New Product Teardowns Continue: iMac, Mac Mini, Magic Mouse
Following on the heels of yesterday's dissection of the new MacBook, the remainder of Apple's major new products have now been subjected to similar analysis.
27" iMac Teardown (iFixit)
First, iFixit features the new 27" iMac. Among the discoveries in the teardown:
- Use of the 27" iMac as an external display via its MiniDisplayPort connector requires that the machine be fully powered up, as the signal is routed through the main logic board.
- The 27" iMac unsurprisingly carries the biggest power supply ever seen in an iMac, putting out 310 watts.
- The CPU and GPU are located on opposite sides of the machine and have separate massive heat sinks, allowing Apple to utilize desktop-class processors within the thin iMac's profile for the first time. In addition to the heat sinks, the iMac carries six temperature sensors and three large fans to aid in heat dissipation.
- The AirPort antenna is routed to directly behind the Apple logo on the rear of the machine, providing better Wi-Fi performance by placing the antenna next to the only plastic portion of the machine's back.
iFixit also dissected the new Magic Mouse that is included with the updated iMac models and can also be purchased separately. The teardown reveals the expected touch sensor capacitors under the top surface of the mouse from the Apple logo forward. The Magic Mouse also uses a keyboard-and-mouse-specific BCM2042 Bluetooth chip from Broadcom for communication.
Comparison of New Traditional (left) and Server (right) Mac mini Models (macminicolo.net)
Finally, macminicolo.net offers a comparative dissection of the new traditional and server Mac minis released earlier this week. The two versions are essentially identical with the exception of swapping in a second hard drive for the optical drive (and a corresponding modification to the exterior case to eliminate the optical drive slot) in the server model. The new models are also nearly identical to the previous-generation models with the exception of minor spec bumps.
27" iMac Teardown (iFixit)
First, iFixit features the new 27" iMac. Among the discoveries in the teardown:
- Use of the 27" iMac as an external display via its MiniDisplayPort connector requires that the machine be fully powered up, as the signal is routed through the main logic board.
- The 27" iMac unsurprisingly carries the biggest power supply ever seen in an iMac, putting out 310 watts.
- The CPU and GPU are located on opposite sides of the machine and have separate massive heat sinks, allowing Apple to utilize desktop-class processors within the thin iMac's profile for the first time. In addition to the heat sinks, the iMac carries six temperature sensors and three large fans to aid in heat dissipation.
- The AirPort antenna is routed to directly behind the Apple logo on the rear of the machine, providing better Wi-Fi performance by placing the antenna next to the only plastic portion of the machine's back.
iFixit also dissected the new Magic Mouse that is included with the updated iMac models and can also be purchased separately. The teardown reveals the expected touch sensor capacitors under the top surface of the mouse from the Apple logo forward. The Magic Mouse also uses a keyboard-and-mouse-specific BCM2042 Bluetooth chip from Broadcom for communication.
Comparison of New Traditional (left) and Server (right) Mac mini Models (macminicolo.net)
Finally, macminicolo.net offers a comparative dissection of the new traditional and server Mac minis released earlier this week. The two versions are essentially identical with the exception of swapping in a second hard drive for the optical drive (and a corresponding modification to the exterior case to eliminate the optical drive slot) in the server model. The new models are also nearly identical to the previous-generation models with the exception of minor spec bumps.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
30 months ago
Glad to see the iMac teardown happen early too. I am highly considering the quad core system.
The cooling capacity, large power supply, and the ability to use it as an external IPS monitor for my MacBook Pro are all awesome features. Never thought I would replace my aging PowerMac with an iMac, but this is the first iMac that really has me thinking.
The cooling capacity, large power supply, and the ability to use it as an external IPS monitor for my MacBook Pro are all awesome features. Never thought I would replace my aging PowerMac with an iMac, but this is the first iMac that really has me thinking.
30 months ago
The Mac Mini Colo guys have the most revealing revelation IMO. The March 2009 Mini (and the new Mini) both support 8GB of RAM now after the recent firmware update. The new Mini's come with this update already applied.
I tried to get the guys over at Mac Sales to test with 8GB of RAM after that firmware update and had a bit of an email thread going with a guy but gave up on it after 2 weeks without an answer.
I tried to get the guys over at Mac Sales to test with 8GB of RAM after that firmware update and had a bit of an email thread going with a guy but gave up on it after 2 weeks without an answer.
30 months ago
Are those 3.5" drives that I spy in the Mac mini server?
Nope. Regular old 2.5" drives.
30 months ago
The inside of the 27'' iMac looks sinister. Has Apple ever used black circuit boards before?
Seems like they should have used one 3.5'' drive instead of two 2.5'' drives...
Nope. Regular old 2.5" drives.
Seems like they should have used one 3.5'' drive instead of two 2.5'' drives...
30 months ago
Love these tear downs. Very interesting. Hope they work when they put them back together.
30 months ago
310 Watts isn't that much power when you think of it. A decent gaming computer will make you buy a minimum 500W and up.
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