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Test-driving the new Intel-powered 24-inch iMac from Apple

money.cnn.com — Fortune's Peter Lewis looks at top-of-the-line iMacs and Dell PCs - and concludes you'll get more for your money with Apple.

Who dugg this? Made popular Sep 12, 2006

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  • titlesaysitall, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15From knuwegg.com
  • mikeroySoft, on 10/19/2009, -2/+13Bottom line: There have always been lots of reasons to buy a Macintosh computer, but now there is no longer a reason not to buy one

    Well said

    Also, with regard to using GigE, what's the effing point? Firstly, almost all consumer branded routers are only 10/100. Cable modems and dsl, at their best, only touch the 10mbit mark.
    GigE routers are for commercial applications. It's just hype to make you think it's actually faster, when really it isnt. Unless you're using a GigE router, you're NOT getting GigE speeds. Duh.
  • goorioles747, on 10/12/2007, -8/+18Note, they said marom instead of merom. People who write about the war in Iraq are the same people who write these tech articles. Mistakes like that are common and disturbing for people like me.
  • Lardquake, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14I worry about how those people would say Shiite...
  • rhfb, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Where can I get a "Marom" cpu? Who proofs this stuff?
  • colincornaby, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13"I sure hope that mac users dont view PC users as Dell users."

    I'm a Mac user, and I have my own home built PC here, so I'm aware of how cheap PC's can be... but... statistically most PC users ARE Dell users. Dell is Apple's biggest competition. When home built PC's become Apple's biggest competitor, than we'll talk.
  • icematrix, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15how about a mac tower for under $800? no mini, no all-in-one monitor, just a nicely designed tower that doesn't cost $2,000?
  • synwolf, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12Well-written perhaps, but where are the side-by-side benchmarks on common applications, now that the iMac runs WinXP?
  • muleking, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Not to come to the aid of dell, but they have sick deals with part suppliers, to the point that in some cases (ex.my current desktop) the machine with a monitor and accesories cost as much as the monitor and processor alone would have ran me if I bought them on their own.

    I needed a quick fix pc, and while i'm no dell fan it filled the gap for a low price.
  • ratzfatz, on 10/12/2007, -12/+18This was so well written! I liked the part about Michael Dell an Steve Jobs the most. Would have been perfect if they'd mentioned the VESA mount option for the 24" iMac which shows the REAL advantage of the all-in-one-concept. I'd would also never step back to anything slower than Gigabit Ethernet. The Dell fails in this category.
  • colincornaby, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8"If that were the case, Apple would not have a new model coming out every 6 months. Seems Apple is a bit desperate to gain some market share %."

    Are you trying to tell me Dell doesn't come out with a new model every 6 months, or are you just crazy?
  • dmsteg, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10Sorry man, I humbly retract my statement... too used to the mac haters around here picking at any little thing they can find to tear down anything Apple puts out.
  • colincornaby, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7"You see the wonderful world of PC's allow you to buy whatever you want and just plug it in there. Find a real argument and stop pecking at miniscule details like a woman from The View."

    So does the world of Macs, but the difference is, we don't have to because our computer actually comes with everything we need.

    In all seriousness, I've had much better luck plugging things in my Mac than in my PC. Most things work even without extra drivers. Vista improves on this somewhat, but plug and play on XP vs. OS X is no contest.
  • brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7So I suppose the Mac Mini and Mac Pro were mistakes on Apples part?

    It's called a niche market.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Its not so much about which machine is better, how much you need to add or remove to make the machines comparable, and minuscule price differences therein.

    It IS about which software and the platform it operates on makes more efficient with your work.

    It is about which software is more appealing to the user, how powerful that software is for the user, and the extent of productivity the user gains.

    my .02



  • anti_hax0r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@lopla

    thanks for reinforcing the APPLE FUD, thx we have all seen the stupid commercials

    I haven't rebuild my XP machine in two years and don't get viruses or malware.

    You get that crap from going to websites you shouldn't go to.

    get in the real world and stop spreading FUD

    don't attack windows, rather reinforce your positive experiences with Mac and let it go
  • hollywoodphony, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4OK, I'm ready to get dugg down, but let me say I'm in the market for an iMac right now. I'd rather have an Apple, but the fact is, if you go to the Dell website right now and spec an xps 410 just like the iMac, it's under $1700.

  • estvir, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5> The beauty of apples product structure is that you know what you want..

    That's the thing, we know what we want and Apple doesn't provide it. I'm with icematrix and a large amount of other people, we'd like to switch to Apple but they simply don't provide a decent option.

    Mac Mini is too underpowered and not the form factor we want.

    iMac isn't upgradable and is bundled with a monitor though it's a good price.

    Mac Pro IS upgradable but is too expensive and not enough hardware options (CPU choice etc).

