Apple iMac (Intel Core Duo)

on the outside, the new apple imac (intel core duo) ($1,699 direct, $1,799 as tested) looks no different than the previous powerpc-based imac g5 (isight). the differences are all under the hood. the 20-inch new imac combines a dual-core intel core duo (formerly pentium m or yonah) processor with the mac os x experience. casual mac users, switchers from microsoft windows, and ipod aficionados will love the new imac; however, professionals and people who use graphics apps such as adobe photoshop and final cut pro should hold off until the critical app is updated to work smoothly with the intel processor. for these people, we recommend holding on to your current g5-powered mac, at least for now.

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apple left well enough alone and obviously used the design of the imac g5 (isight) as the prototype for this imac. inside, apple installed a 2.0-ghz core duo t2500 processor with a version of the intel 945gm chipset. like the previous imac g5, it comes standard with airport extreme 802.11g wireless networking, bluetooth 2.0+edr, an isight camera, a dual-layer dvd-burning superdrive, and a 250gb sata hard drive. the imac's bright and brilliant 20-inch widescreen lcd is the same panel as the imac g5 (isight): an easy-on-the-eyes high-res display. apple claims that the new imac is even quieter than the imac g5, and we'd tend to agree. you almost have to put your ear up to it to hear the fans in it (at least in an office environment).

ports on the back panel are the same (usb, firewire, audio in/out, ethernet) with one exception: now that the imac has a fully functional mini-dvi port, you can now take advantage of true dual-monitor;an improvement over the video mirroring setting in previous imacs. the mini dvi port is compatible with a vga adapter, and there is an optional s-video adapter as well. with an extended desktop, you can, for example, keep three to four full-size web pages or two 2-page spreadsheets open at once. —continue reading