Apple Plotting a Quad-Core iMac?

The latest rumor to do the rounds in Mac world is that the company could be planning to use both dual-core and quad-core processors in the new, updated version of the iMac.

ZoomLate last week AppleInsider speculated that Apple might be getting ready to introduce a new iMac. Citing people familiar with the matter AppleInsider says that the Cupertino-based company has warned that new reseller orders for the high-end 24-inch 3.06 GHz iMac are unlikely to be fulfilled.

This rumor has since evolved and now people beginning to wonder what will make up the guts of this machine. CNet speculates that Apple might decide to offer both a dual-core and a quad-core processor.

Citing Shaw Wu of Kaufman Brothers, CNet reports that, while Apple currently offers two different screen sizes (20-inch and 24-inch) for the all-in-one iMac and two different configurations for each size, the company could either further differentiate the 24-inch line with quad-core chips, or even a choice of dual-core or quad-core processors for each screen size.

Which do you think Apple is likely to do? On the one hand we can see Apple only offering users the quad-core in the 24-inch, forcing customers looking for that kind of power to pay a higher price. On the other hand, the company would probably shift more units if they offered a choice of one or the other in either the 20-inch or the 24-inch.