Is anyone actually getting a good 27" iMac

[Fikeies]

Are there any really good iMac's out there that don't have any of the problems that seem to be frequently reported? I just received my 2nd attempt from Apple to provide me with a worthy machine (1st had the grey bar & yellow tint) and no luck, got the noisy HDD issue, yellowing, and bad backlight bleeding. This is turning into the biggest waste of time and if it wasn't for the fact that I really want this machine I'd bail completely on it.

Am I just being too picky on these issues that don't compromise performance or should I try again? Is anyone actually getting a good machine?

Fortunately, I am leaving town for 2 weeks so another return wouldn't be a big deal but I'd hate to think I'd get a worse machine than what I have now.

Thanks!!

[bartelby]

My i7 is, as far as I can tell, perfect. I gave it a few checks when I got it, not noticed anything has changed since so I'm happy.

The HDD is a seagate, so I expect it to clunk a lot.

[Maltkvist]

Got my first iMac ever today, and I think it's perfect. Haven't noticed any issues with it, and i'm not gonna check intense for it.

The hdd noise isn't disturbing me, my house actually sounds more. Haha, the radiators and stuff..

[dwhynman]

Maybe I am lucky but my iMac is perfect. In the last 5 years I have bought 3 imacs and 2 mac books and every one has been perfect.

[easepease]

took me 4 tries to get PERFECT, however all previous were "minor" issues, hard disk noise twice and power supply buzz once. All liveable perfect machines but i live so close to a store I just said why not and after 3 almost perfects i now have a perfect.

Never once seen a screen issue yellow nor dead pixels and everything worked well just those random noises can drain once you notice them. I would not stress about the "issues" apple is really good with returns and service so even if you get a bad one just get a replacement! my 2 cents

[Fikeies]

My i7 is, as far as I can tell, perfect. I gave it a few checks when I got it, not noticed anything has changed since so I'm happy.

The HDD is a seagate, so I expect it to clunk a lot.

How do you find out the brand of the HDD?

[symbology]

IMO, you have better luck getting a good machine in an Apple Store. I had to BTO' shipped to me and they were terrible as far as the displays (yellowing / gray banding). The ones from the Apple Store had pretty good displays, but some other issues.

I would not mail order an iMac.............

[symbology]

How do you find out the brand of the HDD?

Go to "About this Mac", and choose "More Info" then look "Serial-ATA"

[Fikeies]

HDD model is: ST31000528AS. Can you tell the manufacturer from that?

Thank you

[Geelduikbootje]

It's my first one. i7 27", 2TB Hitachi HD, 8GB memory.
No buzzing, no yellow screen, etc.
I love my iMac.

[jinx5000]

HDD model is: ST31000528AS. Can you tell the manufacturer from that?

Thank you

It's a Seagate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433&Tpk=ST31000528AS

[Iamthinking]

You may have to lower your expectations a bit in order to get an imac you are happy with (or at least can live with).

For me, after 4 machines, my standards went down considerably (I have an iPhone and iPad and had formed opinions of quality based on those devices, which was not realistic, it seems) :

Yellow tinge= not jumping out at you, but likely still there if you look hard enough.

Grey Banding= none

Hardrive = WD; would likely not be able to handle the seagate

Power Supply Dog Whistle = Barely audible if nothing else is on (i.e. late at night) Not that audible to me (been playing amplified electric guitars for a few years.)

Backlight bleed- probably gunna have it, but should not be so bad it looks like a theater spotlight!

----
overall, the imac I settled for is, I am hoping, quite usable and will be for some years to come. However, it certainly doesn't earn any admiring/glowing looks from me as the Apple Marketing leads you to believe, or as other Apple products like the iPAd/iPhone do (I still get impressed and have to smile sometimes when I flick my iPad on, and it's over 3 months old).

In the end, the imac is "just a computer box". And as such it is a pretty darn good one. Just not really all that "magical". :-)

-Iamthinking

[davids8477]

Great one here.
:D

[plymman]

I think some people have unrealistic expectations of what to expect. No technology is 100% perfect and computers have mechanical parts so I'm not sure a lot of the complaints are justified. I have a good i7, no noticeable yellowing but I'm sure I'd notice something if I stared at a white background looking for imperfections but this is not a real world test. There is a very minimal but audible fan noise so my Mac is not completely silent but for a powerful CPU like the i7 I would say the lack of noise is impressive, others might complain it's not silent.

I have a 2tb hitachi drive, when it reads/writes I can hear it seeking but I'd be surprised if you couldn't. It's a mechanical part with metal heads moving across metal platters, with an iMac it's also inches away from your face at ear level. I'm not quite sure what the iMac hard drive complaints are but I would be gobsmacked if anyone has a totally silent drive when it's under stress.

