Industry-leading design; big, beautiful display; excellent application performance
Higher-end model features the same mid-range graphics card as lower-end models; free phone support ends after 90 days; might want to hold off until Leopard is released to save yourself the cost of an OS upgrade
With the same elegant design as its 20-inch, 2.4GHz sibling, the 24-inch, 2.8GHz iMac offers 30 per cent more screen area and a modest performance boost but the added cost of the larger, faster model might put off some buyers, especially if you are a gamer or an upgrade enthusiast
8 Excellent
Reviewed by Daniel A. Begun
The 24-inch iMac comes in two standard configurations. The £1,149 system includes a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of memory and a 320GB hard drive. The higher-end configuration costs £1,459 and comes with a dual-core 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.
We tested the fastest-available, 2.8GHz version with the optional 750GB hard disk, which added about another £100 to the price tag, bringing the total cost of our configuration to £1,559. For more on the design, features, and service and support of the fourth-generation iMac, check out our in-depth review of the
Strengths
When we tested the 20-inch, 2.4GHz iMac, we came away impressed by its application performance, with it more than holding its own against competing Windows-based, mainstream desktops. The same can easily be said for the 24-inch, 2.8GHz iMac.
With its faster processor, the 24-inch, 2.8GHz iMac is expectedly faster than the 20-inch, 2.4GHz iMac on all of our application benchmarks -- as well as many similarly priced Windows machines.
Of particular note is the 2.8GHz iMac's performance on our multimedia multitasking test -- perhaps our most punishing benchmark. The test performs simultaneous video and audio encoding, which typically taxes the resources of most systems. The 24-inch, 2.8GHz iMac's best-of-class performance on this test is an excellent indicator of the iMac's potential for tackling processor-intensive applications and juggling the demands of multiple applications concurrently vying for system resources.
Weaknesses
The only performance area in which the iMac disappoints is with its 3D gaming proficiency -- or lack of it. We were surprised to see the 24-inch turn in even lower scores on our Quake 4 test than we saw with the 20-inch model. This disparity is still a mystery for us as both systems use the same graphics engine.
Regardless, while the bigger model nets you a larger screen, a faster processor, more memory and bigger hard drive, there are no options for speedier graphics.
Conclusion
The ultimate question is whether the 24-inch, 2.8GHz iMac is worth spending almost £500 more than the 20-inch, 2.4GHz version for a 16 per cent improvement in performance and 30 per cent more screen real estate.
Serious multitaskers and some prosumers can definitely gain additional screen area to support more open applications on the desktop, and the modest performance bump can make a difference during longer video or audio renders. Perhaps the ideal user is someone who needs as much processing power as possible from a Mac but can't justify the much costlier
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Rendering multiple CPUs | |
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Rendering a single CPU | |
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1,024x768 (4x AA, 8x AF) | |
Find out more about how we test
System configurations:
Apple OS X; 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7700; 2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro graphics chip; 320GB 7,200 rpm hard drive;
Apple iMac (24-inch, 2.8GHz) Apple OS X 10.4.10; 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900; 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro graphics chip; 750GB 7,200rpm hard drive
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.6GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+; 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT graphics card; 250GB 7,200rpm Western Digital hard drive
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6420; 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 320MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS graphics card; 500GB 7,200 rpm Seagate hard drive
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600; 3GB 1,066MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 128MB Nvidia GeForce 7350 LE graphics card; two 320GB 7,200rpm Hitachi hard drives
Windows Vista Home Premium; 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5600; 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 32MB (shared) Intel 945GM integrated graphics chip; 300GB 7,200rpm Seagate hard drive
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6600; 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 512MB Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT graphics card; 320GB 7,200 rpm Hitachi hard drive
Windows Vista Home Premium; 1.86Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo 6320; 2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB GeForce 8600 GT graphics card; 320GB 7,200 rpm Hitachi hard drive
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday
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