Apple iMac 20in review

Apple's iMac makes an immediate impression. The aluminium case features only the iconic logo on the front. The metal and glass parts and even the plastics exude quality.

Though the screen doesn't match the spec of the huge panel on the pricier 24 inch iMac, it was one of the best on test. We preferred the Chillblast's Samsung monitor, but only marginally. Mac users are fussy about their screens, and there's been some controversy about this one, but we found the colours bright and detail good, making the Mac OS X Leopard operating system look fantastic. You can add Windows yourself if you need it.

It's only on the inside that the iMac fails to dominate. The Intel Core 2 Duo E8135 processor has a modest two cores, a step down from the quad core parts in the majority of PCs on test. And Apple only fits 1GB of RAM as standard, which simply isn't enough. You can pay extra for more, or install your own for about a tenner per megabyte, but the base level really ought to be higher.

The lack of memory was partly responsible for the iMac's uninspiring benchmarks. In our general (2D) tests it achieved 186%: plenty for general work and web surfing, and adequate for the creative tasks Apple is renowned for, but less than its rivals here. The ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics managed a 3D score of 30%, which is better than nothing but means this isn't a machine for the latest games. The 250GB hard disk is small.

The iMac's big plus point, of course, is that it's so neat, and it also consumes less power than a typical PC. The downside of the all-in-one format is that none of the components except RAM can be upgraded, and there are fewer ports and sockets than on other PCs (no eSATA for fast external drives, though FireWire 800 is a fair alternative). But 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth are built in.

The iMac doesn't feel underpowered, and it looks the absolute business. If you need a more mundane incentive, it'll be a doddle to resell.