iMac

Design

Processor: The Aluminum iMac packs a punch when it comes to processor power. On the 20 inch model you have the choice of 2.4 ghz or 2.66 ghz. On the 24 inch model you have the choice of 2.8 ghz or a whopping 3.06 ghz. All of these you can upgrade to 4 gigabytes of RAM which in any case will give you unreal speeds.

Graphics: The graphics in the new iMac are far superior to what were in the old iMac. It boasts an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB dedicated memory. This is up to 2.2x faster than the previous generation iMac. It is able to play all games on full settings with no problem.

Display: The display on the aluminum iMac's are brighter and more colorful than ever. The resolution (thanks some to the graphics card) is spectacular. The 20 inch iMac has a resolution of 1680 by 1050 while the 24 inch has 1920 by 1200.

Memory: The new iMac gives you 2GB memory standard with the option to upgrade to 4GB. This give the user the ability to multitask, render large videos, or edit high resolution images.

Storage: Bigger hard drives are new coming standard in most computers today. The iMac now offers a 250GB hard drive standard on its low end 20 inch model, a 320GB hard drive on the high end 20 inch model and the same on the 24 inch model. All of these come with the ability to upgrade to larger hard drives.

iMac 20 inch (low end) iMac 20 inch (high end) iMac 24 inch
320GB or 500GB 500GB or 750GB 500GB, 750GB, or 1TB

Wireless: The wireless revolution continues as Apple now is including wireless N standard on the iMac. For those of you unfamiliar with wireless N, it provides twice the range and up to twice as fast as previous wireless technologies.

Overall Impression: My overall impression of the aluminum iMac is high because of the new features included with the machine and the use of aluminum instead of the plastic Apple used in the past. Since I actually own this machine, I would recommend it to anyone who wants an all in one machine with great performance and still has a small footprint.