How fast is the education-only Intel iMac "Core Duo" compared to the consumer model?

Please note that all systems mentioned in this Q&A have been discontinued.

You may wish to start with a review of the answer to "What is the difference between the consumer and education-only iMac 'Core Duo'?" elsewhere in the iMac "Core Duo" Q&A.That answer makes it quick and easy to compare the iMac "Core Duo" 1.83 17" sold to the education and consumer markets, and the iMac "Core Duo" 1.83 17" (IG) that Apple restricted to educational institutions.

Each system has a 1.83 GHz Intel "Core Duo" processor (T2400), with two independent processor "cores" on a single silicon chip, a 2 MB shared level 2 cache, a 667 MHz system bus, and support for 667 MHz PC2-5300 DDR SDRAM.

Although there are configuration differences as well, the most notable difference from a performance perspective is that the education-only iMac "Core Duo" 1.83 17" (IG) system uses cheaper and slower Intel GMA 950 "integrated graphics" compared to the much faster ATI Radeon X1600 "dedicated" graphics processor with 128 MB of GDDR3 memory used in the higher-end configuration.

Given the difference in graphics capabilities, one could anticipate that the education-only model would be slower, particularly in 3D graphics-related tasks.

In a well-written review that should be read in its entirety, MacWorld came to much the same conclusion in a series of tests. 512 MB of RAM is installed by default in each model, although the education-only system has memory installed as two 256 MB modules and the consumer system is configured with a single 512 MB module. MacWorld first equipped each with 1 GB of RAM and reported the following regarding performance:

The composite Speedmark score for [the iMac "Core Duo" 1.83 17" (IG) in] all tests was 175. . . The standard 17-inch iMac, however, beat out the education version by more than 15 percent (202).

Processor-intensive tasks such as a Cinema 4D render, iMovie filter, and iTunes MP3 encoding showed. . . scores equal to or better than the standard iMac. . . [but the education-only iMac] definitely suffered in 3-D game play--getting 30 fewer frames per second than the standard iMac.

Ultimately, the education-only model cost US$300 less than the higher-end model available for education, and consequently, many schools, colleges, and universities, always price sensitive, likely found the reduced performance to be an acceptable sacrifice for the reduced price.