Graphics card in 24-inch iMac is apparently upgradeable
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Sep 7, 2006 at 1:45pm
It just gets better and better. Christophe Laporte, editor-in-chief of MacGeneration, a French language Mac publication and web site, tells Macsimum News, that they’ve “discovered a little surprise about the new 24-inch iMac”: you can replace the video card thanks to the system’s MXM PCI Express connector. You an read the MacGeneration report here—if you speak French.
Mobile PCI Express Module (MXM) is an interconnect standard normally used for graphical user interfaces in laptops using PCI Express. The goal of MXM is to offer a non-proprietary, industry standard socket, so you can upgrade the graphics processor in a laptop, without having to buy a whole new system or relying on proprietary vendor upgrades.
MXM is the result of a joint design effort between Nvidia and the industry’s notebook manufacturers. According to Nvidia it provides a consistent interface for mobile PCI Express graphics in order to achieve: faster time to market for the latest notebook graphics; multiple system configurations and price points from a single system design; compatibility for any graphics solution from any vendor; and configure-to-order upgradeable graphics through notebook manufacturers, or potentially by consumers.
We’ll be investigating this further. But iIt would be a nice idea if Apple use the same connector in the next MacBook Pro, wouldn’t it?
You don’t have to leave home for computer training now because there are all kinds of software for computer training available on online stores.
Ace Fury Says:
“.....if you speak French.” Me thinks you mean “if you can READ French”.
Posted on September 07, 2006
Ed H. Says:
MXM was co-developed by nVidia and various notebook manufacturers (most notably Dell,) but is was made an ‘open’ standard, so anyone can make cards for it. (For example, Dell manufactures their own ATI-based card for it.) If ATI wants to make an MXM card, that’s perfectly fine. But I doubt they will. What’s more likely is for one of ATI’s OEM partners (either a notebook computer manufacturer, or a company that currently makes desktop cards,) to do it.
Posted on September 07, 2006
Eager MBP Customer Says:
But it would be a nice idea if Apple use the same connector in the next MacBook Pro, wouldn’t it?
Um, YES.
Posted on September 07, 2006
Steiner Says:
As Ed H. fairly said MXM cards will be manufactured only by nvidia at least in the near future. Bad news :(
Posted on September 07, 2006
meatofmoose Says:
Ace Fury:
Touche’. Since MascsimumNews did not provide a translation, I reckon that no one at MascsimumNews cannot read French either.
Posted on September 07, 2006
Lucky Lou Says:
You have a choice of upgrading your video card when you buy an iMac at the Apple Store, so perhaps Apple is already using this technoloigy to its advantage.
Posted on September 07, 2006
Hlkasdf fj Says:
Y’all be dumb
Posted on September 07, 2006
Dennis Harper Says:
Here is a Google translated version of the short article.
Small surprises of iMac 24 inches
Posted Thursday with 09:46 by Christophe Laporte
The iMac 24 “ is not distinguished from his/her brothers only by the size of its screen. First difference and not of least, the video chart of this last is on a chart girl and could in replaced theory being. Apple uses format MXM NCV Express train that one already found on certain portables PC. Another innovation compared to the other models of the range, the presence of a port FireWire 800 which should charm some of them. Consequence of this addition, this model has only one port FireWire 400. Apple also made efforts on the audio system of its last-born child. It includes a numerical amplifier interns 24 Watts which is twice more powerful than that of the iMac 17 and 20 inches. Moreover, the iMac 24 “ incorporates a kit its 2.1.
Posted on September 07, 2006
Frederic Wu Says:
Human translation:
24 Inch iMac’s Little Surprises
Posted Thursday 09:46 by Christophe Laporte
The screen size isn’t the only thing that distinguishes the 24” iMac from the other models. First and not the least insignificant difference is the video card on the 24” model: It resides on a daughterboard and could, in theory, be replaced. Apple uses the MXM PCI Express interface which can already be found on some laptops. Another feature not found on the other iMac models is the presence of a FireWire 800 port which should make some people happy. Because of this change, this model only has one FireWire 400 port. Apple has also paid attention to the audio system on the latest model. It includes an internal 24 watt digital amplifier which is twice as powerful than the one found in the 17 and 20 inch iMac. The 24” iMac also provides 2.1 channel sound.
