Apple iMac 24″ (M4) vs Apple Macintosh LC II
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleiMac 24″ (M4) | AppleMacintosh LC II | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | November 2024 | 1992 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Apple M4 | 68030 16 MHz (Macintosh LC II) |
| CPU cores | 8 or 10 | 1 |
| Graphics | 8-core GPU or 10-core GPU | – |
| AI engine (NPU) | 38 TOPS | – |
| Memory | 16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better) | 4 MB |
| Storage | 256 GB to 2 TB (better) | 40 MB to 80 MB |
| CPU | 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores (two-port model), or 10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores (four-port models) | 16 MHz Motorola 68030 with integrated memory-management unit, 16-bit data path and 0.5 KB L1 cache; no standard floating-point coprocessor |
| GPU | Hardware-accelerated ray tracing | Built-in video with 256 KB VRAM supports 8-bit colour at 512 × 384 and 4-bit at 640 × 480; 512 KB VRAM allows 16-bit at 512 × 384 or 8-bit at 640 × 480 |
| Memory type | – | 4 MB soldered to the logic board plus two 30-pin SIMM slots, populated as a matched pair; Apple supports 4–10 MB. With two 4 MB SIMMs, the lowest 2 MB of onboard RAM is inaccessible. |
| AI engine | 16-core Neural Engine | – |
| Memory bandwidth | 120GB/s | – |
| Storage type | SSD | Internal 1.44 MB floppy drive and 40 or 80 MB internal SCSI hard-drive options |
| Expansion slots | – | One LC processor-direct slot; an optional floating-point coprocessor card can occupy it |
| 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 | 24″ | None built in |
| Resolution | 4480 × 2520 | – |
| Panel | IPS LCD | – |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | – |
| Brightness | 500 nits | – |
| Display type | 4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches | – |
| Pixel density | 218 ppi | – |
| Display features | 1 billion colours; wide colour (P3); True Tone; nano-texture glass option on four-port models | – |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 2 × Thunderbolt 4, headphone jack | Headphone jack |
| External displays | Up to 1 | – |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E | – |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | – |
| Camera | 12MP Center Stage | – |
| Back ports | 2 × Thunderbolt / USB 4 (two-port model) or 4 × Thunderbolt 4 (four-port models), each with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s) and DisplayPort; Gigabit Ethernet on the power adapter, standard on four-port models and optional on the two-port model | Apple Desktop Bus, DB-15 video, DB-25 SCSI, printer and modem serial ports, microphone input and sound output; no built-in Ethernet |
| External displays | Two-port model: one at up to 6K 60Hz; four-port models: two at up to 6K 60Hz, or one at up to 8K 60Hz | Built-in video supports 512 × 384 and 640 × 480 displays; colour depth depends on fitted VRAM |
| Camera | 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View; 1080p HD video recording; advanced image signal processor with computational video | – |
| Speakers | High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo sound; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos | Internal speaker with mono audio input and output |
| Microphones | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming | – |
| 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 | – |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | All-in-one | Compact |
| Weight | 4.42 kg | 4 kg (better) |
| Width × depth × height | 547 × 147 × 461 mm | 310 × 389 × 74 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | – | Apple's 2.9 × 12.2 × 15.3 inch and 8.8 lb reference dimensions; metric fields are rounded conversions |
| Power supply | 143W external power adapter; power lead (2 m) | Maximum 50 W; 90–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; 3.6 V lithium clock battery |
| Materials | 100% recycled aluminium in the stand; more than 15% recycled content overall | – |
| Colours | Blue, Purple, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, Silver | – |
| In the box | iMac, Magic Keyboard (with Touch ID on four-port models), Magic Mouse, 143W power adapter, power lead (2 m), USB-C Charge Cable, polishing cloth (nano-texture glass only) | Original System Software 7.0.1. Apple lists 23 March 1992 as introduction; a separate maker first-sale date was not established. |
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