I had converted my 12-inch Powerbook into a desktop machine but keeping it on my desk and adding the 20-inch Viewsonic VX2025 monitor, iPod docks, Logitech Z-2300 speakers, IOGear GUH284R USB hub, and the Logitech LX501 wireless desktop. For what it was worth, the machine still has a lot of life and for the work that I do it still functions pretty well. However, since I got the MacBook, it seemed so much more sluggish which is expected. When the 24-inch iMac was released I decided it was time to upgrade to a true desktop.

With the exception of the Mac Mini, which I don’t really use as a normal desktop machine but as a HTPC, I had been using laptops for all of my work. At my old job, I used a G5 tower and that was a nice machine to use. I had been looking into the Mac Pro but I just couldn’t pay that much money for the power in which I felt would be lost since the applications that need the power such as Photoshop aren’t Universal yet.

I was looking for a transition machine that would be fast and had a decent size monitor. I figure I might upgrade to the Mac Pro after Photoshop becomes Universal which will probably be in the Spring of next year. By then Mac OS X Leopard will probably be out so that would be a good time to buy new hardware and software.

Now don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t looking for a cheap machine until the time I upgrade to the Mac Pro. I want a machine that was very usable and I’m definately NOT disappointed with the iMac.

I picked the machine up at my local Apple store and they had a bundle with the Wireless Apple Keyboard and the Wireless Mighty Mouse. I had been pretty happy with that set with the Mac Mini so I decided to buy that unit for only a little more cash.

The unit has a 2.16 Core 2 Duo processor which is quite speedy. It’s not much faster than the Core Duo in the MacBook, but the speed difference is definitely noticeable. I’m sure there are other factors such as the hard drive and graphics card with would make it faster but in general it feels faster and I think a lot of it has to do with the processor. I also went with this machine because I believe the unit has a socket processor so later I can upgrade it and drop the old processor into the Core Solo Mac Mini. I don’t know for sure if it has a socket, but if it follows the other iMacs it should.

The machine comes with 2 512MB DDR2 SODIMMS which I had gone to my local Comp USA and upgraded to 2 1GB chips giving me a total of 2GB. I would have like to upgrade to 4GB in the future when the cost of RAM goes down, but it looks like the chipset only supports 3GB. I don’t know if that would be better or having matching pairs. Another thing I considered is if I do upgrade to the Mac Pro having 2GB isn’t that big of a deal. For perspective, on a normal day’s work for me I have 2GB in the MacBook and 2GB in this iMac and both machines utilize all 2GB of it. I have the AMP stack on the machines, a Dashboard full of widgets, Apple Mail with over 7k emails, a number of web browsers for testing, iTunes, Photoshop, iCal, Pages, Navicat, numerous Terminal windows, and Parallels Desktop running either Windows Vista or Windows XP which is allocated 512MB in itself. So I run quite a few applications simultaneously, but like I said I use all of these in a normal days work load.

The machine came with a Seagate 7200.9 250GB hard drive which at some point I figure I will match with another Seagate in an external RAID enclosure and upgrade the internal drive to a larger perpendicular drive. Right now its enough space, but I figure in a few months it might not be.

The iMac comes with a SuperDrive and like the other Apple machines that I have with a SuperDrive, it works so there’s not too much to say about it.

I don’t play games really so I don’t know if having a graphics card is an advantage for me. I do have to say that the 24-inch display is beautiful. I used to think the MacBook display was bright but this new display is much brighter. Using the MacBook compared to this machine, they’re both very usable and I don?t think I?m utilizing the graphics cards to their full extent. I connected a 15-inch LCD to the iMac that I had lying around to have Windows on it full-time. It’s quite handy. Before I either had to have it overlap another window or use a separate machine. In this setup it’s like having a KVM and a second machine. It saves time which makes me more productive.

The built-in iSight and IR Remote with Front Row function perfectly. I never had any trouble with them or any of the other machines for that matter. I pair all the IR Remotes to each machine I have since all the remotes by default can control all machines. By holding Menu and FF the machine will initiate the pairing process and after that there are no issues.

One thing I noticed is for the size of the monitor and the weight distribution it seems heavier or harder to carry than it really is. I guess I’m not carrying it around like a laptop, but it was something I noticed when I brought it home.

My machine only has 3 USB ports since I have the wireless keyboard and mouse which isn’t enough for me so I have my IOGear USB hub connected to the machine. It also has a Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 port and the latter will be very convenient when I add the external RAID enclosure. There’s no longer a modem but I’ve had high speed internet for so long and I don’t fax so it’s not really an issue. In fact I don’t even have a traditional phone line here since I use VOIP and a cell phone.

There is also built-in Airport Extreme card and Bluetooth. I plug the machine into the router so I haven’t tested the wireless card, but the Bluetooth works flawlessly.

Overall, I am really happy with my purchase. It’s a huge upgrade over my Powerbook “desktop” setup. This machine will do the job for a long time to come. I would say the larger monitor is worth the extra money, but the 20-inch machine is a nice machine as well. As always if there are any questions feel free to ask.