New Apple iMac 27 inch All-In-One Desktop PC (Intel Core i5 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor, 2X2GB RAM, 1TB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB graphics) (Launched May 2011)

Brand Apple | Model: MC813B/A

List Price ~~£1,399.00~~Price
£1,300.40You save
GBP 98.60 (7.05%)

New Apple iMac 27 inch All-In-One Desktop PC (Intel Core i5 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor, 2X2GB RAM, 1TB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB graphics) (Launched May 2011)

Feature

APPLE iMac MC813F/A - NEW (Desktop computers, Apple Mac desktop computers)
Apple's iMac isone of a kind it's an all-in-one computer that's as powerful as it isstunning. At first glance, you'll notice the MC813F/A'sbig, beautiful 27"display. Everything looks fantastic on this incredible, HD-quality(1920 x 1080 pixels) screen, which includes LED backlighting to ensureyou get the bestpicture possible. This 16:9-format widescreen also boasts in-planeswitchingtechnology (IPS) to look great from almost any angle. So whether you'resittingin front of the monitor or standi
ng off to the side, you'll always haveaperfect picture with superb colour reproduction and no loss of detail.Nothingwill be able to get between you and what's on screen! This iMac has an ultra-slim keyboard with an aluminium finishthat's also Bluetooth-enabled to eliminate desktop clutter. Plus, it's suppliedwith Apple's Magic Mouse, which is designed to do all the things a mouse shoulddo - pointing, clicking and scrolling - but with no scroll wheel, no trackballand no visible button. Just cl
ck, scroll or swipe anywhere on its smoothsurface, and Multi-Touch technology will detect what you want to do. It's thesmartest mouse ever made by Apple! The Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system takes advantage of the MC813F/A'sadvanced dual-core 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 processor to offer fasterperformances for managing photos, editing HD video, playing graphics-intensivevideo games and using heavy-weight office applications. And the ATI Radeon HD 6770M graphics card on the iMac MC813F m

Product Overview

Apple iMac 27 Core i5 27GHz with 6MB onchip shared L3 cache 27 viewable LEDbacklit glossy widescreen TFT display with support for millions of colours 2560x1440 Mac OS X Lion Radeon HD 6770M graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR5 memory 4 GB 2x2 G MC

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful

Beautifully crafted, but an imperfect 5 stars, 11 Mar 2012

boydonewell "boydonewell" (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Apple iMac 27 inch All-In-One Desktop PC (Intel Core i5 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor, 2X2GB RAM, 1TB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB graphics) (Launched May 2011) (Personal Computers)

I really like this product for a number of key reasons, despite the fact that it is imperfect. However, in order to give yourself credibility when you write a review of an Apple product, you always have to accommodate 2 distinct groups, besides the 'normal' audience. There are always Apple fans, who love Apple products, and the Apple-haters who won't!

To make this review clear, I am not a natural Apple fan. I don't like being locked in to iTunes, I think Apple products come at a premium price, and I think you have to see through some of the hype to really understand what you're getting for your money. However, I still give this 5 stars because the good points outweigh the few problems.

I'm sorry for the lengthy review, but it's an expensive piece of kit, so I felt the need to explain everything!

Price
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This initially seems quite expensive relative to suitable alternatives like a Windows-based all-in-one PC. At the time of writing, the Apple is about £1400 at an Apple store, and a bit cheaper on Amazon and some other suppliers.
However, when you check the specification, the price is actually not as high as it seems for a premium machine, and a similar-specification windows PC would not be so different.

Hardware
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The screen - 27" of perfect, crystal clear, 2560 by 1440 resolution. Fantastic colours, great if you're a photographer, manage media, etc. This has to be the main reason anyone would buy this particular Mac. This is one reason that a standard desktop PC would cost nearly as much as this Apple - check some prices for hi-spec screens like this and you'll see what I mean.
** DO NOT ** buy the 21.5" (1920*1080) screen to save yourself £150 (for the same 2.7Gb model). Bear in mind that this has to be one of the key reasons that you would buy an iMac and you get about 55% of the resolution.

The physical size, shape and design of the machine is really nice. Clearly a big factor in your decision, and to be honest, the reason a lot of people really like Apple products, especially if you don't have a study or somewhere to keep an ugly PC tower out of the way.

The 2.7G, 4Gb memory specification is fast enough for my purposes. I don't play games, but I do manage a lot of media. I am tempted to upgrade the memory of the machine, but recommend you do NOT buy the memory upgrade from Apple. £160 for an extra 4Gb of memory (8 total) or £480 for 16Gb total? Outrageous, when you can buy it with 4Gb and install an extra 8Gb yourself for £35 (i.e. total 12Gb) or install 16Gb yourself for £70. Do your research, buy it separately through Amazon. It is a user-serviceable component and there are installation videos on youtube if you need.

