Apple iMac (20-inch, 2.4GHz, 1GB RAM)

The good: Along with its best-in-class design and solid-feeling, thin keyboard, the new Apple iMac desktop offers more performance and features than many Windows-based PCs; robust iLife '08 digital media suite.

The bad: No word on means of upgrading to Apple's new Leopard OS when it's released; anemic phone support.

The bottom line: With its super-elegant new design and a strong configuration, Apple's new iMac competes with the PC desktop market better than perhaps any previous Mac to date. Unless you're a gamer or an upgrade enthusiast, we can think of very few reasons not to make an iMac your next desktop.

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Description: The Apple iMAC (20-inch, 2.4GHz, 1GB RAM) is a Core 2 Duo-based, general-purpose computer. Compared to other consumer level desktop computers on the market, it is expensive at around $1,495. This PC also comes with a 20-inch flat panel display that supports 1680 x 1050 resolution. This desktop comes with 1 GB RAM, and a 320GB hard disk.

Pros: Has an ATI Radeon HD 2600PRO graphics chip, which is somewhat better performing than some similarly priced desktop computers. Also, this desktop computer has a DVD? RW(? R DL) disc drive. Also, the 320GB drive installed on this machine is quite big enough to store thousands of applications and files. However, the Core 2 Duo based processor installed on this machine is fast enough to handle demanding applications, such as digital video. The all-in-one design of this unit is good feng shui.

Cons: None noted, given available product data.

Suitability: A general-purpose desktop computer, suited for basic computing, plus digital photo sorting, audio appreciation, and entertainment applications. You can archive your digital videos using this computer's DVD burner. Make sharing pictures through the mail easier: put them on a disc with the CD recorder in this desktop. The all-in-one design of this unit makes it more space efficient -- great for crowded dorm rooms.

Value: In general, this desktop computer's features are as expected for this price. This PC combines beefy processing power with plenty of storage. If you were to judge strictly by CPU speed, however, the price of a general-purpose PCs with comparable speed is about 30% lower. Also, note that the purchase price also includes a 20-inch flat panel display. ( Click here to see current prices and the latest reviews.)

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 .