New iMac Unboxing Video and Teardown Photos

[komodrone]

Originally Posted by ArchAndroid

Gotta love the new iMac design.

Does it make the iMac less tall? No. (Limited by the screen height)
Does it make the iMac less wide? No. (Limited by the screen width)
Does it improve the iMac depth wise? No. (Limited by the stand)

Does it improve thermals? No. (Slightly less heat dissipated in a lot less volume)

Did Apple take away features? Yes. (Super Drive replaced with an internal plastic wedge).

Way to innovate, Apple.

What kind of useless questions are these? Sure I'll have a stab at being on the opposite end then:

Does anyone use the Super Drive? No.
Does removing the Super Drive allow the iMac to be eight pounds lighter? Yes
Did Apple add any new features? Fusion Drive
Can you install more than 16GB of ram? Yes.
Does it perform better? Yes. Fusion Drive + Ivy Bridge + 1536 CUDA cores GFX + 32GB ram + less reflection on the display

[macdx]

So the RAM seems to be "user replaceable"! There is a bit of work to do, but..
http://www.kodawarisan.com/k2012_02/images/113022.png

[76ShovelHead]

Originally Posted by needfx

still not really convinced of the new design. it's thin only from a particular viewing angle

This release is disappointing for me.

----------

Originally Posted by macdx

So the RAM seems to be "user replaceable"! There is a bit of work to do, but..
http://www.kodawarisan.com/k2012_02/images/113022.png

How can it be? It is soldered on.

[maxira]

but the RAM is expandable in 21.5''?
you have to remove everything but the ram is not welded!

http://www.melablog.it/galleria/imac-2012-smontato/8

[punchdrunk55]

Looks pretty nice to me

but

What kind of monster uses their mouse on the left hand side. I mean, seriously. I'm super left handed and I can't even imagine doing that.

[macdx]

Originally Posted by 76ShovelHead

This release is disappointing for me.

----------



How can it be? It is soldered on.

Do you see in the bottom right? There are two ram units

[ArchAndroid]

Originally Posted by komodrone

Does anyone use the Super Drive? No.
Does removing the Super Drive allow the iMac to be eight pounds lighter? Yes
Did Apple add any new features? Fusion Drive
Can you install more than 16GB of ram? Yes.
Does it perform better? Yes. Fusion Drive + Ivy Bridge + 1536 CUDA cores GFX + 32GB ram + less reflection on the display

Yes, people do use the Super Drive, otherwise it wouldn't have been there in the first place and Apple wouldn't still be selling an external version.

Apple has added a new feature which has existed for ages, SSD caching and released their own iteration, hardly groundbreaking.

Unless you carry your iMac around with you like a laptop, then a desktop computer isn't weight limited. Eight pounds lighter means nothing when the computer will spend the majority of its life on a desk.

Your example uses the top spec iMac so it is specious as the majority will not be spending the thousands of the spec you have stated. The stock models are nothing more than a minor improvements. Ivy Bridge = Sandy Bridge + 10% IPC plus a mid-range GPU are hardly earth shattering.

[superman23]

Originally Posted by Haifisch

I love the rMBP as much as everybody else, but since desktops are typically further away, you probably can't see the pixels anyway. What I am more interested is the quality of the display and reduced reflections. A 21" retina would likely be cost prohibitive.

i disagree, my Best Buy had the 15" retina MBP and last 27" iMac side by side and the difference was obvious. it's pretty much a given we are 1 or 2 generations away from retina iMac.

i agree about the reflections though. i'm using a matte cinema display and i can't imagine the glass display here. if i put my iPad next to my monitor its practically a mirror in comparison to the matte cinema. unless i want to turn the brightness up so much my eyes burn.

[smoking monkey]

Originally Posted by ArchAndroid

Gotta love the new iMac design.

Does it make the iMac less tall? No. (Limited by the screen height)
Does it make the iMac less wide? No. (Limited by the screen width)
Does it improve the iMac depth wise? No. (Limited by the stand)

Does it improve thermals? No. (Slightly less heat dissipated in a lot less volume)

Did Apple take away features? Yes. (Super Drive replaced with an internal plastic wedge).

Way to innovate, Apple.

Oh stop your complaining. It improves the footprint, the materials used, the total volume, the heat dissipation, the weight.

Really, you blokes are the biggest bunch of spoilt brats I've even seen...

[unobtainium]

"Yes, people do use the Super Drive, otherwise it wouldn't have been there in the first place and Apple wouldn't still be selling an external version. "

The fact that a few people still use the Super Drive once in a while doesn't mean it's worth packaging it with every iMac. If you really do use it, just buy an external. These days most people probably don't need or want one.

"Apple has added a new feature which has existed for ages, SSD caching and released their own iteration, hardly groundbreaking."

