.	SSD
Media engine
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
Screen size	17″	24″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	4480 × 2520 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	60 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	250 nits	500 nits (better)
Display type
Display type	EveryMac specifies 1440 × 900 pixels, typical brightness 250 cd/m², contrast 500:1 and viewing angles of 140 degrees horizontal/120 degrees vertical. Exact model panel technology and refresh rate remain unpublished.	4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches
Pixel density
Pixel density	–	218 ppi
Display features
Display features	–	1 billion colours; wide colour (P3); True Tone
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × USB4, headphone jack
External displays
External displays	–	Up to 1
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11g	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	–	5.3
Camera
Camera	iSight camera	1080p FaceTime HD
Back ports
Back ports	Three USB 2.0 ports on the computer, plus two on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports, Mini-DVI video output, Gigabit Ethernet and audio input/output. External-display resolution is omitted because the secondary figure explicitly refers to a different later model.	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
External displays	–	One at up to 6K 60Hz
Camera
Camera	–	1080p FaceTime HD camera; advanced image signal processor with computational video
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.	High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo sound; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Microphones
Microphones	–	Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse; Apple Remote is optional. Macworld confirms Bluetooth is not included.	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
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	–	4.43 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	–	547 × 147 × 461 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Power supply
Power supply	–	143W external power adapter; power lead (2 m)
Colours
Colours	–	Two-port model: Blue, Green, Pink, Silver; four-port models also Yellow, Orange, Purple
In the box
In the box	Institution-only education configuration; Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.6 and iLife ’06. Later secondary OS version 10.4.7 does not replace the maker launch wording.	iMac, Magic Keyboard (with Touch ID on four-port models), Magic Mouse, 143W power adapter, power lead (2 m), USB-C to Lightning Cable