I'm very happy with my Mac, it exceeds my expectations for performance/noise and quality and I can be very picky. My first iMac had a buzz with the power supply but it was handled very well and quickly by apple and I'd have no hesitation to recommend a 27" to anyone.

[mlblacy]

Completely set up... and perfect!
i7, 2tb, 16gb ram (third party) with two external 4tb drives attached...

[wessew]

No issues with mine delivered in August. Very happy in all respects.

[Animation]

my 27" iMac is perfect as well, so far as I can tell.

[GreatDrok]

i5 Quad 27" with 8GB bought as a refurb saving a bundle and very happy indeed. The screen is amazing and the machine is completely silent.

[worldtraveler]

I got my first iMac last week - 27", i7, 2TB, SSD BTO. After months of lurking and fretting over all the yellowing, cracked screens, hard drive noises, random power failures, etc. widely reported here I decided to order one - finally. It arrived and as far as I can tell it is flawless - there is a bit of fan noise but nothing like my PC and is not loud enough to be heard over even low music from iTunes. Very happy with my decision and the purchase of the machine. The only issue is undoing 25 years of PC use and thinking - I did not RTFM and took two days to figure out how to eject a DVD!

[Teqnilogik]

My iMac 27" was perfect until I noticed a stuck pixel. It's only one stuck pixel near the top of the screen that is not noticeable unless I really look for it. Can happen with any LCD display. I still own a Samsung 19" monitor I bought a while ago that has 3 or so dead pixels on the display but, at the time, wasn't enough where they would replace it. At least Apple has good return policies and customer service with these issues. Other than that, my iMac is perfect.

I think part of the problem with Apple products is Apple holds itself to such a high standard and markets themselves as such that when problems do occur people are put off more since they were expecting perfection and a problem-free machine.

[2 Owls]

Never actually met anyone with a bad one, and mine is beyond perfect.

[NeoMacPhile]

I've had absolutely no issues with mine. I bought it from an Apple store. I've had it since June. Very quiet (light, consistent, almost inaudible), clear crisp and true color display. So far the experience has been great, other than my ineptitude.

[aliensporebomb]

Mine is fine - no yellowing, no bleeding, no missing pixels.

One thing: hard drives make noise. They're mechanical devices. They have tiny motors in them and moving arms for the read/write heads.

Hard drives can be noisier than usual.


Whenever I hear on here that people are complaining about hard drives I try and remind them they should have gotten SSD drives since they have no moving parts.

[benwizkid]

Im jealous of you guys... I wish I could afford one

[Teqnilogik]

Mine is fine - no yellowing, no bleeding, no missing pixels.

One thing: hard drives make noise. They're mechanical devices. They have tiny motors in them and moving arms for the read/write heads.

Hard drives can be noisier than usual.


Whenever I hear on here that people are complaining about hard drives I try and remind them they should have gotten SSD drives since they have no moving parts.

I agree. Any PC you buy will have hard drive noise. Sorry. Until SSDs get cheaper and get higher capacity, mechanical hard drives will be the norm.

[GordysGadgets]

No problems works perfect. Would only get SSD now that I've had one.
The performance increase is amazing. On bootup the "gear" that appears under the applelogo doesn't even make one complete lap before the start up screen appears. If new changes to the system maybe it will circle 3 or 4 times max.
I had people on this forum say the quad isn't that big of a deal, I disagree, the 2.93 with SSD is so fast I am amazed every time I use it.
If you can afford it get it and get SSD :)
www.gordysgadgets.com

[Fikeies]

I would love to go SSD, but I think I'll save that for when I upgrade this one.

I think I could probably live with the HDD noise now that I know its somewhat normal, but the screen is starting to bug me more and more every day. I attached a photo for some opinions. Thanks

[rustopher]

No.

Mine has a small black foreign object fused onto the back of the screen, about the size of 2 pixels. No idea what the hell it is, but it wont come off.

I also get a line of pulsating pixels on occasion at the very top of my LCD, although It seems to only happen after playing games (not noticeable ingame), it goes away if I restart. It could be a win7 / driver issue though, I cant see it in OSX since the taskbar is at the top of the screen.

Overall I don't really care, I haven't had a flawless screen since the CRT days. I live in a rural area so I dont want to fuss with bringing it back to the store when Ill just end up with some yellow peice of ****.

You get over these imperfections with time. Just like Cindy Crawford's mole.

[Iamthinking]

Hey man,

You've got the cheese touch screen!

That bottom third would bug me to distraction, so I would vote "return it".

I don't buy this line of bs that "only people with complaints" post on these forums and the vast majority are great but people are silent about that. After all, this is a mac rumors forums, not an apple complaints dept. I'm seeing all kinds of "my iMac is perfect" responses. I am one such person that had several bad 21.5" units, and reported back that the 27" is a keeper.

