Apple introduces iMac with Thunderbolt

Apple has announced the latest iteration of the iMac, featuring Intel’s Thunderbolt technology and a choice of powerful processors.

The Thunderbolt technology will help users connect to high performance peripherals like RAID arrays at theoretical speeds of up to 10Gb/s.

The 21.5-inch iMac has a single Thunderbolt port, whilst the 27-inch model comes with two, Apple confirmed.

As for chips, the iMac comes with quad-core Intel Core i5 processors based on the Sandy Bridge architecture.

Users can choose Core i7 processors with up to 3.4 GHz of juice, whilst New AMD Radeon HD graphics processors also feature.

Apple claimed, thanks to these enhancements, the new iMac is up to 70 percent faster than the previous generation, with three times the performance.

“With next generation quad-core processors, powerful new graphics, Thunderbolt technology and a FaceTime HD camera, we've made the world’s best desktop even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing.

The new iMac retains the aluminum and glass design of its predecessor, as well as a LED-backlit high resolution display and Apple’s Magic Mouse.

Australian RRP pricing was released as follows:

- 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 500GB hard drive: AUD$1,399 inc GST

- 21.5-inch iMac a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6770M and 1TB hard drive for  AUD$1,698 inc GST

- 27-inch iMac with a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6770M and 1TB hard drive for AUD$1,949 inc GST

- 27-inch iMac with a 3.1 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6970M and 1TB hard drive for AUD$2,299 inc GST.