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I would like to thank apple for adding this awesome feature. I wanted this, even sent apple an email about it some time ago. Although I just requested to drive bays but with the 256GB SSD, makes it an even interesting (and pricey) feature. lol, thanks apple for taking more of my money when I purchase this later next year. :rolleyes:
 
Is the SSD a 2.5-incher? Then it would make sense how they fit it, for a 3.5" maybe they've done some internal redesign.
Mmm...now an SSD option for Mac mini please.
 
There is one poster that points out all the issues with the All in one iMacs. I agree and don't agree.

I agree that there is a huge gap between a Mini and Mac Pro. iMacs are a great all in one. They last forever. I still have an old G5 one that has not been shut off since it was bought and runs just fine... it's over 5 years old. It's no speed demon compared to the newer macs in the house... but no 5 year old computer is fast by todays standards.

As for worrying about the screen going bad???? I got better things to worry about. I just don't see that as a huge issue because it rarely happens.

I posted this earlier, but my Mom's iMac's screen went bad about four months ago. We had to think about it for a while, but we realize that I bought it for back in 2000. Almost nine years before it had a real big problem. And really it is still somewhat serviceable; just a part of the middle of the screen has some lines through it.
Well time to replace it. But should I get another iMac for her or a Mac Mini setup. It seems like iMac would be cheaper if I go 21" or about the same if I go 27". I guess it is an easy call. But really if some retired lady who just wants to surf the web, send some emails, and look at pictures isn't the right target for the mini, who is? I mean the processor is the right processor for her needs. Too bad it looks like there is no cheap Apple display.
 
As an IT pro who handles laptops (HUNDREDS of laptops, not just a few.)... LCD screens do go out. They can develop color lines, or dead lines, pressure marks that create light spots, or dark spots, backlights fail... although CCFL may be worse at that than LED, and sometimes the signal scrambles, either at the video card end, or at the display rendering end, in the LCD assembly.
I suspect this is more a function of the fact that the LCD screens are in portable unit and subject to repeated abuse, and that the video connection is passed through a little ribbon cable inside a hinge. Just a hunch. I'd love to see actual failure rates between AIO LED LCDs and laptop LED LCDs.
 
I guess the idea of actually offering two drives of the same size on an iMac (so you can backup your computer without having to clutter up your desk with additional hardware) never crossed their minds.... This is utterly pointless, IMO.

Notice that they don't even offer the option of two SSD drives or two 7200 RPM 2.5" drives so you can back things up. This tells me that they literally made a conscious choice to NOT allow users any form of self-contained backup on this machine at least in a factory configuration. I guess they figure they might cannibalize sales of the Time Capsule if they offered a way to backup the iMac in a self-contained fashion. :rolleyes: I find that despicable.
 
I guess the idea of actually offering two drives of the same size on an iMac (so you can backup your computer without having to clutter up your desk with additional hardware) never crossed their minds.... This is utterly pointless, IMO.

Notice that they don't even offer the option of two SSD drives or two 7200 RPM 2.5" drives so you can back things up. This tells me that they literally made a conscious choice to NOT allow users any form of self-contained backup on this machine at least in a factory configuration. I guess they figure they might cannibalize sales of the Time Capsule if they offered a way to backup the iMac in a self-contained fashion. :rolleyes: I find that despicable.

The last place that I want my backup drive is in the same hardware as my primary drive.
 
I suspect this is more a function of the fact that the LCD screens are in portable unit and subject to repeated abuse, and that the video connection is passed through a little ribbon cable inside a hinge. Just a hunch. I'd love to see actual failure rates between AIO LED LCDs and laptop LED LCDs.

Oh, I know most of the failure rate on laptops is due to portability. The ribbon cable is actually not a usual failure point. Pressure on the screen shell, or dents to the screen shell, outright shattering.... common accidental damage. No AppleCare.

