Apple iMac M4 Silver 2024

The M4 iMac is a stunning all-in-one with a best-in-class display and top-tier reliability. It's perfect for everyday work and light creative tasks, but the weak GPU makes it a terrible choice for gaming. At $2,699, you're paying for polish and longevity, not raw power.

The M4 chip is a solid performer for everyday work. The 10-core CPU lands right in the middle of the pack in our database, which sounds underwhelming until you remember this is a fanless-adjacent all-in-one sipping power. The 32GB of RAM in this config is well above average and means you can keep a ridiculous number of browser tabs and apps open without slowdowns. Storage is a standout too, with 2TB of fast SSD space putting it near the top of the charts. The weak spot is the GPU. It ranks in the bottom 15% of our database, so while it'll handle 4K video editing thanks to the Media Engine, don't expect to play modern AAA games at anything beyond low settings.

Stacked against the HP OMEN GT22-3080 or the Lenovo Legion Tower 5a, the iMac gets absolutely demolished in GPU performance. Those machines have dedicated graphics cards that make the M4's integrated GPU look like a toy. The Dell Area-51 and CLX SET are in a completely different league for gaming and 3D work. But flip the script and look at reliability, display quality, and noise levels, and the iMac suddenly looks a lot better. It's a different product for a different buyer. The OMEN and Legion are for people who want frames per second. The iMac is for people who want a beautiful, quiet machine that handles everyday work and creative tasks without drama.

At $2,699 USD, this is a lot of money for what you're getting on paper. A Windows tower at this price would have a dedicated GPU that runs circles around the M4's integrated graphics. But that's not really the point. You're paying for the display, the build quality, the silence, and the fact that this thing will still feel snappy in five years. If you value those things, the price makes sense. If you're spec-sheet shopping, it's a tough sell.

The M4 iMac is Apple doing what Apple does best: making a gorgeous all-in-one that just works. The 24-inch 4.5K Retina display is the star here, and it's paired with a chip that handles everyday tasks without breaking a sweat. This is a machine built for people who want a clean desk and zero fuss.

But let's be real about what this isn't. It's not a gaming rig, and it's not a workstation for heavy 3D rendering. The GPU sits near the bottom of our database, and the port selection is just okay. If you need raw graphics power, you're looking at the wrong machine.

Skip this if you need any kind of serious GPU performance. Gamers, 3D artists, and anyone doing heavy rendering should look at the HP OMEN or Lenovo Legion instead. Also skip it if you like upgrading your own hardware, because everything is soldered down and you're stuck with what you buy on day one.

Buy this if you want a gorgeous, reliable all-in-one for home office work, light creative tasks, and general computing. The display alone is worth the price of admission for photo editors and anyone who stares at a screen all day. It's also a great family computer that won't turn into a jet engine when someone opens Chrome. Just don't buy it expecting to game or do heavy 3D rendering, because that's not what this machine is for.