Apple iMac MC814LL/A 27-Inch Desktop Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)A disclaimer of sorts: I write iOS and Mac apps for a living. I have written a few apps that I sell in the store, so I work full time with a Mac. I tend to buy a new computer every year, because that spinning rainbow wheel begins to eat away at my productivity as my projects grow in size, so I like to have the latest and greatest as it becomes available. I previously owned a Macbook Pro 17" (actually reviewed previously on Amazon by me) but decided to switch to a desktop for the added power and screen real estate. I used "Migration Assistant" to bring over my entire user account to the new iMac so that I was up and running in a few hours.
THE SHORT VERSION
Without going into too much back history, I can say the "short version" of this review is that it is a fantastic, speedy and powerful computer. I loaded it up with an extra 8GB of memory (Apple offers you an 8gb upgrade for a lot of money...you can buy an additional 8 to bring this machine up to 12 for half of what they charge you) and it just flies. I notice that apps that used to bounce for several seconds (sometimes 10+ bounces) now just bounce once before being fully open and operational. The screen is gorgeous, the all-in-one design is great and and the 1TB drive is spacious for all kinds of media.
THE LONGER VERSION
----
SPEED/MEMORY
As mentioned, I have upgraded the machine to 12GB of memory. (Corsair 8 GB DDR3 Laptop Memory Kit CMSO8GX3M2A1333C9) I highly recommend to buy at least an additional 4 to put into your computer. It has 4 slots, which is great, because that's a lot of room for memory expansion. I'm letting you know all this because I haven't actually booted the computer up with only 4GB. I imagine it's still pretty speedy (thanks largely in part to the new Intel CPU) but it won't be able to load up as many apps at once with ease. Installing memory is really very simple (took about 60 seconds start to finish) so I can't recommend it enough.
The new processor is unbelievable. It tears through tasks. My app projects that would literally sometimes take 1 to 2 minutes to build on my Macbook Pro take a fraction of the time on here (as fast as 10-15 seconds)--and these are projects that are really very large in size. I also noticed that ripping DVDs to mp4s was a lot smoother and faster on the new iMac. It could go through about 2 hours of video in ~20-30 minutes (at a very high quality). There are tons of benchmarks floating around on the internet, so I recommend searching around for the speed of this particular iMac. It's impressively fast.
SCREEN
One of the major reasons I went for an iMac over a new Macbook Pro this year was to gain access to the super high res 27" screen. Whenever I see these in the Apple store, I am always in awe at just how much you can fit, and with so much clarity. Its native resolution is 2560x1440 which is much higher than the usual "1080p" (1920x1080 or the MBP's 1920x1200). This means you can fit many windows side by side, or blow up your Safari window to full size and experience the web in a whole new way. I manage multiple windows of Xcode side by side now with ease and still have room to space for chat programs and Twitter.
The size really is enormous. You have to stand in front of one and use it to really appreciate just how much screen real estate you get when you go to this size--especially at this resolution.
ALL-IN-ONE DESIGN / PORTS
So one of the other benefits to the iMac of course is its "all in one" design. The box it comes in has styrofoam (which is unfortunate, given Apple's commitment to being green) but you just pop those out, and then slide out your computer, unravel your power cord, plug in, and you're good to go. With this particular model, you get the wireless keyboard and the "magic mouse." If you can afford the extra seventy dollars, I'd pick up the trackpad. It's so much better than the mouse, and really easy to use. It also has a huge tracking surface letting you manipulate your apps in interesting ways.
There are four USB ports and two thunderbolt ports. Thunderbolt is great, but it's so new that I haven't found anything to really test it. You're supposed to be able power up to two other full size screens which is awesome, but I haven't tested it personally and I also don't own any native thunderbolt devices. I'm waiting for external hard drive makers to come out with Thunderbolt enabled drives too, because it will be way faster than USB.
Speaking of USB, the four are all lined up right next to each other but what's nice is that they are lined up vertically--so it's a little bit harder for a fat device to get in the way of two ports, so that's great. You'd have to have something that is very wide (which I'm sure is possible) but for the most part, the ports seem distanced enough to be able to plug in whatever you want.
Oh, and finally, you get a built in SD card reader which is nice. It's below the DVD drive on the side.
GRAPHICS
I tested out some games running in the native resolution and they play without a hiccup of any kind. Games at 2560x1440 are incredible--it's a whole new experience, honestly. You can also search around online for benchmarks for this particular graphics card (the 6970M). It's a very capable card. (Note: The M means it's actually the mobile version of the desktop 6970, but it's still powerful and will meet most/all of your gaming needs.)
MAC OS X
I won't really mention too much here. Mac OS X has been around for ages, and 10.7 is right around the corner (due this summer.) I used to be a Windows guy but after using Macs for several years now, I don't see myself ever "going back." I even have converted a lot of my friends and family to the Apple world and they all love it. I especially love that all new Macs come with the latest iLife (For photos, videos, etc) and the recently introduced Mac App Store. I've loaded up my computer with tons of apps that I would have never known existed without the app store. I know Apple didn't invent software, but packaging it all in an organized store right there on your desktop is great.
OTHER THOUGHTS
The first major downside to this computer is the sheer amount of heat it produces. I walked outside my home office and noticed that the rest of my house felt about 5-10 degrees cooler. If you touch the iMac after it's been on for a while, you feel like you could cook something on it. It's seriously very hot.
The only positive thing regarding the heat is that the computer remains whisper quiet, even while running a full Flash video in HD. (Flash is notorious for spinning up your computer's fans. The latest version is a lot nicer though, especially if the website has updated their own Flash video, because its graphics accelerated, so your CPU won't die trying to render).
Another negative I read about this computer all the time is that it has no blu-ray drive. I personally don't care that it doesn't have a blu-ray drive because I prefer streaming media anyway, but I can understand why it's viewed as an important missing feature. The screen size and high resolution really would be nice to see a full 1080p video on, but I really don't think we'll ever see Apple provide a blu-ray drive, especially when they are in the game of selling movies via their iTunes store.FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I think if you're in the market for a computer that will last you a while (or you're like me and always have to have the latest and greatest) then this is a fantastic contender. For me, I was basically instantly sold on it when I saw it uses the new "sandy bridge" Intel chips, and its high res screen. If you shop around, a 27" screen at 2560x1440 can cost upwards of one thousand dollars, so getting one built into a very powerful, capable computer seems like a steal.If you have any questions or requests for info, please let me know in the comments and I'll respond/update!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Apple iMac MC814LL/A 27-Inch Desktop


The Ultimate All-in-One Goes All Out. The 27-inch iMac features a brilliant LED-backlit, edge-to-edge glass display (see larger image).

Click here for more information about Apple iMac MC814LL/A 27-Inch Desktop