But LCD screens do fail, technically, and not due to outside influence. backlight failures, colored or dead lines in the screen, or out-right black-screen failures do happen. Sometimes due to video card over-heating or damage... (common PC problem)... or screen component failure which is a bit more common on Mac laptops... the video systems do fail, but not quite as often, it seems, and are kept cooler by shunting the heat through the aluminum skin, as well as cooling fans exhausting into the hinge area.

Again, my dad's iMac's final failure mode was a black screen. All of the signs of startup, but no video signal. Not just a blown back-light.

If it was a main logic board/video system failure, a separate CPU could be replaced. Maybe even a PCI-slot video card replacement without having to replace the whole CPU unit.

If the black screen was due to an LCD failure, a monitor replacement would have been all that was necessary, and the CPU, software system, and data would be ready to go with a new video output device.

instead, the whole iMac had to be chucked, and the hard drive retrieved, and converted into an external, just to reclaim that value and data.

MacMini was suggested, and the form factor was a plus... the fact that it didn't have the performance of the iMac's hardware, new vs. new on the same purchase date, swung the decision to iMac again. If the MacMini had had the specs to compete, it probably would have been chosen, instead.
 
$750 is not as bad as I would have expected from Apple. The MSRP on many of the 256 GB SSDs on the market is about $700. Though from time to time you can find them for as little as $525 at Newegg.

I am glad everyone is so rich. its not ONLY 750 its ANOTHER 750 on top of what your already paying for the standard HD model
 
I am glad everyone is so rich. its not ONLY 750 its ANOTHER 750 on top of what your already paying for the standard HD model

The only way I'm justifying it to myself is selling the free iPod Touch 8GB on ebay and I also get an EDU discount of $100 or so. Haven't pulled the trigger on it yet though.
 
How do SSD's fare when they break? Regular drives can break and even suffer physical damage

A fair number of the breaks on a 'regular' hard drive are busted read heads or damage to the platter (often from an misaligned head). As there are zero moving parts in an SSD that is gone. They say that SSDs have a limited rewrite similar to rewritable opticals, in the range of several thousand and higher, but otherwise, they are very sturdy. Still, I wouldn't stop backing up to another drive or even two as you have before
 
Dude, ever hear of Applecare?

And then, one day after warranty, just the screen goes kapuuuttt and there goes your 3000 dollars machine...

or you could spend a few dollars more and get AppleCare extending your coverage to three years. That's what I did on mine. Life's a gamble, if you are looking for a sure thing stick your money under your mattress. Of course then someone might break into your house, or your house could burn down...

You came off as a wee bit trollish...
Cheers,
Michael
 
This is awesome.

I bought a 27" i7 only two months ago, and I've been giving serious thought to ripping my optical drive out so I can install a 2.5" SSD in there as a boot/apps/scratch drive. I'll probably end up doing this soon.

I wonder how the internals were rejiggered to make room. Logic board shrinkage, I guess?

Don't think, do.

I've had dual SSD 169gn Intel X25-m G2's in my 27" i7 running as raid 0 since Jan. This new iMac update is still behind mine performance wise. Waiting for more 64bit goodness to make use of the 16gb of ram as well now!
 
I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread, but doesn't OSX lack support for TRIM, which is important for SSDs to work well in the long term?

for all we know, within a week there will be a software update for said issue even if only a 'patch' for right now and a true fix added in the .5 update
 
The last place that I want my backup drive is in the same hardware as my primary drive.

It's the perfect place to keep a running backup against drive failure on my whole house server (internal to my PowerMac). If my drive fails, I can boot off the backup instantly and then copy back as soon as I install the new drive. I keep a secondary backup off-site. It doesn't get updated as often, but all my media files are safe from theft/fire/etc. Having to plug and unplug an external drive every time I want to backup (which can be every day or even every few hours depending) would be an unnecessary and pointless pursuit and if it's plugged in all the time it's the same as being in the computer itself anyway (i.e. a worm or something could wipe it out).

