Help with these iMac specs.. which core?

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Level 1

4 points

Help with these iMac specs.. which core?

Dear friends,

please help me with my imac.

I've just received an old iMac: according to the serial number, it must a be an iMac early 2006 1,83 ghz Intel core duo (Yonah) 17" screen, osx 10.6.8 running.

But the internal system profile displays "2 ghz intel cor 2 duo". I'm confused, you know. Which processor does it have? The question is relevant to me, because if it's fitted with the core 2 duo processor the imac could run osx 10.7 and windows 7 on bootcamp. I've tried to install osx lion but it won't run (system unsupported). Maybe the previous owner replaced the logic board?

Is there a way to check? Can I run osx lion anyway?

Thanks for your help..

best whishes...

Luca

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Mar 26, 2016 4:24 AM

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Answer 1

Rudegar

Level 10

181,176 points

Mar 26, 2016 4:43 AM in response to vocabola

System requirements for OS X Lion and Mac OS X v10.6 - Apple Support

if it's core duo then that would explain why lion will not install because it's not supported

also the free program mactracker agree that the early 2006 is Yonah cpu

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Answer 2

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,492 points

Mar 26, 2016 5:39 AM in response to vocabola

For complete specs input your serial number here http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/

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Answer 3

vocabola Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 26, 2016 5:45 AM in response to SeaPapp

Thank you, according to the serial number on everymac it should be a 1,83 GHz core duo.

But how can explain this? If i click on "information about this mac" it says "2.0 GHz core 2 duo". I am confused.

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Answer 4

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,492 points

Mar 26, 2016 5:52 AM in response to vocabola

I don't know either, maybe the logic blard was replaced. How much ram does it have? Lion requires a minimum of 2Gb to run. Did you buy Lion from the Mac App Store?

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Answer 5

vocabola Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 26, 2016 6:57 AM in response to SeaPapp

2gb ram, lion provided by a friend; it says that my machine is not supported! How can i solve it? I need Lion as well as windows 7 on bootcamp :/ Thanks

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Answer 6

vocabola Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 26, 2016 7:11 AM in response to vocabola

http://osxdaily.com/2010/10/23/how-to-check-the-mac-processor-speed/

if i check the processor type and speed with the command line " ysctl machdep.cpu.brand_string " I get back: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T7200 @ 2.00GHz.

No doubt it's a core 2 duo, maybe replaced. Now how can i make lion to recognize it? Maybe the osx checks the serial number and not the current cpu....

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Answer 7

dialabrain

Level 10

136,349 points

Mar 26, 2016 7:24 AM in response to vocabola

According to everymac, assuming you do have what system reports says you have, 10.6.8 is the latest version of OSX the machine will support.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac_cd_2.0_20.html

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Answer 8

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,492 points

Mar 26, 2016 7:19 AM in response to vocabola

At some point the logic board must have been replaced. When Lion, which by the way you have illegally, checks for machine id it must look at the serial number which identifies the machine as a core duo model.

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Answer 9

dialabrain

Level 10

136,349 points

Mar 26, 2016 7:23 AM in response to SeaPapp

Why is everyone assuming everymac's serial number lookup is infallible?

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Answer 10

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,492 points

Mar 26, 2016 7:24 AM in response to dialabrain

Because it is.

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Answer 11

dialabrain

Level 10

136,349 points

Mar 26, 2016 7:25 AM in response to SeaPapp

Mike Sombrio wrote:

Because it is.

LOL

and of course everyone enters their serial number correctly.

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Answer 12

dialabrain

Level 10

136,349 points

Mar 26, 2016 7:29 AM in response to SeaPapp

Mike Sombrio wrote:

Because it is.

infallible is it? It doesn't even know which CPU I have…

This serial number is for a 27-Inch iMac (Retina 5K, Late 2015). Does yours have a 3.2 GHz Core i5, 3.3 GHz Core i5, or 4.0 GHz Core i7 processor? Please share. Thank you.

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Answer 13

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,492 points

Mar 26, 2016 7:39 AM in response to dialabrain

In his screen shot About this Mac indicates that he has a 4,1 iMac, you look up that model id and tell me what you find.

If someone enters their serial incorrectly how can iFixIt's serial lookup be at fault?

All that aside....his iMac was built in August of 2006 and the 4,1 was discontinued in September of 2006, it's possible that Apple ran out of core duo chips and started using their new shipment in the last runs of the 4,1.

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Answer 14

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,492 points

Mar 26, 2016 7:40 AM in response to dialabrain

dialabrain wrote:

infallible is it? It doesn't even know which CPU I have…

This serial number is for a 27-Inch iMac (Retina 5K, Late 2015). Does yours have a 3.2 GHz Core i5, 3.3 GHz Core i5, or 4.0 GHz Core i7 processor? Please share. Thank you.

This isn't about you or your iMac.

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Answer 15

dialabrain

Level 10

136,349 points

Mar 26, 2016 7:41 AM in response to SeaPapp

Mike, I already posted what I found.

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