Questions before buying 27'' iMac

[csnplt]

Hi,

I'm going to get an iMac 27'' in a week or two, but I have some questions about it. First, if I buy it from somewhere like Amazon, can I still take it into the Apple Store if I have problems and get an exchange? Second, I think I would like to stick with the i5 option rather than upgrading for $180 (w/ student discount) to the i7. I would rather spend that money towards a good SSD, which would make a much larger difference. Is this a good idea. The i7 only adds 133 MHz and hyperthreading anyway.

Lastly, how concerned should I be about the reliability of the iMac? I've heard many issues are prevalent, but I can't get over the 27'' screen

Thanks for your help,
Thomas

[Crunch]

I hear you on the screen part. Let me quickly answer your SSD questions, as I have some experience with them. I would go for the SSD vs. a higher clock speed, as the SSD will dramatically improve your (almost) every task. Boot-up is ridiculously fast, so I don't mind anymore when a freshly installed application requires a reboot. Most every program, such as the MS Office, Adobe Photoshop, etc. appears virtually instantaneously when launched. Same goes for your browser, which, in my case, has to load between 20-30 tabs every time I close it, and later restart it, for example.

Anyway, back to the screen. I've noticed that several people have come forward and complain about the iMac's screen. It allegedly has a "yellow-ish tint problem", and it is further alleged that even if you get it replaced, the new ones aren't any better.

There is a writer for Gizmodo who apparently ordered one and hated it, along with Apple's customer service, or lack thereof. Check it out:

http://gizmodo.com/5436442/apple-has...need-your-help

Is there anyone here who owns one of the new iMac's, and can say what's what. I, too, am planning on getting the 27", but now, I'm not sure as to what to do!?

[fa8362]

Buy it. If you don't like it, return it. It's that simple.

[PeckhamBog]

Originally Posted by fa8362

Buy it. If you don't like it, return it. It's that simple.

The OP is asking who would they be able to return it to? The vendor or any Apple store?

[fa8362]

Originally Posted by PeckhamBog

The OP is asking who would they be able to return it to? The vendor or any Apple store?

That's not all he asked.

[csnplt]

Originally Posted by fa8362

That's not all he asked.

One of the things I asked was whether I could return it to Apple if I had bought it from Amazon or a similar reseller. If there was a problem, would I be able to get a replacement from Apple, or would I have to get an RMA from Amazon?

[Crunch]

Originally Posted by fa8362

Buy it. If you don't like it, return it. It's that simple.

Hehe. Well, I found an Apple store at London-Heathrow and the screen looked good to me. Watching Bluray movies on an IPS LCD that has LED backlight to boot sounds orgasmic.

[HLdan]

Buying it from Amazon is the same as buying from any 3rd party reseller. If you have issues you can take it to the Apple store for repairs but they will not exchange it over the counter or RMA it. They will tell you to exchange it with the reseller you bought it from.

[dborja]

Originally Posted by HLdan

Buying it from Amazon is the same as buying from any 3rd party reseller. If you have issues you can take it to the Apple store for repairs but they will not exchange it over the counter or RMA it. They will tell you to exchange it with the reseller you bought it from.

Agreed, they won't RMA it. However, if it's for repairs and depending on the issues, they may go ahead and do an exchange. 'Happened to me last week; they decided it was too much labor at the Apple store to fix my issues so they swapped mine with another brand new unit even though I purchased mine from MacConnection.

[powerbook911]

Originally Posted by HLdan

Buying it from Amazon is the same as buying from any 3rd party reseller. If you have issues you can take it to the Apple store for repairs but they will not exchange it over the counter or RMA it. They will tell you to exchange it with the reseller you bought it from.

except Amazon will let you return it 30 days most of the time. Indeed, they will often overnight you, if in stock, another one at $0.00 cost as long as they get the other one back within 30 days.

If Amazon had the i7, there is no question where I would have ordered it.

[Crunch]

So Apple really frowns upon those people who get their Mac's from resellers?

Also, can you buy Mac's at the Apple Stores, or is it like Nokia, or how Gateway used to be, where you could get a feel for the products, and you could place the order, but it would still get shipped to you.

Thanks...

[dborja]

Originally Posted by Crunch

So Apple really frowns upon those people who get their Mac's from resellers?

Also, can you buy Mac's at the Apple Stores, or is it like Nokia, or how Gateway used to be, where you could get a feel for the products, and you could place the order, but it would still get shipped to you.

Thanks...

They don't really frown if you bought from a reseller. Warranty repairs are taken with no problems. It's if you want to return or exchange your machine for reasons other than having problems that they'll refuse. It has to do with who took profit from the sale...

Yes, you can buy and pick up from the Apple store as long as they have it in stock. Some special configurations, though, like the i7 are not stocked and have to be ordered.

[Crunch]

Originally Posted by dborja

They don't really frown if you bought from a reseller. Warranty repairs are taken with no problems. It's if you want to return or exchange your machine for reasons other than having problems that they'll refuse. It has to do with who took profit from the sale...

Yes, you can buy and pick up from the Apple store as long as they have it in stock. Some special configurations, though, like the i7 are not stocked and have to be ordered.

Thanks very much for your quick response. That makes sense that they provide, well, let's call it an extra service for lack of a better term, for those who configured them online, or bought them from an Apple store.

I have a Lenovo ThinkPad W700 with the T9900 right now, which is a Core 2 Duo 3.06GHz with 6MB of L2 cache. I almost went ahead with an order of the new iMac 27" with the desktop version of the C2D 3.06GHz.

I do like the new Hyper-threading and Turbo Boost technologies that the new processors support, especially as there are still relatively few applications that take advantage of anything that uses more than 2 cores. I understand that thanks to Turbo Boost, the CPU is able to give an app with no quad core support all the power, memory, and speed, to one core or split it to 2 cores, which Intel Core 2 Quad processors have not been able to do until now. Is that about right?

Another reason as to why I want to get one of the new "2010 Family of Core chips" is because I want full support for the upcoming 6000 Ultimate WiFi N series. I'm big into WiFi, and the new 6000 Ultimate N series will hopefully support speeds of up to 600Mbps. Then I read an article that noted that the new processors will support HD streaming from a computer to an HDTV. That would be awesome! However, that will reportedly only work with the i3/i5/i7 processors. I definitely want to enjoy those two specific technologies. I guess it's a good thing that I haven't gotten the iMac just yet.

What do you guys think? Are my conclusions about right, or am I buying too much into the hype? lol...I would love to hear alternatives and (hopefully) sane some money in the process?