The super-sized iMac features a 24-inch widescreen LCD display with a 1920-by-1200 pixel resolution that offers 30 percent more screen real estate than the 20-inch model and a brighter display. It includes a 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB of shared L2 cache, 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory, a 250GB Serial ATA hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 128MB of GDDR3 memory and a SuperDrive. You can configure the new 24-inch iMac with a 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 3GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory, a 500GB Serial ATA hard drive and the NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory. Mine is the totally maxed-out version and, in my daily use, seems every bit as fast, if not faster, than the standard edition Mac Pro I recently [url=http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/the_mac_pro_overview_part_4_performance_and_final_rating]reviewed[/url].

As always when reviewing CPUs, I don't do any benchmark tests; I simply go by how the Macs "feel" in day-to-day use. And the maxed-out, 24-inch iMac is as zippy as any computer I've ever used. It boots up in approximately 20 seconds. Web surfing, working in Work and playing in iLife is seamless. Even working with Photoshop CS in the Rosetta environment is smooth (though, admittedly, I'm not a "hard core" Photoshop user).

Don't get me wrong. It's not going to compete with a maxed-out Mac Pro, but this baby packs plenty of power for most Mac users. (For specific benchmarks, check out the stats from [url=http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2018044,00.asp]PC Magazine[/url], [url=http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9003474&pageNumber=1]ComputerWorld[/url] and [url=http://www.macworld.com/2006/09/firstlooks/imac233bench/index.php]Macworld[/url].)

The 24-inch iMac comes standard with a Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT graphics card with 128MB GDDR3 memory. I recommend splurging for the more expensive graphics card offered by Apple: the Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT with 256MB of video RAM. While the upgrade costs an extra $125, it doubles the amount of video RAM. Changing out the graphics card down the road is (sorta, kinda) technically feasible, but very, very impractical. And that's my single gripe with this system: Apple should make it possible to upgrade the graphics card. If they did, this could be an excellent (rather than "merely" good) gaming computer.

Ironically, the iMac has several advantages over its pro desktop sibling. It comes with built-in AirPort and Bluetooth support; on the Mac Pro, these are options. Memory for the iMac is also cheaper than the [url=http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/review_trans_mac_pro_memory_upgrades_easy_to_install_work_great]FB-DIMM modules[/url] used by the pro desktop. Fully Buffered DIMMS offer higher performance, but, for most users, the performance difference will be negligible -- and not worth the cost difference.

Trailers and TV shows look good on the large, 24-inch screen, and DVDs look great. There is some griping that the new iMacs still don't have a built-in TV tuner, but that's easily rectified with products from [url=http://www.elgato.com]Elgato[/url], [url=http://www.miglia.com]Miglia Technologies[/url] and other companies.

The 24-inch iMac also has a beefed-up sound system, with a 24-watt digital amplifier (twice that of the other models) to power the built-in stereo speakers. I'm assuming the bigger amp is possible because of the larger screen size (giving Apple more "innard" space to play around with). The sound quality is good; you can even enjoy a flick from across the room. Still, you'll probably want to get some external speakers for even better sound quality. My favorites are the [url=http://www.amazon.com/Encounter-Multi-Media-Speaker-System/dp/B00077IHTC]JBL Encounter[/url].

One thing you should note if you're considering purchasing a 24-inch iMac: there are reported problems with running Boot Camp on it. I've been told that Boot Camp 1.1.1 fixes this problem; however, other reports tell me that it hasn't. You've been warned.

With the speed boosts, bigger screen and addition of a FireWire 800 port, the 24-inch iMac is certainly a prosumer system. If it's not the perfect desktop computer, it's the closest anyone has come yet.

Macsimum rating: 9.5 out of 10.

The new iMac line is shipping today and will be available through the [url=http://www.apple.com]Apple Store[/url], Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Following are the configurations:

The new 24-inch 2.16 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,999, includes:
• 24-inch widescreen LCD display;
• 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
• 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 3GB;
• 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• PCI Express-based NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 128MB GDDR3 memory;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
• 250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• the infrared Apple Remote, Mighty Mouse and Apple Keyboard.