After recently updating its iMac and MacBook Pro models, Apple has now begun shipping quad-core 27-inch iMacs, with the new i5 and i7 quad-core Intel processors with 8MB level 3 cache.

Apple first unveiled the new products last month, but only now have they started to ship from Shanghai were they are made.

The new iMac includes a pretty big 27-inch 2560x1440px LED display, 4GB DDR3 SDRAM (expandable to up to 16GB), 1TB hard drive, and a dual layer super-drive, iSight camera, 4 USB ports, Magic Mouse with wireless keyboard, a single FireWire 800 port, AirPort Extreme with Bluetooth, among other features.

The new models still have no BluRay support, so that could still be some time away as these machines have just been introduced.

The prices range from as low as $1098 for the 3.06GHz dual processor 21-inch iMac, all the way up to $1848 for the 2.66GHz Quad 27-inch model.