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Thunderbird

macrumors 6502a
Dec 25, 2005
951
789
3/10p Repairability.. My god apple.

leopard_update_02.jpg


"Silence! Your insubordination will not be tolerated".

"We now control the iMac and its every aspect. You will no longer be allowed to repair it or even touch it, only admire it from afar."
 

Hexley

Suspended
Jun 10, 2009
1,641
504
All I wanted to do was be able to replace the SSD, HDD and maybe the CPU.

Looking at how much work it will take I may end up just getting a Fusion Drive, enlarge the storage via a USB 3 external drive.

If Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake or Skymount are a drop in upgrade to the socket used by Ivy Bridge then I'll do it in say 3-5 years time.

Now, if only they can ship before January.
 

alksion

macrumors 68000
Sep 10, 2010
1,715
114
Orange County CA
To be honest, I do wish it was easier to upgrade. But then again, who doesn't? I think we need to understand the limitations Apple likes to make. They do like the control and probably want only them working on the internals.

If I was looking for easy access, I'd build a PC, but I'm not.

I'll take it as is and understand what I am getting myself into before the purchase.
 

flopticalcube

macrumors G4
If Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake or Skymount are a drop in upgrade to the socket used by Ivy Bridge then I'll do it in say 3-5 years time.

No. They will have a new socket.

The adhesive is a bummer but its not too bad. I would say for a one or two time upgrade its OK. If your needs are modest, the low-end machine will work just fine for a few years. At that point, new SSD and RAM upgrade (and perhaps an i7-3770K) and the machine will still serve low-end needs for a couple more years.
 

easy4lif

macrumors 6502a
Mar 31, 2005
552
1,308
Southbay CA
i figured apple would switch to laptop drives for the 21in model. Ill probably just get the 21 mid range with max ram. I'm def not gonna rip out the logic board to do just that.
 

MacFoodPoisoner

macrumors regular
Dec 1, 2012
150
0
Down from 7/10 for the previous model.

But the percentage of people looking to dig around inside these things is low single-digits, I'd bet.

That's not really an argument though is it?:rolleyes: The percentage of power pc users (no pun intended :) ) has always been and will continue to be less than 10%. Twas so back when apple gave a damn about offering their users choices, it still is now that they are going all custom ssd ports on us, and glueing things up, and making ram the last accessible part of the device at the far back, reached only after you 've played 20 hours of strip poker with the imac...provided you win.

Just cause power users have always been a small % of total computer users that doesn't mean apple should continually make a point to eff them, now does it?:) It's one thing to pay for quality and overprice it to a certain extent and it's quite another to play the shameless money grab and non upgradeability corner to the users that have paid you the most to get your devices, i.e. loyal imac power users and pros. If Cook thinks it's a ok to do that, he doesn't see what's coming to him when the tides turn, and a lot of men much smarter and more brilliant than him thought they wouldn't, and they did...

Just saying cause I 've pretty much had it with apple cause you know what I expected? I didn't mind losing the odd or dropping the firewire and paying up for yet another ludicrously overpiced adapter. I wanted retina and was willing to pay for it, but I didn't expect they could run it with their sub par notebook components that they stuff most of the imacs with...

But at least I expected better panels from them (apparently since they now can't get their hands on samsung's superior plc panels it's back to 3 year old panels from lg...). And I expected a redesign with proper ergonomics, everyone and their cousins from the competition has adjustable AIOs, hell apple even has a patent on a rotating stand, they had one of the best ergonomics computer (the lamp mac) years and years ago, Jony Ive and Phil (instagram has jumped the shark for going android) Schiller can't bs me into believing that thin tapering the imac leaving a pregnant back is some sort of technological and design innovation. Hell, you can't even vesa mount it...

And I am not even asking them to make it open up with a lever so you can add components at will as hp has done in a very beautiful and functional design. I am simply asking for function AND form. Jony should remember who he has paid homage to (some would say ripping off too: Dieter Rams ), and start to put some functionality in there. Cause his designs aren't that great or inspiring anymore. Sure it's thin looking and it's aluminum, so what? Is that what great products mean for apple these days that the shopkeeper is running the show? Poorly upgradeable, sealed in, thin, unergonomic, glass and aluminum ipads on sticks? They should also make up their minds, are they in the business of selling great looking FUNCTIONAL computers or are they in the business of selling custom ports, overpriced adapters, poorly upgradable, non ergonomic trite?

And you know what else, the imac doesn't even look that great. It's a disproportional thin body on fat stand that takes all the space the thinness is supposed to save, that you can't adjust to height or swivel, with an sd at the back you can't access. It's a beer bellied kate moss on a stick. :cool::apple:
 
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Vuddha

macrumors member
Oct 23, 2012
45
0
All I wanted to do was be able to replace the SSD, HDD and maybe the CPU.

Looking at how much work it will take I may end up just getting a Fusion Drive, enlarge the storage via a USB 3 external drive.

If Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake or Skymount are a drop in upgrade to the socket used by Ivy Bridge then I'll do it in say 3-5 years time.

Now, if only they can ship before January.

