iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) Teardown

[TwoH]

Overall - underwhelming, but not surprising, I guess..?

These are the changes internally -

Camera is attached to the LCD, so have to take extra care to remove a third cable when opening up the iMac.

Lack of mechanical HDD (and SATA connectors on logicboard) - but this was obvious.

Extra microphone(s) stuck to the case, notably an extra cable made connecting into the logicboard close to the backlight.
Other connects around the same position as the 2017/19 models.

Solder joints for the 4 & 8TB model iMacs.



But there is still a lot which is similar..

Still uses the crappy one fan system - even with all the free spacemade available due to no HDD!

CPU is socketed (still hope?)

Plastic clips used for the hinge - Why? They look so flimsy and will break over time.

Headphone port is still stuck to the case - I cannot blame them too much for still doing this, as out of all the I/O ports - the headphones tend to stop functioning the most, but it does also mean that through extensive use, you can start to peel the port away from the case.

User-upgradable RAM, which is great to see.

Power supply looks to be the exact same type used for a long while now.

Same as on the 2019 model, the bluetooth/Wi-Fi card is soldered to the board.

Unsure on any changes speakers hardware personally - but they look to be the exact same.

 

[zerozoneice]

they let Intel go down with a LOUD and HOT bang

 

[ruslan120]

It would have been so simple to add a second fan and extend the heat sink and add vents in the space where the HDD was.

Run the existing fan(s) quieter and suck all of the heat away from the logic board / RAM...

 

[PieTunes]

It would have been so simple to add a second fan and extend the heat sink and add vents in the space where the HDD was.

Run the existing fan(s) quieter and suck all of the heat away from the logic board / RAM...

I agree, though sadly, simplicity doesn't seem to be their primary view when considering changes. Profit margins come first. The additional cost of designing a second fan to fit that void, the airflow and thermal testing, installing it across the line, having that cooling configuration compete with the iMac Pro, etc. must be too much for them. And why expend additional cost and research etc. when this iMac may very well be the last hurrah before an entire change in their design language. It's sad, but it's business.

 

[ADGrant]

I agree, though sadly, simplicity doesn't seem to be their primary view when considering changes. Profit margins come first. The additional cost of designing a second fan to fit that void, the airflow and thermal testing, installing it across the line, having that cooling configuration compete with the iMac Pro, etc. must be too much for them. And why expend additional cost and research etc. when this iMac may very well be the last hurrah before an entire change in their design language. It's sad, but it's business.

I thought they might just use the same cooling system they had in the Pro. Once I saw the RAM door I knew that wouldn't happen. I guess they want to give people a reason to still buy the iMac Pro.

 

[PieTunes]

I thought they might just use the same cooling system they had in the Pro. Once I saw the RAM door I knew that wouldn't happen. I guess they want to give people a reason to still buy the iMac Pro.

Yeah, when I first saw the back of the machine I was glad to see the RAM was still upgradeable, though sad to see there wasn't that telltale vent along the bottom length of the machine. Tradeoffs, I guess.

 

[TwoH]

It would have been so simple to add a second fan and extend the heat sink and add vents in the space where the HDD was.

Run the existing fan(s) quieter and suck all of the heat away from the logic board / RAM...

I did half expect them to go with a dual fan design with the lack of HDD - or at least something in that blank space..

 

[carlos700]

Intel posted the stats for the 10910 and it’s still 125-watts. So that plus the power consumption of a 5700 XT is going to be really intense for a single fan.

 

[albertzappa]

i hear a lot of things wrong but they must not be too bad i have a 2011 27" iMac and have never had a problem and am using it right now. sorry no complaints.