Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2011) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)

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iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2011) compared with iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, Late 2011)	AppleiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
Overview
Released
Released	August 2011	August 2020
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i3 3.1 GHz (iMac Late 2011)	Intel Core i5-10500, Intel Core i5-10600, Intel Core i9-10910 or Intel Core i7-10700K
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	6, 8 or 10
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	12, 16 or 20
Graphics
Graphics	AMD Radeon HD 6750M (256 MB GDDR5)	Radeon Pro 5300 (4 GB GDDR6), Radeon Pro 5500 XT (8 GB GDDR6), Radeon Pro 5700 (8 GB GDDR6) or Radeon Pro 5700 XT (16 GB GDDR6)
Memory
Memory	2 GB, 4 GB or 8 GB	8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	250 GB	256 GB to 8 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	3.1 GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 with 3 MB shared L3 cache. The English specification and maker education price list confirm dual-core i3; conflicting translated regional processor descriptions are not used. Exact Intel SKU unestablished.	Six-core Core i5 at 3.1 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.5 GHz) or 3.3 GHz (4.8 GHz), or eight-core Core i7 at 3.8 GHz (5.0 GHz). Upper two bases configurable to 3.6 GHz ten-core Core i9 (5.0 GHz). Exact CPU identities follow Geekbench. Apple specifies a 5.0 GHz Core i7 limit in this iMac, while Intel lists 5.1 GHz for the chip itself.
GPU
GPU	AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 256 MB GDDR5.	Radeon Pro 5300 with 4 GB GDDR6 on the two Core i5 bases. Upper base has Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8 GB GDDR6, optionally Radeon Pro 5700 with 8 GB or 5700 XT with 16 GB GDDR6.
Memory type
Memory type	1333 MHz DDR3; 2 GB standard in one module, configurable to 4 GB (two 2 GB) or 8 GB (two 4 GB).	2666 MHz DDR4; 8 GB standard as two 4 GB modules. Four user-accessible SO-DIMM slots; configurable to 16/32/64/128 GB on every base.
Storage type
Storage type	250 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive; slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer burning.	Lower base: fixed 256 GB SSD. Middle base: 512 GB/1/2 TB SSD. Upper base: 512 GB/1/2/4/8 TB SSD.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	21.5″	27″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080	5120 × 2880 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
Brightness
Brightness	–	500 nits
Display type
Display type	LED-backlit glossy TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours. Panel technology, brightness and refresh rate are not published.	LED-backlit Retina 5K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac. Apple does not publish native refresh rate in the specification sheet.
Display features
Display features	–	Wide colour (P3), one billion colours and True Tone; standard glass or optional nano-texture glass
Connections
Ports
Ports	4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	Up to 2 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n	802.11ac
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	–	5.0
Camera
Camera	FaceTime HD camera	1080p FaceTime HD
Back ports
Back ports	Four USB 2.0 ports on the computer, plus two on the wired keyboard; Mini DisplayPort, FireWire 800 at 7 W, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone/optical output and audio line-in/optical input. This education model has no published Thunderbolt or Bluetooth specification.	Four USB-A ports; two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; UHS-II SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet and 3.5 mm headphone jack; Kensington lock slot. Optional 10Gb Ethernet supports 1/2.5/5/10Gb connections. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require adapters.
External displays
External displays	Built-in display and one external display up to 2560 × 1600 simultaneously; extended desktop or mirroring.	One 6K or 5K external display, or two 4K displays; two 6K displays require Radeon Pro 5700 or 5700 XT. All listed external modes run at 60 Hz.
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers with two internal 20 W amplifiers; microphone and support for Apple iPhone headset microphone.	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	–	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; supports Hey Siri
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Wired Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Apple Mouse with scroll ball.	Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional numeric keyboard and Magic Trackpad
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	8.8 kg (better)	8.92 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	528 × 188.5 × 451 mm	650 × 203 × 516 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Maker reference weight; actual weight varies with configuration and manufacturing process.	Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. A built-in VESA mount version was also available.
Power supply
Power supply	Maximum continuous power 205 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz.	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase
Materials
Materials	–	Recyclable, low-carbon aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight
In the box
In the box	Education institution model with Mac OS X Lion and iLife. August 2011 month precision follows contemporary MacRumors ordering coverage and 9to5Mac shipment scheduling, corroborated by the maker price list dated 8 August; that price date is not treated as a first delivery day.	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead, Lightning to USB cable and polishing cloth