A new report on Tuesday suggests Apple may be prepping its iMac line of consumer computers for a big update.

[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]The new iMac will come with the new Sandy Bridge processors and Apple’s Thunderbolt technology for high-speed data transfer, according to AppleInsider.

It makes sense that the iMac would be next in line to get the new processors and Thunderbolt ports. In late February, Apple updated its MacBook Pro line of computers with those same features.

Thunderbolt provides two bi-directional data channels with transfer speeds up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps); it’s suitable for use with external high-performance peripherals like RAID arrays, and it supports DisplayPort for external displays. It can also support FireWire, USB and Gigabit Ethernet using adapters.

The rumored ship date for the new iMacs is the first week of May.