Apple iMac Core 2 Duo user reviews (20-inch, 2.16GHz)

Pros VERY FAST, VERY USER FRIENDLY OS. GOOD LOOKS.

Cons HIGH PRICE FOR A PC WITHOUT iWork. (ms word, excel, etc.)

Summary I have used windows pcs my entire life, with the exception of a few adobe photoshop classes on the G4 mac in high school. Didn't take long to get used to almost every aspect of the operating system.

Awesome features such as the apple remote, front row, garage band etc. Even has a voice recognition application that will do pretty much everything but make your coffee (but give them time).

Gorgeous bright display. Typing on this keyboard feels like sinking my fingers into butter (the texture, not the grease). Great mouse. Bluetooth, and Wireless internet works amazing well in no time.

Before I bought this imac, I purchased a MIDI controller keyboard for music production. No lie, I spent around 3 days trying to get it to work with my Windows PC, and Im far from incompetent. I turned on my mac, connected it to the usb port, opened garage band, and started playing.

On the other side of the coin, I feel like after having spent $1500.00 on a machine like this, I would expect to have a complementary suite of MS Office for MAC. That is the only dissapointment I can express.

Even now, I sit here with a huge smirk upon my face, as I listen to my brother next door grinding his teeth in rage and anguish as he trys to open his "control panel" on his brand spankin new dell. MAKE THE SWITCH. THE EXTRA FEW HUNDRED BUCKS IS MORE THAN WORTH IT. While my brother does his frequent disk cleanups, the only thing Ill be cleaning are the keys on this snow white keyboard.

ADIOS. I put a lot of thought into this purchase, and found everyones reviews very helpful, so read this one and be sure that buying this Imac is one thing you will not regret.

Brew.

Pros Arguably one of the best LCD's in the market. Incredible glare reduction and viewing angles. Makes no noise / little heat. Requires only power a cable to run. Powerful for anything you throw at it.

Cons Surprisingly heavy. Awkward to carry if need to be moved. Unlike G5 iMacs, these cannot be opened by removing the backside. Cannot be wall-mounted.

Summary To start off, let me say that the iMac has quite simply one of the most breathtaking LCD displays on the market. I'm very picky about LCD displays, and the fact that an all-in-one system contains a screen that (in my personal opinion) has yet to be topped, is simply a feat to behold. Apple knew that the iMac needed to have the best integrated parts it could have since they're not replaceable, and they did a good job by choosing the panel they did. The LCD is a true 8-bit panel, which displays 16,700,000 true colors. The screen contains the brightest whites and the darkest blacks you will probably ever witness in this generation of LCD computer monitor technology. The screen itself has such wide viewing angles, we sometimes use it to watch HD movies on in the apartment, and no one complains from having to look at an angle. Toss in a latency that ghosts only one-frame behind, (which is unnoticable, beleive me,) and anti-glare matte coating that makes the screen visible even in direct sunlight, you're got yourself one versatile display for any media.

Gaming on this machine is fantastic. I often play Half-Life 2 under the following settings: 1680x1050, 2x Anti-Aliasing, 4x Anisotropic filtering, Maxed out texture, model, environment, etc quality, and HDR/V-Sync enabled. Even at those settings the game never lags and plays as smooth as any console video game.

If gaming works so well, it's easily understandable that when in Mac OS, applications such as the Adobe CS3 suite, Maxon Cinema 4D, and Apple Pro apps like Aperture run beautifully. Designers and digital artists such as myself would be pleased with this great performance and LCD pair-up. I know I'm happy with it.

Aside from the completely unique design that mostly all of us know and recognize these days, it's a great feeling to know that you're actually using a pretty power-efficient computer. All that this system actually requires to operate is the SINGLE power cable which is designed to plug flush with the rest of the system design. The single cable will power screen, system, sound, peripherals, it's great to not have such a massive collection of wires hanging below your desk like PC computers get. This actually even further helped by the wireless bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth might mouse [wish I STRONGLY suggest all users upgrade to get.] With those, your system really only DOES need that single power cable.

External speakers certainly aren't required for this iMac, but they would certainly make a better addition to enjoy your media. The internal speakers are possibly the best "stock sound" you can hear from a device, though. Certainly better than any speakers included on an HDTV set. They get impressive bass and frequency range output across the board, even great L/R spatial differences. The only thing the iMac's stock sound is missing is a subwoofer for the lower 100-Hz ranges. If you do invest in speakers, I suggest the "JBL Spot" speakers which look tailered for the iMac itself. They sound great and play the part being white and easy to use/setup.

