Other vendors might offer more flexible configurations and better deals on components, and the specter of HD video looms darkly, but the 24-inch iMac's sprawling display and convincingly capable features should set most people's minds at ease.

As recently as two weeks ago, all-in-one PCs in Australia were pretty much limited to Apple's 20-inch iMac. We like the 20-inch iMac, but it doesn't offer a screen that's big enough for satisfying video. Apple's new 24-inch iMac Core 2 Duo changes the all-in-one game. Its configuration and upgrade possibilities have shortcomings compared to other desktops on the market (like most all-in-one PCs), but no other system can compete with the baseline AU$2,999 24-incher for value, ease of use, or strength of design. If you're looking for a system to use strictly for computing tasks, you can find a more powerful system for the money from other vendors. As a digital entertainment device that also serves up computing capabilities, however, the 24-inch Apple iMac is an unparalleled bargain.

Design & Features
The highlight of the 24-inch iMac really is the size of its screen, but the new Core 2 Duo chip is a close second. Twenty-four inches is a noticeably large amount of screen real estate, much more dramatic-looking than even a 21-inch display. Apple also amped the brightness. We looked at the 24-inch model side by side next to a 17-inch Core 2 Duo iMac (with the old brightness level) and the higher-end screen's image gleams. Considering that Apple's and Dell's 30-inch standalone LCDs are now roughly the same price as this 24-inch all-in-one desktop, it feels like the computer functionality is almost secondary. It's not, of course. Apple has included a powerful collection of parts in the update to its iMac line, especially compared to older iMacs.

Our default 24-inch model comes with a 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7400, 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, a 250GB hard drive, a 128MB Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT graphics chip, and a DVD-burning SuperDrive. That's enough power to perform most any productivity task and comfortably consume, produce, or edit most types of digital media. Apple has also expanded the upgradeability of the iMac, letting you upgrade the graphics chip at the time of purchase for the first time. You can also add more memory, but Apple's upgrade prices are more expensive than the competition's.

While other desktops in the iMac's price class start with 2GB of memory, offer a wider range of hard drive and graphics card options, and include TV tuners and media card readers, the iMac provides a limited number of configuration choices. It becomes a surprisingly good deal, however, when you look at the system as a whole--monitor and software included. We haven't seen a PC that comes with a software bundle that can rival the apps you get with a Mac.

The usual bugaboo about all-in-one PCs -- that the specialised internal design and the conjoined display limits upgrading -- becomes especially poignant for the 24-inch iMac when you consider Blu-ray and HD-DVD capability. Apple offers no option to upgrade to an internal drive in either format; there currently are no external HD optical drives on the market; and with no HDMI input, it's impossible to connect the iMac to an external home theatre-style player. We love the 24-inch iMac as a current-generation, home-theatre PC, but HD video content will only become more prevalent. Unless Apple makes an announcement about downloadable HD movies (at which point, we might need to update this review), your AU$3,000 desktop that's supposed to provide a great digital media experience might experience an accelerated obsolescence. Interestingly though, neither Apple nor Nvidia would comment on whether either of the graphics chip options for the 24-inch iMac come with HDCP support enabled, which would make the iMac a viable link in HD video's copy-protected chain. HDCP support is an option for those GPUs, which makes the fact that we couldn't get an answer intriguing.

Performance
Performance-wise, the 24-inch iMac fared about as well as the Velocity Micro ProMagix E2010, an equivalently configured PC. We found few surprises in its results. Photoshop on the Mac OS X still suffers from the fact that it has to run in a special emulation mode, but the iMac's mobile Core 2 Duo chip and the added memory help things along. Macs are still the kings of iTunes encoding performance, and we were even encouraged by the iMac's Quake 4 scores; its 66.5 frames per second at 1,024x768 (a solid, if forgiving resolution) means that you actually can have a respectable gaming experience on the iMac. Dell's XPS 410 won on many tests, likely because of its higher-end processor and graphics chip, but compared to the nearly identical Velocity Micro system, the iMac held its own. You won't be disappointed with its day-to-day performance.

The large screen, the updated GPUs, and the expanded online configuration options are the major added features of the 24-inch iMac. Of the new models, it's also the only one to include a FireWire 800 port, which Apple hopes will make it appealing to professional designers who need fast access to external hard drive data. Apple also expanded the audio output to support both analogue and digital connections. As with past iMacs and Mac Minis, the 24-inch model comes with the latest version of OS X, Front Row and the accompanying remote for navigating your digital media, and the iLife '06 software suite for organising and manipulating your digital photos. Before making a purchase, you might consider that Leopard, Apple's next version of its operating system, will come out in the spring of 2007, but we don't find that pending release a deal breaker.

Service and Support
For support, Apple remains behind the rest of the industry. The default plan gets you a year of hardware parts-and-labour coverage but only 90 days of phone support. For an additional AU$269, you can bump both the warranty and the phone support to three years via the AppleCare Protection Plan. Apple's forums continue to provide a wealth of product help, and Apple's own support page also has a decent amount of information.

NOTE: Products in this test are for comparative purposes only and are not necessarily available in the Australian market.

Adobe Photoshop CS2 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Adobe Photoshop CS2 image-processing test

Dell XPS 410

170 

Velocity Micro ProMagix E2010

256 

Sony VAIO VGC-LS1

273 

Apple iMac Core 2 Duo 24-inch

368 

Apple iMac Core 2 Duo 17-inch

805 

Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Apple iTunes encoding test

Apple iMac Core 2 Duo 24-inch

140 

Apple iMac Core 2 Duo 17-inch

165 

Dell XPS 410

165 

Velocity Micro ProMagix E2010

190 

Sony VAIO VGC-LS1

252 

CineBench 9.5
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

CineBench 9.5

Dell XPS 410

745 

Apple iMac Core 2 Duo 24-inch

676 

Velocity Micro ProMagix E2010

657 

Apple iMac Core 2 Duo 17-inch

571 

3D gaming performance (in fps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Quake 4 1,024x768, 4xAA 8xAF

Dell XPS 410

111.1 

Apple iMac Core 2 Duo 24-inch

66.5 

Velocity Micro ProMagix E2010

62.4 

Apple iMac Core 2 Duo (24-inch)
OS X 10.4.7.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7400; 1GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 128MB (dedicated) Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT graphics chip; 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive;

Dell XPS 410
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6600; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS; (2) Western Digital 300GB 10,000rpm Serial ATA hard drive; Nvidia Nforce RAID class controller (RAID 1)

Sony VAIO VGC-LS1
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo T2400; 2GB DDR2-SDRAM 533MHz; integrated 128MB (shared) Intel 945GM graphics chip; 250GB Western Digital 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive

Velocity Micro ProMagix E2010
Windows XP Professional SP2; 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6400; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7600 GS; 320GB Western Digital 7,200prm Serial ATA hard drive

Apple iMac Core 2 Duo (24-inch, 2.16GHz)
Company: Apple
RRP: AU$2999