Why no 21.5" i7s?

[cantthinkofone]

Why is it you can get a 15" MBP i7 but you can't get a 21.5" i7? Is the MBP that much better at heat distribution than the imac?

 

[alust2013]

Because you are talking about two completely different classes of processors. The i7 in the MBP is a dual core, 35W TDP chip, which is the same TDP as the previous C2D model. In the case of the iMac, the TDP of the i3 is 73W, while the i7 is 95W. That's a pretty significant difference

 

[Hellhammer]

And just to add that even i3-540 is faster than i7-620M found in MBP (3.06GHz dual vs 2.66GHz dual).

 

[jaydentaku]

Secondly, the i7 quad is the flagship processor for the flagship 27" imac. From a marketing perspective, it wouldn't be seemly to share the 'top end' spec with an otherwise mid range model.

 

[jmpage2]

It could also simply be a matter of heat dissipation capabilities in the 21.5". There might not be enough aluminum to act as a heat sink for a processor that can generate the kind of heat output that the i7 can.

 

[jaydentaku]

Mine i5 quad gets red hot and I know the current macbook pros, you could fry an egg on.

 

[AlexisV]

Probably profit reasons. If you have customers who want high end processors, if you only offer it in the higher end model, you can sell them more kit and make more on the extras.

 

[tears2040]

So with all that said the base model 21.5" iMac is still an Amazing machine. I have one with 8gbs of ram and I am able to work with such ease now it's incredible.


I couldn't even imagine how fast an iMac i7 would be !