I'm about to purchase imac 24" with 2.16Ghz processor. considering the upgrade to 2.33Gz but also on tight budget . Upgrade from 2.16 to 2.33 would cost me AUD 395. Any ideas if Apple may bump the speed of these machines soon? cheers.

[jdcfsu]

I don't foresee Apple upping the speed of the iMac's anytime soon considering they chose Merom chips. The fastest Merom chip currently available is the 2.33. I don't know the Merom roadmap, but I don't see Apple switching to Conroe anytime soon.

[Jerman]

I doubt it would be worth that much for such a small upgrade. I would go for the 2.1Ghz, especially if you are on a tight budget.

thanks for that. helped make up my mind. cheers.

[Jerman]

No problem. Treat yourself to some extra ram, or one of those new iPods on the money saved. Hope you enjoy the new computer. I recently bought a 24" LCD and absolutely love it, so I am sure it will be sweet!

[Artap99]

Merom will probably be replaced by Santa Rosa. Santa Rosa is slated for 2007. It will have a faster fsb and be wireless n native, plus be Direct X 10 compliant. Plus more L2 cache.
Of course, there could be a faster Merom to match the C2D Extreme chip at 2.93Ghz. But chances are...you'll be waiting around for a while and you'll be happy enough with your new iMac. After all, you don't want to be one of the people who wished for a G5 Powerbook.