Perhaps even more telling is that the yellow tinge poll on here shows that the odds of getting a good 27" iMac are higher than getting a defective one, and that percentage is getting better (and is vastly better than the 2009 model).

I'd say if you have got yourself a defective 27", get it replaced and you have a
good chance of getting a decent one next time.

If it's a 21.5" model, don't waste your time minding a good one!

Iamthinking

...if you have a

[captainritalin]

Got my first iMac (27inch Core i7) and its perfect. No problems what so ever. Its fantastic!

[twentyred]

27" QC i7 here... Perfect *except* for one speck of dust underneath the screen. Barely noticeable unless you're sat incredibly close. Sometimes, I hate being a perfectionist. :)

[BreadMaster]

My 27" 2009 i5 Refurb is pretty much perfect.

No hard drive clicking, no cracks, no dead pixels, no dirt, no smudges, no yellow tint, no banding, no hair, no dust.

There is, however some backlight bleed in the bottom corners, but that's just a compromise with the way the iMac is made - store models have this issue as well, I believe.

But even then, it's not an issue! It's incredibly easy to ignore, and the ONLY time it's noticeable is if the ENTIRE screen is COMPLETELY black. Not when certain parts of the screen are dark, it has to be completely black - like, #000000 black.

http://i56.tinypic.com/11go83r.jpg

I view my iMac as perfect, and wouldn't DREAM of exchanging it. Also, yes, this is my first iMac.

[MR.Raul]

Got 3 bad ones, high pitch noise and a few other problems, and now they canceled my order.
Don't wanna send out a working one, said I'll most likely not be satisfied with the next one either.
Guess wanting a machine without any errors are to much to ask for according to Apple.

[Macmaniac]

The pictures that are being posted don't do it any justice. Take it in a dark room with a good camera, that has been properly setup. All i can see is reflections and poorly lit rooms.

[bombey13]

Maybe I am lucky but my iMac is perfect. In the last 5 years I have bought 3 imacs and 2 mac books and every one has been perfect.


Haha, me too I currently own a 27 inch imac 2010 version, and its running great. I also have a 2 macbooks and never had a problem. I think its just luck

[Fuchal]

My i5 is almost perfect - only problem is a stuck green pixel. Considering there's no yellow tint and I only paid $900 for it, I'm not going to let it bother me.

[Iamthinking]

My i5 is almost perfect - only problem is a stuck green pixel. Considering there's no yellow tint and I only paid $900 for it, I'm not going to let it bother me.


EXACTLY!

I reckon all the so-called "whiners" (myself included) would be happy to accept a dead pixel, a little yellow tinge, and a noisy crappy seagate hardrive IF we all paid "only $900" for it (or perhaps $700 for a 21.5").

It's ONLY when you're paying in excess of 2 large that these MINOR issues become MAJOR thorns in one's side, because we ALL know that these days, 2k++ should be you a pretty darn perfect machine.

-Iamthinking

[macrumorsmo]

I have a mid 2010 27" i7 iMac and it has been perfect for me so far. I have been through 3 late 2009 i5 ones though, they had problems.

[Spiritandtruth]

We bought the one that's smaller than the 27 inch. I guess mine is 21.5...is that right?

We've had zero problems. It's so quiet I wondered if it was even working at times. Screen is great. Couldn't be happier.

I know virtually nothing about the machine or what to look for to see if mine has some known bad hardware in it or what.

All I know is....I'm tickled to death to get rid of all the Windows problems.

I was so sick of the viruses, the bad programming....sick of seeing, "Windows has encountered a problem and is shutting down" or "internet explorer has encountered a problem and is shutting down."

Sick of that junk and if this Mac starts doing it I'm going to heave it off a bridge and never buy a computer again.

[Gasu E.]

No problems here.

[Arkku]

I'm happy with my mid-2010 i7 27": no screen tint, it has the 1TB Western Digital HD, backlight fine, no buzz or whatever other problems people are reporting.

If I had to complain about something, there is one dead pixel near the edge but honestly I don't even remember where exactly it is because I don't notice it. I guess someone else might return their computer for this “problem”…

[dwarnecke11]

Glob of dust in the LCD of my 2.93 i7 27". Otherwise perfect. Hoping AppleCare will replace my screen when I can bring it in a few weeks from now.

[Fuchal]

EXACTLY!

I reckon all the so-called "whiners" (myself included) would be happy to accept a dead pixel, a little yellow tinge, and a noisy crappy seagate hardrive IF we all paid "only $900" for it (or perhaps $700 for a 21.5").

