Apple's embracing of Intel's processors is no more strongly evident than with their new line of Intel Core 2 Duo iMacs. With prices ranging from under a grand to right around two grand, these desktop computers for home users offer excellent Intel power in the sleek and Spartan Apple style.

We took a look at the $1,199 17-inch Apple iMac Core 2 Duo system, but Apple has systems in the line that also offer 20-inch and extra-large 24-inch widescreen displays. But the 17-inch flat panel is large enough for the average user and the price is more competitive with Windows home desktop computers. The sub-$1,000 iMac cuts a few too many corners for our preferences, but we'll get to that in a moment.

The all-in-one design that this series of systems sports means that the iMacs are not much larger than the LCD itself. And while other vendors will often pack quite a bit of hardware behind the screen, Apple manages to keep these iMac home desktop computers very svelte.

The screen itself is pleasing to look at, offering sharp images and wide viewing angles so you can place it pretty much anywhere on your desktop. Even with the thin design, Apple includes a good range of components inside these home desktop computers.

There's obviously that Core 2 Duo processor, running at 2.0GHz in this model. The CPU provides twin processing cores on a single chip, making it well suited for multitasking and other intensive tasks such as graphics and video editing. You also get 1GB of speedy 667MHz DDR2 memory, a healthy amount of RAM that will help out nicely with those high-end tasks. And these home desktop computers support up to 3GB of RAM, so you can increase the memory later if you need to.

Storage space starts out at a respectable 160GB in a 7,200rpm hard drive, giving you a good amount of room for housing multimedia files and installing applications. The $1,199 price is also the starting point for including Apple's SuperDrive, a slot-loading DVD writer that lets you burn to traditional DVDs as well as high-capacity Double Layer media (which holds up to 8.5GB on a single disk).

Unlike a lot of all-in-ones, Apple even manages to include a dedicated video card inside these home desktop computers. ATI's Radeon X1600 with its 128MB of dedicated video memory makes these systems capable of handling 3D gaming - and the video card helps out with graphics design applications as well.

In addition to the Apple Keyboard and the Mighty Mouse, you get the Apple Remote, which lets you control your multimedia files from across the room. It's handy for watching DVD movies or switching tunes.

And while the sub-$1,000 price point of the baseline iMac may be attractive, we want to note that it comes without the SuperDrive (it has a CD-RW drive), the Apple Remote, the dedicated video card, and ships with a slower processor and half the memory. The $200 upgrade to the 2.0GHz iMac is definitely well worth it.

All of the new iMacs feature a built-in iSight camera, microphone, and stereo speakers so you can use these home desktop computers for video chatting without having to add any accessories. And there's also Apple's WiFi - AirPort Extreme - built into the systems so you can place them anywhere in your home and connect them to the Internet via a wireless network. There's no modem, but these home desktop computers have Gigabit Ethernet for connecting to a broadband modem or traditional network.

Peripheral connectivity options are also impressive on these desktop computers for home users. There are three USB 2.0 ports and two Firewire ports for hooking up high-speed devices to your iMac. And all of the iMacs apart from the sub-$1,000 model feature Bluetooth, so you can connect peripherals without wires as well as synch up with your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone or PDA through the air.

Apple's multimedia software bundle is impressive compared to what you get on the PC side of things from most vendors. Their iLife '06 suite of applications includes programs for photo editing, video editing, and even song writing. If you want office applications, however, you'll have to pay extra.

These new iMacs come with a one-year warranty, but you can extend to three years for a reasonable $169 via the AppleCare Protection Plan if you need more coverage.

The new iMac Core 2 Duo desktop computers for home users offer excellent processing power in a well-designed and compact system--all for an affordable price.

Pros: Excellent core power, lots of extras
Cons: Short toll-free tech support, sub-$1,000 system cuts out too much

Warranty
1-year limited