Posted on September 08, 2006
munkybun Says:
hikasdf fj says you are all be dumb and dumber doo
Posted on September 08, 2006
Switching2Mac.com Says:
I thought the 20 inch iMac was big, 24 inches is a real monster but will make an excellent Pro-sumer machine for those that want power and screen real estate on a budget!
Posted on September 08, 2006
M Says:
MXM in a MacBook? Take a look at how much free space there isn’t inside the current models, and how little of that space is used by the current GPU setup. Remove the GPU space, and see how you think you’re going to fit an MXM in there.
It might be “nice” for the tiny fraction of the Mac userbase that wants to upgrade their laptop video hardware, but it would make the machine larger, heavier and louder (no way you could integrate it with the current thermal solution, meaning a separate heatsink and fan...)
Posted on September 08, 2006
Apple Says:
hmm
I dont know,
the 24 inch MAC IS huge, so why didnt they SIMPLE make it a STANDARD PCIe16x CARD??
this is an expensive way for upgrade.
add to it you cant just put 7900GTX in there , u need special cooling heatsink, I doubt even the 7600GT cooling can handle 7900GTX MXM boards.
If u want upgrade get a MAC pro..
u will spend the same price , GIVEN the difference between standard PCIe16X cards and MXM expensive cards
Posted on September 08, 2006
Ogre Says:
ATI has their own upgradeable mobile technology called AXIOM (Advanced eXpress I/O Module)
Posted on September 08, 2006
pedro mg Says:
Will Apple present a Black 24” iMac next Macworld ? If so, would it have some extra hw ? 1GB RAM, 256MB Video, ...
Black is cool
Posted on September 08, 2006
lemon lime Says:
You need to proof read your article your missing letters that should be there and have ones that shouldn’t.
Posted on September 09, 2006
lemon lime critic Says:
And Lemon Lime needs to learn the difference between “your” and “you’re” before he criticizes the author of the article. That’s also a lovely run-on sentence you have going on there.
Posted on September 09, 2006
John Says:
I too would love to see something similar in MBP. I would also love an easier way of getting INTO any alu PB/MBP. Replacing a hard drive is like neurosurgery! (almost!)
Kind regards
John
Posted on September 11, 2006
Shazbat Says:
OT: About that ad (BushClintonKatrinaFund): Until they turn over all of George W. Bush’s personal assets to the fund, I’m not sending any of my own hard-earned money.
Posted on September 11, 2006
Wayne Says:
I think the better word would be “when”, because most of the time, Apple DOESN’T give the users many options to upgrade, graphics cards being one of them. Even if someone like OtherWorldComputing or Daystar Digiral begins to offer upgrades for these machines, what’s the likelyhood of Apple supporting them afterwards?
Posted on September 12, 2006
Chuckie Says:
I’m no expert; just a Mac devotee. An X-bit Labs article notes thus:
Nvidia MXMs are designed for usage in notebooks and are supposed to allow customers to upgrade graphics sub-systems in their laptops. In reality, it is practically impossible for end-users to acquire MXM graphics cards themselves. There are a number of MXM implementations – MXM-I, MXM-II, MXM-III and MXM-HE – for various needs that are different by footprints (MXM-I is the smallest, MXM-HE is the largest) and by thermal compatibility. While the MXM products are backwards compatible (MXM-HE slot can support all the rest form-factors), different notebooks employ different MXM flavours and utilise specific cooling systems.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20060106235137.html
Posted on October 06, 2006
Adam Gaunt Says:
This is most welcome and long overdue. It should also make the laptops far more configurable by the end-user.
By the way Ace Fury, if you are going to be pedantic .....
===========================================
“Ace Fury Says:
”.....if you speak French.” Me thinks you mean “if you can READ French”.
===========================================
......then you really ought to be aware that “me thinks” is in fact one word - methinks!
Adam
Posted on December 01, 2006
da pee imp Says:
can sumbody splain to mee, what does “Please do your best to keep the comments on topic” mean? dank yoo
Posted on January 12, 2007
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
totally Says:
but only nvidia graphic cards?
Posted on September 07, 2006