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Apple Announces Lighter, Thinner iMac Models with Fusion Drive
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I bought an iMac 27" a month ago and I am happy with it performance and design and oh.. the cd drive...
So my PC which was my workhorse, had this configuration
Intel Core i7
12 GB RAM
nVidia GTX 260 with 1 GB RAM
1x2 TB Drives on two bays
CD/DVD Drive
One slot of the DVD drive was for the multi memory card reader, front headphones and two USB ports.
Now got into the Hackintosh thing just for fun and see if I can get it working and feel like its a Mac Pro. I have used many mac mini's before this iMac i got so I really wanted to feel the oomph of a powerful Mac !
I dont want to give URLs's or anything of where I got the stuff, but PM me if you are interested and you can google it as well.
I had my copy of OS X Lion that I had purchased for the Mac Mini I had and I created the boot USB Stick/Drive with a program which apparently emulates the EFI BIOS on a PC for Mac to boot.
Installed Lion and notices my resolution was only 1024x768. No Sound, No Network access.
There is another program called Multibeast which has a collection of kexts(kernel extensions) or drivers that we have to choose depending on what hardware you have.
Mine was a Intel Rampage motherboard and Realtek network chip. So after fumbling around many versions of "Realtek's" in multibeast, I got one that works. Then my audio chip is from I forget which manufacturer but I chose "Voodoo" and got the 5.1 sound working.
The real pain was getting the video card to be recognized. Even though multibeast had a lot of nVidia drivers none of them would work for me.
So found a DSDT file someone has posted online for the exact same machine I had and once I installed that my video card was detected and it worked to its fullest and I ran couple of geekbench and other scores on it.
Finally I have a Mac Pro like machine and was super excited. Sleep, wake up from sleep and everything worked perfectly.
After playing around for a day then I wonder what Apple feels about this. As you are going to be deeply invested in their ecosystem. iTunes/Store is going to need your credit card and full details and then comes the cloud. So Apple knows exactly who you are and that you are running a Hackintosh. What will they do with that info? I don't know and honestly didn't want to know. So after the satisfaction of having done it, I wiped it all off and installed Windows 7 again
One thing I learnt in this process was that my Windows 7 installation previously was running on IDE as you can't install it on AHCI mode. But Mac's need AHCI mode set in BIOS. But after some tweaks to the registry I am running windows 7 in AHCI mode and is very fast. Just did a back up from drive A to drive B @ 200 Mb/sec.
Long term pitfalls of using a Hackintosh,
1) Apple updates often include driver updates assuming that your system is a Mac pro. You install those updates and your machine is toast. Have to resort to lot of trickery to remove those drivers and install the kexts from multibeast all over again. The amount of time you will spend to get all that working and pain you will go through doing it just not worth it.
2) Connecting a new device or printer or anything you can imagine might result in a kernel Panic. It happened to me. Though a reboot fixed it. Still, the drivers you will use are mostly generic or for a different manufacturer but it works? So you can't guarantee that everything will work 100%/
3) The serial number generated during the hackintosh install is either pirated or some random generated and Apple knows its not true. And I dont want to get into Apple's crosshairs if they tried to set an example for others, by a lawsuit or whatever.
4) My PC is worth say $650.00 and I really didn't save any money by doing this as a Mac Mini today is as good as my PC.
So personally it was a fun thing to do but not for long term use or a replacement for a Mac.
There are others who seem to have built a Hackintosh and seem happy with it. Depends on how you look at it. There are also sites where people have tested a certain batch of hardware and give you a list of PC components you can buy that they know for sure works like a champ for Hackintosh. But you also have to depend on them to release the curated Apple updates, after Apple releases the updates to make sure it doesn't break your system. It will all be fun for a while but then as time goes and you just want to use the system to do something and if you notice a kernel panic, it just isn't worth it. But you can give it a try with a old PC lying around and see if that works, for fun.
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Don't know about your legislation and the technical details, but...
I also mailed compressed down jpegs to different people. But there are some severe restrictions here when mailing digital X-Rays to breeder specific orgs. Quite a hassle.
You can upload DICOM on their servers and I have to admit those institutions don't accept CDs either.
Nevertheless I prefer handing out DICOM with a dedicated viewer on CD (that you just carry with you in case it's needed) over mailing a dumbed down JPEG any day. You lose lots of detail with the compression. YMMV.
And tbh a lot of people in Germany still use mailboxes with a 2 GB attachment limit.
Well, I have to say up front that the new iMacs look nice, but like a lot of you, I don't understand why 'thinner is better' was applied to the desktops. This isn't 1984 when we were putting our Macs into cloth bags to carry around.
I really hope they got the heat exchange engineering right on this one, or it could be the 2006 iMac debacle all over again, especially if you can't crack open the case to clean it out. I live in the desert, in a pretty dusty environment, and I used to have to clean out my iMac at least once a year. I won't be touching this model until the long term reviews are in on the reliability of this generation of iMac.
The disappearance of the optical drive was predictable. Its days were numbered after the introduction of the App store.
