27 inch iMac: Don't believe what they tell you on the phone...

[ImaWizard]

So, I ordered my 27 inch iMac about a week ago and today, decided to call my local Apple store and check to see if they had any in stock by chance (I was growing increasingly weary of 'processing land' online). After being transferred by a few people I was told that 100%, there was no 27 incher at the store. I decided I had nothing else to do, so I headed to the store to ask in person. Sure enough, they had EXACTLY what I wanted in stock (3.4Ghz i7, 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion, 680MX) along with a couple other versions. So now I am typing this out on my new baby in iMac bliss.

TL;DR: Don't believe what the sales people on the phone say, check it out for yourself and you may get lucky!

[mmberry1]

which apple store in michigan did you go to?

[turtlez]

cool, but I am sure people will be able to get straight away now that yield has increased probably to demand rate. Typing from my new flawless iMac too

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Originally Posted by ImaWizard

So, I ordered my 27 inch iMac about a week ago and today, decided to call my local Apple store and check to see if they had any in stock by chance (I was growing increasingly weary of 'processing land' online). After being transferred by a few people I was told that 100%, there was no 27 incher at the store. I decided I had nothing else to do, so I headed to the store to ask in person. Sure enough, they had EXACTLY what I wanted in stock (3.4Ghz i7, 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion, 680MX) along with a couple other versions. So now I am typing this out on my new baby in iMac bliss.

TL;DR: Don't believe what the sales people on the phone say, check it out for yourself and you may get lucky!

They more than likely received shipment in between you calling them and going to the store.

[Spink10]

Originally Posted by Mr_Brightside_@

They more than likely received shipment in between you calling them and going to the store.

I actually think it is more likely that they had the iMac the whole time. IMHO

[Mr_Brightside_@]

I have to disagree, but it's possible.

[large farva]

IMO. I hate all of you that already have your iMacs...... LOL

[cmjars]

Originally Posted by large farva

IMO. I hate all of you that already have your iMacs...... LOL

Go get one

[i-Rich]

i agree - dont believe anything youre told by apple. I spoke to customer relations yesterday and they told me the reason why I hadn't received my imac was because the updated model hadn't been released yet!!

[ImaWizard]

Originally Posted by mmberry1

which apple store in michigan did you go to?

Grand Rapids - Woodland Mall

[large farva]

Originally Posted by cmjars

Go get one

I have one on order, with a February 7th - 14th delivery date. And I'm hoping to get it a week or so early. As people that ordered theirs with similar specs around the same time have been getting shipped notifications. 3.4GHz i7, 8GB RAM, 1TB Serial ATA HDD, GTX 680MX GPU. I went to a couple Apple stores today, about an hour away from where I live, but they only had a couple base models, and it was absolute CHAOS in there.

[crows]

So hows the display on your iMac? my display only seems to have the yellow tint issue on the bottom of the screen its annoying and you can notice it a mile away but the computer is great other wise I can't wait to get one with a problem free display

[noodle15]

Yes I would suggest to check out the stores. Also Best Buy. I just called the Apple store 2 days they said they had some I went in returned a 21.5 and bought 2 27" iMac. This was at the Novi 12oaks location. Good luck.

[ImaWizard]

Originally Posted by crows

So hows the display on your iMac? my display only seems to have the yellow tint issue on the bottom of the screen its annoying and you can notice it a mile away but the computer is great other wise I can't wait to get one with a problem free display

Ugh. After running a few tests I have discovered the same yellow tinting on mine. Computer itself runs like a champ, but the display is an issue. I think I will head back to the store tomorrow and talk about options for replacing it. I don't want to have to pack it up and lug it to the apple store, just to find they don't have any replacements in every time. Unfortunately it sounds like a lot of people are in the same boat as me.