Also, the 3.1G processor upgrade is a very expensive £250 extra. Think very carefully if you need this. On this version of OS (Lion, at the time of writing), the Mac is fast enough. Save the money and put it towards your full upgrade in 3 or 4 years. Just make sure that any future OS upgrade you make to your iMac (when Apple release them) does not have an adverse effect on performance before buying.

Bluetooth as standard, Gigabit LAN, 1TB disk, USB, Firewire, DVD burner, SD card slot, reasonable built-in speakers. Nearly everything you need.

2 complaints about hardware
* No bluRay recorder. Apple refuse/reject bluRay because of licensing and DRM issues over bluRay playback. However, I don't see why they couldn't install a bluRay recorder because of the large files you expect to manage and back up on a media-machine. I bought a separate external bluRay recorder (reviewed separately)
* The built-in speakers are not good enough for proper hifi audio, but anyone who has a flat-screen TV will testify that they're usually poor becuase you can't fit in decent-sized units. Be prepared to plug the iMac into a stereo if you care about audio, and if you use iTunes, you probably will

Software
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The software is not perfect. My biggest complaint about this machine because this is the feature most over-sold by Apple.
* It is mostly easy to use, has whizzy graphics and general (over the top) Apple approach to everything. You might like this because it makes for a really nice, smooth experience, but presumably does come at a cost to performance. It's considered user-friendly, so probably good for those who are less technical PC users, but you will still find yourself googling solutions to certain problems.
* It also includes most of the software you'll need for basic media editing, with some photo and video editing as standard. However, it is basic and you will probably end up upgrading if you have any specific needs, especially in relation to media. I own Photoshop, so don't use the Apple products to edit, though I do like iPhoto to view

But, there are some bugs.
*... Read more

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful

Imac 27 inch 2011 Review, 27 May 2011

Eljay_87 - See all my reviews

I have owned this machine for a week now and when i bought it it came with Windows Office 2011 for mac which was useful to me as i was told its 100% compatible with windows office 2007 which is part of my college course. i own an iphone 4 and bought and ipad 2 which i absolutely treasure, it all started with me buying an ipod touch and has progressed from there.
Since owning mostly apple products i decided that i would opt for a mac and chose this model and so far i have been extremely impressed with the speed, most notable boot up and shut down times...mere seconds! for an ex windows user i was shocked.

Also the new Intel Sandy Bridge i5 processor is a leap from the i3 and the i3 is still amazing. The resolution is astounding when watching video and looking at photos, 2560 x 1440 i think, and that is HD x 2 so you get crisp images and games look sharper. I know alot of PC people dismiss the mac when it comes to gaming but i have a few games that are pc/mac compatible and they run fast and with no problems. This is my first Mac and i have alot to learn but i think Mac OS X is amazing and super fast from what i've seen from windows 7

If you are thinking about buying this. It is expensive but you get what u pay for.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

The ultimate Mac - surprisingly powerful and the extra few inches worth every penny!, 21 Feb 2012

Rob Nutter (Worcester, England) - See all my reviews

Don't be fooled into thinking the iMac is the cheap brother of the Mac pro and is thus worse. In many ways, in terms of both hardware and manufacture, the iMac trumps the Pro (which has not been updated in several years while the iMac has been) The pro is good if you wish to upgrade etc, but if you want raw power and versatile use in a single package, this is the machine for you. I use both Pro's and 24inch iMacs and can hand on heart say neither run anywhere near as smoothly- again, the Pro is more for those who wish to expand/want maximum compatibilty. This beast handles both Windows 7 and OSX incredibly with it's seemingly weak (on paper) i5 chip. I can run Chrysis 2 with almost full res and every single Adobe Master Collection application simultaniously with barely any performance lag. Yes, mine is upgraded to 12 gig of ram but even with the basic 4 gig you can get almost the same results and upgrading is a piece of cake (33 quid off amazon for 8gig!)

This or the 21.5inch? Psh! Easy! The Apple Cinema Screen of 30 inches is almost a grand retail. You get almost that for just 200 or so pounds more than the 21 inch. The 27 also has a better cooling system meaning the overall lifespan of the mac is improved; thus making it a better long term investment.

So i implore you. If you have a grand or so to spare and are not sure of the iMac, wonder no more. Gamer or Professional, this is the system for you.

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