Apple iMac Core 2 Duo (24-inch, 2.16GHz)

The good: Giant LCD makes the iMac a home-video champ; updated specs stay competitive with the rest of the desktop PC field; expanded upgrade options available at the time of purchase.

The bad: Configurator upgrades are expensive; limited aftermarket upgradability means you won't be able to add a Blu-Ray or HD DVD drive down the road; no media card reader.

The bottom line: Other vendors might offer more flexible configurations and better deals on components, and the specter of HD video looms darkly, but the 24-inch iMac's sprawling display and convincingly capable features should set most people's minds at ease. We highly recommend this new iMac as a PC that doubles as a secondary home-entertainment system.

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Description: The Apple iMAC Core 2 Duo (24-inch, 2.16GHz) is a Core 2 Duo-based, performance personal computer. Compared to other high-end desktops on the market, it is very inexpensive at around $1,595. This unit also comes with a 24-inch LCD display supporting 1920 x 1200 resolution. This system comes with 1 GB RAM, and a 250GB hard drive.

Pros: Has a 24-inch screen. Also, this desktop has a DVD? RW(+ R DL) disc drive. The rather big 250GB hard disk installed on this machine will give you oodles of room for storing thousands of applications and files. The Core 2 Duo based CPU installed on this machine is fast enough to handle demanding applications, such as graphics and multimedia. The all-in-one design of this unit makes it more space efficient and helps to reduce cable clutter.

Cons: None noted, given available product data.

Suitability: Suited for those who need a powerful computer for multimedia or power-hungry applications. Preserve favorite home movies for future generations by saving them onto DVD with this computer's DVD recorder. Make sharing images with friends on dial-up modems easier: put them on a disc with the CD burner in this desktop. The all-in-one design of this unit makes it more space efficient -- great for tiny studio apartments.

Value: In general, this desktop's features seem a bit weak, even for its very inexpensive price. However, this desktop combines hearty processing power with plenty of storage. Note that the purchase price includes a monitor.

Suggestions: (1) Using this PC's Firewire (1394) port, you can connect to many digital camcorders and other equipment and rapidly upload data to the computer's hard drive. (2) If you plan to be playing the latest 3-D games, you may want to invest in a more powerful video card from NVidia or ATI, which are popular with the gaming community (requires an open AGP or PCIe slot). (3) For help in deciding if this is the right desktop for you, see CNET's buying guide for desktops .