iMac test - display, input and connectivity

The display is most of the value

On an all-in-one the screen cannot be replaced separately without significant cost, so display faults matter more than they would on a tower. The full-screen colour fields find dead and stuck pixels; the grey field finds backlight unevenness and the dark patches that indicate a failing panel.

iMac displays of certain years also suffer from dust behind the glass, which shows on the white field as fixed grey specks that do not move when you tilt the screen. Worth distinguishing from dust on the outside, which wipes off.

No battery, and no penalty for it

A desktop is not marked down for having no battery to test. That weight is spread across the categories that do apply, rather than counting as a missing check — which is the difference between a fair grade and a meaningless one.

Keyboard and mouse

Both are separate, replaceable items on a desktop, so a fault in either is a much smaller problem than the same fault on a laptop. The grade reflects that: a failed keyboard does not cap a desktop grade the way it caps a laptop.

Related tools

Monitor test, dead pixel test, screen resolution, mouse test.