Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iFixit Tears Down New iMacs, Finds Soldered CPU on 21.5" Model

the8thark said:
Both sizes have changeable ram. The difference is the 21.5's ram is under the logic board etc etc therefore not really user replaceable. The 27's ram is user replaceable.
Click to expand...

The HDD I kind of understand though not being able to add more RAM.. Well that's Apple for you.

I'm not sure about anyone else but I've have changed both RAM and HDD in iMacs and Macbook Pros for the longevity of the overall life of the system. Yes I am a little bit of the Apple fanboy though not being able to update either or both RAM/HDD has meant that I've put off updating to a new iMac or rMBP.

But the way it looks as though Apple is going I'm guessing you wont be able to user service too much longer...
 
Meh...

newdeal said:
yeah the soldered cpu really makes no difference to anybody imo. Not sure who would buy an iMac, open it up, get dust between the glass and the screen to change out the cpu.
Click to expand...

I put a Core 2 Extreme X7900 in my 20-inch iMac7,1. I would have upgraded the ATI Radeon HD 2600 as well had there been a better available MXMII card.

The glass / dust prevention is the easy part...the hard part is pulling the logic board completely out to get to the CPU.
 
swapping CPU's is so.....late 1980's/early 1990's!
Heck - I upgraded my MacPlus with a Mecury '030 board back in the day, but in reality with everything else equal does not pay for it.

I'm typing this on a 2009 iMac i7, not needed to upgrade that CPU either.
 
If a user actually considers the ability to swap CPUs is an important consideration when he or she buys a computer, why would they even choose an iMac? :eek: They should've bought a PC tower!
 
haruhiko said:
If a user actually considers the ability to swap CPUs is an important consideration when he or she buys a computer, why would they even choose an iMac? :eek: They should've bought a PC tower!
Click to expand...


- The Mac Pro is too expensive
- OS X x86 is illegal/unstable
- Mac mini processor is now soldered on

So, I have the choice of Linux or maybe BSD if I go PC. Windows just isn't an option in my opinion.
 
haruhiko said:
If a user actually considers the ability to swap CPUs is an important consideration when he or she buys a computer, why would they even choose an iMac? :eek: They should've bought a PC tower!
Click to expand...

So because you don't want upgradability on an OS X machine, everyone else's concerns are invalid?
 
26139 said:
When has anyone ever been able to upgrade a processor in any Mac? Pretty sure even towers were pretty tough to find the parts for, anyway.
Click to expand...

If we're talking about Intel Macs then iMacs and Mac minis were able. Many upgraded their Core Duos and Core Solos to Core 2 Duos.
 
Kissaragi said:
Most people only really care about upgrading the hard drive and ram. If your the kind of person that upgrades cpus, your not in the normal demographic for an iMac.

ifixit do beautiful tear downs but they really have a bug up their ass about some stuff lately.
Click to expand...

And we can't easily upgrade storage and RAM either.

Oh, right... I still hate the entire iMac model.
 
iMouse said:
- The Mac Pro is too expensive
- OS X x86 is illegal/unstable
- Mac mini processor is now soldered on

So, I have the choice of Linux or maybe BSD if I go PC. Windows just isn't an option in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Don't forget, the "new" Mac "Pro" has built in graphics, less PCIe slots and high dependency on external Thunderbolt 2.0 (an obvious push for a slow adoption rate). "Upgrading" my Mac Pro5,1 will require external chassises for my internal components: 4x SATA drives, Internal LG Blu-Ray and 256GB SSD. 1 processor = limited RAM (32GB DIMMS?).

Apple's hell bent on less/no upgradability and/or user serviceable systems, including their (small) tower. I can't imagine base pricing anywhere near current systems based on current specs unless Apple has locked in massive part discounts.

Pushing planned obsolescence isn't helping. Most businesses keep their systems running longer with component upgrades, cutting costs. Now, who knows. Defending this business model for all markets is baffling; computing isn't "one size fits all". This is why the Mac Pro was great. Apple has lost many professionals/businesses already, the overdue Mac Pro release may not win any back.
 
Last edited:
newdeal said:
yeah the soldered cpu really makes no difference to anybody imo. Not sure who would buy an iMac, open it up, get dust between the glass and the screen to change out the cpu.
Click to expand...

It's not about whether you want to replace your CPU or not, but it's about repair cost.

It will be much more expensive to replace a failing logic board on the 21.5" now since it also comes with the soldered CPU, or even GPU on the higher end machine. Especially when you're OoW.

I'm pretty sure this "simplicity feature" is going to make it up to the 27" later. No more replaceable CPU, RAM or anything. 90% of the computer will come in one big expensive logic board.
 
The Deepness said:
My 2012 27" iMac was stolen on a break-in two weeks ago. They stole the USB SuperDrive too. I never saw removing the optical drive from the iMac as a problem because there was always the SuperDrive option if you needed it. I only got it because I import CDs (lossless) occasionally, and I do mean occasionally. Plus, the SuperDrive is only $79. As you mentioned, all the other positive features of these new iMacs far outweight their not having built-in optical drives.
Click to expand...

