Apple Refreshes iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac Mini Lines

So much for that March 24 event. Apple jumped the gun Tuesday, quietly refreshing its iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac mini lines.

The company has also slashed prices. A newly refreshed 20-inch iMac will now retail for $1,199 - down from $1,499. It features a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics, and a 320GB Serial ATA hard drive.
A $1,499 24-inch model features a 1920 x 1200 pixel widescreen, 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory, and a hard drive with 640GB or 1TB of space. The 24-inch also offers a number of graphics options, including NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, NVIDIA GeForce GT, or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics.

All iMac models feature an iSight camera, a Mini DisplayPort connector, built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, six USB 2.0 ports, and a FireWire 800 port.

Apple's Mac Pro tower line has been updated with Intel Nehalem Xeon Processors. The desktops start at $2,499 - $300 less than the previous generation. Each model comes with NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics, a Mini DisplayPor, and a DVI port standard.

The quad-core $2,499 Mac Pro model features a 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 3500 series processor, 3GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory (expandable up to 8GB), NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics, 640GB Serial ATA, an 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support, four PCI Express 2.0 slots, five USB 2.0 ports, and four FireWire 800 ports.

The 8-core $3,299 model, meanwhile, features two 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5500 processors, 6GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory (expandable up to 32GB), NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics, 640GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm, an 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW), a Mini DisplayPort, DVI, four PCI Express 2.0 slots, five USB 2.0 ports, and four FireWire 800 ports.

The new Mac mini line begins at $599. Measuring 6.5 x 6.5 x 2, the diminutive desktop is available in two configurations. The lower end $599 version features a 1GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (expandable up to 4GB), NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, and 120GB Serial ATA hard drive. The $799 model features a 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (expandable up to 4GB), and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics.

Both models feature five USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 800 port