I agree. I was going to wait a bit before I purchased one and still may.

Maybe OWC has looked into doing Turnkey with the New Imac's and Install Larger SSD [480GB with a fast 1T HDD or 2T] with or without the Fusion part? Not knowing if the IMAC 27" Drive bay will even accept them? Here’s Hoping. :confused:

I wish that ifixit would of taken apart the 1T fusion drive to see if the Drive bay is any different. To see if you can upgrade the SSD or should I say OWC. I may still wait until Jan.;)


Going with:
27" 3.4GHz quad-core Intel core I7 with 8MB L3 cache $1999. + $200.
8GB Ram, Upgrade to 32GB 1600MHz DDR3 from Crucial +$151.98 inclu. Tax
1TB 7200rpm Fusion Drive + $250., or 768GB SSD $1300. with an External Thunderbolt Drive [LaCie 2big Thunderbolt Series 6TB (7200 rpm) Hard Drive Maybe] $669.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX Graphic processor with 2GB of GDDR5 memory $150.

AppleCare Protection Plan $149.

External Samsung SE-506AB Slim Portable Blu-ray Writer [$89.] to replace the Super drive Apple remove.

Still thinking about which Drive configuration to get?? Now after I see what is involved in taking it apart. I may just bit the bullet and get the 768 SSD. =$1300. You only live ones, maybe.
 
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MacFoodPoisoner

macrumors regular
Dec 1, 2012
150
0
I don't blame them for opting for the base model to tear down, not everyone is masochist enough to pay apple +$450 premium for the benefit of a small sized flash module in 2013, not even if thousands of people are going to be visiting their site for the tear down, lol...:(:)
 

flopticalcube

macrumors G4
I don't blame them for opting for the base model to tear down, not everyone is masochist enough to pay apple +$450 premium for the benefit of a small sized flash module in 2013, not even if thousands of people are going to be visiting their site for the tear down, lol...:(:)

Actually, I liked the fact that they chose the base model. If they had chosen the fusion drive model, we still would not know whether the base had the second SATA connector or not. Now we know it doesn't.
 

masp84

macrumors member
Sep 18, 2008
86
0
Get the i7 and standard HDD 21", upgrade RAM and get Thunderbolt Drobo 5 for real storage and streaming. Btw I completely agree with MacFoodPoisoner. This is not a PC where maintenance is an important feature of the concept of the product which is clearly incoherent. Many need to understand that the public makes the company, not the other way around. My only conclusion is Apple's slowly getting rid of Desktops and forcing prosumers to buy Mac Pro's with this release. The ML native support for PC parts, plus their crappy and pricey hardware options (including the mini) leads me to think they're gonna be selling just OSx in the mid future with limited hardware support. I hope Apple hear all the hate and whining it's going on about it or they're going down reducing their objective target to only fanboys
 
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All Taken

macrumors 6502a
Dec 28, 2009
780
1
UK
Down from 7/10 for the previous model.

But the percentage of people looking to dig around inside these things is low single-digits, I'd bet.

70,000 views of my guide alone would say you're wrong. Factor in other guides on the net and you have a large base, savvy customers repair an iMac rather than buy new every time.
 

Lankyman

macrumors 68020
May 14, 2011
2,083
832
U.K.
Another point which needs to be made. This isn't just about buyers wanting to get at the iMac's innards to do some user upgrades. What about how green this iMac really is? If it needs to be go in for repair it sounds as if the panel and glass will need to be replaced in order to make a half decent job of reassembly. How green is that?

Looking at the teardown the iMac looks to me like many other people have commented - a laptop on a stick. It may well be Apple's mantra - hear it is, it's this or nothing. Well I for one will choose something but that something won't be another iMac.
 

flopticalcube

macrumors G4
Another point which needs to be made. This isn't just about buyers wanting to get at the iMac's innards to do some user upgrades. What about how green this iMac really is? If it needs to be go in for repair it sounds as if the panel and glass will need to be replaced in order to make a half decent job of reassembly. How green is that?

No. It just needs a little rubbing alcohol and a roll of adhesive tape.
 

rnb2

macrumors regular
Jan 23, 2006
222
11
West Haven, CT, USA
Just saying cause I 've pretty much had it with apple cause you know what I expected? I didn't mind losing the odd or dropping the firewire and paying up for yet another ludicrously overpiced adapter. I wanted retina and was willing to pay for it, but I didn't expect they could run it with their sub par notebook components that they stuff most of the imacs with...

But at least I expected better panels from them (apparently since they now can't get their hands on samsung's superior plc panels it's back to 3 year old panels from lg...). And I expected a redesign with proper ergonomics, everyone and their cousins from the competition has adjustable AIOs, hell apple even has a patent on a rotating stand, they had one of the best ergonomics computer (the lamp mac) years and years ago, Jony Ive and Phil (instagram has jumped the shark for going android) Schiller can't bs me into believing that thin tapering the imac leaving a pregnant back is some sort of technological and design innovation. Hell, you can't even vesa mount it...

Lucky for you it's the holiday season - you should be able to find "Righteous Indignation" on sale 2-for-1 somewhere so you can stock up.