Now: where is the New Mac Pro? Do we really have to wait until next year?!
I really hope they got the heat exchange engineering right on this one, or it could be the 2006 iMac debacle all over again, especially if you can't crack open the case to clean it out. I live in the desert, in a pretty dusty environment, and I used to have to clean out my iMac at least once a year. I won't be touching this model until the long term reviews are in on the reliability of this generation of iMac.
The disappearance of the optical drive was predictable. Its days were numbered after the introduction of the App store.
Now: where is the New Mac Pro? Do we really have to wait until next year?!
Terrific post. My experience gave me pretty much the same end results: it's fun if you like to hack around, but I'd never consider one for any kind of critical use.
Yes there are millions buying CDs but relative to the number of people using/buying/(pirating) digital services it's incomparable. Like I said retail stores have already started cutting stock for these years ago because they are old technology that will go sooner or later. Apple has pushed the button that ignites this change with this new iMac.
Why people bother to make it harder for themselves by still buying CDs baffles me. It can likely be attributed to psychological aspects associated with owning/buying a physical product. People like you just don't want to change yet despite the clear evidence there are superior, easier, more reliable services available for you. People are just uncomfortable of replacing the concept of CDs with digital.
I mean why do you buy music CDs/DVDs? To rip them and put them on your phone/tablets/desktop/mp3 players. Do people just find some kind of pleasure in wasting time to rip it themselves? A single click on a download button anywhere with 3G/WIFI (i.e. everywhere) will do the job. Why waste hours ripping every new CD.
No optical drive?
Does someone know if it's possible to connect Apple's Superdrive to a Time Capsule's USB port so the new iMac can use it as a remote disk?
Have anyone tried this with a Macbook Air?
I would prefer to have the superdrive connected to the TM USB port than having this on my desk. I don't use DVDs that often...
Does someone know if it's possible to connect Apple's Superdrive to a Time Capsule's USB port so the new iMac can use it as a remote disk?
Have anyone tried this with a Macbook Air?
I would prefer to have the superdrive connected to the TM USB port than having this on my desk. I don't use DVDs that often...
Just ordered (Sunday October 21st) a "brand new" imac 27" Intel Core i7 quad-core 3,4GHz, 4GB di SDRAM (just bought the 32 SDRAM kit from OWC ), HDD 1TB (I will install an extra SDD by myself... thanks iFixit guys!) and AMD Radeon HD 6970M GDDR5 2GB) and yesterday I recieved an e-mail from Apple that said this iMac is not sold any more .
Well, you know what? I'm really happy even if I don't have it yet
Why?
-First of all the new iMac is really new and as we all know new Macs or PCs they all have problems for the first period of time that they fix after some months.
-Better screen?!?!?! I never saw this screen and if I don't see it I don't believe it. Those marketing guys are payed to say that everything is better than before. Ok, could be better but... have you seen it?
-Thinner than before? Wow, yeah, cool, nice but what about overheating? And... well...it's a desktop right?
-Better performance? Yeah maybe, but IMHO I don't thing it's a huge upgrade to pay for it and we still don't have any benchmark.
-Upgrades/repairing? well IMHO the "old" iMac is quite easy to DYS repairing if you are quite used to it. The new one?... who knows, but I think it will be much more difficult. Just take a look at the new mbpr (I thought it was the perfect solution for me but... ) you cannot even change the battery and I think this will be the future of Apple products: "you want an upgrade? Buy a new computer and pay!"
-And mine cost less than the new one and I think I can use it for 4/5 years with an excelent screen (I will use it for web design, graphic design, I will have some virtual machines (Win, Linux) , sometimes 3d rendering and I hope I will have a lot of fun with this amazing machine) and if I need it, I know I can repair it by myself and I can find 2nd hand HW quite cheap.
I'm happy with my "forced" choice
PS: WTF? with mbp you have the choice (mbp or mbpr) with iMac... This is the only option (PS: I agree with who said about the weight/size of "old" iMac and new ones and the extra money Apple will have from this change . I think this is the only reason they put out production the "old" iMac )
), HDD 1TB (I will install an extra SDD by myself... thanks iFixit guys!) and AMD Radeon HD 6970M GDDR5 2GB) and yesterday I recieved an e-mail from Apple that said this iMac is not sold any more .Well, you know what? I'm really happy even if I don't have it yet
Why?
-First of all the new iMac is really new and as we all know new Macs or PCs they all have problems for the first period of time that they fix after some months.
-Better screen?!?!?! I never saw this screen and if I don't see it I don't believe it. Those marketing guys are payed to say that everything is better than before. Ok, could be better but... have you seen it?
-Thinner than before? Wow, yeah, cool, nice
but what about overheating? And... well...it's a desktop right? -Better performance? Yeah maybe, but IMHO I don't thing it's a huge upgrade to pay for it and we still don't have any benchmark.
