[reemas]

Is there a difference in the Core 2 Duo chips in the new MBP's and the iMacs? I was told one is a mobile version which runs slower. Is there a difference between these and the powermacs?

Thanks.

[mduell]

Both the MBPs and the iMacs use the mobile Core 2 Duo chips.
The MBPs use a newer version with an 800Mhz FSB, the iMacs use the previous version with a 667Mhz FSB. The iMacs are rumored to have an update coming in late June/early July.

The PowerMacs use different chips (Xeons); they're based on the same core, but they have a 1333Mhz FSB and support multiple processors.

[Brentnal]

There are 2 types of Intel Core 2 Duo chips:

Merom - Made for laptops and mobile platforms.

and

Conroe - Made for desktops and high performance applications.

All of the Apple Core 2 Duo products (MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac) use the Merom processor.

Merom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[SierraDragon]

Performance does in general vary by platform type due to the cost of engineering smaller/thinner/lighter/portable. Towers are stronger than iMacs which are stronger than laptops. One can manipulate the relationship somewhat by throwing money at the engineering, but the generality holds.

-Allen Wicks