My only conclusion is Apple's slowly getting rid of Desktops and forcing prosumers to buy Mac Pro's with this release. The ML native support for PC parts, plus their crappy and pricey hardware options (including the mini) leads me to think they're gonna be selling just OSx in the mid future with limited hardware support. I hope Apple hear all the hate and whining it's going on about it or they're going down reducing their objective target to only fanboys

This is hilarious - the Mac Pro faithful are crying themselves to sleep worried that they're never going to get an update, and you're convinced that Apple actually wants to force (FORCE!) anybody with more demands than my mom to buy Mac Pros. The thought that any computer with 3TB+ of combined HDD/SSD storage, a quad-core processor, the fastest mobile GPU on the market, expandability to 32GB of RAM, a screen with almost twice as many pixels as an HDTV is anything less than a "professional" is laughable. I'm buying the 21.5" 2.9GHz to use professionally - I must be seriously deluded about its capabilities!

Better yet, you follow that up with the suspicion that Apple may stop selling hardware and just sell the OS with 'limited hardware support', like it's 1996 and Windows has irrevocably 'won' or something. Repeat after me: Apple is a HARDWARE COMPANY. They make their profit on Devices. Their software is there to make you want to buy the devices. Period. Just because the new iMac isn't to your liking doesn't mean they have any intention of not making them any more.
 

MacFoodPoisoner

macrumors regular
Dec 1, 2012
150
0
Lucky for you it's the holiday season - you should be able to find "Righteous Indignation" on sale 2-for-1 somewhere so you can stock up.
Nah, I 'll be much better off just opting for that kool aid, might be a bit pricy with that aluminum and glass enclosure, but it sure tastes good!:)


Repeat after me: Apple is a HARDWARE COMPANY.
They are an assembler (albeit one that's subcontracted this task to foxconn) of other people's hardware. An actual hardware company doesn't co-design (with arm) one cpu that they don't even manufacture. Thank god though for Intel, lg, samsung, toshi, texas intruments, qualcomm, nvidia, ati etc. cause otherwise apple would be selling a lot of aluminum and glass enclosures staffed with a conspicuous green or purple fluid. ;)

It's funny how people compare apple to bmw or lamborgini, or porche sometimes, any of them could only wish they'd sell at apple's margins without ever designing a single engine, breaks or suspension system...
 

rnb2

macrumors regular
Jan 23, 2006
222
11
West Haven, CT, USA
Nah, I 'll be much better off just opting for that kool aid, might be a bit pricy with that aluminum and glass enclosure, but it sure tastes good!:)



They are an assembler (albeit one that's subcontracted this task to foxconn) of other people's hardware. An actual hardware company doesn't co-design (with arm) one cpu that they don't even manufacture. Thank god though for Intel, lg, samsung, toshi, texas intruments, qualcomm, nvidia, ati etc. cause otherwise apple would be selling a lot of aluminum and glass enclosures staffed with a conspicuous green or purple fluid. ;)

It's funny how people compare apple to bmw or lamborgini, or porche sometimes, any of them could only wish they'd sell at apple's margins without ever designing a single engine, breaks or suspension system...

Apple much more designs the A6 than any other company using ARM at any scale, and since they were one of the original partners in ARM, I think they get a pass. Wintel created the commodity hardware business (and almost destroyed Apple with it) - Apple would be insane not to take advantage of it now that they can.

Surely you don't believe that creating a product that functions almost entirely via electronics is the same as creating a complex mechanical product? On top of that, do you think that BMW actually designs and manufactures EVERYTHING on its cars? Even the electronics that control the engine, displays, climate control systems, stability control systems? I think you'll find that many components, both mechanical and electronic, are provided by 3rd parties and integrated by BMW engineers (much like Apple).

Apple is able to command a premium price for some of its products because of material quality (the entire 'ultrabook' class is being subsidized by Intel because the Windows OEMs claimed they couldn't match the MacBook Air at a competitive price) and because they make their own OS instead of using an off-the-shelf product like the rest of the industry. Like I said, they're a hardware company that uses software to help create demand and prestige.

You'll always get more options by going with a Windows OEM, and sometimes you'll get a similar config for less money (sometimes not, though - see the MacBook Air) - the question is whether you're willing to put up with the off-the-shelf OS to get exactly the hardware you want? If you are, knock yourself out. If not, please stop whining - the internet is littered with people who have claimed, at some point in the last decade, that "Apple is DOOMED if they don't cater to my exact needs and wishes!" It hasn't actually turned out to be the case.

Apple is obsessively pursuing the idea that a computer can be an appliance - reliable, functional, attractive, and with absolutely no assumption that the user will ever be able to service it (or upgrade it) themselves. They're doing this from the bottom up with the iPad (my wife is absolutely thrilled with her 16GB iPad 3, by the way - she somehow doesn't feel that Apple abused her by offering such paltry storage), and now from the top down with the iMac. Either get used to that, or throw some money at one of the myriad (financially floundering) Windows OEMs and start learning to love Windows 8. Or Linux.
 
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