2012 IMac
In October 2012, a new iMac model was introduced that featured a considerably smaller monitor depth than the previous models, measuring 5mm at its thinnest point. This was partly achieved by using a process called Full lamination. The display and glass are laminated together eliminating a 2 mm gap between them. The 21.5 in and 27 in screens remained at their previous resolutions, 1920×1080 and 2560×1440 respectively.
As with the 2009 model, memory has been upgraded; the standard specification is now 8 GB, with the 21.5 in model supporting up to 16 GB and the 27 in model supporting up to 32 GB. It was reported that the 21.5 in iMac would have non-replaceable soldered memory similar to the MacBook Air and Retina display MacBook Pro though tear-downs show that is uses removable memory but accessing the modules requires ungluing the screen and removing the logic board. The 27 in version features an access port to upgrade memory without disassembling the display. Apple also upgraded the computers' processors, using Intel's Ivy Bridge microarchitecture-based Core i5 and Core i7 microprocessors.
Video cards are now Nvidia as standard. USB 3.0 ports are now included for the first time. The 2012 iMac also features the option of a Fusion Drive which combines an SSD and a conventional HDD to create more efficient and faster storage. Apple also removed the built-in optical drive starting with this iMac generation.
| Model | Late 2012 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release date | November 30, 2012 | December 2012 | ||||||||||
| Marketing Model Number | MD093xx/A | MD094xx/A | MD095xx/A | MD096xx/A | ||||||||
| Model Number | A1418 | A1419 | ||||||||||
| EMC Number | 2544 | 2546 | ||||||||||
| Model ID | iMac13,1 | iMac13,2 | ||||||||||
| Enclosure | Aluminum and glass | |||||||||||
| Display | 21.5 in; 1920 × 1080 | 27 in; 2560 × 1440 | ||||||||||
| glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology | ||||||||||||
| Processor | 2.7 GHz (3330S) Intel Core i5 with 6 MB on-chip L3 cache | 2.9 GHz (3470S) Intel Core i5 with 6 MB on-chip L3 cache | 3.2 GHz (3470) Intel Core i5 with 6 MB on-chip L3 cache | |||||||||
| Optional: 3.1 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (3770S) | Optional: 3.4 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 with 8 MB on-chip L3 cache (3770) | |||||||||||
| System bus | Intel Direct Media Interface | |||||||||||
| 5 GT/s | ||||||||||||
| Memory | 8 GB (two 4 GB) Optional: 16 GB |
8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty) Optional: 16 GB and 32 GB |
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| 1600 MHz PC3-12800 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM | ||||||||||||
| Graphics (GeForce 600 Series) | Nvidia GeForce GT 640M with 512 MB of GDDR5 SDRAM | Nvidia GeForce GT 650M with 512 MB of GDDR5 SDRAM | Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M with 512 MB of GDDR5 SDRAM | Nvidia GeForce GTX 675MX with 1 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM Optional: Nvidia GeForce GTX 680MX with 2 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM |
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| Hard drive | 1TB Optional: 1 TB Fusion Initially only for high-end model, later added low-end model support |
1TB Optional: 3 TB HDD, 1 TB or 3 TB Fusion, or 768 GB SSD |
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| Serial ATA 5400 rpm | Serial ATA 7200 rpm | |||||||||||
| Optical drive | ||||||||||||
| AirPort Extreme1 | Integrated 802.11a/b/g/n | |||||||||||
| Video out | 2 Thunderbolt ports (mini DisplayPort to VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort adapters available) | |||||||||||
| Camera | FaceTime HD camera 720p (1280 × 720; 0.9 MP) | |||||||||||
Read more about this topic: IMac (Intel-based)