My wife buys audiobooks, mostly from iTunes or Audible.com, but she also finds them at yard sales and on clearance. I use audiobook builder to convert them to an audiobook file so she can listen to them on her iPod/iPhone.

And every once in a while I get a CD with images or some piece of software that only comes on optical.
 
What jokers... most people could have told them the CPU is soldered without opening the iMac (its listed as BGA CPU on the wikipedia) :D And the new iMac is just as easy to open up as the previous 2009 design - you just have to know how. Well, iFixit earn their money by fixing Macs, so sure they will be disappointed. What does it mean for your average customer? Absolutely nothing. Because if anything breaks down, they can have it repaired by Apple. Who have these flat repair costs and stuff.

----------
roland.g said:
My wife buys audiobooks, mostly from iTunes or Audible.com, but she also finds them at yard sales and on clearance. I use audiobook builder to convert them to an audiobook file so she can listen to them on her iPod/iPhone.

And every once in a while I get a CD with images or some piece of software that only comes on optical.
Click to expand...

An external usb DVD burner is under $30
 
Steve would never have allowed this.

Back in the days when he was in control over this enterprise, the end user always came in first hand.

Now everything is locked down.

I miss the "old open Apple", guided by Steve :apple:
 
dol4n said:
Steve would never have allowed this.

Back in the days when he was in control over this enterprise, the end user always came in first hand.

Now everything is locked down.

I miss the "old open Apple", guided by Steve :apple:
Click to expand...
:eek::eek::eek::eek:

Steve was the total opposite of what you've said.
 
Everyone seems to forget that 21" iMac has Intel Iris Pro 5200 integrated GPU. Iris Pro 5200 is available only on BGA CPUs. Intel made this decision and there is no way to get Intel Iris Pro 5200 on socketed CPUs so if Apple wanted to go with the 5200 they had to solder the CPU.
 
Silly iFixit calling it as they (and I) see it, it just has to be self righteous clickbait. Apple just can do no wrong apparently they didn't get that memo maybe someone over at Apple should resend it.

:rolleyes:
 
Woyzeck said:
The problem is that today's iMac won't "just work" with the RAM consuming software of 2016, while it would perfectly work if you could swap the RAM by then.
Click to expand...

Yep.. While I would like the option of swapping out the CPU, But I can live with it soldered in. However every few years, more RAM makes a huge difference in performance as the OS and other software is updated.

My old Early 2009 Mini sits next to my 2012 iMac. It came with 1 GB of RAM and was a complete dog (even with just Leopard Installed)... With Snow Leopard, there was more Beach Balls than programs on the screen. Popping the RAM up to 4 GB (The hard way, this was one of the last "putty Knife minis I believe) made the machine scream again (Even with ML) for basic tasks (Yeah, of course the iMac smokes it for productivity software) for basic surfing, email, iTunes, iPhone, and MS Office...

This oldie but goodie still has a lot of life left in it as an everyday net machine, and it's because I was able to upgrade the RAM....
 
iMouse said:
- OS X x86 is illegal/unstable
Click to expand...

Installing OS X on a PC may violate Apple's EULA, but it is not "illegal". (installing it does not expose the user to criminal penalties. It MAY open the individual user to civil penalties, but that hasn't been tested as far as I know - - EULA violation in the US is a civil offense. Illegal denotes a criminal offense, which is absolutely not the case. It means you can get sued. You will not go to jail.)

It is also not "unstable". I have a homebrew PC running Mountain Lion that is just as stable as my Mini or iMac. If done correctly (and an out of the box, unmodified retail version of OS X is used on hardware similar to what Apple is using - and using a modified EFI), there will be almost zero problems.

I'm not endorsing it, or trying to sell it as a home game - but stating that OS X installed on a PC, when done correctly, is "unstable" simply untrue in 2013. It's not even particularly difficult.
 
Last edited:
Bibbler said:
Installing OS X on a PC may violate Apple's EULA, but it is not "illegal". (installing it does not expose the user to criminal penalties. It MAY open the individual user to civil penalties, but that hasn't been tested as far as I know - - EULA violation in the US is a civil offense. Illegal denotes a criminal offense, which is absolutely not the case. It means you can get sued. You will not go to jail.)

It is also not "unstable". I have a homebrew PC running Mountain Lion that is just as stable as my Mini or iMac. If done correctly (and an out of the box, unmodified version of OS X is used on hardware similar to what Apple is using - and using a modified EFI), there will be almost zero problems.

I'm not endorsing it, or trying to sell it as a home game - but stating that OS X installed on a PC, when done correctly, is "unstable" simply untrue in 2013. It's not even particularly difficult.
Click to expand...


Apple's EULA isn't even enforceable in all countries
 
newdeal said:
yeah the soldered cpu really makes no difference to anybody imo. Not sure who would buy an iMac, open it up, get dust between the glass and the screen to change out the cpu.
Click to expand...

Considering Apple's design wizardry, they should at least make the hard drives swappable. Perhaps place them near the bottom where they can be pulled out (i.e. like the RAM).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back