21.5-inch iMac Review: Review of the 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo iMac

The 21.5-inch iMac in this review uses the Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 3.06 GHz. This is the same configuration as the 27-inch 3.06 GHz model we reviewed earlier. Because these two models use the same major components we didn't expect to see much, if any, difference in overall performance.

As expected, this iMac proved to be no slouch in day-to-day use. We put it through its paces by running Geekbench and CINEBENCH benchmarks, which together gave us a rough idea of overall performance.

Geekbench

• Overall: 4709
• Integer: 4295
• Floating Point: 6691
• Memory: 3208
• Stream: 2226

CINEBENCH

• CPU Single Core: 3504
• CPU Both Cores: 6529
• Multiprocessor Speedup: 1.86
• Shading (OpenGL): 6919

Benchmarks, no matter how well designed, aren't the same as using your favorite applications, so we ran Parallels 5 and Fusion 3 desktop virtualization systems to see how responsive Windows 7 was. We also performed a few video edits with iMovie, and used both iPhoto and Photoshop to perform image edits. And of course we had to have iTunes running in the background the whole time.

Without a hiccup, the iMac kept up to pace. While the raw performance numbers would seem to indicate that graphics professionals who need tip-top performance would be better served by a Mac Pro, amateur, hobbyist, and home users may find that performance is more than they need for most applications.

The 21.5-inch iMac ships with Apple's wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse. When you order your iMac, you can select wired versions of the keyboard, or the older Mighty Mouse, if you prefer. But we chose to go with the standard issue keyboard and Magic Mouse.

I've already looked at the Magic Mouse in a separate review; the wireless Apple keyboard was new for us. Keyboards are very subjective. Let me start by saying I don't like wireless keyboards in general, and the one that came with the iMac didn't change my mind. I liked neither the feel nor the spacing of the keys, which are a bit tight for my big fingers. (My wife, who has a love for laptops I don't share, didn't mind the keyboard, although she opted to keep her current one.) My other dislike was the power on/off button. The button gives no indication of its state; you can't tell whether it's on or off by looking at it. Needless to say, the Apple wireless keyboard has taken up residence in a drawer. Many Mac users love this keyboard, though, so to each his/her own.

Peripherals

The iMac has four USB 2.0 ports and a single FireWire 800 port. It also has a Mini DisplayPort that can be used to drive an external display, including your giant HDTV (adapters sold separately).

Like all iMacs, the newest model only supports memory expansion. With four easy access memory slots, this iMac supports up to 16 GB of RAM, using four 4 GB memory modules. The default memory configuration is 4 GB, using two 2 GB modules. This leaves two open memory slots, making expansion to 8 GB a simple matter of adding two 4 GB memory modules. If you want to move beyond 8 GB, you'll need to discard the original modules.

Hard Drive

Like the 27-inch version, the 21.5-inch iMac has a hard drive that can't be easily accessed and swapped out. This has always been one of my pet peeves about iMacs. If Apple can make the hard drive a user accessible part in a MacBook Pro, why can't it do the same with iMacs?

This flaw limits drive expansion to external devices. For this purpose, Apple provides a single FireWire 800 port and a USB 2.0 port. If you're going to add an external drive, by all means use the FireWire 800 port, which is significantly faster than USB 2.0.

An eSATA port, with its ability to connect an external hard drive at or near the native speed of the drive itself, would have been a welcome addition. Perhaps we will see eSATA in the next iteration of the iMac.

SD Card Slot

The SD card slot works directly with SD and SDHC memory cards. It can also accept MiniSD, MicroSD, MiniSDHC, and MicroSDHC cards, provided the physical adapter conforms to the width and thickness of a standard SD card. The slot supports speeds of up to 240 Mbits/s, and can be used as a bootable device.

When configured with the ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics card, the 21.5-inch iMac is only $200 less than a similarly equipped 27-inch iMac. The two models deliver the same performance, but if you spend the extra $200, you'll get a big, beautiful display and the ability to use the display as an external monitor.

The 21.5-inch iMac performed well in our bench tests, and has proven to be exceptionally enjoyable and competent in day-to-day use. It is more than able to perform well at every task we throw at it. That being said, if you're a heavy multimedia content creator or graphic designer, you may wish to look at the i5 or i7 versions of the 27-inch iMac. Both versions provide two additional processor cores, for a total of four cores, and a significant performance boost for any applications that can take advantage of multiple cores.

While we like the 21.5-inch iMac, and will happily recommend it to anyone who cares to listen, we do have a few criticisms. We don't like the stock Apple keyboard, and we wish that the internal hard drive were a user-accessible part. We would also like to have an eSATA port, something Apple has yet to provide on any of its current Macintosh systems. Finally, we were a bit surprised at the lack of a Blu-ray option, and less than pleased to discover that the CD/DVD has a top speed of only 8X.

Even with these few negatives, we find this iMac to be a good value, although we admit to a bias for the 27-inch version. If your budget (and your computer workspace) can stand it, we highly recommend springing for the larger model.