New iMac and Mac Mini

iMac or Mac Pro?
By Jason Snell, jsnell@macworld.com

When I reviewed the Mac Pro at http://www.macworld.com/2006/08/reviews/macprorev/index.php?lsrc=mcweek-0908 I pondered whether some Power Mac users might be more satisfied with the iMac than Apple's high-end desktop. I thought about that even more this week, when Apple announced an overhaul of its iMac product line -- complete with a new $1,999 top-of-the-line iMac with a 24-inch display and 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Even more impressively, the 20- and 24-inch iMacs can be upgraded to a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo processor as a $250 "build to order" option on Apple's Web site.

After reading the story at http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/06/imac/index.php?lsrc=mcweek-0908 most people will focus on the 24-inch model, which weighs in at 25 pounds (nine pounds heavier than the 17-inch model!). But a 24-inch iMac really isn't ridiculous at all. I'm writing this essay in front of a 23-inch Apple Cinema Display with a native resolution of 1,920-by-1,200 pixels. The display on the 24-inch iMac has exactly the same native resolution, but evidently is slightly larger in physical size. In any event, it's a comfortable size. It might be the biggest iMac on record, but it's on par with a decent-sized professional monitor.

More important, though, is the addition of a FireWire 800 port, which brings high-speed storage to the iMac for the first time. When I've pondered the idea of switching from a Power Mac to an iMac, I felt that one of the major stumbling blocks was the lack of speedy external storage. My Power Mac G5 has two speedy internal SATA drives; I had a hard time picturing myself editing videos with a poky external drive, or copying reams of data to the external drive just so I could free up space on my fast internal drive.

Now look where we are today: You can buy an iMac with the equivalent of a built-in 23-inch Apple Cinema Display, with a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo processor, up to 3GB of RAM, and a speedy FireWire 800 port for fast external storage. If you don't need all 24 inches of iMac goodness, there's always the 20-inch model -- and since these iMacs still support screen spanning via their built-in mini-DVI connector, you can drive a second screen if you need more screen space.

All told, these new iMacs make a pretty compelling system for those of us who don't need all the bells and whistles of the Mac Pro. And for me, the addition of FireWire 800 pushes it over the edge. Now when I replace my Power Mac G5 at home, I'm going to give these Core 2 Duo iMacs serious consideration.

Mac mini gets Core Duo speed boost
The Mac mini has been updated to include Core Duo processors in both models. Processor speeds in the mini have also been increased to 1.83GHz and 1.66GHz, respectively.
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/06/mini/index.php?lsrc=mcweek-0908