Apple's new iMac range a top high-end desktop

Apple's new iMac range a top high-end desktop


Regardt Voges

With the launch of Apple's newest iMac range, it has improved what could arguably be one of the most complete and attractive desktops on the market, with its elegant design and powerful processing core.

Apple has decided to drop the 17-inch model from its line-up and now only offers a 20-inch and 24-inch configuration. The retail-store configuration of the 24-inch iMac comes with a 2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 processor, 1GB of memory, a 320GB Serial ATA drive, ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro graphics with 256MB of GDDR3 memory, and a slot-loading SuperDrive DVD burner.

Customers can upgrade the basic configuration online and the 24-inch iMac can carry up to 1TB of storage, 4GB of memory, and a 2.8-GHz Core 2 Extreme processor.

The iMac comes standard with gigabit Ethernet capabilities, Air- port Extreme 802.11n wireless networking, Bluetooth 2.0 and an infra-red remote control receiver.

Apple has decided to up the iMac design a notch and drop its white polycarbonate plastic shell for a sleek anodised aluminium chassis. The screen is covered in glossy glass and surrounded by a black bezel. The look is more in tune with high- end systems such as the aluminium PowerMac and Macbook Pro.

Apple has redesigned its white plastic keyboard and now offers a thin anodized aluminium keyboard with ample spacing between keys and a new array of shortcuts. The keyboard also hosts two USB 2.0 ports and offers up to 500mA of power for external devices.

Apple - famous for its high-end displays - hasn't let consumers down with its 24-inch iMac model which has a staggering resolution of 1 920 by 1 200. This, combined with the glossy glass cover, improves image contrast and sharpness. The glass is also treated to be antireflective and scratch resistant.

Although the new iMac range doesn't come standard with next generation Blu-Ray Disc drives, it can still decode high-definition streams used by Blu-Ray Discs, meaning that a third party upgrade should be possible.

The system comes with Firewire 400 and 800 support, which can host faster data transfers between external drives and the computer.

The new iMacs also include integrated 5.1 channel audio support with optical digital line in and line out and a 24-watt digital amplifier.

The new iMacs also come standard with iLife '08, which gives you the latest software for editing photos, video, music and more. - bigeyeddeer@gmail.com