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Best Arm Options For New 27" iMac
I'm looking to get a desk mount monitor arm for my 27" iMac.
There was some discussion of this a year or two ago on the forums, but I'm interested in hearing any opinions/experiences/suggestions for an arm that would provide convenient and safe positioning for the weight (20.5 lbs.) and width of my new machine. Some of the brands that have been mentioned in the past are Ergotron and iLift, and I also came across this one from ComputerComforts. Last edited by bobob; Oct 31, 2009 at 08:10 AM. |
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#2 |
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weight
Careful buddy... the 27" iMac is 30.5lbs, not 20.5lbs... whole different class of arms :/
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#3 | |
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In the meantime, I had continued to ask around, and another arm was recommended to me. It is the Ergomart SAA4229 which extends a full 44" and supports monitors up to 33 lbs. A bit expensive at $460US, but it's like a mini Canadarm, and imho a perfect match for the 27" iMac. I'm blasting off from the surface of my desk, no longer a prisoner of gravity, I'm going to explore space in my office.
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#4 |
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If you have access to a wall this should hold the weight - http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2 . $26+shipping. It is overkill for my 24" LCD, so should hold the 27" iMac OK and is rated for 66 pounds.
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3x Mac mini C2D, G4 mini (dead), eMac G4 800 MHz, older retired units |
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#5 |
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Just an FYI in regards to a good deal on a very nice monitor arm for your new iMac.
Amazon has this arm- http://www.lcdarms.com/products/LCD_...Arms/7500.html For just $99.99 Actually being sold by 'Essex Technology Group', through Amazon, but I ordered one, and it arrived in two days. Still waiting for my Apple VESA mount adapter, but the arm looks awesome and very well made. Check out the video on the above link to see it in action.
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Commodore 64 - 1084 Monitor -(2x) 1541 Drives - 1200 baud modem - FastLoad Cartridge |
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#6 | ||
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(Please note though, for those considering purchasing the Innovative 7500, that it comes in four separate models suitable for different monitor weight ranges. The one that will support the 27" iMac is the 7500-1500, capable of supporting payloads from 13.5 - 44 lbs.) If I end up purchasing a shorter arm, this one is at the top of my list. Quote:
Last edited by Mitthrawnuruodo; Nov 1, 2009 at 07:25 AM. Reason: Merging, please use MULTIQUOTE to answer more than one post... |
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#7 |
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Damn. That is very bad news again. I found the SAA4229 on my own (through the Apple.com boards) a few weeks ago, and that's what I was hoping to settle on. Now you've just put a major dent in my plan... not good. Can you elaborate a bit more? How did you get this info?
Also here's something to think about. It all depends on how you will use the arm. My situation is as follows: To the right of my desk is a wall. On the other side of my desk is a couch. I want to attach the arm to the wall, stretch it out about 36" or so, so it is above my desk, then pan the screen 90 degrees so it faces me as I sit at my desk, then pan 90 degrees in the other direction to face the couch, when I'm sitting on the couch to watch a movie. Here's my problem. My wall is not perfectly vertical, so the arm will be over my desk at a slight droop. Now, if I pan the monitor to face me, it will be at an angle (not perfectly horizontal) - that would be fine, if one could rotate the monitor slightly to make it horizontal, but it doesn't look like you can do that with the SAA4229 (except rotate it totally to a portrait mode). So now I have to think how to attach the arm to the wall with some kind of inset to make it vertical. A lot of trouble. Please keep us updated on your search. I too am searching, and will report on what I find. Oddly enough, I've looked at a lot on the internet and found nothing that: extends at least 36", rotates, tilts, moves up and down, sideways, and can be pushed back flat to the wall. The SAA4229 comes the closest, though it doesn't exactly rotate (except for the total switch between portrait and landscape mode)... now I'm disappointed to hear about the tilting problem. This is not looking good... plus, I've seen arms used in the medical field, which can't hack 30+lbs (weight of the 27"), and yet cost $900! Crazy. Edit: maybe there is some way to replace that last tilting joint on the SAA4229 with a more robust solution at a reasonable cost and without major surgery? I can't quite tell from the drawings in the ergomart site if that is feasible or not...
