Review: Intel iMac

[Magnus]

Yes, I know we're a bit behind. It seems like every other site has published some review of the Intel iMac that was introduced at MacWorld Expo in January. For example, Ars Technica has a good review packed with technical details. Arguably, I think this is the first review from the UAE. Previously, Ajlan generously shared his first experience with a new iMac. A big thank you to IMC Apple ME for providing an iMac for the test.

First the specs (complete specs):

• 17-inch widescreen LCD with 1440x900 resolution
• 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo with 2MB shared L2 cache
• 512MB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
• 160GB Serial ATA hard drive, 7200 RPM
• Slot-load 8x double-layer SuperDrive
• ATI Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB GDDR3 memory
• Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0

This price of this machine is around 6500 Dirhams in the UAE. On Apple.com you would pay $1299 (around 4800 Dirhams). See our list of retailers for places you can buy one. We also published some information about the availability of the Intel iMac not long ago and of course there's the Pricewatch.

External appearance
What can I say? This must be just about the prettiest computer there is. A Mac mini certainly has it's attraction with its small size and silvery appearance, but the iMac, in this department, kicks butt. It's really nothing more than a regular flat-panel display that is a bit thicker than normal, on a very nice aluminum stand. I always thought the iMac G4 design was really cool, the one with the half-dome base and the monitor on an arm, but this is another level of beautiful design.

Performance
Before the launch of the first Intel-Macs, much was made of increased performance, and lower power-consumption. When jobs told the world about 2-3 times faster performance, many were skeptical. I've not run any benchmarks on the iMac but overall everything feels faster. The user interface responds instantly, and you just don't see the spinning beach ball as much as you do on especially a G4 Mac. Does this matter that much to most users? No, probably not. But it's good to know that Apple is going in the right direction. Mac OS X is much snappier on an Intel processor than it ever was on a Power-processor, that much I can say.

There is more than enough power in this iMac for most home users. It would also make a wonderful office computer for many companies. It's clear that the Intel-switch has given Macs more power when you run Universal Binaries, which is obviously a welcome thing.

One thing that really impressed me was how fast it boots. This has been noted elsewhere and although timing it and comparing to other Macs, I'd venture to say that it's the fastest-booting Mac I've ever used.

Another thing that is very noticeable in terms of performance is how well it plays hi-quality video. Hi-def 1080p movies from Apple.com, for example IMAX Deep Sea 3D, and the X-Men 3, Silent Hill and The Hills have Eyes trailers, look absolutely amazing. Be warned that they are large files though. The 1080p trailer for The Hills have Eyes is 188Mb. That the new iMacs do 1080p very well is probably just in line with some grand-plan that Jobs has to put a Mac in every living room, and some say a big reason behind the switch to Intel chips.

Universal Binaries and Rosetta
To get the most out of the Intel-based Macs you need to run Universal Binaries. This means that the software has been specifically compiled for the Intel architecture. Some of the software I use the most has been released as Universal Binaries, including [url=http://www.panic.com/transmit/]Transmit<a/>, TextMate, Transmission, and OmniGraffle, and they all shine. Of course, Mac OS X with all it's applications and utilities, iLife 06, and iWork 06 are all Universal Binaries.

There are many lists online which lists what software is available as Universal Binaries, and one thing for sure is that the lists keep growing by the day.

So what's it like running PPC software using Rosetta? Surprisingly fine, actually. I tried out Microsoft Office 2004, Adobe Creative Suite, and Macromedia, sorry, Adobe DreamWeaver and Flash, and all applications seemed noticeably slower than on a Powerbook G4 1.67Ghz with 2Gb RAM, which is my everyday work machine. I didn't do any extensive testing with large files in Photoshop, for example, and I'm sure there are limits to the Rosetta-emulation, but overall it works.

You should also know that many PowerPC games won't run on the Intel iMac, neither will Microsoft's Virtual PC. Also, there is no Classic on Intel Mac OS X, so you won't be able to run pre-OS X software. I think a good piece of advice, when you move over to an Intel-based Mac is to take a serious inventory of all software you use and see if there are Universal Binary versions available.

The built-in iSight
This is a really cool addition, although I suspect many users will not really use it much. It may be a bit of an issue that it's permanently fixed and you cannot turn it around, i.e. it only faces straight ahead. But for its intended purpose, to be used for iChat, it's great. The iSight has always been a really sweet camera, and picture quality is generally really good, depending on bandwidth conditions, of course.

Storage
This model comes with a 160Gb hard drive which should be plenty for most users. When it comes to hard drives there is almost not one that is too big - you can always use more storage space. The dual-layer DVD burner is a great addition. It lets you store around 8.5 Gb on each disk, which means a lot of photos, movies, documents, and software.

Expansion
The iMac hasn't exactly been known for its easy expandability, going back to the original "blueberry" model. And the same is true for this iMac. MacUAE even warned against opening it up, and I haven't tried to. If you do want to, there are some disassembly photos online. The iMac has three USB 2.0 ports and two Firewire 400 port on the back, which should be enough for most users. The other ports are audio in, audio out, and Ethernet. There's also a DVI connection on the side. For many accessories, there are external options today. For example, if you need more storage, hook up an external hard drive.

Wrapping up
If you have an iMac G5, there is probably little reason for you to get the new iMac, especially if you have the iMac G5 with iSight camera. The most recent iMac G5, introduced only last October, is in most ways identical to this one, apart from the Intel processor, of course. Apple has another winner in the new iMac. It's a great machine for home users, with more than enough speed for most practical uses, including high-demanding games. It runs Universal Binaries really fast and even most PPC software runs fine under Rosetta. I tested the 17-inch model, which has enough resolution for most purposes. If you can afford it, I would suggest you pick the 20-inch model however. You will be glad you got the extra screen space sooner or later. With the larger model you also get faster processor and more graphics memory.