So while it may be the last place YOU would want one, it's still the best place for a clean/uncluttered daily backup drive.
 
But really if some retired lady who just wants to surf the web, send some emails, and look at pictures isn't the right target for the mini, who is? I mean the processor is the right processor for her needs. Too bad it looks like there is no cheap Apple display.

You could always do what we did for my Nan. One of the kids gave her his old widescreen flat screen tv (I think a 32 inch) when he went for the big bad boy. We bought a mac mini at the last update (so we got the ending one really cheap), hooked it up to the tv and got a wireless keyboard and mouse that lives in a drawer in her coffee table with the tv remote. We even got a little USB web cam that sits on a tripod next to the tv. Nan loves it. She has her DVDs, can flip over and watch her shows on the regular stations, she can video chat with the Grans etc.
 
The only thing that bums me out about the new 27" quad core (in relation to the high end Oct 2009 27") is that the GPU is downgraded performance wise.

The 4850 512MB GDDR3 in the previous generation is still faster than the 5770 1GB GDDR5 of the current generation. The small CPU bump from the i7-860 to i7-870 (I doubt they put in 875k) won't offset the performance gap. Why didn't Apple put at least 5830/5850s in there? /sad

I have to weigh the benefit of getting the extra SSD slot and SDXC card reader vs. graphics performance if I'm going to sell my current 27" iMac.
 
Or maybe they have read this: "6 or 12 month special financing options" and use it, or something cheaper. No?

Oh your talking about credit... so just out of curiosity what is the end price of your Mac after paying all the interest on the special financing.
I am not trying to be sarcastic I genuinely have no idea.
 
SSD Prices

When will Solid State prices drop low enough so that a 256GB or 512GB SSD drive might become standard on the iMac?

I don't know if I'm just being really impatient, but it seems like SSD prices have been suffering a lag in expected deflation rates. Will it start getting cheaper at a faster rate anytime soon?


:apple:
 
I guess the idea of actually offering two drives of the same size on an iMac (so you can backup your computer without having to clutter up your desk with additional hardware) never crossed their minds.... This is utterly pointless, IMO.

Notice that they don't even offer the option of two SSD drives or two 7200 RPM 2.5" drives so you can back things up. This tells me that they literally made a conscious choice to NOT allow users any form of self-contained backup on this machine at least in a factory configuration. I guess they figure they might cannibalize sales of the Time Capsule if they offered a way to backup the iMac in a self-contained fashion. :rolleyes: I find that despicable.

I think you may have answered the question I had but I want to be sure...

One cannot buy a 27" iMac with two SSD drives?

I know there is not an option to do this if you order from the website, but I was wondering if you ordered over the phone if it is accepted.
 
Oh your talking about credit... so just out of curiosity what is the end price of your Mac after paying all the interest on the special financing.
I am not trying to be sarcastic I genuinely have no idea.
The price you pay for your Mac + a handling fee?

Sorry. Never used it myself, but it appears to be a nice deal [no interest for 180/365 days based on the purchase price] for as long as you pay in time, and all of it before on or the last day.

https://www.barclaycardus.com/app/japply/lp/TnCs.jsp?prodidreq=CCVPS26513
 
Come on apple a 256GB SSD is ridiculously large, especially at these ~$3/GB prices. A 128GB drive would be a lot more palatable and give similar performance and usability.


What? Are we criticizing Apple for giving us bigger SSDs now even? :rolleyes:
 
I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread, but doesn't OSX lack support for TRIM, which is important for SSDs to work well in the long term?

I've always understood that modern controllers take care of TRIM; it isn't needed so much in the OS any more. The article mentioned earlier showed degraded performance on OS X, but that was for the stock samsung SSD: notorious for being slow. As far as I know, the intel X25 does not degrade over time, even when the OS does not support TRIM.

I've only had mine (90 GB) for three months now, so maybe it's to soon to tell, but performance hasn't degraded one bit for me.
 
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