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OldCorpse quietly rotting Last edited by OldCorpse; Oct 30, 2009 at 06:05 PM. |
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#8 | |
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My search has now turned to two of the longer models from Innovative, though I have not yet confirmed with that company whether the tilt mechanism is robust enough for the weight. Additionally, (and concerningly) the maximum payload weight for these two models is very close to the weight of the 27" iMac itself. In that regard, one side research project (which I've made no progress on yet) is determining how heavy the built-in stand is on the iMac. This weight would be subtracted from the 30.5 lbs of the iMac, and then the weight of Apple's VESA adapter would then be re-added. My guess is that the arm payload weight for a 27" iMac would end up being a hair under 30 lbs, but I would still like to know the exact weight for discussion with the arm manufacturers.
The two Innovative models I am considering are the 9102-2000 and the 7601-14-2000. They both have a horizontal range of 42" and a vertical range of 28". The differences that I can see are that the 7601-14-2000 has internal cable management and has a payload range of 12-30 lbs, while the 9102-2000 has external cables and a payload range of 12-35 lbs. Additionally, the 7601-14-2000 base model comes with the company's "FLEXmount", while the 9102-2000 requires you to select your choice of mount for your situation at additional cost. I still need to find out from Innovative the answers to a few questions such as: - Are their payload limits actual engineering specs? (ie: can you load it right to the max?) - Is their tilt head robust enough to fluidly manage a payload equal to a 27" iMac? On the plus side with Innovative, is that they seem Mac friendly - they have provided arm solutions for Macs for some years now (though they haven't yet updated their "Arm Wizard" for the new iMac models yet). Also, their prices quotes from their local distributors seem to be about half of their website's list prices. Further, they claim: Quote:
(The update on the SAA4229 tilt issue came directly from Ergomart when asked about the suitability of that model for the new 27" iMac.) |
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#10 |
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#11 | |
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ErgoMart has some that will work, e.g. models SAA2718 and SAA2415. They are kind of pricy, but are very sturdy. I have my last generation 24-inch iMac on a SAA2718 and it's been great. From this, I followed up on ErgoMart, and located an arm not mentioned in that post, but which seemed better suited: SAA4229. Then you came along and ruined that plan. I am now adrift again. Couple of things to keep in mind. Through my research I'd come across many arms which upon closer examination turned out to be the same basic unit from the same OEM, which the various distributors would rebadge with different model numbers (and sometimes different color options). That's one. The second, is that when queried, the various distributors would make different claims about the properties of their arms - the exact same arms, but with different brand names. So you may be looking at GreatArm 2000 and MightyArm6 and seeing that GreatArm2000 says "suitable for the 27" iMac", and MightyArm6 saying "must manually tighten every time you tilt the 27" iMac" and conclude that you have two different arms, with the GreatArm2000 being better. But the reality is that these are exactly the same arm, only have different names and different descriptions of their capacities. Now, I am not claiming that your latest discovery is in fact the same - simply rebadged - arm as the SAA4229 (or the latter being a rebadged version of Innovation's product), but understand that if the only difference between them is in the description (44" reach vs 42" reach), then that is not sufficient to conclude that they are in fact different products, because on various pages, the SAA4229 is described as having 42" reach, but 44" reach if you count the mount... in other words, it's the same description. Now, ErgoMart may tell you honestly that there's a problem with having to manually tighten the tilt screws, but who says the other distributor would do so, even if they have the exact same problem? I'm not saying they'd necessarily lie, but may simply be unaware of the issue, never having tried to put up the 27" iMac. Edit: I just clicked on the link you provided to their distributors. FYI, the first online distributor they list is ErgoMart. I don't know... it looks to me like the exact same product, just looking at the photos. I could be wrong, but I don't think so.
