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iMac design v accessibility
- Thread starter Crazy Badger
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When I buy a phone, or even an iPad, I look at the specs, storage, communication options, and I purchase with the acceptance of the fact that these options are set for the life of the device.
Not so with computers, though. I've bought MANY computers over the years, and have upgraded nearly all of them in some way at one time or another. I appreciate Apple's design and adherence to quality. I believe that the inability to upgrade core components like processors and GPUs 'streamlines' the class and ensures viability and maintainability of hardware drivers and the performance of the OS. Too many variables, OS bloat with uncountable permutations results in de-stabilization and 'sprawl'.
That said, the ability to upgrade / add / changeout storage related options should be included in the design (RAM/HDD/SDD). I appreciate the ability to upgrade RAM in the current iMac design, but seriously, I can't upgrade the Hard Drive? Hard Drives are very prone to failure. Why wouldn't the company design a method to replace a faulty unit without having to completely tear down the computer? I've seen videos of people installing SSD's into their 27" iMac. I would love to add an SSD, but that procedure? NO THANK YOU
!!
Not so with computers, though. I've bought MANY computers over the years, and have upgraded nearly all of them in some way at one time or another. I appreciate Apple's design and adherence to quality. I believe that the inability to upgrade core components like processors and GPUs 'streamlines' the class and ensures viability and maintainability of hardware drivers and the performance of the OS. Too many variables, OS bloat with uncountable permutations results in de-stabilization and 'sprawl'.
That said, the ability to upgrade / add / changeout storage related options should be included in the design (RAM/HDD/SDD). I appreciate the ability to upgrade RAM in the current iMac design, but seriously, I can't upgrade the Hard Drive? Hard Drives are very prone to failure. Why wouldn't the company design a method to replace a faulty unit without having to completely tear down the computer? I've seen videos of people installing SSD's into their 27" iMac. I would love to add an SSD, but that procedure? NO THANK YOU
!!Ill take design over accesibility. I understand what all in one means and its concequeces. But imac is an Apple product. They are not going to make a sleek product bigger or throw crappy doors on the rear.
3 options for upgrade- laptop. Mac pro. PC
3 options for upgrade- laptop. Mac pro. PC
When I buy a phone, or even an iPad, I look at the specs, storage, communication options, and I purchase with the acceptance of the fact that these options are set for the life of the device.
Not so with computers, though. I've bought MANY computers over the years, and have upgraded nearly all of them in some way at one time or another. I appreciate Apple's design and adherence to quality. I believe that the inability to upgrade core components like processors and GPUs 'streamlines' the class and ensures viability and maintainability of hardware drivers and the performance of the OS. Too many variables, OS bloat with uncountable permutations results in de-stabilization and 'sprawl'.
That said, the ability to upgrade / add / changeout storage related options should be included in the design (RAM/HDD/SDD). I appreciate the ability to upgrade RAM in the current iMac design, but seriously, I can't upgrade the Hard Drive? Hard Drives are very prone to failure. Why wouldn't the company design a method to replace a faulty unit without having to completely tear down the computer? I've seen videos of people installing SSD's into their 27" iMac. I would love to add an SSD, but that procedure? NO THANK YOU
Ditto. It really is absurd that you can't easily upgrade/replace the HDD/SDD. Won't stop me from buying one of course...this will be my 3rd iMac.
While I would prefer the iMac was a little more like the HP Z1 in terms of accessibility, I've learned that I don't really need it. I've done less upgrades with each passing generation, as more and more is built into the basic features, or accessible through external expansion. My 1998 G3 needed a $500 video card and an Ultra SCSI drive to capture and export VHS video. My 2006 iMac can take HD video off my iPhone 4s, edit it, and export to YouTube, Video, and even Blu-ray with a $100 external USB drive if I want.
By the time the stock CPU and GPU are useless for the video games I want, so much else has changed that it's worthwhile just to buy a new computer anyways.
Today, about the only upgrade I wish I could do on my own to the iMac is the SSD, and that's only because Apple's SSD upgrade choices are slow and incredibly overpriced. If they could add a good SATA-III drive (like the Samsung 830) in for $400, I wouldn't even care about that.
By the time the stock CPU and GPU are useless for the video games I want, so much else has changed that it's worthwhile just to buy a new computer anyways.
Today, about the only upgrade I wish I could do on my own to the iMac is the SSD, and that's only because Apple's SSD upgrade choices are slow and incredibly overpriced. If they could add a good SATA-III drive (like the Samsung 830) in for $400, I wouldn't even care about that.
I would agree with most of this. The iMac and the HP Z1 are the complete opposite ends of the spectrum. The Hp Z1 was designed from the get go for accessibility and upgrades, to bad it runs windows. I am finally making the switch to an iMac when the 2012s are released. I completely agree that the only upgrade I want to do on my own is the SSD, other than ram the day it arrives. So I guess that is two things. There is absolutely no way I will pay Apple prices for an SSD when they are dropping dramatically. Maybe the SSD option price will drop on the 2012 but I doubt it will drop enough for me to consider.
The two things I care about in terms of upgrade on my iMac is ram and primary disk, and I've had no issues accessing both so it's not an issue for me personally, but I can also understand why someone would not feel compelled to pry open their iMac. It can be quite a daunting feeling.
Because it's an AIO solution, it's design doesn't take into consideration HD access/replacement as a high priority. Space and design is a big concern.
Because it's an AIO solution, it's design doesn't take into consideration HD access/replacement as a high priority. Space and design is a big concern.
The iMac is probably a poor choice for advanced graphics and video professionals, who need a more robust graphics, card than is available in the iMac. Graphics and video pros are also better served by more RAM expandability and more hard drive storage options, features that make the Mac Pro a better choice for their needs.
Well if the MacPro is killed off, then what choice do we have? I am going to buy an Ivy Bridge iMac and then build a Haswell monster PC when it is released next year.
So overall, I'm happy.
Totally agree about inaccessibility of the disk drive being almost a complete show stopper.
I posted this elsewhere, but consider this: you use your iMac for 6 months and store on it all your banking and other financial details, all your passwords, personal photos, everything. Then it breaks - dead as a dodo. Still under warranty, you have to send it away with all your personal stuff on it. Happy? Then 3 weeks pass and you get a replacement machine - not your original one - and it has a different hard disk in it. Your disk, with all your personal stuff on it is gone. Somewhere. Hopefully wiped by Apple, but who knows? Maybe sold to someone else as a factory refurb with your data still on it. This does happen - I have bought such a device!
To me this is an unacceptable risk. I cannot and will not store anything on the internal hard disk. This is very inconvenient, and also expensive if i need to buy an external thunderbolt disk enclosure. If the disk was removable, this would not be a concern - you would just remove it before returning the machine.
I posted this elsewhere, but consider this: you use your iMac for 6 months and store on it all your banking and other financial details, all your passwords, personal photos, everything. Then it breaks - dead as a dodo. Still under warranty, you have to send it away with all your personal stuff on it. Happy? Then 3 weeks pass and you get a replacement machine - not your original one - and it has a different hard disk in it. Your disk, with all your personal stuff on it is gone. Somewhere. Hopefully wiped by Apple, but who knows? Maybe sold to someone else as a factory refurb with your data still on it. This does happen - I have bought such a device!
To me this is an unacceptable risk. I cannot and will not store anything on the internal hard disk. This is very inconvenient, and also expensive if i need to buy an external thunderbolt disk enclosure. If the disk was removable, this would not be a concern - you would just remove it before returning the machine.
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