Apple iMac 24″ (M3) vs Apple iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

iMac 24″ (M3) compared with iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

	AppleiMac 24″ (M3)	AppleiMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2023	May 2011
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M3	Intel Core i5-2500S, Intel Core i5-2400 or Intel Core i7-2600
CPU cores
CPU cores	8	4
Graphics
Graphics	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU	AMD Radeon HD 6770M (512 MB GDDR5), AMD Radeon HD 6970M (1 GB GDDR5) or AMD Radeon HD 6970M (2 GB GDDR5)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 24 GB (better)	4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB (better)	1 TB to 2 TB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores	2.7 GHz quad-core Core i5-2500S or 3.1 GHz quad-core Core i5-2400; the higher model offers a 3.4 GHz quad-core Core i7-2600. Exact identities cross-checked with EveryMac; i5 models have 6 MB shared L3 cache. Intel confirms four threads and up to 3.4 GHz for i5-2400, eight threads and up to 3.8 GHz for i7-2600.
GPU
GPU	8-core GPU (two-port model) or 10-core GPU (four-port models); hardware-accelerated ray tracing	Lower model has AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512 MB GDDR5; higher model and optional i7 have Radeon HD 6970M with 1 GB GDDR5, configurable to 2 GB
Memory type
Memory type	–	Four SO-DIMM slots for 1333 MHz DDR3, with 4 GB standard as two 2 GB modules; 8 or 16 GB factory upgrades. Memory is user accessible.
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	100GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD	Both base models have a 1 TB 7200 rpm hard drive, configurable to 2 TB and a 256 GB solid-state second drive. Mixed hard-drive-plus-SSD options are described here rather than labelled Fusion Drive or presented as a single SSD; no standalone 256 GB row is inferred from the support sheet's second-drive wording. Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer DVD burning.
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″	27″
Resolution
Resolution	4480 × 2520 (better)	2560 × 1440
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits	–
Display type
Display type	4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches	Glossy LED-backlit IPS widescreen display, millions of colours; optional unpublished refresh rate and brightness omitted
Pixel density
Pixel density	218 ppi	–
Display features
Display features	1 billion colours; wide colour (P3); True Tone	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB4, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt, 4 × USB-A, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	–	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	Up to 1
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	802.11n
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	2.1 + EDR
Camera
Camera	1080p FaceTime HD	FaceTime HD camera
Back ports
Back ports	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	Two Thunderbolt ports also provide Mini DisplayPort video output; four USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800 at 7 W, Gigabit Ethernet, SDXC slot, headphone/optical digital output and line-in/optical digital input. FireWire and audio input are described here because the main port list has no fields for them; IR receiver built in.
External displays
External displays	One at up to 6K 60Hz	Apple publishes full built-in resolution and one external display up to 2560 × 1600 simultaneously; the main count follows that maker statement rather than a higher count tested by Engadget; extended desktop and mirroring, optional DVI/VGA/dual-link DVI adapters
Camera
Camera	1080p FaceTime HD camera; advanced image signal processor with computational video	–
Speakers
Speakers	High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo sound; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	Stereo speakers with two internal 17 W amplifiers, built-in microphone and support for iPhone headset microphones
Microphones
Microphones	Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming	–
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and 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	Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse, with Magic Trackpad substitution available from the online store
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	4.43 kg (better)	13.8 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	547 × 147 × 461 mm	650 × 207 × 517 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Power supply
Power supply	143W external power adapter; power lead (2 m)	Maximum continuous power 310 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz single phase
Materials
Materials	–	Aluminium and glass enclosure, arsenic-free display glass and mercury-free LED backlight; BFR-free and PVC-free components, with PVC-free AC cord availability limited to named regions
Colours
Colours	Two-port model: Blue, Green, Pink, Silver; four-port models also Yellow, Orange, Purple	–
In the box
In the box	iMac, Magic Keyboard (with Touch ID on four-port models), Magic Mouse, 143W power adapter, power lead (2 m), USB-C to Lightning Cable	iMac, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Launch press specifies Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife '11; the later support sheet lists OS X Lion, reflecting the software update rather than launch software.