My 27" iMac Report (3 weeks)

[Travisimo]

I received my 27" iMac on Christmas Eve, which was a replacement for a 24" (early 2009) iMac which had a hardware failure. Here are the specs of the machine I received:

27" (late 2009) iMac
i5 Quad core
ATI 4850
8GB Ram
1TB Western Digital HD

In the 3 weeks that I've been using the computer, it has remained powered on the entire time. It sleeps at night, and sometimes it boots into Windows 7, but I haven't actually shut it off at all. I have not experience any hardware issues other than the very slight yellow tinge my unit has, which is only noticeable when performing a test for it. I do not consider myself an Apple apologist when I say that the screen on this iMac is fantastic and less flawed than other displays I've had prior to this one (PC or Mac).

I've pretty much put this baby to work over the last 3 weeks:

- Installed Windows 7 via Boot Camp (using the secondary display trick), and used the Boot Camp partition to create a Windows 7 virtual machine in Parallels Desktop 5. Being able to switch to either OS either inside of OSX or by rebooting is a great boon, especially since I do a fair amount of gaming.

- For the most part, gaming on this iMac has been very good. I can play a good number of games inside Parallels and they run just fine. Nothing intensive, of course, but both casual games and older games run very well inside of Parallels. On the casual side, I'm playing games like Defense Grid, Plants vs Zombies, and the like. Older games such as the Unreal series, Serious Sam, and Age of Empires 3 run just fine in Parallels at full resolution. I've even been playing a bit of Mass Effect with decent results (stutters a bit, but definitely playable). Starting Windows 7 in Boot Camp enables me to play most current games at full resolution and high settings. Games like COD, Mass Effect, and King's Bounty are smooth as butter. Having an iMac really is the best of both worlds.

- i'm constantly reminded why I like the Mac OS so much better than Windows. Even though Windows 7 is probably MS's best OS in years, I still find the Mac OS much quicker and more user friendly. I still prefer Expose and Spaces, and I really like not having to reboot all of the time due to memory leaks, crashes, or just increasing computer slowdown.

- The iMac has a very small desktop footprint, despite the huge 27" screen. There are certainly disadvantages to having an all-in-one computer (if something breaks down, you have to get the whole thing repaired). But the sleek design and convenience trumps that, especially with the Applecare protection. It's amazing to me that they can pack so much computer into such a small unit.

Well anyway, that's been my experience after 3 weeks. I know sometimes it seems like only people who are experiencing problems post in the forums, but I wanted to take the time to post a positive experience as well. No, the iMac isn't perfect, and neither is Apple. But the Apple products I own are still some of the most exciting!

 

[Yakuza]

It's good to read some positive feedback about someone's iMac. Just getting tired of reading the same old thing. (negativity)

Wish you a countinuous luck with the machine, although there's a few small time stepbacks, but in overall it's a ok machine. About the footprint, it's easy to clean it if you know how to work with a suction cup e compressed air cain, or taking to apple store for them to clean

PS: although is a positive thread, to fight back all those negative ones, i thing in a few moments there will be someone complaining and saiyng we must do this, and must do that, and it's all wrong...resuming, spoile another positive thread. So i think lol. i'm realy hoping it doens't turn out that way.

Good luck

 

[Travisimo]

Ya know, I watched a couple of shows about Apple and Mac's on CNBC recently and it's a shame that both Apple and the community are changing in some noticeably negative ways. Many have complained that Apple no longer cares about the community and that they are just another greedy corporation in the wake of renewed success. But at the same time, the community many times seems to be nothing more than complainers and whiners rather than givers. A successful community is not one where you only come into message boards to complain or even to seek an answer and then leave. A community starts with each individual helping others out and spending time with other owners. Shame on Apple for straying away from their original vision.

Shame on the community for falling into the same trap of consumerism instead of community.

 

[Deano27]

Had my imac 27" for nearly a week now and after having pc's for many years i must say im more than impressed ..Should have swapped sooner

 

[Yakuza]

Ya know, I watched a couple of shows about Apple and Mac's on CNBC recently and it's a shame that both Apple and the community are changing in some noticeably negative ways. Many have complained that Apple no longer cares about the community and that they are just another greedy corporation in the wake of renewed success. But at the same time, the community many times seems to be nothing more than complainers and whiners rather than givers. A successful community is not one where you only come into message boards to complain or even to seek an answer and then leave. A community starts with each individual helping others out and spending time with other owners. Shame on Apple for straying away from their original vision.

Shame on the community for falling into the same trap of consumerism instead of community.

it's a shame but quite true, we can even see some of that in this forum, it seems like some people are better to poison the situations instead of helping, it's really sad.

..Should have swapped sooner

You and me both!

 

[Sir Cecil]

After a full week, my i7 continues to perform magnificently. As silent a hard drive as one could wish for, crisp and beautiful screen with not a hint of yellowing, smooth CD/DVD operation, fast and positive response to every task, an entirely awesome experience. None of the reported problems like difficulty waking from sleep or flickers or dead pixels have reared their head. A fine acquisition and worth every cent. A superb product.

 

[jddar]

Thanks for your helpful and positive post.

 

[Yakuza]

Thanks for your helpful and positive post.

+1

 

[Luis Ortega]

Shame on the community for falling into the same trap of consumerism instead of community.

With all due respect, this is nonsense.
Apple is not a community organization and doesn't treat their customers like members of a community.
They are a business primarily interested in the bottom line and treat their customers accordingly.

 

[Travisimo]

With all due respect, this is nonsense.
Apple is not a community organization and doesn't treat their customers like members of a community.
They are a business primarily interested in the bottom line and treat their customers accordingly.

Apple used to be much more community supportive. But I don't expect Apple to build the community. Rather, I'm pointing my finger at the Apple community that is no longer what it once was. By "consumerism", I'm referring to those who just want more and more without any desire to be supportive or help others. Partly, this is because the Internet has greatly reduced the number of user groups and "relationships" people used to have in the community. Now everyone has a megaphone but nobody is listening. And partly, we have a newer generation that has frankly been spoiled by so much materialism that they expect more but are willing to give less.