As you may already know, the Core Duo processor is a dual-core processor, so it offers two processing cores and behaves like Apple's previous dual-processor systems. The 17-inch version (which is the one I tested), with a screen resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels, offers a 1.83GHz Core Duo processor, while the 20-inch model has a 1680 x 1050 resolution and a 2GHz Core Duo processor. The new Intel iMac, like its Power PC predecessors, is available in two, different-sized models. Since it was pretty obvious where the computer went, Apple introduced a second generation of iMac G5 last October with a much sleeker version of the design, and it's on this second-generation design the new Intel-based iMacs are built. This was the first generation of the iMac to feature a G5 processor and the new 'Where did the computer go?' enclosure, to quote Apple's advertising campaign. We last reviewed an iMac in SOS December 2004. As Sound On Sound has covered the transition in previous Apple Notes - especially April's in-depth look at the state of hardware and software on Intel-based Macs - this review will focus on the actual hardware and performance, rather than discussing the broader issues involved in the transition. Apple announced the transition from Power PC processors to Intel last year at the company's Worldwide Developer's Conference, and developers have had since then to prepare their applications and plug-ins for the new systems. The original iMac was a product that marked a turn in Apple's fortunes and designs towards the end of the '90s, so it's in many ways fitting that the iMac in its current form was the first Macintosh computer in Apple's product line to be (re)released with an Intel processor. We take a look at Apple's first Intel-based Mac and see what the future holds for Mac musicians and audio engineers. When is an iMac not an iMac, but still an iMac? When it's a new model featuring an Intel processor.
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