-Upgrades/repairing? well IMHO the "old" iMac is quite easy to DYS repairing if you are quite used to it. The new one?...
who knows, but I think it will be much more difficult. Just take a look at the new mbpr (I thought it was the perfect solution for me but... ) you cannot even change the battery and I think this will be the future of Apple products: "you want an upgrade? Buy a new computer and pay!" -And mine cost less than the new one and I think I can use it for 4/5 years with an excelent screen
(I will use it for web design, graphic design, I will have some virtual machines (Win, Linux) , sometimes 3d rendering and I hope I will have a lot of fun with this amazing machine) and if I need it, I know I can repair it by myself and I can find 2nd hand HW quite cheap.I'm happy with my "forced" choice
PS: WTF? with mbp you have the choice (mbp or mbpr) with iMac...
This is the only option (PS: I agree with who said about the weight/size of "old" iMac and new ones and the extra money Apple will have from this change . I think this is the only reason they put out production the "old" iMac )
Where did you get the idea that I thought it would have all those things? Those were a wish list of things they could have changed.
Epic fail on reading comprehension.
Not too well when it comes to desktop computers. Or did you change the subject?
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Why, so you can feel all righteous and superior to other people who have different opinions than yours? (Incidently, last time I checked, my original post had 82 upvotes).
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Awwww...did someone dare to critique a product release or have a different opinion than you?
Boo hoo. Life must be rough inside a cult.
Digital cannot beat used DVD at a buck fifty or five dollar blu-rays. I would like a higher quality digital music as I really do not care about discs. Digital music is for the most part priced okay. Movies and just about anything else is FAR from fairly priced, often the digital downs can be more for a television series then a blu-ray copy new, let alone the savings of a used copy.
I suspect this is the quote you're looking for:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhdmZ7iNZYo - start at about 12.30.
He says iTunes is the number one music store in the world, and that they've had over 16 billion songs downloaded. There's no mention of CDs. Maybe you're thinking of another quote, but given that's from the only music keynote of last year, I can't think when it would have been.
Also, have a look here: http://www.audiostream.com/content/streaming-services-downloads-will-surpass-cd-sales-year-us which would suggest that even now CD sales in the US are greater than that of digital downloads - and that presumably includes amazon downloads et al rather than simply iTunes. Sorry, but I think you're mis-remembering.
With this getting thinner and less space on the inside I wonder how it will manage heating issues
James
James
I didn't know you could change the subject on a forum. And who says epic fail?
There are many reasons why many stay with CDs. Different reasons for different people. In my case, I only rip a fraction of my CDs. First of all, I do not pirate. Ever. I have invested heavily in a hifi system which is CD based and this is where I listen to most of my music. But yes I also have iToys and a computer and so need to rip as well. Another reason is that physical CDs can have critical advantages - for example an Opera Libretto and notes. Other people will have other reasons, but the point is that it will take more than 5-6 years for CDs to end.
Pedro
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I used the drive initially to install some software on CDs in November 2011, but other than that, haven't used it since... I say good riddance to it!
This is what I purchased back then from this company, but item EOL'd...
But take a look at what's available. I have purchased several items from B&H and have no complaints.
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Thanks for the information. I think I may try your suggestion and get third party Optical Drive
This is what I purchased back then from this company, but item EOL'd...
But take a look at what's available. I have purchased several items from B&H and have no complaints.
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Thanks for the information. I think I may try your suggestion and get third party Optical Drive
Just watched the keynote
Schiller was really careful about trying to show the right angle on his floor model. But he blew it, and we got to see the whole back.
I don't get the "thinner" claims. Like everyone here says, thinner doesn't matter on a desktop, but it also doesn't seem that "thin" to me. The edge is minuscule, but there's that huge bump in the back. They just whittled some bits off the edge.
I don't get the "thinner" claims. Like everyone here says, thinner doesn't matter on a desktop, but it also doesn't seem that "thin" to me. The edge is minuscule, but there's that huge bump in the back. They just whittled some bits off the edge.
Not sure about other companies, Apple does things like this too much, even on their site, avoid showing the back or side, compare another tablet to the iPad mini yet leave out that the other tablet has a much higher pixels per inch in a smaller area along with it having a faster CPU. I am sure these are things all companies do to make them self look better, I notice it more since Apple makes a big deal about everything.
We know an all in one desktop cannot be insanely thin, it does have to run a computer. They really need to stop obsessing about how thin everything that it hurts their systems.
If someone did a remix of how many times they say thin it would be a five minute song.
My problem is it doesn't have to be on its way out. Just considering the sheer number of FireWire devices presently in use that should be reason enough to at least provide, say one laptop and one iMac w/ a FW port. I'm certain artistic people who use these devices would welcome these machines and gladly pay the extra for them. FireWire is still perfectly stable and more than fast enough for audio recording...going to blunderbolt is not an improvement in this regard whatsoever....meanwhile there are 4 USB ports...I am no fan of usb for audio whatsoever. There's nothing wrong w/ FW800 and it could be a standard for many more years. =/
CRAP!! I just went through the tech specs and the 21.5s are all 5400rpm.
Now I'll put up with no optical drive this is is just BS.
Apple is so much able the future they forget the present, guess they have not forgotten about the past, 5400 hard drives is a system that costs over a thousand dollars is a joke.