Apple iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) vs Apple iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

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iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) compared with iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

	AppleiMac (27-inch, Late 2009)	AppleiMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2009	May 2011
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E7600, Intel Core 2 Duo E8600, Intel Core i5-750 or Intel Core i7-860	Intel Core i5-2500S, Intel Core i5-2400 or Intel Core i7-2600
CPU cores
CPU cores	2 or 4	4
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Radeon HD 4670 (256 MB GDDR3) or ATI Radeon HD 4850 (512 MB GDDR3)	AMD Radeon HD 6770M (512 MB GDDR5), AMD Radeon HD 6970M (1 GB GDDR5) or AMD Radeon HD 6970M (2 GB GDDR5)
Memory
Memory	4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB	4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB
Storage
Storage	1 TB to 2 TB	1 TB to 2 TB
CPU
CPU	3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo E7600 with 3 MB L2 or optional 3.33 GHz E8600 with 6 MB L2. Quad-core Core i5-750 runs at 2.66 GHz with up to 3.2 GHz Turbo Boost; optional Core i7-860 runs at 2.8 GHz with up to 3.46 GHz Turbo Boost and eight threads through Hyper-Threading. Both quad-core chips have 8 MB L3. Exact identities cross-checked with EveryMac; Core 2 Duo models shipped on 20 October 2009, while maker stated quad-core models would ship in November 2009.	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	Core 2 Duo models have ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256 MB GDDR3 or optional HD 4850 with 512 MB GDDR3; quad-core models have HD 4850 with 512 MB GDDR3	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	4 GB standard as two 2 GB modules, with four user-accessible SO-DIMM slots supporting up to 16 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3. Macworld reports 8 and 16 GB factory upgrades for the 27-inch Core 2 Duo model; support sheet gives the same 16 GB maximum across the model.	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.
Storage type
Storage type	1 TB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 2 TB; slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer DVD burning	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.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	27″	27″
Resolution
Resolution	2560 × 1440	2560 × 1440
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Brightness
Brightness	375 nits	–
Display type
Display type	Glossy LED-backlit IPS widescreen LCD, millions of colours, 178° horizontal/vertical viewing angle and maker typical brightness 375 cd/m²; refresh rate unpublished and omitted. Optional VESA mounting adapter.	Glossy LED-backlit IPS widescreen display, millions of colours; optional unpublished refresh rate and brightness omitted
Connections
Ports
Ports	DisplayPort, 4 × USB-A, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt, 4 × USB-A, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	Up to 1
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n	802.11n
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	2.1 + EDR
Camera
Camera	iSight camera	FaceTime HD camera
Back ports
Back ports	Mini DisplayPort video input/output, four USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800 at 7 W, Gigabit Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone/optical digital output and line-in/optical digital input. FireWire and audio input described here; the SD slot is not labelled SDXC.	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	Full built-in resolution and one external display up to 2560 × 1600 simultaneously. Mini DisplayPort input supports external DisplayPort sources; HDMI input is not implied. Extended desktop and mirroring, optional DVI/VGA/dual-link DVI output adapters.	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
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers with two internal 17 W amplifiers, microphone and support for Apple Stereo Headset microphones	Stereo speakers with two internal 17 W amplifiers, built-in microphone and support for iPhone headset microphones
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse	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	13.8 kg	13.8 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	650 × 207 × 517 mm	650 × 207 × 517 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Power supply
Power supply	Maximum continuous power 365 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz single phase	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 external cables in North America only	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
In the box
In the box	iMac, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, cleaning cloth, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife '09	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.