One PC, Two Brains

What About Apple? Core Duo-Based iMac Packs Lots of Power

Dual-core technology isn't exclusive to PCs--Apple has gotten in on the action, too. The company introduced dual-core technology on the iMac last February. And with the addition of Intel processors and Boot Camp for running Windows, it's now possible for us to see how Macs compare with Windows-based PCs. To determine what kind of power an iMac can provide, we examined the 20-inch wide-screen model, an all-in-one system that's among the most elegant computers you can buy.

When you gaze at the iMac's gorgeous screen, all the other hardware seems like an afterthought, because all the components are neatly tucked away behind the LCD. The list price for the model we tested, with 1GB of RAM, is $1799, somewhat above our ceiling, but Apple also offers a 15-inch unit that starts at $1299.

The iMac uses a 2-GHz Core Duo T2500 processor, Intel's mobile dual-core CPU, which enables this thin system to run cool. It earned a score of 96 in our WorldBench 5 tests, making it plenty fast for a value system. The iMac also completed our multitasking tests quickly, ahead of the value PCs that we reviewed for this roundup.

The system offers solid 3D graphics, thanks to its ATI Radeon X1600 card with 128MB of RAM, but one drawback is that Macs running Boot Camp conflict with the 3DS Max portion of our WorldBench 5 tests, and as a result the iMac was unable to complete the gaming portion of our testing. The wide-aspect display looks terrific at its native 1680 by 1050 resolution, and the system can support external monitors at up to 1920 by 1200 (digital) or 2045 by 1536 (analog).

Using Apple's Boot Camp, we added a second partition to the iMac to house Windows XP. To run Windows you just hold the <Option> key while booting. The two partitions appear as icons, and you can take your pick. At first Windows looks slightly different because the standard icons, such as My Computer and Recycle Bin, are absent. Once you're working with it, however, Windows behaves normally, with none of the noticeable delays of the bad old days of emulation.

Loads of Features

The iMac comes with a slot-fed double-layer DVD burner located on the right of the LCD, as well as a 250GB hard drive. On the right rear are most of the ports you'll want: two FireWire, three USB 2.0 (plus two more USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard), mini-DVI, DVI, VGA, S-Video, and composite video. Good-sounding stereo speakers are built in, as is a microphone, optical digital audio (for headphones), and an audio line-in port.

One of the iMac's advantages is the software it includes, such as iLife, Apple's media-focused set of applications. Another nifty feature is iSight, the built-in Web camera with its iChatAV software already installed.

This system has some limitations--unlike the PCs we looked at for this review, the iMac does not allow you to access its interior to upgrade and add components. However, it does put most of what you need from a computer into one extremely elegant package.

Dan Sommer