Apple iMac G5 Desktop with 20" MA064LL/A (2.1 GHz PowerPC G5, 512 MB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)

by Apple

Product Details

Product Manual [2.52mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 22 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 30.2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000AO3PH6
• Item model number: MA064LL/A
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 12, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

What if you could command an entire world of music, photos, movies and DVDs--all from your sofa? Now you can share the good life with friends and family on a 17- or 20-inch new iMac G5 featuring Front Row software and Apple Remote. Slimmer than ever, the gravity-defying enclosure also houses built-in iSight, SuperDrive, wireless and the easy-to-use software that brings it all together.

Welcome to the Front Row
You've got the best seat in the house. The full-screen Front Row media experience--with its intuitive menus, large text and brilliant graphics--lets you browse the music, photos and videos on your iMac as easily as you browse music on your iPod. And the new Apple Remote lets you do your browsing from anywhere in the room. So gather your friends and dazzle them with a slideshow of your vacation pics, a home movie or a DVD. iMac G5 was born to entertain.

A built-in iSight video camera and Mighty Mouse come included with the iMac.

The iTunes Connection
With iTunes, you're never more than a click away from the world's most popular source of music, audiobooks and podcasts. Now the digital revolution strikes again--you can also purchase your favorite music videos and selected TV shows. Download those episodes of Lost or Desperate Housewives that you missed. Or sync your videos with the new iPod and watch them anywhere.

Video Chatting Made Easy There's an iSight camera built into every new iMac, so you can start a video chat (or join one) at a moment's notice. There's nothing to buy, nothing to attach, no cords to fumble with, no software to install or configure. Simply start up iChat AV, click your buddy's video icon and you're ready to chat with sight and sound--with up to three friends at once. Proper attire suggested.

Say Cheese
The new Photo Booth application (included) turns your iMac into a modern-day arcade photo booth (minus the coin slot). Just pick a special effect like sepia tint, x-ray, bulge or squeeze. And smile. Presto--instant high-quality photo. Once you have the perfect pic, take advantage of Photo Booth's connections to share it via Mail, save it in iPhoto or use it as your Address Book or iChat buddy picture.

Great software is included with the iMac, including Photo Booth.

The Beast Within
Behind its breathtaking 17- or 20-inch widescreen display, iMac G5 displays some monstrous power--with a 1.9GHz or 2.1GHz G5 processor, a sizzling new PCI-Express ATI Radeon X600 Pro or XT graphics processor with 128MB of dedicated video memory and a new high-bandwidth system architecture. These technologies, coupled with Mac OS X Tiger (the world's most advanced operating system), simply make iMac G5 a joy to drive. Whether you're exercising your creativity, surfing the web, playing compute-intensive games or just staying in touch with friends.

It's a Wonderful iLife
iMac G5 has the power--and the brains--to be the center of your digital universe. It comes with iLife '06: a suite of easy-to-use applications that make the spectacular part of your everyday life. Enhance, organize and share your photos via iPhoto. Make an epic starring your kid in iMovie. Turn your photo and movie creations into professional DVDs with iDVD. Create original music in GarageBand, even if you can't carry a tune.

Like any modern computer should, iMac G5 comes ready with software preinstalled to use your digital devices right away. Just plug them in. With a plentiful passel of ports--USB 2.0, FireWire 400, composite and S-video outputs, audio in and out--you can connect just about any device, from cameras and camcorders to hard drives, stereos and the Mighty Mouse included with every iMac G5. With the forward-thinking Scroll Wheel, you can move around your digital life with 360° of freedom. And with built-in Gigabit Ethernet, you're all set for wired networking.

Cut the Cords
Better yet, eliminate the desktop clutter. iMac G5 comes with a pre-installed AirPort Extreme Card, so you can hop onto the Internet wirelessly up to 150 feet from an AirPort Extreme Base Station. Or you can add an AirPort Express with AirTunes to stream music to your stereo and send documents to your printer. iMac G5 also includes an internal Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) for the latest wireless devices, like the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mouse. You can even sync your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone so your numbers are always up to date. Impress your friends, confound your enemies--wireless only looks like magic.

Product Description

Includes: Apple Remote, Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, Front Row, Photo Booth, iLife '05, iChat, AppleWorks, Quicken 2006 for Mac, 2006 World Book, & more. Apple 20" iMac - This iMac computer features a brand new bundle of software and built-in hardware to further enhance your computing experience. The iSight camera is now built into the iMac for quick and easy video chatting. No additional hardware to buy, nothing to attach to the computer, no cables, & no software to install or configure. Just turn on iChat AV, click a buddy's video icon and you're ready to chat - visually! You can also take command of your iMac from the sofa or across the room with the included Apple Remote and Front Row software. Front Row gives you an intuitive graphic interface and large text and graphics that are easy to see. Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive - (write speeds) up to 2.4x Double Layer DVD+R, 8x DVD-R, 8x DVD+R, 4x DVD-RW, 4x DVD+RW, 24x CD-R, & 8x CD-RW Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive - (read speeds) up to 8x DVD-ROM & 24x CD-ROM 20 widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD Native Resolution - 1680 x 1050 Built-in iSight ATI Radeon X600 XT with 128MB DDR SDRAM - PCI-Express Ports - 10/100/1000 Ethernet, 2 FireWire 400, 3 USB 2.0, 2 USB 1.1 (on keyboard), 1 VGA, 1 S-Video, 1 Composite Video, 1 Headphone/Optical Digital Audio Out, & 1 Audio Line In Built-in Stereo Speakers Built-in Microphone Built-in 802.11g AirPort Extreme Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) Module Unit Weight - 22 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I would pick in a mainstream PC, November 17, 2005

