Apple’s
G5 iMac: Wonderful in White
by Alan Zisman (c) 2004 First
published in
Performance
PC Canada
November 2004
Even with a share of computer sales somewhere south of 5%, Apple
manages to dominate the imaginations of the public—at least
of that
part of the public that writes about technology. The January 2002
release of the company's G4 iMac, for instance, got Apple CEO Steve
Jobs on the cover of Time Magazine.
Along with Jobs' influence, the original 1998 iMac, a bulbous colourful
one-piece G3-powered computer, arguably saved the company from
financial ruin and led to hordes of translucent plastic gizmos and
gadgets, everything from pens to phones trying to cash in on the iMac
look and appeal. The G4 iMac replaced the original fruity colours with
a stark white, and featured an LCD panel anchored by an exquisitely
engineered arm to a distinctive semi-spherical base.
Not everyone loved the new look, however, with critics comparing it to
an overgrown high-end desk lamp. And while initially strong, G4 iMac
sales quickly leveled off.
Released this September, the new iMacs remain white
one-piece,
LCD-display computers, now built around Apple's new high-end G5
processor. The half-a-volleyball base of the previous models is gone;
all the computer's guts are within the LCD screen's 4 cm thick housing.
Also gone is the flexible arm; the screen on this model tilts at
different angles, but no longer moves forward, back or side-to-side.
The resulting look is subtler than the earlier models: a clean,
somewhat under-whelming look that should fit in easily on desktops in
homes and offices. With the 20” model weighing in at about 10
kg (25.2
lbs—about 15 lbs lighter than the 20” G4 model), it
can be relatively
easily moved about.
While Apple is not the first to offer computers built into LCD
displays, most similar designs have an awkward bulge hanging off the
back of the flat panel display. Apple puts all the connectors on the
back: the power cord in the centre, the other ports in a row along the
side. There's a hole in the arm to keep cables neatly organized.
Apple's ads make it look like the system can be run virtually cable
free; the power cord is invisible from the front. If you like the
wireless look, Apple sells a Bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse
($139), but they are not included in the basic package, nor is the
($70) Bluetooth adapter needed to make them work. If you want
Bluetooth, order it at the time of purchase: the internal Bluetooth
adapter requires a different ‘mid-plane' and isn't
user-installable
afterwards. (Alternatively, you can use a USB Bluetooth module, but
then you've got a dangling wire). Like other current Mac models, the
iMac can use Apple's Airport Extreme 802.11g wireless networking
adapter and includes an antenna for it; like the Bluetooth adapter, the
Airport adapter ($109) isn't part of the base package. Unlike the
Bluetooth adapter it's easily added later. (Apple recently started to
include Airport Extreme adapters in the base package for their iBook
consumer notebooks; I hope this will be the case for the iMacs as well).
Apple includes its standard (wired) USB white extended keyboard and
transparent optical mouse. Mac software supports multiple mouse
buttons; fans of multiple buttons can plug in most popular PC (USB)
mice and get support for right-buttons, scroll wheels, and the like.
(Alternatively, users of single-button Apple mice can access pop-up
context menus by holding the Control-key while clicking). The Apple
mouse is an especially slick device whose entire body can be clicked,
but it would be nice if the company offered a two-button mouse option.
In a tidy row along the back of the G5, users will find an audio-in
port and an audio-out port that can be used for standard headphones or
speakers or for an optical cable to connect to high-end audio gear with
SP/DIF inputs (allowing for 5.1-channel audio output). A video-out port
requires an adapter to connect to VGA or video displays. There are
three USB 2.0 ports, a pair of Firewire-400 ports, a 10/100 Ethernet
port, and a modem port.
While the earlier iMacs required external speakers the new model has
12-watt speakers built into the bottom of the display; these lack bass
response but otherwise produce pretty good sound. Also at the bottom
are air intakes; the G5 processor runs hotter than its predecessor so
the new iMac has multiple cooling fans. The cooling system is well
designed with each fan running only as needed. Overall, the G5 iMac
runs quietly; I never noticed it over the ongoing hum of the desktop PC
sitting across the room in my office.