    This is a huge market (Us 'tech' guys who know what we want and don't want to be stuck with unnecessary things and don't want to spend a huge amount on a Mac Pro) Apple is missing out on.

    I know I and many other long time PC users would swap to Apple [Mac] in a heartbeat if we could buy just a tower. So, by Apple catering for niche markets and the 'average' users, they're also excluding a large user group.

    > With Dell and any other PC manufacturer, there are way too many options often making you have to compare product lines to see what the best deal is to meat your specific needs..

    Um, you could spend hours inside configuring an Apple product or you can buy it outright with little customisation of the standard package, EXACTLY THE SAME AS DELL.
  • dmsteg, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7Apples product line follows the format of Laptop, Consumer and then Pro. You want a consumer level machine it's going to be an iMac, you want a tower it's going to be a pro machine speced for pro users.

    The beauty of apples product structure is that you know what you want, click on the store and then pick a laptop, an imac or a pro machine, customize it a tinge and anxiously anticipate it's arrival. With Dell and any other PC manufacturer, there are way too many options often making you have to compare product lines to see what the best deal is to meat your specific needs. Sure you can get an $800 tower but pack a lunch for the time your going to spend on Dell's site.
  • klawz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Since they are comparing a Dell, you don't pay the full price of the O.S., so you don't have to pay the full amount, you pay the DELL OEM price, much cheaper. From Dell "Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 [Included in Price]
    All the features of XP Home PLUS enhancements for movies, music, photos and more!" - and unless you want XP Pro, which would be $124 more.
  • imjustsayin, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5I have always been pretty much Mac neutral. I’m not a big fan, and have never owned one. I actually didn’t think I would ever own one. This new iMac could very well change that.

    I happen to be looking for something with an all in one form factor. For some reason PC makers are lagging behind in this area. Sony is going to be releasing something pretty soon, but it really doesn’t stack up now on a price comparison. (It was close before these latest upgrades.)

    My hat is off to Apple. I hope that they sell a ton and force PC makers to take note. Competition is always a good thing.
  • Scott2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Ah yes . . . Mike Dell is still picking shoe leather out of his teeth over that one.
  • theciuffo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I hate it when people do this. I'm a mac fan and I don't plan on buying another PC in my lifetime, but this guy just keeps the cultist Apple fanboy image going when he says stuff like
    "...two drives are not necessarily better than one, especially if the one is elegantly integrated into the display..."
    It's obvious that two drives are better than one, especially when they're faster drives and allow you to play mini-CDs and DVDs, which can't be done on slot loading drives. This guy could use that argument with everything.
    "...The iMac has a slower front side bus, but it's not necessarily better because it's built into the monitor..."
  • D3koy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Do you know what is "is elegantly integrated into my display..." Nothing, and that's how I like it..... Mac is great, but don't compare a Mac to a Dell and say Mac is better than PC, Mac can do things that PC can't, and Vice versa And for the price of those computers you could make a way better PC....

    Is anyone else sick of these Mac vs. PC comparisons?
  • hollywoodphony, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3That's fine. But the point of the article is about the initial purchase price. I'm just stating that if you decide to go out and actually do these purchase price comparisons for yourself and not just rely on what the guy in the article says, you will not get the same results. I have a feeling that's at least partly due to Dell under-cutting Apple based on the article itself, but I could be wrong.

    Listen, to all the people going through these comments and hitting the red thumbs down for anybody who dares to speak out against Apple, let me state for the record: I have a Dell and it has been a nightmare getting issues resolved with Dell's customer service and technical support, Media Edition is a joke and nothing ever works right for more than a few weeks.

    But is that any worse than buying a laptop that shuts down by itself from time to time?
  • Zolk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3This article is rather disappointing. I was expecting more of a review, but instead it's just a comparison of spec sheets.
  • colincornaby, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3"Are you trying to tell me Dell doesn't come out with a new model every 6 months, or are you just crazy?" --- nope, not trying to say that at all, it's true they do, all I'm trying to refute this biased crap (see above for full context): "... we don't have to because our computer actually comes with everything we need..."

    Because you know... no one every actually invents anything NEW for a computer.
  • dzarkw, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2A few of the eyeTV tuners for Mac have composite and S-video inputs for video game consoles, so that would work for connecting any kind of non digital video into the iMac.
  • dvinnen, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@dmsteg

    Right, because less options is a good thing! Why choose what YOU want when apple can do it for you!

    Seriously dude, I hope you do a little research before you buy a pc instead of letting apple do it for you.
  • adolfojp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1elektricki: What, does it bother you to have a small form factor computer or does it need to be a tower to make you feel more powerful?

    The only trully expandable Mac is the tower.
  • afruff23, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Apple store people knwo what they're talking about? You'll have better luck at Best Buy...which is saying a lot.
  • kalisphoenix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"actully i think what you smell is the strong scent of a MORON. oddly, the smell appear to be coming from your clothes. upon further inspection, it appears to be coming from INSIDE your clothes."

