The iMac "Core 2 Duo" 2.8 24-Inch Aluminum (Early 2008/Penryn) features a 2.8 GHz Intel "Core 2 Duo" processor (E8235) with two independent cores on a single silicon chip, a 6 MB shared level 2 cache, and a 1066 MHz system bus. It is configured with 2 GB of RAM (800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, PC2-6400), a 320 GB (7200 RPM) Serial ATA hard drive, a vertical slot-loading DVD±R DL "SuperDrive", and an ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO graphics accelerator with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory. The system also includes a built-in iSight video camera and stereo speakers located beneath the 24" glossy TFT Active Matrix LCD (1920x1200 native) display.
Connectivity is provided by three USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire "400" port, one Firewire "800" port, integrated AirPort Extreme, and Gigabit Ethernet, as well as a mini-DVI port that supports an external display in "extended desktop" mode.
Visually, the iMac "Core 2 Duo" Aluminum (Early 2008/Penryn) models are nearly identical to the original Aluminum versions they succeeded, with the same housing and glass cover that "joins precisely to the aluminum enclosure creating a virtually seamless front surface." They were also bundled with the same "ultra-thin alumium" Apple Keyboard.
However, the internals of the "Early 2008/Penryn" revision were significantly upgraded. They boast faster and more energy-efficient 45 nm "Penryn" processors compared to the 65 nm "Merom" processors in the original "Aluminum" models. Other enhancements include larger level 2 caches (6 MB versus 4 MB), faster frontside buses (1066 MHz versus 800 MHz), and faster memory (PC2-6400 versus PC2-5300). Some configurations also shipped with more standard memory.