Apple reportedly is readying the January launch of new quad-core iMacs powered by upcoming Intel chips, reports said Wednesday. The upgrade would allow Apple to offer lower-cost iMacs while increasing the performance of current dual-core processors supplied by the California chip giant.
The chips, the 2.33GHz Core 2 Quad Q8200, 2.66GHZ Core 2 Quad Q9400 and 2.83GHz Core 2 Quad Q9550 were designed for all-in-one desktop computers and generate less heat. The new CPUs would drop iMac power requirements from 95W to 65W, according to Taiwan-based Digitimes.
In addition to lower power consumption, the new quad core chips would mark a switch by Apple from mobile processors, which were picked for their lower power demands and ability to stay with the iMac’s slim appearance.
Along with Apple, the new Intel chips could appear in all-in-one desktops sold by HP, Dell and Acer.
Earlier this month, Apple announced it wouldn’t announce more hardware updates until January. The word from Cupertino followed repeated rumors that the computer maker would unveil new iMacs in November.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
