14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s Special Deals Mac section is listing several attractive offers on refurbished computers, both portable and desktop, but none stands out more than the $999 24-inch iMac equipped with a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU.
Originally released in 2009, this refurbished iMac 24-inch 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo is rather old, but not obsolete, if you consider the specs.
It’s got a 24-inch glossy widescreen display, comes packed with 4GB memory and a 640GB hard drive, features the built-in 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW), has NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics with 256MB memory and a built-in iSight camera.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with OS X Lion preinstalled. Since the computer is over two years old, it’s also not eligible for Apple’s OS X Lion Up-To-Date Program.
The Cupertino tech giant informs customers that OS X Lion is available for download at the Mac App store for only $29.99.
However, a refurbished 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor priced at $1,019 is listed as a far less attractive offer that merely saves the buyer $180.
That’s not quite so. The aforementioned iMac configuration, admittedly with a larger 24 display, is nowhere near as powerful as the 21 incher.
Refurbished iMac 21.5-inch 2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
- Originally released May 2011 - 21.5-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display - 4GB memory - 500GB hard drive - 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) - AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics with 512MB memory - Built-in FaceTime HD camera
So you get a newer CPU architecture with four cores instead of two, just as much RAM, about the same storage capacity, the same optical drive, screaming AMD graphics (also newer and therefore better) with twice the on-board VRAM, and the newest FaceTime HD webcam, as opposed to the low-res iSight.
For an extra 20 bucks, as well as OS X Lion pre-installed, I’d say this is the offer that delivers far more value against your dollar.
If you’re happy with minus 3 inches of screen real estate, I strongly suggest picking this one before it goes out of stock.