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OldCorpse quietly rotting Last edited by OldCorpse; Oct 31, 2009 at 01:56 PM. |
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#12 | |||
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![]() But, of course you're right about rebranding and such, it's a very common practice nowadays. And in this case the designs do look suspiciously similar. One good thing was that Ergomart was upfront about the tilter/wrist limitations, though they didn't suggest any alternative models. However, as I mentioned above, I haven't begun discussions with Innovative yet. I retain hope based on their statement that their "products are designed with interchangeable parts". If their 7500-1500 arm can support a monitor up to 44 lbs, surely that tilter/wrist can handle the mere ~30 lbs of a 27" iMac. Perhaps it is a different heavier duty one than the one used in the 9102-2000 and the 7601-14-2000, and can be custom swapped in. At any rate, this is the exact purpose of this thread - - to find properly functioning radial arms for those of us getting new 27" iMacs in the near future. Let's continue to pool our research and avoid any droopy wristed disappointments down the road... ![]() Quote:
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Also, I noticed they have not yet added a similar note to their descriptions of the SAA4229 or the SAA2718. Last edited by Mitthrawnuruodo; Nov 1, 2009 at 07:27 AM. Reason: Merging, please use MULTIQUOTE and/or EDIT... |
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#13 | |
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1)Determine whether in fact, the tilter mechanism on the SAA4229 is wimpier than on the SAA2415 which they claim will handle the 27". Because they may very well refer to "handling" overall, and not specifically to the tilter. I'd find it rather surprising that they'd use a weaker tilter in the bigger arm (SAA4229). 2)If in fact the tilter on the SAA2415 is counterintuitively more robust, then can one simply swap that tilter in place of the SAA4229? If it transpires that it's exactly the same tilter on both arms, then the question for Innovative is "do you have another tilter, that's more robust, that can be swapped in for the one in the SAA4229? As I suggested a few posts above, this should be doable purely from an engineering point of view. It may be the only option. 3)If a simple swap is possible, will ErgoMart do it? Will they charge more? Or will we have to buy a (unique?) tilter solution directly from Innovative, should they have one available, and at what cost? 4)If the SAA4229 is the same arm all over different distributors and Innovative is the OEM (presumably there's a SKU for that arm), then which distributor has it at the best price - factoring in (un)avoidable taxes (I'm in CA). 5)Color options. Is there a website that Innovative can point us to, where there would be color photographs showing what the color options are? I suppose it would be best to get someone from these companies to answer these, though perhaps not over the weekend. Then again, they may know of a different solution/arm we are not even aware of (that they have access to, since I doubt they'd point us to a competitor). Anyway, Bob, good job, I think we are getting somewhere. Just on a side note, I have not found, so far, any other arm that has the same reach, flexibility and weight capacities. Rather odd if you ask me - maybe someone who is more knowledgeable in this field can chime in.
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OldCorpse quietly rotting |
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#15 | |
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I picked up the VESA mount for my 27inch iMac tonight. Mounted my Innovation 7500-1500 to my desk (will be moving from desk to wall mount tomorow), but so far so good. It definitely has no problem supporting the weight of the iMac. You have to turn down the tension quite a bit just to keep it from flinging the imac upwards. The tilter does need cranked down a bit in order not to fall forwards. But after that, you can change the title without loosening/tightening anything. Much more ergonomically friendly now for sure. Here's a couple pics: ![]() ![]()
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Commodore 64 - 1084 Monitor -(2x) 1541 Drives - 1200 baud modem - FastLoad Cartridge |
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OK, now I need to confirm a couple of points. On the very last joint just before the iMac, the tilt, how weak is that joint? Here's what I'm getting at. Once the iMac is mounted, if I want to tilt it back or forward to angle it slightly so that I don't have reflections or whatever, can I just adjust it with my hands, and not have to tighten it with tools as bobob so maliciously claimed? That man ruined many hours for me. Here's what he claimed: "Upon further enquiries, I have been advised that while the arm of the SAA4229 can handle the weight of the 27" iMac, that the tilter mechanism at the end would have to be extremely tightened not to droop with the weight of the monitor. It would need to be loosened, adjusted, and then retightened with a hex key to change the tilt. This does not comply with my goal of instant convenient adjustability, so my search continues." I have suffered greatly when I heard this. Here is just a partial list of symptoms of what happened to me as a result of reading that devastating text: 1)diarrhea 2)stomach cramps 3)nausea 4)throwing up 5)extreme anger 6)despondency 7)insomnia 8)feeling of abandonment 9)extreme helplessness 10)lying in bed unable to move 11)very slow typing So, can you positively debunk the torturous claims of bobob, so that I may be freed from that malign influence? I promise to worship you as my personal Jesus! Thanks!
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OldCorpse quietly rotting Last edited by Mitthrawnuruodo; Nov 1, 2009 at 07:28 AM. Reason: Snipping out quoted images |
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#17 |
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Out of the box the last joint that controls the tilt is pretty loose, which allows the iMac to flop forward too easily. I had to tighten that up joint up and after that I can now tilt the imac without further use of tools.
