What is it?
Outwardly, one would be hard pressed to identify the new iMac from the previous iMac G5 iSight. Even a casual test drive of the new machine betrays little of its differences. It has the same clean design, runs the same excellent OS X 10.4 "Tiger," and runs pretty much the same software applications. So what's different? Everything... and then again, not much.
First the big differences...
Intel Core Duo processor
The tech speak goes like this. The new processor is Intel's first "65 nanometer" chip, which means amazingly small transistors packed densely into the processor. Two of these processors are packed onto a single module, sharing a 2MB L2 cache.
Apple claims that this new processor (actually, new processors) outstrips the previous G5's by a factor of 2 (that's a 2.0GHz Intel machine running against a G5 2.1GHz).
Software compatibility
New software specifically designed for use on both Intel iMacs and older systems will now be designated with the "Universal" symbol. That said, pretty much all your older Mac software should run on the new iMac better than previous models due to the "Rosetta" conversion program (which runs transparently in the background).
Unfortunately, that is not true to certain Apple-manufactured "Pro" products - including Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Aperture, Logic Pro, Logic Express, and Final Cut Express. For these to work, you will have to buy the upgrade to the new "Universal" versions for what Apple says is "minimal cost."
Although I do not use any of these applications, it still worries me a bit because I feel this departs somewhat from Apple's previous history of supporting legacy systems and software (I still run several classic programs on my G4 iMac and iBook).
And the similarities Design
Externally, the iMac keeps the same clean and attractive appearance as the iMac G5. Everything is somehow crammed into a 17x17x6 inch package without causing heating issues (though I would be careful to ensure that a few inches of space is available above the machine to allow effective venting). The all-in-one unit swivels easily on its smooth base, and tilts with just a bit more than a breath's touch top or bottom. When you pick it up, though, you have no doubt that it's a full-up computer. The compact design and easy movement conceal the weight - nearly 16 lbs!
The only things exiting the back of the iMac before you start adding peripherals is the power cord (no bulky power supply, just a cord) and the USB cord to the Keyboard (unless you chose the Bluetooth wireless version). On the right side at the bottom is the mount for the remote control. Everything else is internal - including the speakers, DVD/ROM drive and bluetooth/wireless antennas. The iSight video camera peeks out of a tiny square lens aperature at top center, flanked by the microphone on the left and green "camera on" LED on the right. Even the IR port for the remote is hidden (behind the Apple logo).
Output ports: As before, the iMac sports "five" USB ports - three 2.0s behind, and two 1.1s in the keyboard. However, this is really three available ports, because the keyboard plugs into one of the ports in the back, and the mouse takes up one in the keyboard. It also has two FireWire 400 ports in the back, as well as headphone and optical digital audio outputs, an audio input, and Mini-DVI output.
The clean design is nice, but I find a few problems with it.
- The USB and firewire ports are hidden behind the screen, with the exception of the one free USB port on the keyboard. I would prefer having the ports in front, but that wouldn't keep with Apple's aesthetics that are so important to some.
- I really like my old G4's floating screen - it is more adjustable, including height. I do like the incorporation of the speakers into the main unit - perhaps they could have found the room in the G4's "half volleyball" base.
- I'm not sure how much I like the deletion of the phone modem that started with the G5, though the only phone modem I've used in the past couple years is on my iBook, so it's probably not a big deal. A USB modem runs about $50 from Apple.
Screen and Graphics
The 17" illuminated TFT active matrix LCD is still as bright and beautiful as before (I believe the 20" model has a newer, brighter screen). It is viewable clearly from a broad angle, both left-right and up-down. A light monitor auto-adjusts the screen for ambient lighting, though you can change it yourself also from the "System Preferences."
Graphics run by the outstanding ATI Radeon x1600 processor with 128MB of GDDR3 video memory.
Other components
- Memory: 512MB of RAM standard, like before. However, the new stuff is 667MHz and has two replaceable modules, not one. The old iMac had a built-in 512MB with one slot that you could load up to 2GB in, for a total of 2.5GB. The new one has two slots that each can take up to 1GB. After this impressive demo, I am ordering it with 1GB on a single module (a $90 upgrade from the Educational Store), leaving the empty slot for future upgrades, if needed. The 2GB upgrade (2 x 1GB) costs another $180, which is much better than the G5 (I believe the 2GB module which brought it to 2.5 total was over $1200).
If you choose to install new memory yourself (about the only internal DIY upgrade available), it's a simple operation which involves dropping a panel on the bottom of the machine, pulling the old module out (if necessary), clicking the new one(s) in, and replacing the panel. Only tool required is a small screwdriver, and it's probably a full 5-minute job (remember to GROUND yourself!).
- Hard Drive: A 160GB drive is standard, running at 7200RPM. This is upgradable to 250GB for $75 (70 through the Educational Store).
- Optical: The same 8x "SuperDrive" is standard (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW... EIEIO). What this all means is that you can read and burn stuff fast (Double Layer writing at 2.4x, "Normal" DVD ops at 8x, CDs at 24x).
- Wireless: Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth 2.0+ Enhanced Data Rate remain as built-in, and standard.
- A standard 10/100/1000 Gigabit BASE-T Ethernet port is included.