Have you read anything at all about this? If you had, you'd know that Apple has taken a different approach than the usual solutions, and as usual, their approach is better.

"Unless you carry your iMac around with you like a laptop, then a desktop computer isn't weight limited. Eight pounds lighter means nothing when the computer will spend the majority of its life on a desk."

Part of the advantage is simply that it looks so slim and sleek. It looks futuristic. But okay, there are practical benefits to this light profile as well: carrying it home from the store, moving into a new house, moving it to a different room...I think thinner and lighter is usually better, all things considered. And it just looks amazing.

"Your example uses the top spec iMac so it is specious as the majority will not be spending the thousands of the spec you have stated. The stock models are nothing more than a minor improvements. Ivy Bridge = Sandy Bridge + 10% IPC plus a mid-range GPU are hardly earth shattering."

I'm not sure what your point is here. Ivy Bridge isn't a huge upgrade over Sandy Bridge, therefore Apple fails? You do realize that every PC manufacturer is using the same Ivy Bridge chips, right? Blame Intel I guess?

[iSayuSay]

Originally Posted by till213

Wow! Is that thing pregnant?!

Well I hope it is so I can sell the newborn iMac puppy to the highest bidder out there.

It would be born as Core i3 but will grow into i7 in the next six months

Conclusion : I also find the new design silly

[spcdust]

Originally Posted by komodrone

What kind of useless questions are these? Sure I'll have a stab at being on the opposite end then:

Does anyone use the Super Drive? No.
Does removing the Super Drive allow the iMac to be eight pounds lighter? Yes
Did Apple add any new features? Fusion Drive
Can you install more than 16GB of ram? Yes.
Does it perform better? Yes. Fusion Drive + Ivy Bridge + 1536 CUDA cores GFX + 32GB ram + less reflection on the display

Superdrive is still used by people and I like the aesthetic of the all-in-one without now having another lead trailing out of the back of the iMac. As mentioned it's 8lbs lighter which is irrelevant as it's a desktop computer. Can you install more than 16GB of RAM in previous generation iMac- yes you can in the 2011 iMac at least.

The thin edge is quite sexy, however as I face the front of my computer not sure how revolutionary this is, I would prefer a little more thickness if it aided thermals. It's going to be interesting to see how the new design dissipates heat, especially for those who have upgraded to the 680MX GPU and are planning to game on the machine (I concede that the 680MX GPU is a nice upgrade). My prediction, it's going to get toasty, glue bonding screen to LCD will gradually turn yellow and begin to de-bond from LCD (I say this only half jokingly, I wouldn't put this past Apple overlooking this)

For those purchasing the new iMac, I understand the excitement of getting one and wouldn't want to take anything away from you in that respect - whatever anyone says you'll quite rightly love your new machine.

[portishead]

Originally Posted by ArchAndroid

Apple has added a new feature which has existed for ages, SSD caching and released their own iteration, hardly groundbreaking.

no no no no no. why are people so misinformed?

[ArchAndroid]

Originally Posted by portishead

no no no no no. why are people so misinformed?

Inform me, then. Instead of going from HDD to SSD, Fusion drive goes through the SSD and then on the hard drive.

I know that the SSD and HDD have combined storage space. Intel SSD Caching: 64GB SSD + 1TB = 1TB total; Fusion: 128GB + 1TB = 1.128 TB.

[Red Dmitry]

After release of iMac2012, I was so glad that I bought 2011 model. I thought it will be better, but I really disapointed with new one.

It weight is reduced - for what? This isn't laptop, I don't care of my iMac weight, it stands on my table all time. No improvement here.
It's thinner (ofc no one believes it's only 5mm, because if you look from behind, you'll understand what I mean) - for what? It stands on the table and it occupies the same space because of the stand. No improvement here.
DVD drive removed - nothing to say, it's really not major feature, but after removing DVD they could add normal desktop videocard, not making desktop computer thinner. So I doesn't really care about DVD.
RAM not user upgradeable. This is just bad, because Apple RAM cost much more, while it works as good as crucial, hynix whatever...
It cost more than 2011 iMac (1199 vs 1299 for low-end one). You pay more, for the same computer. Not good.
It's HDD has 5400rpm, while previous version of iMac has 7400rpm. So we got slower HDD, very bad.
Fusion drive is they only improvement I see in this iMac, but I can add SSD instead of Optical Drive in my imac2011, and with 10 terminal command make Fusion Drive myself.

So after all 2012 iMac has 1 good thing(Fusion drive), 3 useless innovations (thin, weight, DVD) and 3 things that makes it worse than previous generation(no RAM upgrade, slower HDD, higher price). Bravo Apple first computer I don't want to buy.

P.S. Sorry for my English, it's not my native.

