[Updated]
We ordered our 20" 2 GHz iMac Core Duo--Apple has dubbed it an iMac (Early 2006)--with a few extras as a configure-to-order (CTO) unit. We upped the memory to 2 GB because of the need to run some applications under Rosetta emulation until they come out with universal binaries and opted for the ATI Radeon X1600 graphics card with 256MB SDRAM, the wireless Bluetooth keyboard/mouse, and a USB modem for faxing.
Initial Impressions
Our new iMac Core Duo replaces a 20" 1.8 GHz iMac G5 (Rev.A). When we received our iMac 20" Rev. A in late September 2004 (which we favorably reviewed), our only disappointment was that the nice, white, retail billboard box shipped with no brown cardboard box to protect it. It got all scuffed and dirty before delivery. Ugh! It also screamed to one and all "Steal Me. I'm a valuable computer!" while in transit. But this time the retail box arrived inside an anonymous brown cardboard slipcase. When we met the FedEx driver at the door with a big grin, he asked "What's in it?" The return address only identifies ACI as the shipper. Somewhat ominously, we noticed a hole kicked in the narrow end of the box just as the FedEx truck pulled away. There was no styrofoam inside at that spot and, fortunately, no part of the iMac either.
Outwardly, the iMac Core Duo is no different than its immediate predecessor, the 20" iMac G5 iSight model introduced in October 2005. In comparison with the original 20" iMac Rev. A, however, it is thinner, measuring 1 1/2" deep at the outer edge as opposed to 1 7/8" for the Rev. A. And the iMac Core Duo's display has a contrast ratio of 800:1; the Rev. A 20" iMac display contrast ratio was only 350:1.
The out-of-box experience continues to impress us. We think the presentation to the customer in the box and after the sale communicates that Apple cares about its products. All surfaces of the display back and front are protected, not just the screen. The metal foot has a plastic heel and sole so the back and underside won't get scuffed! The keyboard and mouse are carefully wrapped in distinctive clear plastic enclosures and shiny surfaces are shielded from scratches. Some electronics are shipped in brown pulp board containers these days; generic commodities. Apple designs everything for the ultimate consumer experience. Think Different.
There are noticeably fewer manuals and other paperwork in the box than came with the iMac G5. The USB modem is pretty small, about the size of a pack of chewing gum.
Getting the wireless keyboard and mouse functional has been made even easier than it was in 2004. And as we discovered later, the wireless keyboard and mouse work with the Apple Install/Restore discs, too. They didn't in 2004.
One of the great computer consumer experiences takes place right after you get the iMac plugged in, turned on and the keyboard/mouse working. There's a rudimentary registration procedure - name, address and email address - which gets transmitted magically to Apple if the iMac is connected to the internet. Then, Apple addresses one of the major concerns of folks upgrading to a new computer. How do I get my music, my address book, my bookmarks off my old computer and onto the new one? Using the Setup Assistant was great in September of 2004. It is better today. Connect up a FireWire cable between the new iMac and your old computer, determine what files you want transferred and it happens within a few minutes. Now your new computer looks very familiar. Files are where they belong; settings are yours. Confidence is restored.
One of our few concerns was whether old Power PC printer drivers and applications would work with the new Intel iMac. For example, we presently use a Samsung ML-1710 B&W laser printer that Samsung no longer supports. Apple makes no mention in this support document of Samsung printers in the list of printer drivers that ship with Mac OS X 10.4.4 for Intel-based Macs but the printer works fine.
Rosetta, Apple's underlying emulation software, is invisible but ever present to ensure compatibility between the Power PC and Intel platforms. In our experience, that's true with AppleWorks, Quicken 2006 and other productivity applications that may not yet have universal binaries. Disk and backup utilities are another story but it's just a matter of time before they catch up. Already over 800 applications of all kinds are available in universal binary form according to this Apple list.
So How Fast Is It?
To determine this, we ran several of our usual suite of speed tests on two test-bed iMacs, a 20" 2 GHz iMac G5 (Rev.B) in our San Diego, CA, office and the new 20" 2 GHz iMac Core Duo in our Maine office. Since we are comparing one with an IBM G5 CPU versus one with an Intel Core Duo CPU, we limited our tests to those applications that will run on the Intel Core Duo, mostly those with universal binaries (Cinebench 9.5, Xbench 1.2 and Doom3 1.3A). We also used Adobe Reader 7.0.7 which ran on both iMacs but under Rosetta emulation on the iMac Core Duo.
Here are the results:
| Test | 20" 2 GHz iMac G5 (Rev. B) |
20" 2 GHz iMac
Core Duo |
% Change
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmarks: | |||
|
AltiVec Fractal
|
4.8
|
3.8
|
-21
|
|
Let1kWindowsBloom (sec)
|
9
|
12
|
-33
|
|
Cinebench 9.5 - Rendering
|
275
|
308/566+
|
+12/106+
|
|
- OpenGL Hardware Lighting
|
1226
|
1681
|
+137
|
| Xbench 1.2 - CPU |
84
|
77
|
-8
|
| - Threading |
55
|
199
|
+262
|
| - Memory |
64
|
108
|
+69
|
| - Quartz Graphics |
88
|
72
|
-18
|
| - OpenGL Graphics |
121
|
132
|
+9
|
| - User Interface Graphics |
69
|
19
|
-72
|
| - Hard Disk |
92
|
92
|
0
|
| "Real World" Tests: | |||
| Startup (sec) |
40
|
29
|
+52
|
| Shutdown (sec) |
7
|
7
|
0
|
|
Duplicate 500MB folder of files (sec)
|
62
|
32
|
+48
|
| Scroll File in Adobe Reader 7.0.7 (sec) |
39
|
38
|
+3
|
| Doom 3 1.3A MQ (frames/sec) |
38
|
65
|
+71
|
By and large, the 2 GHz iMac Core Duo is much faster than the 2 GHz iMac G5. This is especially true for applications that are multi-threaded, i.e. can take advantage of multiple CPUs. The iMac Core Duo essentially has 2 CPUs. The difference can be seen in the Cinebench 9.5 Rendering test and the Xbench CPU/Threading tests. In the Cinebench test, when using only one core the iMac Core Duo is only 12 per cent faster than the iMac G5 but when using both cores the iMac Core Duo is over twice as fast as the G5. The two are about the same in the Xbench CPU test that uses only one of the Core Duo's cores but the Core Duo is nearly four times as fast in the Threading test using both cores. The Finder in the iMac Core Duo is 48 per cent faster at duplicating a 500MB folder containing twenty 25MB files.
It appears that the iMac Core Duo may be a bit slower in Quartz Graphics than the iMac G5. We know that the User Interface Graphics score is not valid in v1.2 of Xbench because of a bug. Many universal applications launch in a fraction of Dock icon bounce, much faster than their counterparts running on the iMac G5.
The iMac Core Duo may be a real screamer when it comes to 3D OpenGL games running natively. It is 71 per cent faster at running Doom 3 than our iMac G5. So far, Doom 3 is the only game we've benchmarked that has been upgraded with universal binaries so we'll withhold judgement until we see another one but the future of Mac gaming is looking very speedy!
Finally, the iMac Core Duo is no slower running in Rosetta emulation than the iMac G5 while scrolling our test PDF document. It is likely that a future universal binary version of Adobe Reader will out-perform its Power PC counterpart. But other applications will run slower with Rosetta as demonstrated by the results with AltiVec Fractal (the Core Duo does not have an AltiVec engine) and Let1kWindowsBloom. [Dana Baggett & Bill Fox]
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