Another nice design touch: when not in use, the keyboard can be stowed
nicely under the display panel to take up minimal desktop space.
Alternatively, you can do away with the base entirely, mounting the
whole thing directly on a wall.
Apple is selling the G5 iMac in three configurations: CDN$1799 gets you
an iMac with a 17” widescreen LCD screen, a 1.6 GHz G5
processor, an 80
GB serial ATA hard drive, a 533 MHz frontside bus, and a combo
CD-R/DVD-ROM slot-loading drive. An additional $250 boosts this to a
1.8 GHz G5, a 600 MHz frontside bus, and a SuperDrive, Apple's code for
a DVD burner. $2499 bumps it to a large 20” widescreen
display and a
160 GB hard drive. (Hard drives up to 250 GB can be ordered).
All models include 512 K L2 cache and an 8x AGP nVidia GeForce FX 5200
Ultra graphics chip with 64 MB DDR video memory; integrated onto the
motherboard, it is not replaceable. As well, all models ship with 256
MB of RAM. This amount of memory is adequate to run the operating
system (Mac OS X 10.3) and basic applications, but for anything more,
users will find it highly desirable to upgrade. Apple or its dealers
will happily sell you an iMac with more RAM installed at the time of
purchase; Apple upgrade charges range from $105 for 512 MB to a hefty
$1575 for 2 GB.
Alternatively, it's fairly easy to install more RAM yourself later.
This iMac uses widely available PC-style DDR PC3200 RAM.
This iMac can be easily opened up; lay it face down on top of a towel
to avoid scratching the LCD panel. Loosen three screws along the bottom
of the display—with Apple's typical attention to detail,
these remain
anchored so they can't be lost-- and the back of the case comes up.
Inside, you'll find two memory slots as well as the socket for the
Airport Extreme wireless card. The iMac can take up to 2 GB of RAM; it
can use RAM of differing sizes but will have best performance with two
identical pieces.
With the cover off, the hard drive can be upgraded or replaced and an
Airport Express wireless card added, but that's about all that can be
done inside the box; Mac-fans wanting the ability to change video
adapters or add PCI cards will have to purchase one of Apple's PowerMac
towers.
With enough RAM, the G5 iMac is a perky performer; performance is aided
by the fast S-ATA hard drive. Apple is among the first computer
manufacturers to make this newer, better-performing standard available
by default in some of its models. The improved hard drive bandwidth is
a big plus with applications like Virtual PC 7; finally, the
virtualized Windows system runs in something like real-time.
There's a nice software bundle; along with the pre-installed Mac OS X
10.3, the iMac includes Apple's iLife suite (iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie,
iDVD {on systems with the SuperDrive}, and GarageBand), AppleWorks
light-duty Office suite, and Quicken 2004. A 30 day-trial version of
Microsoft Office 2004 is included. If moving from an older Mac, there's
a handy Setup Assistant that will lead you through the steps to connect
your older Mac in Firewire Disk Mode, letting it appear on the iMac as
an external hard drive and making it easy to transfer documents and
settings to the new system.
Performance is good, easily outclassing the previous-generation G4 iMac
on most tests and an order of magnitude more responsive than the G4
iBook I use for most day-to-day work. It's not Apple's current
performance champ, however; for that, users will need to move to one of
the company's dual-G5 PowerMac models.
It's not easy to precisely compare Macs and Windows PCs; all
comparisons are limited and too-easily criticized. Similarly, this
isn't the place for me to get into the age-old Windows vs Mac (or
Windows vs Linux vs Mac) debate. Personally, I use both Windows and Mac
on a day-to-day basis.
You can buy a useable Windows PC (or even a useable Mac like Apple's G4
eMac models) for a lot less, but if your budget can stretch to the
iMac's $1800-2500 range and you want a stylish, space-saving, easy to
set up and use (and virus and spyware-free) computer, Apple's new G5
iMacs are well worth a look—even if you're currently a
Windows user.
Just be sure to budget for more RAM!