Apple iMac G5: An iPod Writ Large.

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Author: Domingo, Joel Santo

When we first saw the G4-generation iMac, with its dome base and trick swing-arm, we thought "wow." The latest incarnation of Apple's design standard-bearer, the Apple iMac G5, is no less sublime, but a lot more subtle. This iMac G5 will have you nodding your head and saying, "It's about time they designed a computer like this."

Most all-in-one desktops with LCD panels (the Sony VAIO and Gateway Profile systems come to mind) are two units permanently connected together: the part of the case housing the motherboard and drives, and the monitor. But the iMac G5 has the CPU, motherboard, and drives mounted in the same 2-inch-thick chassis as the monitor. The result is the clean look of an iPod music player, supersized and placed on an elegant anodized aluminum stand.

The 17-inch model (configurations start at $1,299 direct) weighs just 18.5 pounds, and the 20-inch one ($1,899 and up) is 25.2 pounds, so moving one from room to room is easy. The pricing is as attractive as the units. A multimedia-centric desktop-replacement Windows notebook with a 17-inch widescreen, such as the HP Pavilion zd7000, starts at $1,299. And if you really want a large screen in an all-in-one in the Windows world, pretty much your only choice is the 19-inch Gateway Profile 5XL-C, which starts at $1,999 direct.

If you opt to have Bluetooth and AirPort Extreme installed, the power cord is the only cord that you will need to plug in. Taking design cues from previous Mac products, the iMac G5 presents a front panel devoid of speakers, control buttons, or ports. The ports â€" USB 2.0, Fire Wire 400, Ethernet, and modem jacks â€" are lined up vertically on the back panel. The audio-out port doubles as a standard iPod-style headphone jack, or it can be used with a mini optical cable and connected to speaker sets and A/V receivers with SP/DIF inputs. A VGA/video-out port is present, but requires a dongle adapter.

Last year's iMac G4 had a quiet, single-fan design. The GS processor in the iMac G5 runs a little hotter, and the new slim shape requires a few fans in the chassis. The fans are intelligently placed, pulling in air from the bottom and letting the warm air rise and exhaust out the top. In normal use, they are quiet, and blend easily into the background noise even of a quiet bedroom. The downward-firing speakers are in the bottom of the chassis. We were skeptical at first, but they work well, provided you aren't in a cavernous space. The bass is predictably weak, but the quality of the speakers and the stereo separation are fine for routine music and computing use.

The 20-inch screen seems a little large at first, especially at typical PC-viewing distance. But you quickly grow accustomed to it, and get spoiled by the vast amount of screen real estate. The base works well as a cubby where you can stow the keyboard to reclaim desk space. You can remove the foot and install an optional VESA mount (for wall- or swing-arm mounting) in its place, which gives you myriad setup choices, especially if you miss the old iMac's arm.

Like other Apple PCs, the iMac G5 comes with a very good software package that includes the iLife multimedia suite, Zinio Reader, and Quicken 2004. For those who already own a Mac that runs Mac OS X 10.1 or later and supports Fire Wire disk mode (as do most Macs made in the past three years), the new Mac OS X Setup assistant will interest you. Connect your old Mac system up to the iMac G5 with a standard FireWire cable, boot the old computer up in FireWire disk mode, and follow the on-screen prompts to transfer all your documents, user accounts, settings, and apps (it'll even keep the serial numbers intact).

Thanks to its faster processor, the iMac G5 delivers a noticeable speed boost over the iMac G4, completing three of our four Adobe Photoshop operations more quickly (the last test was a tie). And the iMac G5's desktop-class SATA hard drive (spinning at 7,200 rpm) can be had in capacities up to 250GB. This handily outclasses desktop-replacement notebooks, which are currently limited to 80GB, space that today's video files and other large downloads can eat up quickly.

The integrated nVidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics chipset means that the iMac GS can play fairly strenuous 3D games, like Unreal Tournament 2004 and Halo. The iMac G5 won't match the performance of a high-end Windows PC or PowerMac dual G5 (with their higher-powered Radeon X800XT or GeForce 6800 Ultra graphics processors), but it should prove to be a capable gaming box. But as with other all-in-one PCs, you can't upgrade the graphics card. The sleek, compact design is LAN party-friendly, but be sure to bring a wired keyboard and mouse along. The Bluetooth keyboard wasn't quite as precise as a wired one when playing games; the cursor seemed to jump around, instead of smoothly moving along with mouse movements.

With the iMac G5, Apple has given Mac fans yet another reason to stay in the fold. And its unparalleled execution, ease of use, and software bundle should attract would-be Windows PC buyers, as well.

With 1.8-GHz PowerPC G5 processor, 512MB DDR SDRAM, 160GB SATA hard drive (7,200rpm), nVidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics, 20-inch widescreen LCD. DVD-RW optical drive, Airport Extreme (802.11g) wireless, Bluetooth, Mac OS X 10.3.5, $2,103 direct. Apple Computer, www.apple.com. @@@@@ Music: 86 (out of 100); Photos: 81; Video: 74; Gaming: 79

IF THE IPOD GREW: into a full-size computer, it would look a lot like the new iMac G5.

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By Joel Santo Domingo