In today’s vast world of desktops perfection can be hard to find…unless you’re looking at the Apple iMac 27-Inch. Touted as the MB952LL/A, this All in One blows away the competition in terms of style, performance, and reliability. Everybody knows that with Macs “you get what you pay for.” Even though a similar PC desktop costs $500 less, Mac users aren’t afraid to shell out cash for a system with upper end components and greater reliability. $1,694 gets you a beautiful 27-inch LED display, a robust 3.06GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 1TB Hard Drive running at 7200 rpm. The ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics card delivers above average multitasking and good 3D gaming performance. Interesting additions with this new iMac are the ultra thin wireless keyboard and multi-touch Magic mouse.

The MB952LL/A is priced at $1,694 at Amazon. You can see this 27-incher iMac in all its glory at Apple’s website.

Review Summaries
The most captivating part of the MB952LL/A is the 27-inch screen. This beauty is LED-driven so it comes to full luminescence immediately and takes up less power. According to Gizmodo it also has an excellent side-to-side view angle – it goes 178 degrees without much change in color accuracy or brightness. Apple has amazingly crammed in 19% more area of LCD than the old 24-incher and 60% more pixels. The 2560×1440 resolution nearly eliminates motion blur making the watching high-def movies very impressive. Computer Shopper points out that on the right side of the screen there’s a SD-card reader and a slot loading optical drive. The only thing missing here is a Blue-Ray drive and HDMI port. The glossy screen does attract some glare in you’re in a very bright environment; maybe someday we can all be free of the frustrations of screen gloss all-together.

PCMAG indicates that, from a performance perspective, the MB952LL/A performs pretty well. It completes the PhotoShop CS4 test in 1:57 running Mac OS X (scores under two minutes are good for a dual-core system). The system also scores pretty fast at 3D and day-to-day tasks: It scored 4,862 points at PCMark Vantage and 10,167 points at 3DMark Vantage. The 3D game tests score a playable 48 frames per second (fps) running Crysis at 1,280-by-1,024 resolution; World in Conflict was smooth at 53fps at the same resolution. Slashgear got a strong overall score of 4650 from Geekbench. Although the system isn’t quiet as fast the newest quad core iMac, the MB952LL/A is perfect for home movie editing, photo processing and iTunes video playback.

Computer Shopper loves the minimalistic Bluetooth wireless keyboard. It’s about three-quarters the size of a traditional keyboard (partly thanks to the elimination of the numeric keypad), it’s almost completely flat except for a rounded area in the back that holds the batteries and causes the keyboard to rise slightly in the rear. Despite its diminutive body, it’s easy to type on.

The new Magic Mouse is a joy to use accord to Gizmodo. The multitouch surface allows for 360 degree scrolling and swiping, almost like the gestures you find on a Macbook trackpad. The Magic Mouse takes a little bit of getting used to. When Computer Shopper started using it, they had a difficult time keeping the mouse in place, particularly when swiping with two fingers. But after you’ve used it for a little while, they think you’ll wonder how you ever dealt with the inconveniences of a traditional mouse.

User Opinions
The MB952LL/A currently has 22 customer reviews with a 4 star rating at Amazon. Users love this iMac’s overall simplicity, the gordgeous 27-inch screen, and how easy it is to use the wireless keyboard and magic mouse. Here’s a couple highlights:

• “For those that never owned an iMac, let me tell you how easy and amazing it is to get started. After you unboxed it, the only cable required is the power cord into an outlet. Hit the power button hidden behind the screen and sit back. Within minutes it finds your wireless router (if you want, you can connect Ethernet direct with the built-in 10/100/1000), the wireless keyboard, and the new magic mouse. Once all this was done (approximately 45 minutes for all my files and programs to move over), I was simply AMAZED! The screen is flawless. The picture is unlike anything I have ever seen before. The use of this Mac for reading mail and the web is simply unmatched. The large screen easily allows two browser windows open at the same time. The clarity of the letters and colors on this super bright LCD screen will simply blow you away. It is a joy to use and work on.”

• “Recently I’ve been doing a lot of graphic and web design work. The need for a large screen was apparently and I had been looking at the older 24″ iMacs until I heard these new 27 inchers were coming. Ordered from Amazon Prime and opted for next day delivery for $[...] (very reasonable cost for a 40 pound box). When it arrived, opened up the as-usual flawless packaging and set it on my newly cleared desk. Wow – that’s a big screen.”

• “A great looking desktop. No more wires connecting your keyboard and mouse to the computer. Very fast internet access. As a novice to movie making and film editing, I was able to make great home movies combining my video, stills, and music. The large 27-inch screen is great for watching Hulu and your own videos and photos. I don’t like the usb2 ports on the rear of the computer so I bought a 4 port usb2 port adapter to allow easier access. No more unintelligible error warnings which occur all of the time on my PC.”

• “In reference to speed, Photoshop and other Film Editing software runs quicker than on my PC and loads in a tenth of the time. Oh, by the way, the computer starts up and is 100% functional in about 10 seconds! iPhoto works like a dream. With facial recognition, it will organize your photos with ease. iMovie gives you the ability to create fun DVD’s of your home movies.”

CNET Video Review

Price Roundup
The MB952LL/A goes for $1,694 at Amazon.

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