Why are the iMacs Costco sells made with a configuration that Apple doesn’t offer?

Question

Why are the iMacs Costco sells made with a configuration that Apple doesn’t offer?

I was looking at a 21.5” iMac at Costco and noticed that the configuration seemed different. So I looked it up on Apples site. They are different. The Costco 3.0ghz 6-core version only has 2GB of video ram. This is compared to the Apple version with a 3.0ghz 6-core processor, 1TB fusion drive, 8GB ram, and 4GB of video ram that come standard in this configuration. The Apple version is only $50. more and you get 4GB of video ram.

Does anyone know why? I’ve looked and haven’t found anyone else who’s noticed this. Does this mean all Costco Apple products are inferior to the authentic Apple versions?

Posted on Mar 5, 2020 5:22 PM

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Answer 1

stedman1

Level 10

265,808 points

Mar 5, 2020 6:04 PM in response to Inquisitor0023

That model was initially released with the 2GB video option. It is no longer offered on new models, which would indicate the Costco version is an earlier production model.

Initial offerings below.

Graphics CardAMD Radeon Pro 555X, Radeon Pro 560X, or Radeon Pro Vega 20

Graphics Memory2 GB (Radeon Pro 555X) 4 GB (Radeon Pro 560X, Radeon Pro Vega 20) GDDR5Display Connection

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Answer 2

dialabrain

Level 10

137,169 points

Mar 5, 2020 5:35 PM in response to Inquisitor0023

FWIW, it looks like a typo on Costco's site. It's the same model GPU.

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Answer 3

babowa

Level 9

78,626 points

Mar 5, 2020 5:29 PM in response to Inquisitor0023

First, we are all other users here and do not work for Apple, so we could only guess unless apple publishes the info. Having said that, there certainly is a model configuration with 2 GB video ram on Apple's site so I do not think there is anything inferior.

https://www.apple.com/imac/specs/

FWIW, you do not want any model with 5400 rpm drive - it is glacially slow. You need at least 7200 rpm spinning drive or an SSD.

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Answer 4

Mar 5, 2020 5:48 PM in response to dialabrain

You could be right? It would make more sense than making a special iMac for Costco. I’ll have to look at the configuration on an actual machine at Costco to make sure. Otherwise, it’s a no brainer to buy one from Apple.

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