- Apple Remote: The same six-button Apple Remote (which looks similar to the iPod Shuffle, with an IR cap on one end) mounts on the lower right side of the computer. With it, you can control DVDs, slideshows, music,
- Keyboard/Mouse: The Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse remain unchanged. Typing is smooth and accurate, and feedback is excellent. Those of you who want the IBM click will have to look elsewhere for an exchange. The Mighty Mouse is so much better than the old one-button model Apple clung to for so long. Pushing left or right clicks the appropriate button (there's still only one actual buttons - sensors detect if you're pressing the left or right). Squeezing the two force-sensing buttons on the base gives you a third option (default is to launch "Expose"). The coolest thing, however, is the scrollball on the top, a tiny clickable trackball that rolls in 360 degrees, so you can scroll left, right, up, down, or in circles. Very cool. The optical sensor tracks smoothly and correctly. All buttons are set so that you can program them through the Keyboard and Mouse Utility.
A bluetooth wireless keyboard/mouse combo is a $54 upgrade, but I'm not sure I see much utility in it for a desktop in my office.
- Power Supply: The internal power supply automatically adapts to 100-240V input, so those of us who move across oceans (I'm going back soon) don't have to worry about frying a power supply because we forgot to throw a tiny switch. I've never done that, but our resident Computer Technician did last year... ouch!
- iSight: The tiny iSight port hides a fixed camera which provides outstanding fixed and video resolution for such a device - up to 2.3MegaPixels Digital and 3.2MP Analog (though I confess I'm not sure I understand how one grabs true analog from a digital device). The iChat AV software is slick, and compatible with AIM so you can video chat with your PC-chained friends and associates. With a .Mac membership, you can do so while your text is encrytped.
Software
As stated above, there are some differences here. However, there are more similarities. The iMac still ships with Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" - perhaps the most awesome change from 10.3 "Panther" is the innovative Spotlight search function, which uses a web search-engine-like database to find files REALLY quickly (as in "hit ENTER and BANG! it's there").
Sitting in front of the machine, it is noticeably faster than the G5 iMac, especially in graphic-intensive operations (very evident in re-draws of iPhoto edits). I didn't get a chance to play with PhotoShop, but I would like to. I wouldn't say that I noticed a 2x increase in performance, but I didn't really test the limits, and we're talking the 1.83GHz, not the 2.0GHz. However, it makes my current home machine (G4, 768MB RAM), which I think is pretty good, look like a tortoise.
Office runs, well, just like it used to. Large PowerPoint files are noticeably quicker to load and display. It will be interesting to see how fast some of my huge Excel files/charts from my old thesis run.
Pre-installed software (with recovery disks) in addition to 10.4 includes iLife '06 (iTunes, iDVD, iWeb, Garage Band, etc).
Support
The same 90 day free telephone support/1 yr limited warranty comes standard. The 3yr Apple Care warranty costs an additional $169.
Impressions Pros
This machine is definitely a Mac. Sure, it's faster, but what has sold me on it is that I believe it retains its Mac-specific user-friendliness and robust architecture. In addition, Mac's OS-X remains more resistant to viruses (which combines with the fact that fewer viruses are written against Macs in the first place).
The user-interface remains the same. You plug things in to the firewire or the USB, and they work. It is a rare occurrence when you'll need to search for a software patch or driver, or play the PC configuration file game.
With the MightyMouse, my chief annoyance (the primitive one-button mouse) is gone, and now I will find myself on the PCs at work wishing I had the "magic button" on their primitive click-wheel mice.
The design, while low on my priority list, remains incredibly far ahead of most PC-clones. Everything fits in a small footprint, and you don't have Medusa's hair sprouting everywhere.
Bang for your buck is one place Apple has really improved. I went to look for a similar PC system, and here's what I found. You can buy a Dell XPS400, with a similar Core Duo processor (2.8GHz, 2MB L2, which will be pretty a bit slower in performance in most cases than the iMac 1.83GHz), upgraded to 1GB of DDR memory (slower - 533MHz vs 667MHz), 160GB hard drive, and a 256MB ATI PCI Express card. By deleting the 3.5 inch floppy, you end up with a similar Windows system. They'll throw in a 19" upgrade to the monitor for free. Cost? $1700 shipped, vs $1300 for the iMac from the Ed Store. For the same $1700 as the Dell, you could get the 20" iMac, which would blow it out of the water.
Cons
There still are some reasons not to go Mac, though.
Software Compatibility: Especially games, but also utilities like GPS programs. There just is a lot more software written for PCs, and when identical titles are available for the two, you can usually find it a lot cheaper on Windows. That said, I think the Office for Mac is strangely better than the Windows edition. Also, Office for Mac Pro ($250 after rebate) now ships with Virtual PC with Windows XP. I wouldn't run Windows Apps on a Mac expecting it to run as well as on a high-end PC, but all I've heard so far is that it's pretty good. I'll update when I've had some time to experiment.
By the way, file compatibility is really not an issue anymore. I regularly swap files back and forth on my memory stick between my iMac, iBook, and PCs at work.
Children's educational software also doesn't seem to be a real issue. Just about every title out there is now PC and Mac compatible.
User Upgradability : If you are like my Dad and really enjoy pulling the cover off your CPU to drop the latest and greatest in, you won't like Macs. As I said, the only real internal upgrade you can do is Memory. You probably could swap a hard drive without too much hassle, but I think you'll void the warranty when you pop the case. I tried rebuilding my iMac G4's Keyboard that had swallowed a can of Coke, and it was a pain in the butt. By the time I got it apart (definitely not intuitive) the Coke had done its damage, and I ended up buying a new one.
Final Words
I'll put more down when I get some real time behind this system, but for now, I can't see the downside. Up to double the performance (at the same price) of the G5 model, rock-steady OS-X, no compatibility issues for my use, and feature-rich.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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