PC Mag 24-inch iMac review

Apple's newest 24-inch iMac is an amazing computer, but is beginning to face tougher competition, writes PC Magazine in a new review. The $1,800 machine has been upgraded with one of Intel's new Penryn-edition Core 2 Duos, which use 45nm manufacturing; in theory this not only cools a system down, but reduces its power consumption. With options for a 3.06GHz CPU and a GeForce 8800 GS video card, the new iMac is claimed to be an extremely powerful computer, faster than some quad-core Windows PCs.

The magazine is also in praise of the iMac's LCD display, which supports resolutions up to 1920x1200, enabling the viewing of 1080p (full HD) movies. Other conveniences include a minimum number of cables, particularly if buyers choose the wireless keyboard mouse, and a default of 2GB of RAM, where many PCs only ship with 1. In environmental terms PC Mag notes that iMacs are built with recyclable aluminum and glass, and are now Energy Star 4.0-compliant.

The system is still said to be deficient in some respects, however, next to some similarly-priced PCs. Apple continues to omit memory card readers from iMacs despite this being a standard elsewhere, and the default Mighty Mouse is criticized for having a "wonky" right-click, as well as no back button. The system has no Blu-ray drive -- something offered by Dell and Sony -- and is increasingly less impressive when faced with the specs of other all-in-one systems, such as Dell's XPS One. At present though, PC Mag says it is confident enough to give the new iMac four out of five stars.

by MacNN Staff