24" iMac -- Why the 7300GT?

[suneohair]

To put it mildly! This could be the biggest scoop of all time!!

I think the "McDonalds can kill you" PSA would be the scoop of the century/all time.

 

[milozauckerman]

You have a link? I couldn't find this at Ars...this could be the scoop of the century.

Most of the way down the page, looking at the 24" service manual.

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8300945231/m/483009980831/p/3

 

[GoCubsGo]

I looked up a few benchmarks on Google and it seems that the Nvidia 7300GT is actually slower than the X1600 Pro. I'm not really sure which variations of the cards Apple uses (probably mobile sets) so that may be a performance difference, but why did Apple choose Nvidia for the 24"?

I am quite happy to see that you can actually upgrade the video card in the 24" to a 7600GT. If I had that kind of money right now... Sadly, it costs as much as a MBP, and that's something I guess I can't stomach at the moment.

Kidding? 24" display and that power? Honest to God that is a seriously awesome price if you think about it. All the people with the 17" who paid $2k are probably sick.

 

[baxterbrittle]

Definatly upgradeble video... also the 7600GT is not that expensive to buy from Apple later as a service part. I'm hoping all the future iMac will be able to do this. Now you can upgrade just about everything.

Here you have it the new most upgradeble iMac ever - you can now upgrade:

Processor
GPU
HDD
Optical (when something better becomes available)
You can add a second cinema display
Add FW400/800 Drives
USB 2.0 Gear TV tuners etc...
What more could one want from a machine?

And at a pretty nice price.

 

[the rock]

Processor, GPU, HDD, and optical drive can not be upgraded wihtout voiding the warranty / AppleCare though...

 

[majorp]

Definatly upgradeble video... also the 7600GT is not that expensive to buy from Apple later as a service part. I'm hoping all the future iMac will be able to do this. Now you can upgrade just about everything.

Here you have it the new most upgradeble iMac ever - you can now upgrade:

Processor
GPU
HDD
Optical (when something better becomes available)
You can add a second cinema display
Add FW400/800 Drives
USB 2.0 Gear TV tuners etc...
What more could one want from a machine?

And at a pretty nice price.

and of course ram

 

[netdog]

Maybe it's an Intel thing, what with the recent AMD merger.

Yes, nVidia will continue to tailor certainly to Intel chips and chipsets, and probably to AMD too, but clearly ATI's focus in now on AMD products first and foremost.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Yes, nVidia will continue to tailor certainly to Intel chips and chipsets, and probably to AMD too, but clearly ATI's focus in now on AMD products first and foremost.

A terrible shame - it's important to have as many options as possible with video cards, since there are only two video card manufacturers right now (sorry XGI, you don't count yet).

Being able to do so many upgrades is great, and I hope that lots of people install the GeForce 7600GT in their iMacs to show Apple that they should offer it as an option on the smaller-screened iMacs, not just the 24".