I was looking for the type of Intel processors Apple is using for the new 27″ iMac. There is no list from Apple where a exact types are mentioned. When I started to search on the Intel website which CPU’s exactly match the descriptions Apple give on their website.
There are three types of processors, according Apple’s descriptions:
- 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 6MB L3 cache
- 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 6MB L3 cache
- 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz)
A quick search on the Intel website brings me to the following Intel processors:
The only difference between the two 2.9GHz i5 processors the Graphics Models; the i5-3470S uses an Intel® HD Graphics 2500 and the i5-3475S a Intel® HD Graphics 4000. I’m not sure which model Apple puts in there new iMac’s.
The difference biggest between the i5-3470 and i7-3770, next to the difference in clock speeds, is that the i7 supports Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology. which allows the i7 up to 8 simultaneous threads (2 on each core) and therefor use the processor more efficiently.