How do the "Early 2009" Aluminum iMac Core 2 Duo models compare to the "Early 2008/Penryn" models that preceded them?

Please note that all models mentioned in this Q&A have been discontinued. The "Early 2009" Aluminum iMac models were replaced by the "Late 2009" iMac models on October 20, 2009.

At first glance, the "Early 2009" Aluminum iMac Core 2 Duo models -- the iMac "Core 2 Duo" 2.66 20-Inch (Early 2009), 2.66 24-Inch (Early 2009), 2.93 24-Inch (Early 2009), and 3.06 24-Inch (Early 2009) -- look essentially identical to the original and "Early 2008" models. The "Early 2009" systems effectively use the same "elegant" aluminum cases as earlier Aluminum models and likewise have a glass cover that "joins precisely to the aluminum enclosure creating a virtually seamless front surface" with the entire computer tucked discreetly behind the flat-panel display.

However, as first noted in a great side-by-side unboxing by the always excellent Mac mini Colo team, the aluminum "foot" is tapered toward the front on the "Early 2009" models, rather than "squared off" like on the earlier systems, which gives the "Early 2009" models a more refined appearance.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc.

Look at the back of the systems, however, and you will notice that the ports have been changed. The "Early 2008" models have 3 USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire "400" port, and one Firewire "800" port, but the "Early 2009" models have 4 USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire "800" port, and lack a Firewire "400" port. Additionally, the Mini-DVI port on the "Early 2008" models has been swapped for a Mini DisplayPort, and the "Early 2009" models support a 30-Inch (2560x1600) external display, up from a 24-Inch (1920x1200) one.

Remaining connectivity is identical -- both lines have "optical digital audio input/audio line in" and "headphone/optical digital audio output" minijacks, built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n), and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. The iSight cameras are the same as well.

By default, the "Early 2009" models are accompanied by a small aluminum "ultrathin, compact wired keyboard" that lacks the numerical keypad -- compared to an aluminum wired "ultrathin" keyboard with a numeric keypad on the "Early 2008" models -- but the 2009 revision feels the same as the keyboard on the earlier models and still is based on the keyboard design introduced with the MacBook.

Internal differences between the "Early 2009" and "Early 2008" models are modest -- clockspeeds and configurations are similar -- but the "Early 2009" models use 1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 memory compared to 800 MHz PC2-6400 DDR2 on the models replaced with twice the official maximum capacity and the high-end models have improved graphics (the lower-end models have integrated graphics but support a larger external display).

The major configuration differences between the "Early 2009" models and the "Early 2008" Aluminum model that each immediately replaced are summarized below for your convenience. Please refer to the specs page for the model of interest for complete details.

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