Apple iMac (24-inch, Early 2009) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)

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iMac (24-inch, Early 2009) compared with iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)

	AppleiMac (24-inch, Early 2009)	AppleiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2009	August 2020
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E8135, Intel Core 2 Duo E8335 or Intel Core 2 Duo E8435	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	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)	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	4 GB or 8 GB	8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	640 GB to 1 TB	256 GB to 8 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.	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	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.	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	Two user-accessible SO-DIMM slots for 1066 MHz DDR3; 4 GB standard, factory upgrade to 8 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	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	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	24″	27″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1200	5120 × 2880 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
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.	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	DisplayPort, 4 × USB-A, 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 draft	802.11ac
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	5.0
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.	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	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 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	Built-in stereo speakers with internal 24 W digital amplifier, microphone and support for Apple Stereo Headset microphones	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	–	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; supports Hey Siri
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse; numeric-keypad keyboard, wireless keyboard or wireless Mighty Mouse available as options	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	11.5 kg	8.92 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	569 × 207 × 520 mm	650 × 203 × 516 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	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 280 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz single phase	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase
Materials
Materials	Aluminium and glass enclosure with arsenic-free display glass, BFR-free components and PVC-free internal cables	Recyclable, low-carbon aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight
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, Magic Mouse 2, power lead, Lightning to USB cable and polishing cloth