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2011 iMacs: No SATA 6Gb/s, Yes to Multiple Drives

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 | Author: OWC Michael

With the unboxing completed, our Lab Team is hard at work testing compatibilities and seeing just how much upgrading can be done to the new line of 2011 iMac models released today.

We’ve been getting several questions on the prior posts today asking about the internal SATA bus speed on the new machines. While the processor was bumped up to the Sandy Bridge line, the bus speeds on the iMac are still SATA 2.0 (3Gb/s), just like the previous models.

Just to make it clear:
The 2011 iMac does not have ANY
SATA 3.0 (6Gb/s) connections.

Which means your best bet for upgrading to a Solid State Drive (or three) is still the OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro and, if employing a RAID array, the OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro RE series of drives.

With the physical build of the 2011 27″ iMac being so similar to the 2010 Apple iMac 27″ models, we are hard at work developing the necessary adjustments to add the new 27″ iMac to the OWC Turnkey Upgrade Program – including the external eSATA port option. Keep an eye out here for the official release soon.

***UPDATE 5/5/11***

Apple released a firmware update as of today’s date that gives both the 21.5″ and 27″ models TWO 6Gb/s data channels. See our blog post for more details:

http://blog.macsales.com/10050-firmware-update-enables-6gbs-in-2011-imacs

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Category: Benchmarking/Performance
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Apple Releases New iMacs with Thunderbolt.

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 | Author: OWC Chris S.

After a brief down period this morning, the Apple Store came back up with a newly-updated iMac being offered. This latest revision of the all-in-one desktop computer features a new graphics card, quad-core processors, a new built-in HD camera, and either one or two Thunderbolt ports, depending on the model.

These new iMacs are powered by quad-core Core i5 processors in speeds up to 3.1GHz (with a BTO option for an i7 processor up to 3.4 GHz) and sport AMD Radeon 6790M Graphics processors.

Memory is the same 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM modules used in the previous model, and there are four slots. Apple is currently offering configurations up to 16GB, but we’ll be doing our own MaxRAM certification testing to see just how much these new machines can handle, so stay tuned here on the OWC Blog for that news.

Article Continues…

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Category: Apple News
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Apple Store Down – New iMacs on the Horizon?

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 | Author: OWC Michael

This morning, the online Apple Store has been taken down temporarily stating “We are busy updating the store for you and will be back shortly.” This action usually indicates a new product being released or updated.

Most likely, this is to refresh the iMac lineup of computers.

We’ll have the details for you here on the OWC Blog as soon as we know. Stay tuned.

UPDATE 7:39AM - The store has come back up and as expected, the iMac line has been refreshed with quad core i5 and i7 processors and thunderbolt with the same overall look of the previous generation. They also boast new AMD Radeon 6750M, 6770M & 6970M graphics processors.

Here’s the new lineup:

21.5″ Models (with one thunderbolt port):

2.5GHz Quad-core i5

2.7 Ghz Quad-core i5

2.8GHz Quad core i7

27″ Models (with two thunderbolt ports):

2.7GHz Quad-core i5

3.1GHz Quad-core i5

3.4GHz Quad-core i7

Memory on all models remains the same 1333MHz DDR3 memory that the previous generation used. Apple is supporting up to 16GB of memory. Once we have our models in house, we can begin our MaxRAM testing to see just how far these new machines can be upgraded. Stay tuned…

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Category: Apple News
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MacBook Pro Early 2011 Upgrades & Benchmark Results

Monday, February 28th, 2011 | Author: OWC Michael

After only a few short days since Apple released their new lineup of computers, the OWC Test Lab has completed our benchmarking of upgrades for the new 2011 MacBook Pro models.

First off, considering Apple upgraded the MacBook Pro modes to use the same memory as the 2010 iMac line, we confirmed that compatible OWC memory was immediately available.

Then we started testing on the Data Doubler. Luckily no major architectural changes occurred, so the fit was perfect. In checking over the machines, we found that Apple made several impressive firsts with these new models. One change being the jump from a SATA 3Gb/s  to SATA 6Gb/s bus speed. As the Data Doubler is simply an interface adapter, it will perform at the faster internal speeds as well. We’ll be sure to have plenty of drives on hand to take advantage of the faster bus speeds as they become available.

3/1/11 Correction: The optical bus on the new MBP’s remains 3Gb/s, only the main hard drive bay was bumped to 6Gb/s. We apologize for any confusion.

Speaking of future availability and another first for Apple…the next items up for testing were all of our mini DisplayPort adapters and cables. We’re proud to announce that Article Continues…

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Category: Benchmarking/Performance
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Light Peak, iPad 2, MacBook Pros – The Rumor Mill is in Full Effect.

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011 | Author: OWC Chris S.

There’s just something about Apple products that gets the tech crowd gossiping like little old ladies at a church social. Sometimes it’s something as simple as a product refresh. Sometimes it’s something revolutionary. Sometimes it’s a big disappointment. Sometimes, it’s just hype. Whatever the case, as soon as there’s a hint of something new coming from Apple, the rumblings begin.

Apple really doesn’t help the problem. They know that the eyes of the tech industry are on them, so they use it to their advantage. Rumors of DARPA-level security, vague press “invitations”, and the occasional “leaked” photos or specs just fuel the hype machine. Sometimes it’s something revolutionary; sometimes it’s a big disappointment.

This time around, there seem to be three major topics people are talking about. Article Continues…

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Category: Random Thoughts & Topics
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