[iSayuSay]

Originally Posted by komodrone

Does it perform better? Yes. Fusion Drive + Ivy Bridge + 1536 CUDA cores GFX + 32GB ram + less reflection on the display

Only if you pay for custom upgrades. With a default walk-in purchase?

Fusion Drive? .. Nope
1536 CUDA cores gfx? More like 960 on 675MX
i7? Surely not

Default machine gives you nothing but half baked, second grade components

[THOPMedia]

Originally Posted by 76ShovelHead

How can it be? It is soldered on.

Sure doesn't look soldered on with those release clips mate.

[thekev]

Originally Posted by 76ShovelHead

How can it be? It is soldered on.

Those look like dimms to me rather than soldered ram.

[THOPMedia]

Originally Posted by iSayuSay

Only if you pay for custom upgrades. With a default walk-in purchase?

Fusion Drive? .. Nope
1536 CUDA cores gfx? More like 960 on 675MX
i7? Surely not

Default machine gives you nothing but half baked, second grade components

List for me even one manufacture that puts all the highest current technology components available into their base model.

That's the point of being able to customize a computer.

[designgeek]

Originally Posted by DennisD7

I'm sorry, is that a REPLACEABLE PROCESSOR???
http://www.kodawarisan.com/k2012_02/images/113022.png

I saw the socket and damn near wet myself. COME ON 27!

[naiver12]

It semms that the Display is sticky (is this the right word? ). There are even no more magnets which could holt the Display in place.

[ArchAndroid]

Originally Posted by unobtainium

"Yes, people do use the Super Drive, otherwise it wouldn't have been there in the first place and Apple wouldn't still be selling an external version. "

The fact that a few people still use the Super Drive once in a while doesn't mean it's worth packaging it with every iMac. If you really do use it, just buy an external. These days most people probably don't need or want one.

My point is that they replaced the Super Drive with nothing. These drives must cost a couple of dollars versus the extortionate cost of an external Super Drive. You even said it might not be worth packaging with every iMac, why doesn't Apple provide an option to BTO a version with it included for those who do want it?

Originally Posted by unobtainium

"
"Apple has added a new feature which has existed for ages, SSD caching and released their own iteration, hardly groundbreaking."

Have you read anything at all about this? If you had, you'd know that Apple has taken a different approach than the usual solutions, and as usual, their approach is better.

Their approach is different not better. For example, how does the Fusion Drive present itself in a different OS? Does it appear as one contiguous drive or a separate SSD and HDD. How much does sending all data through the SSD affect the wear rate of the NAND cells on the SSD and the longevity of the SSD?

Originally Posted by unobtainium

"Unless you carry your iMac around with you like a laptop, then a desktop computer isn't weight limited. Eight pounds lighter means nothing when the computer will spend the majority of its life on a desk."

Part of the advantage is simply that it looks so slim and sleek. It looks futuristic. But okay, there are practical benefits to this light profile as well: carrying it home from the store, moving into a new house, moving it to a different room...I think thinner and lighter is usually better, all things considered. And it just looks amazing.

Unless you view the iMac from a view perpendicular to the front of the screen, it looks identical to its predecessor! No one is disagreeing that thinner is better if you can retain all of the specs. Apple has achieved thinness by taking away certain options from the iMac which is counterproductive.

Originally Posted by unobtainium

"Your example uses the top spec iMac so it is specious as the majority will not be spending the thousands of the spec you have stated. The stock models are nothing more than a minor improvements. Ivy Bridge = Sandy Bridge + 10% IPC plus a mid-range GPU are hardly earth shattering."

I'm not sure what your point is here. Ivy Bridge isn't a huge upgrade over Sandy Bridge, therefore Apple fails? You do realize that every PC manufacturer is using the same Ivy Bridge chips, right? Blame Intel I guess?

I didn't say Apple failed at all, I just said it wasn't a big upgrade in CPU horsepower. The GPU however is a fail on Apple's part. The fact that you can upgrade to a 680MX shows that this iMac form factor has the potential to dissipate the heat from a high end GPU, so why they would put such an anaemic 660M to power a 3.6MP screen is beyond me.

[kaellar]

RAM is something strange at those teardown photos. Looks like two standard SO-DIMMS, but why didn't they put them out?

p.s. that AR coating is really effective! even from that short video it's clear! wow..

[mw360]

Originally Posted by needfx

still not really convinced of the new design. it's thin only from a particular viewing angle

Actually, it's only fat from a particular viewing angle, ie directly from the side.

[Matt McHeck]

Seriously: With that pregnant belly on the rear side, it just looks so... 1990... Remember those large CRT monitors, trying to reach a plain display to look like a flatscreen? This reminds me so much of these and I find it to be looking "outdated", or retro, as one user posted above. Don't like it very much...
I have to admit though that I may change my opinion once I have seen one in real life.