27' iMac and Magic Mouse First Impressions

[Buzz Bumble]

I played with one at the Apple Store last night. I can not stress what a gorgeous machine this is. The LED screens are amazing. Made the 30" ACD look washed out.

They don't have an quad cores yet but the C2D was most definitely snappy™.

I played with a new 27" iMac 3.06GHz model last night (they salesperson actually unpacked their first demo model and set it up while I was there).

It is a great machine, but we did run a quick XBench test against the older 24" iMac 3.06GHz and the new model model faired a little worse in some tests and better in others (I can't remember any of the actual figures now). Not quite sure why though.

The 27" iMacs are quite weighty, so you'll need a sturdy desk to put them on.

I never really had a problem with the Mighty Mouse (apart from always switching off the extra buttons), but the Magic Mouse feels better in use and works great, with the possible exception of the two-finger gesture. The Magic Mouse is also thankfully less weighty than the heavy wireless Mighty Mouse.


Edit: Looking at the topic title I think I've discovered why you're having problems with the screen ... somehow you managed to get a 27 foot iMac instead of 27 inches.

 

[Freewayjim]

I played with a new 27" iMac and Magic Mouse at the Lenox Square Apple in store in Atlanta tonight and came way highly impressed.

The mouse especially was a pleasant surprise, it took me just a few minutes to get used to it and it was like, wow this is really solid, it just felt good in my hand.

The iMac is wonderful, can't argue about the screen, it's gorgeous.

I was in the market for a new MBP but would love to find an excuse to get the new 27" iMac, mostly as an external monitor. I've always wanted a 30" ACD but the 27" iMac screen looks every bit as good and is $100 less (plus it's a great working computer on it's own). Now I'm trying to justify to myself that getting the 27" iMac and a new 15" MBP is a good use of funds.

 

[brasscat]

OP - Question for you....

On my previous iMac i hated the fact that you could not dim the screen that much ie- at night time my eyes were hurting.

On the new 27" LED does the screen dim down as much as - say - a MacBook Pro?

I just tried it out -- the screen dims to very dark -- darker than my MPB I think.

 

[crhudy1985]

I went to the Keystone Fashion Mall in Indianapolis today to check out the new iMacs. I was trying to decide if the 27" was too big for my desk (btw it isn't and I can't wait until March when I am planning to get a new iMac). I don't know if I am just slow and not used to using a mouse but I couldn't get the one finger scroll to work on the new Magic Mouse. I have a while to figure that out though.

 

[Cybbe]

3. I was surprised to discover the wireless keyboard and mouse come pre-sync'd to the computer, with batteries already installed. It's just a matter of turning the iMac on, and then turning on the power of the mouse and keyboard and you're set.

You shouldn't be surprised. Consider the opposite scenario, that they would require syncing: people without any corded keyboard/mouse wouldn't be able to use the computer as you need it to sync up peripherals.

 

[carlos700]

The problem lies a bit deeper. The C2Ds are mobile versions and the i5/i7 are real desktop processors. I'm not sure if the rule you quoted will apply here. Won't touch any money before there are several real world comparisons between the different 27"-models.

EDIT: It looks like only the 3.06 GHz C2D is a 'mobile' version. The 3.33 GHz C2D uses 6 MB L2-Cache so it has to be a desktop version too. That makes a comparison to the i5 interesting again.

Actually, they are all desktop versions. The iFixit Guides shows an LGA 775 socket. And there is a desktop 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB L2 cache.

http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLGTD

 

[js81]

Actually, they are all desktop versions.

That's interesting. So this is the first Intel iMac with desktop processors. I knew the i5/i7 was a desktop CPU, but I didn't realize the C2Ds were. Interesting...

 

[Hammer97e]

Actually, they are all desktop versions. The iFixit Guides shows an LGA 775 socket. And there is a desktop 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB L2 cache.

http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLGTD

So, theoretically speaking, could one then easily drop in a Core 2 Quad LGA 775 chip? I know it wouldn't be an i5 or i7, but it would be a quad-core nonetheless. I would think the only thing that would take serious consideration would be the difference of heat dissipation, assuming a Core 2 Quad would generate more heat than a Core 2 Duo. I would think Snow Leopard would be able to support the chip, there are folks doing the hackintosh thing with Core 2 Quads.

 

[skye12]

I'm afraid to go the Apple store. Very afraid I'll come back with a new iMac!!!

 

[mr.steevo]

Yeah, me, too.

Conventional wisdom says that a higher clock speed (but less cores) will be faster in apps that aren't designed for multi-core processors.

Hi,

Don't the i5/i7 have a "turbo" function that boosts the speed of the core if it detects a non-multi core app? That would mean a 2.8 Quad could turbo itself to higher clock speed than the C2D. I think when the iMac Quad's come out they will be faster in every test.

s.

 

[c.s.]

I just checked out the iMac and Magic Mouse at the store. I was very disappointed to see that the MM does not allow you to tap to click (like a MBP touchpad). It actually "clicks" like a regular mouse. So I guess the only multi-touch features are scrolling & zooming, from what I could tell in system prefs. It's nice, but not that nice.

 

[Buzz Bumble]

I just checked out the iMac and Magic Mouse at the store. I was very disappointed to see that the MM does not allow you to tap to click (like a MBP touchpad). It actually "clicks" like a regular mouse.

It would be rather difficult to do that on a mouse - you're fingers usually rest on the front of the mouse as you use it, unlike a trackpad. That means the mouse would have difficulty knowing whether you were clicking and dragging or simply clicking and resting ... or you would have to use the mouse with your fingers raised all the time, which would cause no end of RSI law suits.

So I guess the only multi-touch features are scrolling & zooming, from what I could tell in system prefs. It's nice, but not that nice.

• Scrolling, at any angle (which the Mighty Mouse already does),
• Screen zooming, when holding down the Control key (which the Mighty Mouse already does)
• Backwards / Forwards paging (e.g. in Safari), by using dragging two fingers (which feels cumbersome, although some people would get used to it)

As other have said, more gestures may well be added later via software updates.

 

[Peace]

Hi,

Don't the i5/i7 have a "turbo" function that boosts the speed of the core if it detects a non-multi core app? That would mean a 2.8 Quad could turbo itself to higher clock speed than the C2D. I think when the iMac Quad's come out they will be faster in every test.

s.

The i7 does but the i5 doesn't.

[edit] my bad. They both do. The i7 has hyper threading whereas the i5 doesn't

[/edit]

 

[Silencio]

As nice as these sound, the new Mac Pro's can't be far behind.
But the i5/7'swill certainly take some of that business now.

Intel doesn't look like it will have any new Xeons for Apple to potentially use until Q1 next year. I assume that Apple will be using the Beckton processors in the Mac Pro / Xserve lines, but it would be nice if they could see clear to use Gulftown in the low-end Mac Pro.

I can't wait to get to an Apple Store and check out those 27" iMacs. I could see myself getting rid of my Mac Pro and separate Planar PX2611W display if I need to downsize and conserve space. I would be sad to lose my four internal drive bays, but I'm sure I could adapt.

For my design clients -- at least the ones that can stomach the glassy displays -- these new iMacs look like a home run. Even the 21.5" models are very viable systems for this market now that Apple has dumped the horrid, 6-bit TN panels that infected the old 20" iMacs.

 

[vargihate]

quick question: can you open a link in a new tab using the magic mouse? (like you do when you click the scroller on a regular mouse)