It does take a bit of effort when tilting (2 hands), but I'm ok with that. Seems like it would have to have some friction without it losing its position on its own which would be worse. Other than that, the main gas spring adjustment screw needed to be loosened up a bunch, because it is so strong that even with the full weight of the imac it would push to the full upward position. Better too strong, than to weak, for sure. My plans are to get the arm mounted on the wall, and just begin enjoying my much more adjustable and comfortable viewing angle. In summary I will say this: You aren't going to find a better arm for less than $200. For $99, it is awesome.
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Commodore 64 - 1084 Monitor -(2x) 1541 Drives - 1200 baud modem - FastLoad Cartridge |
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OldCorpse quietly rotting |
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Try looking at Monoprice.com.
I just got an adjustable tilting/swiveling wall mount bracket that will take an 80 lb LCD for about $24. At the moment it is a whole $32. Don't know it meets your requirements, but they have others too, including desk brackets. |
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OldCorpse quietly rotting |
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The information on the adjustablility, and your clarifications on the tilter/wrist mechanism based on OldCorpse's questions are very helpful. Also, the pics are great - perhaps after you get used to the arm and if you feel ambitious, you could post a couple more with the arm in more extreme positions (eg. arm fully extended upward and outward with the wrist at maximum downward tilt). Another question - how did you find mounting the VESA adapter to the back if the iMac? There seemed to be quite a few difficulties described on the Apple boards about this procedure. {Edit: Oh, and to make a further pest of myself - now that you have the built-in stand removed, you wouldn't by chance have access to a weigh scale, would you? I've been trying to determine the weight of the stand itself, and thereby the weight of the iMac wo a stand, for my negotiations with the Arms Merchants.) Quote:
ICW also has a radial arm with 42" of reach - the Elite 5220 Paralink Swivel double arm LCD mount - but unfortunately it's payload max's out at 28 lbs. Quote:
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Last edited by Mitthrawnuruodo; Nov 1, 2009 at 07:28 AM. Reason: Merging, please use MULTIQUOTE and/or EDIT... |
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I've installed a few of these Apple VESA adapters, and yes - take heed to the grumblings on the forums about how they are a pain to install. My advice would be to get a GOOD screwdriver style torx driver for the one screw in the center that is used to pull the iMac's mount outward to align the two side pin bolts. Usually one side will go in pretty easily, and the other will have you summoning the help of whatever demon you can conjure. But, with a little tap here, lots more swearing, it will eventually work. Sorry my only scale doesn't register the weight of the stand. My 'guesstimate' is that it weighs about 3 lbs.
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Commodore 64 - 1084 Monitor -(2x) 1541 Drives - 1200 baud modem - FastLoad Cartridge |
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#23 |
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i bought THIS
about 5-6 years ago and it's a beast. it will easily hold 100+ pounds. unfortunately the company stopped making them i think. i used it for a 20" G5 iMac and a 24" Aluminum iMac and now with a 30" Dell monitor.
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it's not that i'm lazy, it's that i just don't care. Mac Mini 2.53 C2D iPad 32GB w/3G iPhone 4 32GB |
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#24 |
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Mounting the 21.5" and smaller iMacs
This is somewhat OT - I really should make a separate topic and post that, but I hate to duplicate threads, so I'll post it here, even if it'll have limited visibility.
For those who wish to mount the 21.5" iMac (or the older smaller models), there is a way of doing it, without removing the stand (which is not removable on those models). In the course of my fruitless search for mounting options, I found that there's a special adapter for the smaller iMac Vesa plates which is available here. I am not necessarily endorsing this solution and I have no personal experience with this, nor am I affiliated in any way with the site, just thought that I'd throw that out, in case someone might find it useful. Do your research. YMMV.
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OldCorpse quietly rotting |
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That leaves this humble thread as the premiere online source of up-to-date iMac arm information and opinion available today. Through the pioneering research of contributors such as yourself, future prospective arm purchasers can use this discussion to reach out on their own personal Armsquest 2010. With Apple's featuring of the VESA mounting possibilities of the 27" iMac in their product description, I believe that we'll see more and more iMac owners in the next year begin to see what a perfect match an articulating arm makes for their all-in-one computer especially with it's standard wireless keyboard and mouse. So imho, your inclusion of iMacMount.com in this thread is both appropriate and welcome. (As a matter of fact, I ran across a discussion from a couple of years back, amongst earlier iMac owners frustrated with the lack of arm mounting options. The founder of iMacMounts seems to be one such iMac owner who decided to take on the engineering, production, and marketing of a workaround solution himself.) |
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