[HenryDJP]

Originally Posted by ImaWizard

Ugh. After running a few tests I have discovered the same yellow tinting on mine. Computer itself runs like a champ, but the display is an issue. I think I will head back to the store tomorrow and talk about options for replacing it. I don't want to have to pack it up and lug it to the apple store, just to find they don't have any replacements in every time. Unfortunately it sounds like a lot of people are in the same boat as me.

If you have to run tests just to discover the yellow tint I would say keep it if everything else is running great and no dead/stuck pixels. Nothing will ever be perfect. You could get a replacement with no yellow tint, but with light bleed issues or bad pixels or a noisy fan or even worse, a bad logic board.

[HurryKayne]

Originally Posted by ImaWizard

So, I ordered my 27 inch iMac about a week ago and today, decided to call my local Apple store and check to see if they had any in stock by chance (I was growing increasingly weary of 'processing land' online). After being transferred by a few people I was told that 100%, there was no 27 incher at the store. I decided I had nothing else to do, so I headed to the store to ask in person. Sure enough, they had EXACTLY what I wanted in stock (3.4Ghz i7, 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion, 680MX) along with a couple other versions. So now I am typing this out on my new baby in iMac bliss.

TL;DR: Don't believe what the sales people on the phone say, check it out for yourself and you may get lucky!

Not in the Florence Store yet ..thats why my phone+wire transfer order.

[ImaWizard]

Originally Posted by HenryDJP

If you have to run tests just to discover the yellow tint I would say keep it if everything else is running great and no dead/stuck pixels. Nothing will ever be perfect. You could get a replacement with no yellow tint, but with light bleed issues or bad pixels or a noisy fan or even worse, a bad logic board.

I actually noticed cuz it sits next to my Cinema Display which has pretty spot on color. Then ran tests to confirm. I can upload pics if you would like to see. Although I would like to have a correct one at some point, I'm not in a huge hurry to get it replaced. Tomorrow I'm getting an external calibration tool and will see if that helps anything.

[mushroomtip]

and don't believe what the store greeters tell you either. I stopped in the West Nyack NY store today and asked a Blue shirt whom I believe is a greeter if they had any High end 27 1 TB FD in stock and he said those can only be ordered online . I disagreed and he sent over a salesman who said they had a couple in this morning but they moved quick. I told him they should get everyone on the same page as far as information goes. ask for a salesman or a manager if they tell you they don't stock the 27 inch 1 TB FD .

[jediDev]

I called the Easton and Polaris stores in Columbus and they both told me they had 27" models in stock. Polaris only had $1799, Easton had $1799/$1999/$2599. I went to the store and they did. I got the $1999 model. Alas, it has a big yellow pee stain in the middle bottom of the screen. Most people won't notice it, but it really annoys me, so I'm not going to keep the machine. For better or for worse, I think uniformity issues are basically a fact of life on most iMac screens. I've grown to accept them, generally in the lower right or lower left. But right in the middle (over the dock) is a dealbreaker for me. Aside from that, though, it's an amazing machine, though 27" is borderline too big for me (primarily the height).

[HenryDJP]

Originally Posted by ImaWizard

I actually noticed cuz it sits next to my Cinema Display which has pretty spot on color. Then ran tests to confirm. I can upload pics if you would like to see. Although I would like to have a correct one at some point, I'm not in a huge hurry to get it replaced. Tomorrow I'm getting an external calibration tool and will see if that helps anything.

Understandable that the Cinema Display looks better because Apple designs it for people who need accurate color reproduction and I do think they use a better screen, although there certainly are better alternatives out there such as Eizo but they can cost more. Although my 2011 iMac has no such problem, my 2009 model did and that was the one many people complained about in terms of the yellow tint.
I don't think you're going to have much success using a calibration tool. The screens in the iMac (although IPS) just aren't the best of the best and rightfully so it's really designed as an AIO. Still there is no excuse for yellow tint and you do deserve a screen that doesn't have it.

