The
iMac, first released August '98, is now in its third incarnation.
Dubbed by the online community (ourselves included) Revision
"A" "B" and "C" each new iMac
introduced performance bumps and other modifications. Below
we take a look at the performance
and specifications of
each model.
iMac history 101: Apple released the "Rev. A" iMac
mid August '98 amid much fanfare and a well run marketing
campaign. Unlike other product releases (still waiting for
that PowerBook you ordered last year?) Apple did a respectable
job of keeping up with demand. And boy was there demand for
this Bondi wonder. Despite its lack of a floppy drive and
serial/SCSI ports, the iMac was the best selling home computer
for the 4th quarter last year and was only bumped off the
number one slot in December. A short 2 months later on October
17th, Apple released the "Rev. B" iMac. Still clocked
at 233MHz, the Rev B machine shipped with OS 8.5, and sported
an improved graphics system featuring 6MB of VRAM and the
ATI Rage Pro TURBO chip set. This solidified the iMac's position
as a respectable choice for gamers and home users alike. Just
this month (January '99) Steve Jobs announced the "Rev.
C" iMac at MacWorld San Francisco. This time around the
processor got a slight speed bump up to 266MHz and came in
five different color choices: Tangerine, Grape, Lime, Blueberry
and Strawberry. Color and MHz aside, most of the specs remained
the same with two notable exceptions, Apple axed the mezzanine
slot and infrared networking. The missing mezzanine slot stings
the most as several companies had announced "void-your-warranty"
type upgrades that used this slot, everything from SCSI adapters
to 3D graphics cards. Before you scrap your plans to buy that
lime green iMac check out iMacWorld's page describing mezzanine
upgrades and their possible future in the Rev. C iMac. As
of January '99 there are both Revision B and C iMacs available
with the Rev. B machines priced under the magic $1,000 mark.
Which machine is right for you? The MacBench scores and
MacBench 5.0 Scores
MacBench Scores are relative to the Pre-Yosemite
G3/300 Power Mac
which is assigned a score of 1000. Longer bars are better. Click here for more information
on MacBench 5.0
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For Great Prices On Upgrades 
The
iMac, first released August '98, is now in its third incarnation.
Dubbed by the online community (ourselves included) Revision
"A" "B" and "C" each new iMac
introduced performance bumps and other modifications. Below
we take a look at the 
