Cupertino (CA) - Apple today announced refreshed iMacs and is offering an unannounced Intel processor as part of the package: The systems can be ordered with a "special" processor that matches the specifications of the 45 nm Core 2 Duo Extreme X9100 processor, which is expected to officially launch with Intel’s Montevina refresh. Once again, Apple has the privilege of offering a faster processor than what PC vendors are selling today.
The top-of-the-line 24" model features a 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB memory standard, a 500GB hard drive, an 8x double-layer SuperDrive and a NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB memory.
You have to admit, there is a certain pattern. A little over a year ago, Apple announced the availability of an Intel 3.0 GHz quad-core-processor, which, at the time, was not officially announced and appeared to be exclusive to Apple back then. When we asked Intel about this “special†CPU, which turned out to be the Xeon X5365, we were told that the chip was shipping in “limited†quantities.
Intel told us Monday afternoon that this new processor in fact is not the X9100, but rather a "special" SKU of the 45 nm Penryn processor for the company's Santa Rosa platform. We can’t imagine that HP and Dell are happy about the fact that Apple can officially ship a Core 2 Duo processor that matches most of the specifications of an unannounced Intel product - the only technical differentiator is the CPU's power thermal design power (TDP), which is 11 watts above the 44 watt X9100.
full story:
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/37152/135/
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