Digital Trends

Apple iMac Core Duo 17-inch

July 11th, 2006 | by Jason Tomzak

The base configuration of the iMac line comes with 512MB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) on a single chip.  This complement of 512MB RAM is just enough to let the iMac function well for all the basic applications - Mail, Safari, iPhoto, etc.  The iMac will not operate at full potential with 512MB RAM, nor will it breeze through more intensive applications like Photoshop, Aperture, Final Cut, Logic Pro, etc.  Most, if not all iMacs on display in Apple stores are set up with 1GB RAM.  I highly recommend that anyone considering an Intel iMac for home or office use, does so with no less than 1GB of RAM.  If Apple's RAM is beyond your budget, Crucial.com has long been known as a very reliable source for top quality, Mac-compatible RAM.  Crucial.com RAM can usually be purchased at a very significant savings.

The LCD screen on the iMac is simply wonderful.  The 1440x900 resolution screen is powered by the ATI Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB GDDR3 memory.  It is perfect for all basic applications like iPhoto, iMovie HD, Photoshop and Aperture and even GPU-slamming applications like Final Cut Pro.  The X1600 graphics card is reportedly suitable for serious gaming in OS X and in Windows XP Pro under Boot Camp.

Realistically, the 17" screen may not be ideal for professional designers or photographers who generally require a lot more pixel real estate.  If you plan to spend more than 1/3 of your time in Photoshop, Aperture, Illustrator or similar applications, the 20" iMac is recommended.  For general computing and even home media setups, the 17" iMac is a very worthy solution.  The 17" iMac, with its compact profile, is also ideal for dorm rooms.  I even used the 17" iMac as a kitchen-based computer for watching my Emeril Lagasse TV shows while cooking!  There are so many uses for a computer like the iMac!

In several recent reviews of Apple computers, I used the DVD movie Underworld to test the video card performance and image quality.  When testing Underworld at native size on the 17" iMac (about 50% of the screen), the playback was flawless and almost life-like.  When playing the DVD full screen, I noticed some artifacts in dark or shadowy scenes.  The colors remained rich and realistic at all playback sizes.  After an hour of watching a pistol-toting, fang-flashing Kate Beckinsale whirl across the screen in Goth leather, I came to the conclusion that the Intel iMac's DVD playback is astounding. 

To test video encoding speeds, I often use the free DVD backup application "Handbrake".  (DVD backups should only be done within the scope of applicable laws.)  On the last-rev 2.1GHz G5 iMac, Handbrake converts subject DVDs to default-setting MP4 movie files at an average of 23 frames per second.  On the Intel iMac, Handbrake screams along at 65 frames per second, nearly three times faster!  The final output quality is exactly the same.  The excitement factor is way out there!