27 inch iMac review

The new iMac was eagerly anticipated throughout the year of 2012, I was anticipating for what felt like several years. I am an avid Apple fan, I love the majority of things that they create, and the iMac is no different. I was an owner of  a MacBook Pro before I made this purchase, I had it for two years and I felt like I needed a change.

When I purchased my MacBook way back in February 2011, I was absolutely elated with the design, and the all round quality of the product. Back then I was not as aware of computer specifications as I am now. It only had a 250GB HDD and an Intel core 2 duo running at 2.4GHz, which for back then wasn't to bad, but then 3 weeks later Apple released an upgraded model with an Intel core i5 running at 2.5GHz with the possibly of it being turbo boosted to 3.1GHz, 500GB HDD, and Intel 4000 HD graphics. I was extremely disappointed when I found this out, and truthfully wish that I had waited the extra 3 weeks or so, but unfortunately I was unaware at the time. 

In 2012 there were rumours floating around that there was going to be a re-design of the already popular iMac and it was announced in September (along with the iPad Mini) that both the 21.5 and the 27 inch iMac would undergo a huge makeover. 

The new iMac's were announced to everybody's excitement and I think that it is safe to say that nobody was disappointed with the outcome. The new iMac's are a mere 5 mm thin with a curve at the rear of the iMac so that all of the components can fit snugly in the back. I believe that this all-in-one powerhouse is without a doubt one of the (if not THE) best non-customisable computers on the market. 

Apple have altered the screen so that it is closer to the user and it feels as if the images produced are on top of you. They have also altered the screens reflectiveness, making it 70% less reflective than the previous iMac. After using it for a month both of these adjustments come in extremely handy, especially the reflectiveness when the sun is shining into my room, it is a very nice feature indeed. One of the coolest features if the 27 inch iMac is the little button within the power socket, which you press and then the RAM slot's become available for replacement. They have also included 4 USB 3.0 ports which are fantastic if you have an external HDD with USB 3.0 capabilities.  

The performance of this machine is absolutely fantastic, and received a score of 9879 on Geekbench (a piece of software used to measure performance). I purchased the top of the range £1699 model, because I wanted to use it for some casual gaming so I believed it was better to be safe and get Nvidia's GTX 675MX 1GB graphics card, which is their newest graphics chip. It is designed for laptops and is used within the new iMac due to the all new 'fitter' design. 

Specification:

All-In-One

YES

Bluetooth Information

YES

Brand

Apple

Built-in ethernet connection Information

10/100/1000

Built-in Webcam

YES

CD/DVD/Blu-ray DriveInformation

NO

Computer Software Helpline Information

Free 90 day computer support

Dimensions

H51.6 x W65.0 x D20.3cm

Eligible for International Delivery

NO

Entertainment

YES

Gaming

NO

Graphics card Information

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX

Graphics card - video RAM Information

1GB

Hard drive Information

1TB

High Performance

YES

Included

Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse

Memory card slot Information

SD, SDXC

Model name / number

MD096B/A

Monitor Information

27 inch widescreen LED-backlit display

Operating system Information

Mac OS X Mountain Lion

Processor Information

Intel Core i5 3rd generation

Processor speed Information

3.2GHz up to 3.6GHz with Turbo Boost

Processor Type

Intel Core i5

RAM

8GB

Screen Resolution Information

2560 x 1440

Slimline

NO

Stereo Speakers Type

Built-in

Thunderbolt Ports

2

Touch Screen

NO

Tower

NO

TV tuner card Information

NO

USB ports Information

4x USB 3.0

Weight

9.5kg

Wireless networking

802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking;2 IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible

(From the John Lewis Website 'Click Here')

Overall the new iMac is wonderful piece of kit, for many people the 'Apple' name is just for exclusivity and I can understand why with the hefty price tag that comes with the 27 inch model. But if you seriously look at the other all in one competitors, Apple is without a doubt the best option to go for. The reasons are the build quality, the aesthetics, the performance, the reliability, and if anything does go wrong, the service you will receive from Apple. The fact that there is not a CD drive may put some people off, but you really need to ask yourself 'How many times do I use the CD drive on my computer?' Eventually CD's will become redundant and Apple are aware of this and they are ahead of every other competitor, so they have not included a CD drive on the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and the new iMac.

I have absolutely no complaints with the new iMac, any game that I play, I can play to ultra settings (Day-Z, Left 4 Dead 2, Counter Strike GO, Team Fortress 2) and rendering videos is extremely quick. I have no regrets paying the price that I did and would not change my decision to purchase one any day of the week. Even when I play games on ultra settings the fan barely makes a sound, which is a fantastic for someone who likes their silence. I would give the iMac a 10/10, I've had it for a month and I fell in love with it from day one. It does everything I ask it to and more, at first I thought it may be a risky purchase, but I could not have been more wrong. Obviously those reading may disagree with my opinion, so if you do, feel free to comment below voicing your own opinion.

Thanks for reading, as always it is much appreciated!