capsule review

20-inch iMac Core Duo

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At a Glance

  • Apple 20-inch iMac Core Duo

If you already have a recent Mac, there's no particular reason to rush out and buy this first Intel-based iMac -- you won't find the computing experience all that different. Even if you're due for new hardware, don't buy a new iMac now if you run software that doesn't yet run natively on the Intel-based iMacs. But for other users, there's no reason to hesitate: the Intel-based iMacs are already great machines, and they'll only get better. The extra disk capacity and screen real estate on this model easily justify the extra cost above the 17-inch configuration.

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At a Glance

  • The Intel-based Mac era begins with this 20-inch iMac, which runs on a 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo chip. This new Mac features faster RAM than its G5-based predecessor, although maximum memory has dropped to 2GB from 2.5GB in the iMac G5. A mini-DVI port in the new iMac lets you use a second external monitor, and the graphics card has undergone a slight upgrade to the ATI Radeon X1600. (You can upgrade to 256MB of graphics memory for the 20-inch iMac.) Other than that, this latest iMac isn't that much different from the late 2005 models -- right down to the built-in iSight camera and pre-installed Front Row multimedia software.

    Pros

    • Rosetta ensures compatibility with most PowerPC programs
    • Mini-DVI port with extended-desktop support
    • Large-cache Intel processor delivers performance boost for Apple software and other native applications
    • Dual-core
    • Elegant, space-saving design
    • Includes iLife ‘06
    • Big, beautiful screen
    • Built-in iSight

    Cons

    • No support for Classic applications
    • Significant speed penalty for non-native software
    • Users can no longer do routine hardware repairs
    • No productivity software included
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