2013 New imac evaluation

As expected, Apple has made minor updates to its products this year. In addition to IPHONE,MAC products, the latest Intel Haswell processor is available. Unlike the MacBook Air, the imac product gained a new design a year ago, so the 2013 version still looks tempting.

The 2013 version of the imac still has 21.5-inch and 27-inch two styles, continues its ultra-thin design, upgrades the Haswell processor and Nvidia graphics, and has built-in faster 802.11 ac WiFi and PCIe SSD solid-state drives. Price, still for 1299 U.S. dollars (7949 yuan) and 1799 U.S. dollars (11009 yuan), the current domestic licensed not shelves, but the reference to China's Apple online store 2012 of the imac has all shown out of stock information, I believe that the 2013 version will soon shelves. So below, let's take a look at how it feels to use the 2013 version of the imac.

Look and feel

The whole design of the Apple imac can be said to be the most exquisite product in one machine at present. Last year, the imac got a whole new design, reducing the previous heavy screen fuselage to 5 mm, with a lighter frame. Unlike the MacBook Air, the imac does not use a whole block of aluminum as a shell, but two pieces, but you can hardly see the weld marks on the product, so you have to admire Apple's industrial design capabilities. All in all, this is a beautiful, exquisite machine, full of Apple's style.

interface, you can find headphones, SDXC Reader, four USB 3.0, two Thunderbolt interface and one Ethernet interface behind the fuselage, very comprehensive. In addition, the sales package is still included in the wireless keyboard, you can also choose Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad, if two are required, you will need to pay an additional fee. It is recommended here to choose the latter, to achieve a better sense of gesture operation, and the design is too weird magic Mouse, basically can not be used for a long time.

Some users will often ask us which size of the imac is better to buy, but it all depends on where you are using it. If you are in a cramped office environment, choose 21.5 inches, or 27 inches if you have plenty of room in your home.

Display and sound

The imac screen resolution is divided into two types, 21.5 inches 1080P Full HD, while the 27-inch version has a higher 2560*1440 resolution. In addition, Apple added a low glare coating last year and ensured the accuracy of the screen color. And in the actual use, you will find that the screen brightness when the basic can not see the reflection phenomenon, the visual angle is also very good, of course, if the background light is too bright will still appear reflective phenomenon, after all, this is not a matte surface screen.

Outside the fuselage, you can't see the imac's speakers, which are hidden in the bottom border. Although inconspicuous, but the sound effect is very loud, and has a certain bass effect, the treble part of the distortion is very small. All in all, the imac's built-in speakers are a perfect fit for everyday music, movies and games.

Performance

Last year, Apple used a hybrid hard disk system for the first time on the imac, unlike other Windows computers, which used 32GB or fewer solid-state hard drives, which used 128GB solid-state drives, not only to boost the system's start-up speed, but also to fully install the system on the hard drive. This year, Apple lifted the imac's mechanical hard drive rate to 7200 rpm (entry-level 21.5 in 5400) and used a solid-state hard drive with the PCI Express interface, so as shown in the following image, the speed of reading and writing has been greatly improved.

Solid state hard disk read and write speed list

As for performance, Haswell does not seem to have much performance difference with the third Daicouri processor. Through the hardware test software, we found that 2013 of the 27-inch imac's running scores lag behind 2012, which is a little regrettable. But in fact, it is said that the model's start-up time only need about 13 seconds, last year's model is 16 seconds, so running scores is only a reference.

Hardware Performance Comparison

If you're disappointed with the lack of processor performance, the 2013 imac's graphics performance is significantly higher than it did last year. The built-in NVIDIA GeForce 775 GTX graphics card has 2GB of video memory, and you can choose a higher-end 780 GTX. In 2560 *1440 resolution, open 4X anti-aliasing operation "Batman: Forrest Gump City", the average frame rate reached 60fps, is a normal play figure. If you reduce the resolution to 1600*900 pixels, you can more smoothly run the "Biochemical Surprise: Unlimited" and "No 2" and other large 3D games, the details of the screen is also better.

Software and warranty

At present, the 2013 version of the imac still carries the OS X mountain lion System, and the new version of Mavericks will soon be launched, 2013 version of the imac users should be able to get free upgrades. The new Mavericks system adds more iOS features, such as ibooks, maps, and optimized performance, with the imac's hardware, which will achieve better results.

As for the warranty, Apple offers one-year maintenance and 90-day free phone support, and you can extend the warranty to three years by buying AppleCare services.

Configuration options

The 21.5-inch new imac can choose from 2.7 to 2.9GHz Core i5 processors, as well as 3.1GHz Core i7, memory selection between 8GB to 16GB, Intel Iris Pro, hard drive selection for 1TB 5400 mechanical hard drive, or 256GB /512GB SSD and 1TB-capacity hybrid hard drive. In addition, the screen resolution is 1920*1080 pixel regardless of configuration.

The 27-inch configuration is more high-end with a screen resolution of 2560 *1440 pixels, the processor-selectable model is 3.2ghz/3.4ghz's core i5 or 3.5GHz's Core i7, memory supports Max 32GB, and the graphics card is nvidia GeForce 775M or 780M, A hybrid hard drive can support up to 3TB of capacity or maximum 1TB SSD, with a maximum price of nearly 4000 dollars (about 24479 RMB).

Competitive product analysis

In one machine area, Dell XPS 27 is a good alternative to the imac, with a Windows 8 system, an IPS touchscreen with a built-in 27-inch 2560*1440 resolution, and a built-in CD-ROM with a Haswell Core i5 processor, 8GB memory and 1TB of 7200 rpm, the price is relatively cheaper, for 1600 U.S. dollars (about 9791 yuan). If you don't get a cold on an Apple or Mac, consider the machine. In addition, Asus also recently released the ET2702 All-in-one, with similar configuration, the price is the same as the XPS 27.

Summarize

The 2013 imac still has some features that make us heartbeat, such as ultra-thin and exquisite design, super clear resolution screen and more powerful hardware configuration, in which the hybrid hard disk is one of the bright spots, effectively improving the system's read and write speed, this is the 2013 version of the most important performance improvement part. If you are interested in buying an all-in-one machine, the imac is still the best choice, and its rich customization will also help you get the best use experience.