By 

Jonathan Fingas (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apple iMac G5 Desktop with 20" MA064LL/A (2.1 GHz PowerPC G5, 512 MB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive) (Personal Computers)

Time for an authentic and (hopefully) in-depth review for you folks, as opposed to the scripted one by Stephen Hall. No offense, but since his reviews mysteriously appear for just about every Apple computer, I get the sense that they're less than genuine.

As for my own review: I really think this machine is perfect as a general-use PC. A lot of people buy on specs or price alone, but the iMac is proof that there's a better way: buy a system you know you will do what you want and which you'll enjoy having on your desk.

This is the definition of an unintrusive computer: it's extremely quiet when you're using it casually, and even when you stress the system hard (by playing a game or a high-definition video) you'll be hard-pressed to hear the fans. As an entire computer with a 20" screen, it takes up very little space, too. The built-in 802.11 wireless means one less cable running across the room. Why buy a Windows PC that sounds good on the box but will be an inconvenience in practice?

Performance-wise, I'm happy with it. System responsiveness is good even with multiple programs open - something that isn't always the case with Windows. As I mentioned earlier, it can handle high-def video and moderate gaming pretty well. 720p video plays at its full frame rate. Games like Unreal Tournament 2004 and Warcraft 3 will play well at high detail, using moderate resolutions (1024x768 for the former game, 1280x800 for the latter). It's not an ultimate performance machine, but it's very well-balanced.

Front Row isn't perfect, but definitely helps the iMac as a dorm room or kitchen counter PC. The interface is smooth, simple, and easy to read from across the room. I could quite easily see someone relying on their iMac for a house party's jukebox. Streaming Internet trailers directly through the interface is also very convenient. The only catch is that Front Row is a front-end for iTunes/iPhoto/Quicktime, not a player in itself: if you want to get back to your media quickly, you have to leave iTunes and iPhoto open after you exit Front Row. This isn't much of a problem if Front Row is a primary reason to buy the system.

There are only a couple of minor complaints with the system itself. First is that the expansion ports are on the back, so you have to reach around or pivot the system if you're plugging in your DV camera or iPod, for example. This is easy to do - and you can always leave the cables attached to the computer - but I'd recommend getting accessories to make it easier, if your devices don't already include them. A USB card reader or iPod dock will make your life a bit easier.

The other issue is that the built-in speakers are merely adequate. This is forgivable, as there's not enough room in there for a subwoofer, but it's something to factor into your purchase I would make a speaker upgrade (such as to the JBL Creature IIs or Klipsch Promedia 2.1s) a priority if you don't already have decent speakers.

All in all: this is probably one of Apple's best machines in a long while. It does many things well, including a number of things that average Windows PC manufacturers simply neglect. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because it doesn't do everything perfectly, and I wouldn't expect it to for the price!

48 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Computer I've Ever Owned!, November 2, 2005

By 

Craig Atkinson (Meridian, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apple iMac G5 Desktop with 20" MA064LL/A (2.1 GHz PowerPC G5, 512 MB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive) (Personal Computers)

I have been a PC man for a long time. We bought a used iMac G4 for a good deal and fell in love with it. We broke down and went and bought the brand new iMac G5 20" with the 2.1 GHz processor. All I can say is this computer is AWESOME! I've owned a lot of computers, but none of this quality. I've searched the internet for reviews on Macs and Apple gets a bad name I've noticed, but I can't imagine why. I can sum it up in this way...I'm impressed. I just today ordered the Apple Powerbook and am anxiously awaiting.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Capable machine, January 4, 2006

By 

billythec "bc nj" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Apple iMac G5 Desktop with 20" MA064LL/A (2.1 GHz PowerPC G5, 512 MB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive) (Personal Computers)

This computer (and it's 17" sister) are well-made, easy-to-use machines. Moving stuff from my Dell was very easy and most of the features and software work very well and are pretty intuitive. My kids love the Picture Booth software that comes with the iSight version, it's a lot of fun, and again simple. It takes a slightly different mindset to use this computer effectively, you don't have to know where things are (spotlight fixes that) and you can run tons of programs at the same time (something Windows users are usually careful of). My printers work fine, the help files are decent, and the iLife package is pretty decent. In 5 seconds you can have a basic slideshow of your pictures, set to music, that you can burn to DVD to make your mother cry.

Overall, the few weeks I've had with it have been very pleasureable, and i love having no "stuff" on or under my desk anymore.