The design of the 17″ Intel iMac is nearly identical to its last-revision G5 predecessor. As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Apple wisely stuck with the stunning all-in-one design of the iMac; a design that no other computer manufacturer has been able to duplicate or even approach; a design that had industrial designers and consumers all atwitter with excitement.

The 17″ iMac has a tiny footprint for a full-featured desktop - 114.24 square inches (maximum width times maximum depth). In comparison, a small form-factor eMachines or Gateway computer plus 17″ LCD screen has a clown-like footprint of 240 square inches or more. The iMac takes up less than half the space without sacrificing components, speed or style.

The iMacs’ video subsystem now features the Radeon X1600, ATI Technology’s latest midrange graphics processor, replacing the aging X600. In both iMac configurations 128MB of video RAM remains standard, but for an extra $75 you can order the 20-inch model with 256MB.

In addition, both new models have a mini-DVI port through which, with the appropriate $19 adapter, you can attach a VGA, S-Video, or composite monitor, or a DVI display such as an Apple Cinema Display (up to 23 inches only). You’re no longer limited to mirroring, either—the new models also support extended-desktop mode.

Review By Ecoustics

Setting up a new iMac easy. The box contains the iMac, power cord, keyboard, mouse, Front Row remote and OS X restore DVDs. From the moment I walked in the front door and saw my wife giving me the “You got another Mac?!” look, I had the computer set up and ready to go in under 2 minutes.

With a stopwatch started and power button pressed, the iMac ran through initial setups quickly. The ’select language’ screen appeared in 53 seconds, as opposed to 1 minute 33 seconds with my iMac G5. My full name, address and other registration information were entered by 2 minutes 40 seconds. On the Intel-based iMac, OS X was set up and running by the time 5 minutes 10 seconds had passed.

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Apple also introduced a minor upgrade to the 3D graphics chip on the new iMacs. Instead of the old ATI Radeon X600, you now get the Radeon X1600, a video-friendly 3D chip with advanced decoding capabilities (although by no means a gaming powerhouse). The new iMacs ship with OS X 10.4.4, which features some incremental tweaks to Apple’s operating system. In addition, you get Apple’s new iLife ‘06 software, also announced at Macworld. The suite includes minor updates to the current iLife programs, as well as the new iWeb Web design software.

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