iMac (24-inch, 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Winter 2009) first look

You may find Apple's new $1,499 iMac attractive, if only because it's one of the most affordable 24-inch all-in-one PCs on the market. Otherwise, Apple's latest update to the iMac line mostly serves to keep it competitive with its Windows-based competition. As usual, you get more flexibility for your money by way of a traditional desktop and monitor combination at the same price. You can also find a few all-in-ones from the Windows world with functionality the iMac can't match. Overall though, we find that Apple's formula for this product line still works, and we'd recommend the iMac to anyone in need of a fast, feature-rich all-in-one.

The most significant change to the $1,499 iMac is its 24-inch display. In addition to providing more desktop real estate, the screen can also scale up to its native resolution of 1,920x1,080, better known in home entertainment parlance as 1080p. Apple has not added a Blu-ray drive to the iMac, so you cannot take advantage of its HD resolution that way (Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously referred to Blu-ray as "a bag of hurt"). Still, it opens the door for watching and editing other HD video content at its proper resolution.

Cosmetically, little else has changed with the iMac. Its industrial design remains the best in the PC industry, with no excessive branding, case detail, or other visual distractions. Indeed, the only changes to the outside of the case come to the row of ports on the back of the iMac. Apple added an additional USB 2.0 port, and also replaced the Mini DVI output with a Mini DisplayPort jack.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• iMac (24-inch
• 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• Winter 2009) first look

[keeseyboi123]

I just got mine and I love it!

[keeseyboi123]

I just got mind and I love it!

[vovtoons]

That is not the Late (Winter) 2009 iMac.

[jellotime91]

you can definitely play full HD on it. :/ It's actually not that weak at all. But the new 27 inchers are obviously better. You seem to know a little more about dual core vs quad core than I do, if I got the core i5 do you think for tasks like editing video and photoshop it would be better to get the 3.06 core 2 duo or the 2.66 core i5?

[NarutoFreaks77]

ROFl are you freaking kidding me, I have an older model than that one and i can run COD4 in bootcamp with no lag at all. CNN NEWBIES!

[HD1525]

i want to get a macbook pro but i'm waiting for f**king steve jobs to reliase that macs need hdmi

[theboringtech]

I just love mine

[tommer01]

There is only ONE firewire port. WHYYY???

[92JLee]

Hey dude, i'm not going to try overclocking mine to be honest, i checked out the hard drive temps when i first got it and they were hotter than the manufacturer recommended on there site, so i used a fan control app and raised the fans a bit, making a huge difference in temp but it is slightly louder.

how would you over clock under osx?

make sure you test out a 24" before you buy it too, i find mine too big and its hard to carry lol.

id recommend waiting for the next gen for graphics cards

[MoonOvIce]

Not bad yeah, but problem with that pricing is the VERY weak GPU, I'm not sure you can play full HD video on it (though I suppose you can).