Afraid to buy another iMac

[mentaluproar]

I recently sold my old 24 inch refurb iMac. From day one, it was trouble, banding on the screen and image persistence, and the genius bar refused to help me, saying its part of the normal function. I opened it up and upgraded the hard drive (why not? The warrantee was worthless!) and despite the screen irritating the hell out of me, it was the best computer I ever owned.

Next month I am looking at getting a newer model, and am considering either the base model iMac or a mid-range mini. A refurb base model iMac is the better buy, but while the Mac mini half the power and requires that I buy the monitor and keyboard etc separately, it is more modular so problems would be easier to handle.

The most stress I would put it under is portal 2, but otherwise it just needs to handle the occasional VM, sync with my iPad, surfing, and some spreadsheets, and a bit of transcoding, so either of these machines would do the job.

Another option is a refurb 11" MacBook air. I would get everything in one box, and to compensate for storage, the Mac mini on the living room TV already hosts a few hard drives for the whole household. The reason I don't like the air is because I already have an iPad and don't see the need for yet another mobile device.

I love the simplicity of Mac, reliability, and interface, but their stubborn refusal to honor a warrantee is what's influencing my buying decision right now.

 

[srxtr]

I recently sold my old 24 inch refurb iMac. From day one, it was trouble...

Next month I am looking at getting a newer model, and am considering either the base model iMac or a mid-range mini. A refurb base model iMac is the better buy, ...

...From day one, it was trouble, ..., it was the best computer I ever owned.

...I love the simplicity of Mac, reliability, and interface, but their stubborn refusal to honor a warrantee is what's influencing my buying decision right now.

Apple usually sells good quality refurbs but you probably just got unlucky. Since you're so unlucky, maybe skip the refurb and go for new.

 

[mmomega]

and a refurb has been checked twice

 

[Spike88]

I got a great iMac (see signature) on 1st try. Ordered "brand new" via online internet store. I'm sure there's lots of other folks who got great iMacs on 1st try as well….

.

 

[noisycats]

The problem was not with the refurb, so to speak, but with the Genius who refused you warranty service.

Get another refurb ... but, if unsatisfactory, don't accept "no" as an answer.

 

[wessew]

Oftentimes the answer you get from one person is not consistent with that from another. In addition, you always have the option to elevate your issue to the store manager or above. Never stop with the initial turndown. I have seen some instances where the local expert misquoted policy or practice. So seek a second and third opinion via appeal.

 

[mentaluproar]

Hm, "the more you know!"

 

[thekev]

Apple usually sells good quality refurbs but you probably just got unlucky. Since you're so unlucky, maybe skip the refurb and go for new.

There is absolutely no logic to that statement, and the display problems he experienced were really quite common among 24" imacs. I don't know about the 27" ones.

and a refurb has been checked twice

Exactly... it received a second round of quality control. I haven't really seen anything that would indicate a higher rate of problems among Apple refurb machines.

Hm, "the more you know!"

The kinds of issues you mentioned have been extremely common amongst imacs. The 24" had a panel that looked great right out of the shop, but this was really common later in ownership. I haven't seen it as much with the 27", but i simply haven't seen as many 27" imacs in use. I saw tons of 24s. The guys that owned 24s seem to rely on their laptops these days.

 

[mentaluproar]

Was that the reason apple gave up in the 24s? I don't want anything as big as a 27" but mission control makes the 21.5 usable.

 

[BreakGuy]

Was that the reason apple gave up in the 24s? I don't want anything as big as a 27" but mission control makes the 21.5 usable.

You could always opt for a Mac Mini and get your own display.

 

[mentaluproar]

Yes, but then I am spending the same amount of cash for system with half the power.

 

[Spike88]

Yes, but then I am spending the same amount of cash for system with half the power.

Power isn't everything. As a suggestion, visit the Portable sections of this board and focus on the MacBook Air threads. I've read about a few folks who dumped their "fixed position" desktop models and got MacBook Air portables instead. And, their comments of "never going back to a desktop setup again" caught my eye. Yes, Mac Air is less "power" compared to many desktop models. But, their portability is much better. Within your opening thread, weren't you looking at MacBook Air as well????