These iMacs have three fans inside. And even in that small space, they can barely, and I mean BARELY be heard. Unless you're in a silent isolated room, you'll never hear them. The iMac also puts out no vibrations at all from the hard drive/fans spinning. Heat is no issue as well, the iMac has plenty of fan power to keep it cool if things do heat up, and that's rare anyway. At max brightness, the LCD can tend to get toasty at the top, but if you feel concerned, just turn it down for a while and give the screen a rest.

The system is surprisingly heavy at nearly 20 lbs. You don't expect to encounter such heavy resistance from a system that looks so simple. Unfortunately the systems design of clean-cut sharp edges can make the system awkward to hold and carry, since picking it up by the base is NOT advised.

Some review sites complain that iMacs don't include things like a built-in card reader. This amenity is one rightfully overlooked. Alot of my friends have card readers in their PC's, and they actually never even knew what they were because they've never ever had to use them. Truth is, almost any time you need to extract data from a memory card, it can be done through the device itself and a USB cable. Even then, most printers these days have built-in card readers which connect the card to your desktop. You'd have to admit, card slots would also damage the elegant design of this system.

I think in the end, I am only really disappointed in the fact that pop the back panel off and inspect the insides like previous G5 iMac models. At least the old models allowed internal parts to be replaced. These new iMacs are locked up tight, and opening them at home would almost certainly ruin the system. It's too bad, really

But, that aside, I have no reason to open it, at least not for a long while. I'm happy with my purchase and extremely happy with its price + $100 off printer promotion at the time. I can recommend an iMac to anyone looking for "a system that just works." And, I would definitely buy a later generation iMac again down the line when an upgrade is seen necessary.

Pros Fast, easy to use, great looks

Cons a tad expensive, some internet video apps won't work with Mac.

Summary I have been a user of PCs for almost 20 years and last Fall I needed a new computer to replace my ailing PC. I debated for the longest time - either to wait for Vista to come out or get a new iMac. My workplace was in the process of switching to Macs, so I had a chance to try them out beforehand. I became hooked.
I bought the 20 inch core 2 duo model straight from apple and the only upgrade I got was 2GB of RAM instead of the standard 1GB. I have to say this computer is blazing fast. The iLife software it comes with is really easy to use. I created my own webpage and posted it in about 15 minutes.
I really like Apple Widgets - there are a whole lot to choose from and it's like having an extra desktop of mini-apps.
The computer has a built in camera - which is nice. The screen display also is very sharp and bright, better than any monitor I have seen for a PC in my opinion.
What amazed me too is that right after booting up, it found my wireless connection automatically. The same went for hooking up my HP inkjet printer. I plugged it in, and I saw no visual indication that it recognized anything (I guess I was looking for a Mac equivalent of 'Found new Hardware'). But sure enough, the computer recognized it and I was able to print right away.
It's a bit pricey, but I suppose when you look back and realize what you get (bluetooth, wireless connectivity, camera, stunning monitor, core 2 duo processor) it's not that bad. The only other bad thing is that some internet video applications do not work on a mac. For example, there is a company called Vongo that lets you download movies to watch if you pay a monthly fee. Well when you go to their site, it informs you that macs are incompatible with their service.

Other than those things, this is a great computer - make the switch!

Pros Amazing HD graphics, integration of iLife software suite

Cons Some hiccups waking up from sleep mode, screen bezel gaposis

Summary This is my first iMac. I was a PC user for almost 20 years prior to this purchase and I still have 2 PCs running at home as I complete the transition to Mac. So far, (I've had it about a week) the OS (10.4) seems very intuitive and the suite of iLife software works very seamlessly with each other. The graphics are simply amazing. I've had a few small hiccups with the display not responding when waking up from sleep mode (may need to check for an OS update). I'm also getting used to navigating the PC biased world on my Mac by learning what mac software utilities will help me access windows files. I also bought Office for Mac at the same time because it is the defacto standard for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations and I couldn't function too well without those. I was a little shocked with the fit and finish (usually pretty high for Apple products) because the bezel around the screen was gapping at the seam along the outer edge which I traced to a iSight camera wire connector being lodged in between the seam. It seems better now with a little prying and rearranging of the connector. Overall, my experience with the iMac has been a very good one.