    Are you trying to cyber?

    "You remove your clothes and insert your throbbing member into a Papa John's pizza."
  • stefang7, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2$170 for 1Gb DDR2? For a hardware component that Apple has nothing to do with,
    meaning they just get it from a vendor like Samsung or Infineon and resell it,
    there is at least 100% margin added. There is no better design, performance, for RAM,
    but it still costs 2x as much as the same PC part (see for example Newegg prices for
    ddr2 1gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Order=PRICE&Page=1&Nty=1&N=2010170147+1052307858+1052408745&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=147)
    Also, there is a significant difference between 1066Mhz and 667Mhz front side bus, in
    performance and in price, but the author of the article tends to minimize this.

    I love the Apple design and I have no problems with OSX but I hate it when
    companies try to make money with huge markups in add-ons. IBM (now Levono) does
    the same thing with Thinkpad.

  • contradictator, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Yanno, I'd really like to get some specs on that 24-inch display. I don't have much room (or money) for both a new Mac and an HDTV right now, so I'd be curious to see how the screen would handle lots of movies, TV and the rest in the meantime.

    Also, anyone know a good, simple way to hook up, oh I dunno, a video game console to an iMac. Nothing too fancy, something that ran at 480p, maybe had motion sensing controllers. That sort of thing.
  • emorphien, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@colincornaby

    I have to disagree there.

    Plug & Play for both with just about everything I've used from consumer to pro digital cameras, film scanners, flatbed scanners, printers and countless USB doodads has been pretty much identical with OSX and XP Pro. Sure there are some things that work on one, and not the other and sure OS X includes a lot of drivers that are supposed to help. Ultimatey, they're pretty much the same IME.
  • boohoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1actully i think what you smell is the strong scent of a MORON. oddly, the smell appear to be coming from your clothes. upon further inspection, it appears to be coming from INSIDE your clothes.
  • shortduderay, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2If I could afford one of these, I'd get the iMac. Better design, space-saving, Boot Camp (so you can run Windows and OSX), better support (Apple Store people are pretty darn; they actually know what they're talking about) and design again. The only main advantage the Dell has is upgradibility, but I'd rather go for the iMac. :)
  • OpCzar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"BTW by the time the components in this computer are outdated (3-4 years) the display will be real cheap"

    The cost for an updated computer will be even cheaper if you don't have to buy a new monitor for it every time. Besides, there might not be enough incentive to change the screen itself...
  • brandiniman, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Did he factor in the cost of a FULL version of windows? $179 added to the mac.
  • stmiller, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I think it is viruses, spyware, and annoying crap loading on startup, etc that will kill off windows.
  • OpCzar, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4You don't get more for your money because the screen is stuck to the computer.Talk about a lost investment. Oh and I failed to mention that it doesn't offer a desktop performance because it uses laptop components.
  • tektalk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0If this turns out to be a smash hit, i smell a macintel duopoly
  • almalax19, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Its impossibleto spec them the same. Merom vs Conroe. Built in monitor vs separate. OSX vs WinXP. Yea the XPS probably specs better b/c of the conroe but you cant say you spec them the same.
  • elektricki, on 10/12/2007, -11/+10What, does it bother you to have a small form factor computer or does it need to be a tower to make you feel more powerful?
  • Ireland, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Anyone have any video of the new 24" iMac, nothing on youtube yet! Or Google video.
  • videokarma, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Overall the Mac is the way to go.. I believe Apple will pull out ahead of the competition down the road.. as the internet and computing transition from left to right brain.. cheers from mike at www.videokarma.com
  • almalax19, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0It uses a mobile proc. and motherboard thats it. GPU, HD, Optical are all desktop. Am I pissed that its got Merom? Yea but its still a hell of a computer and more than 90% percent of the peopel out there need so it works. BTW by the time the components in this computer are outdated (3-4 years) the display will be real cheap so all those people who say that an AIO is stupid are wrong. Its not a waste of a display.
  • anti_hax0r, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1yeah

    the mac mini and imacs are using laptop equipment

    they want to make all the cash on expensive HD and RAM upgrades on all levels esp the Mac Pro

    it has always been this way and always will (except back when they had the 6100, 7100, 8100 series')

    there is no middle level in apple

    look at all the PC vendors - they have consumer and pro divisions with laptops, mini, midsize and huge in each division, not to mention the servers

    apple is just not big enough to handle this type of product line, so they push you to the low or high end

    it's like living in a 3rd world country - you are extremely poor or extremely rich, very little middle class
  • lopla, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Apple news seems to always be about innovative new products pushing the boundaries of technology. MS news.. well.. not good lately... the latest being Ballzmer threatening the EU over Vista. People should not only buy Apple because it's superior but they should buy Apple because they are not a bunch of corporate schmuck dickwads.
  • bloqmon, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5digg down, wrong place
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