Member Avatar for Primitivus

Does anyone know the exact specs of the X1600 in the new Intel iMacs? I mean core clock speed, memory speed, number of ppl's etc. and in particular about the 256MB version which is an option in the 20" iMac. Is it more similar to the X1600 Pro or the X1600 XT? Cheers

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Dani AI

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Short answer up front for : the iMac X1600 shipped by Apple is the midrange RV530-based X1600 family and the 256MB factory option is a framebuffer (VRAM) increase only. Apple did not offer a separate "XT"‑class card as the factory upgrade—the difference between Pro and XT SKUs is in shader/pipeline count and clocks, not just VRAM.

How to get the exact numbers for a specific machine

  • On macOS: Apple menu -> About This Mac -> More Info -> System Profiler -> Graphics/Displays. That shows the chipset name and VRAM.
  • To read hardware clocks, bus width and shader/pipeline counts you need a tool that reads the GPU registers. Boot into Windows (Boot Camp) and run GPU‑Z or check the ATI/AMD control panel; those tools report core clock, memory clock, memory type and shader count.
  • If you cannot boot Windows, boot a Linux live USB and run lspci -nn (look for the ATI/AMD device ID). Use that PCI device ID in a GPU database to find the exact RV530 variant and published specs.

Why Apple’s listing may not be enough
Apple spec pages normally list model name and VRAM only. Apple sometimes ships OEM variants with slightly different clocks for thermal reasons, so published desktop card clocks may not match the iMac implementation. The only reliable methods are the software reads above or checking the card ID and cross‑referencing a trusted GPU database.

Practical note on the 256MB option
More VRAM helps at the iMac 20" native resolution (higher framebuffers and larger textures) but it does not add pipelines or change shader performance. Expect better texture handling, not a wholesale jump to XT performance.

As pointed out, the Mac forum is the right place for this. Follow the steps above to extract the device ID or GPU‑Z output; those values let you match the iMac GPU to an exact SKU and its published core/memory clocks and pipeline counts.

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Member Avatar for nizzy1115

Post this in the Mac section. You will get better answers back.

Member Avatar for Primitivus

I did, in 2 different forums, but I haven't received any replies. Either no one knows or no one in the Mac community is interested. Thanks though

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