REVIEWS
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MAC Yes PC No
PRICE
Ł1,229
CONTACT
Apple
0800 039 1010
www.apple.com/uk
FEATURES
" 20-inch LCD, 1,680x1,050
resolution (17-inch model
also available)
" 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo with
2MB shared L2 cache
" 512MB, 667MHz DDR2
SDRAM
" 250GB Serial ATA hard drive
" Slot-loading 8x double-layer
SuperDrive
The first Intel Mac offers
impressive performance " ATI Radeon X1600 graphics
improvements, but few with 128MB GDDR3
professional apps will run
video memory
effectively on it at present
" Built-in AirPort Extreme and
Bluetooth 2.0
" USB 2.0, FireWire, Ethernet,
mini-DVI
" Built-in iSight video camera
20-inch 2GHz iMac Core Duo
FOR
WITH A POWERFUL INTEL DUAL-CORE CHIP AT ITS HEART, IS THE IMAC NOW A PRO MACHINE?
" Excellent display
" Built-in iSight
pple s iMac has never really emulation app called Rosetta, and, QuarkXPress 7 is a Universal Binary, " Fast native applications
Abeen aimed at creatives. Despite as you can imagine, the emulation meaning it will run natively on either
AGAINST
the studio-friendly looks, it s always process slows things right down. the IBM or Intel chips, and will be
been more of a consumer machine, We ran benchmarks to see just available, we guesstimate, this " Too few native applications
leaving the Power Mac to take care how much of a performance hit Core summer. But unless Adobe speeds
of the pros. But in January, Apple up its normal production cycle,
took the wrappers off the iMac Core Photoshop is unlikely to see a native
Duo, the first Mac to get one of the Intel release until mid-2007.
IT TOOK 4X LONGER TO
new Intel dual-core chips. Aside from the processor,
Apple claims its new iMac is twice everything else is much the same as
START PHOTOSHOP ON
as fast as the old iMac G5. So does the November 2005 iMac. Essentially
this massive performance gain this is the same curved-shell design,
THE INTEL CORE DUO
make the iMac, at around two-thirds with remote control, built-in iSight
the cost of a Power Mac, a viable webcam and Front Row software.
choice for design professionals? Duo owners could expect. Side-by- The only new features worth a
RESOURCE
In a word, no. It s true that under side with a similarly-specced G5 mention are an updated iLife  06,
some circumstances Apple s iMac iMac, the first thing we noticed was which is a very friendly, if not pro-
VERDICT
Core Duo is twice as fast as the At present there the speed of the native Apple apps. level, bundle for publishing sites,
previous iMac. Apple s package of aren t very many But in non-native pro applications editing movies and storing photos; This is the future of the Mac,
bundled applications, iTunes for professional apps things slowed right down. and the Mini-DVI out port, which but slow-running applications
example, runs twice as fast. But that will run on an Photoshop start-up times were allows users to extend the desktop are the price you pay for early
there is some way to go before this Intel Mac without four times slower. Nearly every to a second monitor, whereas the G5 adoption. If you need an iMac,
speed will become available for performance command we benchmarked was would only mirror it. future-proof yourself and buy a
graphics apps, too. penalties. For a slower against the iMac G5, except Nice as these features are, the Core Duo. If you re thinking of
Design applications originally complete list of for applying a Radial Blur to a JPEG. lack of native applications that can upgrading, hold off until apps
written to run on G5 systems, programs that It was the same with InDesign. take advantage of the Intel chip that can take full advantage of
including all the industry-standard can run natively, Outputting a page layout to a 6.6MB means that those unable to afford a the Core Duo s speed appear
titles, will need to be rewritten to run take a trip to PDF was 2.0 times slower on the Power Mac are probably better off
on Intel chips. You can still run the http://guide.apple. Core Duo than it was on the iMac G5. with an older iMac G5 and should
N/A & & & &
& BETA PREVIEW
current version of Photoshop on the com/universal It will be interesting to see how wait till the native apps become
Core Duo, but only through an Quark takes advantage of this. available before upgrading.
April 2006
| 81
A
ART121.rev_imac Sec1:81 27/2/06 6:48:43 pm
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