It's ONLY when you're paying in excess of 2 large that these MINOR issues become MAJOR thorns in one's side, because we ALL know that these days, 2k++ should be you a pretty darn perfect machine.

-Iamthinking

Yeah, it should be perfect. I haven't seen the yellow tinge in person yet (though I don't doubt it exists), but I certainly would never complain over a single dead pixel.

[Iamthinking]

Glob of dust in the LCD of my 2.93 i7 27". Otherwise perfect. Hoping AppleCare will replace my screen when I can bring it in a few weeks from now.

Don't lug your machine around for the sake of a little dust. Just pry the glass off a bit at the top (using suction cups if your nails/fingers are too weak) and give it a wipe. You'll have to do it yourself eventually, as I am thinking dust will show up in here eventually anyways. Just think of it like an oven door, with the 2 pieces of glass that you have to clean once in a while.

-Iamthinking

[symbology]

Don't lug your machine around for the sake of a little dust. Just pry the glass off a bit at the top (using suction cups if your nails/fingers are too weak) and give it a wipe. You'll have to do it yourself eventually, as I am thinking dust will show up in here eventually anyways. Just think of it like an oven door, with the 2 pieces of glass that you have to clean once in a while.

-Iamthinking

Agreed 100%

A little dust is nothing. What happens when your new screen has the yellowing, or bad gray banding?

Just pry the glass up on the top, angle it back (like an oven door - Iamthinking) just enough to get a lint free cloth in there to gently wipe away the dust.

[Jukka]

Could someone who has no back light bleeding post a pic of black screen, so we could see if it is a matter of opinion or are there really non-bleeding units out there...

[pt0016]

I know this is a 27" iMac thread, but here is a perfectly uniform backlight on a 21.5" iMac (2010).

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/4350/pict0376n.jpg

[timdafweak]

<deleted>

[Iamthinking]

I know this is a 27" iMac thread, but here is a perfectly uniform backlight on a 21.5" iMac (2010).

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/4350/pict0376n.jpg

Nice. Now toss up a picture of the gray bars yellow-tinge test! :-)

-Iamthinking

[SuperFastiMac]

It's been a month and so far my iMac 27, 2.93 GHz core i7 is flawless... I accidentally knocked over my bong into the screen. the bong is in pieces but the imac screen doesn't have a scratch. The uni-body appears indestructible but I won't take anymore chances!

I'm a video editor and it smokes with encoding and burning DVDs and handles everything I've thrown at it with grace and an abundance of power. I can't speak for gaming however, but for professional applications like photoshop, dreamweaver, final cut pro, iDVD this thing is a powerhouse.

[2005CTS]

My 27" quad core i5 iMac seems perfect and I love it. We have had it for a little more than a month with no problems.

My wife's MacBook Pro is another issue altogether. It randomly likes to freeze, crash, reboot, power off. Started about three weeks ago. I have an appointment at the genius bar on Saturday to see if they can diagonose the problem.

In all my pre Mac PC days...I never had a problem like this. Very frustrating.

[ravinder08]

I think some people have unrealistic expectations of what to expect. No technology is 100% perfect and computers have mechanical parts so I'm not sure a lot of the complaints are justified. I have a good i7, no noticeable yellowing but I'm sure I'd notice something if I stared at a white background looking for imperfections but this is not a real world test. There is a very minimal but audible fan noise so my Mac is not completely silent but for a powerful CPU like the i7 I would say the lack of noise is impressive, others might complain it's not silent.

I have a 1tb drive, when it reads/writes I can hear it seeking but I'd be surprised if you couldn't. It's a mechanical part with metal heads moving across metal platters, with an iMac it's also inches away from your face at ear level. I'm not quite sure what the iMac hard drive complaints are but I would be gobsmacked if anyone has a totally silent drive when it's under stress.

I'm very happy with my Mac, it exceeds my expectations for performance/noise and quality and I can be very picky.
I'd have no hesitation to recommend a 27" to anyone.

Ditto

A Very Happy first time Mac owner

Rav

[sentros]

Got my late 2009 27" iMac now almost a year ago and it was perfect when I got it. No yellow tint, no HDD problems, no bleeding backlights, no dust, no dead pixels. After 6 months my RAM died tho, but apple care took care of that for me.

[val2002val]

My 2 week old 27" i7 12Gb ram 1Tb + SSD is perfect, loving it to bits as a first time Mac owner i can't believe how good this thing is. As far as I can tell the screen is 100% and it's quiet as well. But for $4,500 AUD it should be.

[SneakyBooger]

My 27" i7 continually drops connection to Belkin N1 router.

Works fine when connected via Ethernet.

I REEEEAAAALLLLLLY wanted the wireless to work.

Wireless on my daughter's refurb'd HP PC works flawless...

Sneak