.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

There is absolutely no logic to that statement, and the display problems he experienced were really quite common among 24" imacs. I don't know about the 27" ones.



Exactly... it received a second round of quality control. I haven't really seen anything that would indicate a higher rate of problems among Apple refurb machines.



The kinds of issues you mentioned have been extremely common amongst imacs. The 24" had a panel that looked great right out of the shop, but this was really common later in ownership. I haven't seen it as much with the 27", but i simply haven't seen as many 27" imacs in use. I saw tons of 24s. The guys that owned 24s seem to rely on their laptops these days.

Uneven illumination was a issue that apple was caught on back in 2008. They just turned up the brightness to cover it up, it took time for Apple to come clean on the issue but they kept selling them.

 

[talmy]

There is a problem with uneven coloration on the lower part of the 27" iMac display that bothers some people, and the older 24" monitors were too bright and could not be dimmed. That said, I've got a 27", my wife has a 24", my daughter has a 24" that was her late grandfather's, and we've owned a 20" C2D and a 17" G5 iMacs in the past. With all of those purchases it should be obvious that we've been very happy with them! Each one has been better than the system it has replaced.

 

[mentaluproar]

My issue with the it is while I love the resolution, why get another portable? Also, that damn GPU worries me. And transcoding? Forget about it.

 

[thekev]

There is a problem with uneven coloration on the lower part of the 27" iMac display that bothers some people, and the older 24" monitors were too bright and could not be dimmed.

I'm just going to add to the display thing here. Basically display panels are manufactured in pretty high volume to relatively tight margins. In desktop panels it's basically Samsung and LG above a certain price point. Yes others have existed, but these things have become heavily commoditized as the pricing has come down. It's difficult to get exact uniformity in color and luminance.

Some companies use hardware adjustment in the form of panel blocking and whatever other algorithms to reduce the contrast or gamut range slightly in favor of superior uniformity. Then in other cases as you pointed out, it's more evident at certain brightness ranges. Basically lcd panels and backlights are not perfect, and getting them within a really tight tolerance consistently can require another layer of adjustment in the manufacturing process.

 

[mentaluproar]

The air might actually work if I use back to my Mac on the mini on the tv. I can kind of see that. But then I still wonder if an iPad and a MacBook air makes sense.

Do any of you own an iPad and a laptop? What are you opinions on this?

 

[miniConvert]

I don't think a MacBook Air and an iPad makes all that much sense... I just got the Apple wireless keyboard and Origami Workstation for my iPad rather than going down the Air route again.

I've owned an awful lot of 27" iMacs through work (I buy our kit) and not a single one has had a single problem yet. I honestly think, after reading this thread, that you should get another iMac. If you're not happy with it just make sure you get Apple to fix it this time I know, it's horrible when someone fobs you off, but I think it's happened to most of us at some time or other.

 

[mentaluproar]

Will do. What about the 21.5 though? I don't like having such a large system, and the 24 was a great size, but with mission control, I can see a refurb 21.5 working out well. For the average user, what are your impressions of the 21.5 base model?

 

[seepel]

Do any of you own an iPad and a laptop? What are you opinions on this?

I do, I think they serve different roles. iPad for consumption, laptop for production. If I'm ever working on my laptop and find that I'm going to have to do some extended web browsing, I grab my iPad and plunk myself down on the couch every time.

 

[talmy]

Will do. What about the 21.5 though? I don't like having such a large system, and the 24 was a great size, but with mission control, I can see a refurb 21.5 working out well. For the average user, what are your impressions of the 21.5 base model?

Only size I haven't used (we've had 17", 20", 24" and 27")! One thing about the 27", because of the wider aspect ratio it's no taller than the 24", just a bit wider. It's a good replacement (although I personally prefer the ancient 4:3 aspect ratio since I can never get a tall enough screen, the TV/movie industry has won). Likewise the 21.5" is a wider version of the 20". At least they use IPS displays in the 21.5" as the low-end 20" models were TN.

I'd only get the 21.5" model now if space or cost were the major concern. It has performance compromises to fit everything into the smaller package.