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

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

	AppleiMac (24-inch, Early 2009)	AppleiMac 24″ (M3)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2009	November 2023
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E8135, Intel Core 2 Duo E8335 or Intel Core 2 Duo E8435	Apple M3
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	8
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256 MB shared DDR3), NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 (256 MB GDDR3), NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 (512 MB GDDR3) or ATI Radeon HD 4850 (512 MB GDDR3)	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	8 GB or 24 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	640 GB to 1 TB	256 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo E8135, 2.93 GHz E8335 or 3.06 GHz E8435; all with 6 MB shared L2 cache and 1066 MHz frontside bus. Exact chip identities cross-checked with EveryMac.	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	2.66 GHz model has NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared DDR3. 2.93 GHz model has GeForce GT 120 with 256 MB GDDR3, configurable to GT 130 or ATI Radeon HD 4850 with 512 MB GDDR3. Maker lists 3.06 GHz with GT 130 or HD 4850; unsupported 3.06 GHz/GT 120 combinations omitted.	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	Two user-accessible SO-DIMM slots for 1066 MHz DDR3; 4 GB standard, factory upgrade to 8 GB	–
Storage type
Storage type	2.66 and 2.93 GHz models have 640 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA drives, configurable to 1 TB; maker storage section lists 3.06 GHz with 1 TB. Conservative rows retain those explicit combinations; 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	24″	24″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1200	4480 × 2520 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	60 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	385 nits	500 nits (better)
Display type
Display type	Glossy widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD, millions of colours; maker typical brightness 385 cd/m², contrast 750:1 and 178° horizontal/vertical viewing angle. Panel technology and refresh rate unpublished and omitted.	4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches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, 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 draft	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	5.3
Camera
Camera	iSight camera	1080p FaceTime HD
Back ports
Back ports	Four USB 2.0 ports on the computer, plus two on the supplied wired keyboard; one FireWire 800 port at 7 W, Mini DisplayPort output, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone/optical digital output and line-in/optical digital input. FireWire and audio input described here; no SD slot.	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 internal 24 W digital amplifier, 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 Keyboard and Mighty Mouse; numeric-keypad keyboard, wireless keyboard or wireless Mighty Mouse available as options	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	11.5 kg	4.43 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	569 × 207 × 520 mm	547 × 147 × 461 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Power supply
Power supply	Maximum continuous power 280 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 with arsenic-free display glass, BFR-free components and PVC-free internal cables	–
In the box
In the box	iMac, Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, cleaning cloth, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X 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