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by Charles Gaba
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Visit Charle Gaba's new System Shootout site for the latest shootouts!
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eMac Combo
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eMac SuperDrive
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iMac 15"
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iMac 17"
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iMac 20"
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Design/Styling:
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White
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"Lamp"-style / White
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Mobility:
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All-in-one design; 50 lbs. total
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All-in-one design;
21 lbs. total |
All-in-one design;
23 lbs. total |
All-in-one design;
40 lbs. total |
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Component Access?
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Quick access to memory & wireless cards
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Cords/Cables:
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4 cables/cords
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5 cables/cords
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Desk Space Used:
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appx. 270 sq. inches total
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appx. 88 sq. inches around
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Noise Volume:
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Nearly silent (ultraquiet fan)
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Energy Use:
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170 Watts total; appx. $30 / year
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130 Watts total;
appx. $24 / year |
160 Watts total;
appx. $28 / year |
190 Watts total;
appx. $32 / year |
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Processor:
Notes |
 1.5 GHz Pentium 4 |
1.25 GHz G4
1.8 GHz Pentium 4 |
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Cache:
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64k L1 cache; 256k L2 cache
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RAM Type:
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SDRAM PC133
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DDR-SDRAM PC2700
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Front Side Bus:
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133 MHz bus
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167 MHz bus
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RAM Amount:
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128 MB (1 DIMM)
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256 MB (1 DIMM)
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Max. RAM:
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1.0 GB (2 slots)
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Hard Drive Capacity:
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40 GB
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80 GB
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Hard Drive Type:
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Ultra ATA/66
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Ultra ATA/100
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Hard Drive Speed:
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5400 RPM
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7200 RPM
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CD-ROM:
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32x CD
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CD-RW:
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32x10x CD-RW
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16x8x CD-RW
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32x10x CD-RW
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16x8x CD-RW
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DVD-ROM:
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8x DVD-ROM
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DVD-RW:
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--
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4x2x DVD-RW
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--
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4x2x DVD-RW
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Mouse:
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USB Optical
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USB Ports:
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3 on CPU side + 2 on keybd = 5 total
3 USB 1.1 available |
3 USB 2.0 on CPU side + 2 USB 1.1 on keybd = 5 total
3 available |
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FireWire Ports:
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2 ports @ 400 Mbps
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Video Card:
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ATI Radeon 7500
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GeForce 4MX
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NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 Ultra
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Video RAM:
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32 MB DDR dedicated
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64 MB DDR dedicated
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VGA Out:
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Yes (integrated display + mirroring via optional adapter; see dual-display below)
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DVI/ADC Out:
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--
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RCA-Out:
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yes, via optional adapter
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S-Video Out:
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yes, via optional adapter
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Dual Display Support?
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Yes (integrated display + mirroring via optional adapter)
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Display:
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integrated 16" viewable flat-panel CRT
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integrated 15" LCD
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integrated 17" widescreen LCD
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integrated 20" widescreen LCD
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Max. Resolution:
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1280x960
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1024x768
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1440x900
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1680x1050
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Audio In:
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Built-in microphone; Line-in
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Audio Out:
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Headphone jack, Line-out jack
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Stereo Speakers:
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Harman Kardon (Integrated)
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Harmon Kardon (globe speakers)
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Ethernet:
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56k Modem:
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Wi-Fi Card?
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802.11g (54 Mbps) via optional internal Airport Extreme card
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Bluetooth Card?
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optional via internal or external card
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Hardware Extras:
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Epson Stylus C84 Printer(free after rebate; ltd. time offer)
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Included OS:
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Mac OS X 10.3 Panther; Mac OS 9.2; BSD Unix; Apache Web Server
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Windows Support:
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DOS/95/98/ME/2000/XP (via Virtual PC)
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Mac Support:
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Mac OS 9 (Classic Environment),
Mac OS X (Native) |
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Linux Support:
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Various flavors (Native)
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Unix Support:
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Various flavors (Native)
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Java 2 Support:
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Native
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Save-as PDF:
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Native (any file)
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Handwriting Recognition:
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Inkwell (system wide)
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Word Processor:
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AppleWorks 6.2 (Word compatible)
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Spreadsheet:
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AppleWorks 6.2 (Excel compatible)
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Presentation:
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AppleWorks 6.2
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Database:
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AppleWorks 6.2
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Drawing/Painting:
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AppleWorks 6.2
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Projects/Planning:
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--
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Web Browser
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Safari 1.2, IE 5.2, Sherlock 3.0
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E-Mail/PIM/Address Book:
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OS X Mail/Address Book; iCal, iSync, iChat AV
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Media Players:
*free download |
QuickTime 6; Media Player 9.0*; RealOne Player 9.0 *; DVD Player
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Financial:
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Quicken 2004 Deluxe
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Reference:
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World Book OS X
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Digital Photography:
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iPhoto 4.0
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Digital Video Editing:
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iMovie 4.0
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CD Burning/Music:
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iTunes 4.2; Disk Burner
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Audio Engineering:
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GarageBand 1.0; Sound Studio
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DVD Burning/Authoring:
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iDVD 4.0; Disk Burner
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Games Included:
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Chess; Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4; Deimos Rising
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Additional Software:
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Asstd. system software
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Free Services:
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1 month Earthlink; 2 month .Mac trial
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Viruses/Security:
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No known viruses effect Mac OS X.
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Firewall:
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Built-in; configurable
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Warranty:
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1 yr. ltd./mail-in; 90 days phone (3-yr. AppleCare extended warranty available for $169)
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Customer Service:
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Subotal:
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$898
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$1,198
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$1,398
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$1,898
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$2,298
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- Rebates if any:
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- $99 printer rebate
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+ Ground Shipping:
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n/c
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Total Price
as configured: (tax not included) |
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$1,099
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$1,299
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$1,799
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$2,199
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The information above is as accurate as I could make it based on a reasonable time studying the respective companies' Web sites. There is no guarantee that these configurations, prices, and features are the best that one could come up with; assorted bundles, free internet access, free extra memory, and so on can most likely be found for any of the above systems. The point of this chart is to demonstrate that Apple's lineup holds its own against any brand-name computer, even in areas in which it has traditionally had resistance. In short, do not base your purchasing decisions solely on this chart or information. Neither I, nor The Mac Observer will be held responsible or liable for any purchase decisions you make based on this presentation. Charles Gaba started the AAPLTalk System Shootouts at AAPLTalk.com, and has brought them to TMO. Charles is the creative talent behind Brainwrap Web Design. AAPLTalk System Shootouts Archives Back to The Mac Observer For More Mac News! |
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