[prominence]

Hi everyone!

I recently bought a 24 inch iMac from a local apple store. I wanted the Intel 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme model with 2gigs RAM and 500GB hard-drive.

Well, the box was apparently packaged wrong (it said 2.4GHZ Core 2 duo and 1gig RAM), and when I mentioned it to the lady at check-out she told me that it was boxed wrong and that it is what I wanted - and to double check it when I get home if I wanted.

So I did. And there's one issue I ran into.

When I go to "About This Mac" and look at the processor information, it says "2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo". I paid for the model that I wanted to have the Intel Extreme processor, so shouldn't it say "2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme" ... and not "duo"?

Please help me figure this out! I need to take the computer back if they've given me the wrong thing, but I can't tell if "Extreme" is just a fancy name added onto the 2.8 GHz Duo model, or if there is actually 2 different models - "2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo" & "2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme" <-- In which case, if both exist, I need to talk to Apple and get the right processor I paid for!!

Can anyone help?

[Chuckit]

I don't have a recent iMac to check what the About This Mac box says, but the Core 2 Extreme version is the only 2.8 GHz iMac Apple has ever shipped.

[Big Slick]

No, it doesn't. I have the extreme processor and under "my mac" it read:
Model Identifier: iMac 7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.8 Ghz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2

[Simon]

The Merom XE is an overclocked Merom with unlocked multipliers. It runs at 2.8 GHz. No other mobile C2D runs at that frequency, IOW if you have a 2.8 GHz Merom in there, you have a Merom XE X7900. Apple refers to the X7900 as Core 2 Duo in their GUI panels (I'm guessing it's just a simple mistake), but it is indeed the X7900 which Intel marketing calls the Core 2 Extreme.

You have the Core 2 Extreme you wanted. You're alright.

The mislabeled box is interesting though. I have never received a mislabeled box from Apple. That would have me made me suspicious too.

[0157988944]

Extreme is just a name. It is still a Core 2 Duo Chip. If it is running at 2.8 GHz, you have a Core 2 Extreme iMac.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Simon 

The Merom XE is an overclocked Merom

What makes it overclocked? It comes from the factory as a 2.8Ghz part.

[hldan]

If you use Bootcamp for Windows you will see the actual model of the processor. In Windows it shows Core 2 Extreme. Same like the graphics card. In OS X it's called the HD 2600 Pro (which causes all the confusion) but in Windows it's called the Mobility HD 2600XT.

[.Neo]

It's kind off retarded that Mac OS X identifies my CPU as a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, while Windows Vista does show the "Intel Core 2 Extreme" tag. Apple should fix that.