Expert's Rating
Pros
- Elegant design
- Powerful CPU
- Big, wide-format screen
- SuperDrive
Cons
- Insufficient standard RAM
Our Verdict
Replacing Apple’s G4-based flat-panel iMacs, the iMac G5 is a computer completely built into a flat-panel monitor. This model, which has a 17-inch display and a 1.8GHz G5 processor, is the middle of the original iMac G5 line.
The new iMacs don’t deliver the same floating-in-thin-air, adjust-it-any-way-you-want experience that Apple rightly made so much of when it introduced the iMac G4 models. But in every other respect–elegance, performance, and price–the G5 generation represents a big step forward. All three new models are appealing, but for those who can afford it, and particularly those who plan to work with video, our choice is the 20-inch model: its extra screen space, hard-drive capacity, and SuperDrive make it well worth its $1,899 price.