My main concern for you is if the calibration tool doesn't solve your issue and you decide to have Apple exchange the iMac, you may get lucky with a yellow-free screen but you could have bad pixels and other issues I mentioned earlier and Apple may not keep exchanging it as the may play the "within specs" game with you or just offer you your money back.

Keep us updated.

[thekev]

Originally Posted by ImaWizard

I actually noticed cuz it sits next to my Cinema Display which has pretty spot on color. Then ran tests to confirm. I can upload pics if you would like to see. Although I would like to have a correct one at some point, I'm not in a huge hurry to get it replaced. Tomorrow I'm getting an external calibration tool and will see if that helps anything.

I'd hesitate to call anything spot on. They all shift over time. The thing that can be frustrating is that manufacturers typically won't tell you what is considered within spec to them. Chances are yours is considered within shipping spec, but they'll exchange it if you don't like it within the return period or offer warranty service after that. A note about calibration tools. They don't touch the hardware. I mean this. They don't do a thing to the internal hardware on the display. They read out values, write a description and adjust the gains per channel at an instructional level in an interpolated manner. This means if it's far off enough, calibration won't do anything. It's also applied based on the measured area to the entire display. If the corners look different from the center (common) that discrepancy will remain.

The other thing to note is that calibrating one doesn't mean it will match the other display, even if they're the same model. Typically if they're capable of matching the same target, they'll look close enough. Just don't get sucked into the false belief that your old one is somehow spot on. It's not. Mine isn't either. In both cases they are close enough for your purposes, and they're what you're used to viewing.

[ImaWizard]

Originally Posted by HenryDJP

Keep us updated.

So quick update. Ended up not getting the calibrator because my friend was not able to get it to me. I decided to go to store and talk to them about getting a replacement with the limited supply. The sales guy called back and they "had plenty in stock." So looks like the limited 27" iMac supply is really starting to be a thing of the past. At any rate, I brought mine in, exchanged it in the store and set up the new one in store to check it before I went home. Everything looked good and I even was able to to side by side comparisons with the demo models in the store. So this one seems to be a winner, definitely glad I went ahead and exchanged it even though it was a hassle and a bit of a risk.

Originally Posted by mushroomtip

and don't believe what the store greeters tell you either...

THIS IS SO TRUE. First guy I talked to in the store (a greeter) told me that there was no way they had any in-stock if they were that back ordered online. I told him he was wrong. He got upset and told me some other wrong information about needing to set up a Genius appointment for a return and blah, blah, blah.... I went to find a real sales person to actually help me. And made sure to walk RIGHT IN FRONT of him with my brand new iMac.

TL;DR AVOID THE GREETERS AT ALL COSTS.

Originally Posted by thekev

The other thing to note is that calibrating one doesn't mean it will match the other display, even if they're the same model.

Yea, I definitely don't expect them to match EXACTLY, just be much closer than they were. Right now my new Mac has a slight yellow tint that is pretty even over the whole screen (as opposed to stronger in the upper corner and bottom on the first one). And the yellow tint is SLIGHT. So I think it will be able to fixed when I get my hands on a calibrator. From what I have read and seen in person, these 2012 iMacs are pretty poorly calibrated out of the factory and all seem to push the warmer, yellowy tint.

Question for you all... Any good tests (besides Geekbench) I should run on the machine that you know of?

[HenryDJP]

Originally Posted by ImaWizard

So quick update. Ended up not getting the calibrator because my friend was not able to get it to me. I decided to go to store and talk to them about getting a replacement with the limited supply. The sales guy called back and they "had plenty in stock." So looks like the limited 27" iMac supply is really starting to be a thing of the past. At any rate, I brought mine in, exchanged it in the store and set up the new one in store to check it before I went home. Everything looked good and I even was able to to side by side comparisons with the demo models in the store. So this one seems to be a winner, definitely glad I went ahead and exchanged it even though it was a hassle and a bit of a risk.

That's really great news, I'm happy for you!!!