Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009) vs Apple iMac 24″ (M3)

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iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009) compared with iMac 24″ (M3)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009)	AppleiMac 24″ (M3)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2009	November 2023
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E7600 or Intel Core 2 Duo E8600	Apple M3
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	8
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256 MB shared DDR3) or ATI Radeon HD 4670 (256 MB GDDR3)	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	8 GB or 24 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	500 GB to 2 TB	256 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo E7600 with 3 MB shared L2 cache or optional 3.33 GHz E8600 with 6 MB; exact identities cross-checked with EveryMac	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Base model has NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with at least 256 MB DDR3 shared with system memory; higher model has ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256 MB dedicated GDDR3	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	4 GB standard as two 2 GB modules of 1066 MHz DDR3; four user-accessible SO-DIMM slots support up to 16 GB. Macworld and Macwelt report an 8 GB factory option for this size, distinct from the maker's 16 GB supported maximum.	–
Storage type
Storage type	Base model has a 500 GB 7200 rpm hard drive; higher model has 1 TB, configurable to 2 TB. The model-specific storage upgrade division is cross-checked with Macworld. Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer DVD burning.	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	21.5″	24″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080	4480 × 2520 (better)
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	60 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	320 nits	500 nits (better)
Display type
Display type	Glossy LED-backlit IPS widescreen LCD, millions of colours, 178° horizontal/vertical viewing angle and maker typical brightness 320 cd/m²; refresh rate unpublished and omitted	4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches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	DisplayPort, 4 × USB-A, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack	2 × USB4, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	–
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	Up to 1
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	5.3
Camera
Camera	iSight camera	1080p FaceTime HD
Back ports
Back ports	Mini DisplayPort video output, four USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800 at 7 W, Gigabit Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone/optical digital output and line-in/optical digital input. FireWire and audio input described here; the SD slot is not labelled SDXC.	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	Full built-in resolution and one external display up to 2560 × 1600 simultaneously; extended desktop and mirroring, optional DVI/VGA/dual-link DVI adapters	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 with two internal 17 W amplifiers, microphone and support for Apple Stereo Headset microphones	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 Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse	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	9.3 kg	4.43 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	528 × 188.5 × 451 mm	547 × 147 × 461 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Power supply
Power supply	Maximum continuous power 241 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz single phase	143W external power adapter; power lead (2 m)
Colours
Colours	–	Two-port model: Blue, Green, Pink, Silver; four-port models also Yellow, Orange, Purple
Materials
Materials	Aluminium and glass enclosure, arsenic-free display glass and mercury-free LED backlight; BFR-free and PVC-free components, with PVC-free external cables in North America only	–
In the box
In the box	iMac, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, cleaning cloth, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife '09	iMac, Magic Keyboard (with Touch ID on four-port models), Magic Mouse, 143W power adapter, power lead (2 m), USB-C to Lightning Cable