Rumor: Souped-Up 1.6, 1.8GHz iMac G5s Coming


In an exclusive report, Think Secret reports that sources point to 1.6 and 1.8GHz G5 iMacs in September, equipped with 17" and 20" screens only.

The high-end 1.8GHz models will get the 20" screen, and this premium iMac will be available in a two-model range. The big news is that the rumors concerning an all-new iMac enclosure appear correct: the internals will be in an all-in-one enclosure attached to the rear of the screen.

Prices are likely to be between $1,300 to $2,200. The education, entry-level iMac will be a 17" model using the 1.6GHz G5. Surprisingly, the article says the Edu iMac will not have an optical drive [no CD ROM even? - ed.] or even a modem. However, it will have a 40GB hard drive, VGA/S-Video/composite video out, 10/100 Ethernet and 3 USB 2.0 ports, along with 2 FireWire 400 ports. Graphics will be supplied by a GeForce4 MX graphics processor with 32MB of DDR memory.

The consumer iMac gets 64MB on the GeForce MX 5200 Ultra video card, plus 80GB of storage (Serial ATA), Combo drive and 56K modem all running on the 1.6GHz G5.

20" iMacs both use the 1.8GHz processor, and have "identical" specifications, apart from 160GB hard drive in the premium model. All models will get stereo speakers and microphone built into the front. Wired mouse and keyboard are included in the package. All models support up to 2GB RAM and Airport Extreme [optional]. Also optional is Digital Audio Output for 5:1 sound.

Think Secret reports that sources describe the G5 iMac as "impressive" and "an eye catcher." However, there will not be an adjustable neck, as with the current iMac G4.

Analysis: Nick de Plume also says in his story that the new iMacs could debut as early as August 31 at the Paris Expo, although Jobs would probably not be available for the keynote.

The optical drive 'omission' on the Edu model appears to have been at schools' request, to combat piracy and other unwanted/shared material appearing on schools' hard drives.

The design sounds intriguing - but where do you slot an optical disc in with the enclosure out the back? Is there a 'mouth' at the front? A vertically-mounted optical drive up front?

Sounding good or are you sticking with eMac or a Power Mac tower?