What are the differences between the education-only "Early 2009" Aluminum iMac Core 2 Duo and the "White" model it replaced?

On April 7, 2009, Apple quietly released a lower-end 20-Inch "Early 2009" Aluminum iMac Core 2 Duo model -- the iMac "Core 2 Duo" 2.0 20-Inch (Early 2009/Education Only) -- available only for educational institutions (individuals eligible for educational purchases may not buy this configuration).

Compared to the model it replaced -- the iMac "Core 2 Duo" 1.83 17-Inch (IG) -- which was introduced on September 6, 2006 and discontinued for individuals on August 7, 2007 but remained available for educational institutions -- the "Early 2009" model has a number of substantial improvements as one would expect compared to a computer released more than two years earlier.

The most obvious difference is that the "Early 2009" model uses an aluminum case design, rather than a white polycarbonate one like its predecessor and has a 20-Inch display rather than a 17-Inch one, but internally the systems are completely different as well.

The "Early 2009" model has a faster processor (2.0 GHz up from 1.83 GHz), additional level 2 cache (3 MB rather than 2 MB), a faster system bus (1066 MHz up from 667 MHz), DDR3 rather than DDR2 memory, twice the maximum RAM (4 GB up from 2 GB), NVIDIA GeForce 9400M rather than Intel GMA 950 graphics, and a dual-layer "SuperDrive" rather than a DVD-ROM/CD-RW "Combo" drive.

The "Early 2009" model also swaps the three USB 2.0 ports and two Firewire "400" ports for four USB 2.0 ports and a single Firewire "800" port and the mini-DVI port for a MiniDisplay Port. AirPort is upgraded from 802.11a/b/g to 802.11a/b/g/n.

These differences are summarized below for your convenience:

* Please note that this model number is for the non-educational configuration with 512 MB of RAM. It sold for US$999.

Individuals who are eligible to purchase other Macs with an educational discount should crunch the numbers to make sure that taking the discount makes sense. Often, the sales tax on the educational purchase will exceed the savings provided by the discount. Consequently, many purchasers will be better off purchasing their Mac from an Apple Authorized Reseller that does not charge sales tax.

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