Need advice on purchasing new iMac

[sciencesdg]

Thinking of buying a new iMac (3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7; 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB; 2TB Serial ATA Drive; AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5). I am finishing my degree in Graphic design and will work in the field.

I have three concerns:

1. Is overheating in this newer model still a problem?

2. I have read your posts concerning the graphics fix needed recently:

…issue that in rare cases may cause an iMac to hang during startup or waking from sleep.

Has this been resolved in new iMacs yet, or are they requiring the update still-or is this not needed on i7s?

3. Any advice on the configuration I have chosen above? Input appreciated.

 

[4zuresky]

Thinking of buying a new iMac (3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7; 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB; 2TB Serial ATA Drive; AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5). I am finishing my degree in Graphic design and will work in the field.

I have three concerns:

1. Is overheating in this newer model still a problem?

2. I have read your posts concerning the graphics fix needed recently:

Has this been resolved in new iMacs yet, or are they requiring the update still-or is this not needed on i7s?

3. Any advice on the configuration I have chosen above? Input appreciated.

From what I've read in the forums and personal knowledge of mac computers.. it doesn't heat too much, and if you're into graphic design, photoshop, and video editing, then getting a SSD (solid state drive) will help you render things A LOT faster. You might want to consider that

 

[sciencesdg]

Just to clarify, concern #2 has recent posts:

thread was very recent (June, 2011)-titled "Apple Addresses Graphics Issues on Mid 2011 iMacs With Firmware Update"
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1166739/
I appreciate feedback on SSD.
There were several posts concerning overheating on Imacs, but wondering if they are still happening on newest models?
Again, appreciate all feedback before I purchase.

 

[Spike88]

IMO....

For your question #1...

If the new 2011 iMacs are doing "normal" home user tasks (like email, file, print), then their internal heat is fine. But if put under "huge" loads (hard gaming, hard disk I/Os, hard graphics like video editing / DVD movie creation tasks), then their internals heat up. And, heat up into the danger orange and red zone. Vision temp needle on a round guage. One should always have the temp needle in the green range - not within orange or hot "danger" range. Simply install iStats Nano ( http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatnano/ ) or temperature monitor program ( http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html ) and monitor its various heat sensors - based your usage. If the temps go too high (like HDD always above 50C - which is very bad), one cannot hold one's hand above the iMac screen, etc. etc. then I'd simply install 3rd party fan control software. For example, SMC Fan Control 2.3 ( http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23049/smcfancontrol ) or ????

Not all iMacs heat up - to the point where the auto-shut down. But, they do "run hot" from the factory (due to their all-in-one) box design.

Would I buy a 2011 iMac that "factory runs hot"? Sure. However... I'd simply monitor its internal temps (based my heavy load usages) and if its insides temps increase into orange or red heat danger ranges, I'd install 3rd party fan control software and remove its lower memory cover - to help keep its insides cooler. Especially since these are "cost free" better then factory improvements.

.

 

[Bigchef89]

Yeah

Honestly I was so excited for my iMac, it's horrible, and if you know something's wrong I think customer servicemismreadyntomdie then admit a flaw, if I could gomback I would have got mine through a retailmstoremsomi harm 30 day trial period, not a apple hater, just the only other route is the pro. And I'm not spending 4 grand on a decent rig,also I never owned any it gear that needed hard drive firmware haha

 

[doktordoris]

Honestly I was so excited for my iMac, it's horrible, and if you know something's wrong I think customer servicemismreadyntomdie then admit a flaw, if I could gomback I would have got mine through a retailmstoremsomi harm 30 day trial period, not a apple hater, just the only other route is the pro. And I'm not spending 4 grand on a decent rig,also I never owned any it gear that needed hard drive firmware haha

wtf?

 

[old-wiz]

wtf?

I've read most of his posts, and he's obviously not thinking in English andeven so I can make no sense to most of his postings.

 

[Sandman1969]

Honestly I was so excited for my iMac, it's horrible, and if you know something's wrong I think customer servicemismreadyntomdie then admit a flaw, if I could gomback I would have got mine through a retailmstoremsomi harm 30 day trial period, not a apple hater, just the only other route is the pro. And I'm not spending 4 grand on a decent rig,also I never owned any it gear that needed hard drive firmware haha

Back on topic.

The configuration you have listed is sick. I would definitely get that. You may want to keep an eye on the refurb portion of the store to try to get a few hundred off. THough, that configuration is rare in the refurb section and when it pops up it is usually gone in a flash. Don't forget to use the educational site saves a little bit for you. Also, if you have the resources the SSD would be a nice addition.

I wouldn't upgrade to 8GB at Apple. That is a TOTAL ripoff.
Apple charges you $200 to upgrade to 8GB.

You can get 16GB for about $100. If you want to use the same memory, I think Samsung, Apple is using you can get it for $116. You can also get 16GB OWC for $97.99. Both are lifetime warranty.

http://www.macsales.com

I wouldn't worry about the heat issue. If you do have any, you can always get a fan app to have the fans bump up the rpms sooner than default.

I would also recommend the extended Apple Care. With a student discount it is only $119. Pretty low price for 3 year piece of mind.

The educational discount for your configuration is $145, plus you save $50 on the applecare.

 

[doktordoris]

if, and i doubt this very much, the OP is still racing I have bought the same iMac (apart from the HDD) and even when running warcraft or other games it still runs cool.

 

[black86capri50]

I play WOW for hours on my 27" similar to his config but with user installed ssd, and Hitachi 6gig Hard drive.

My CPU temp NEVER gets over 60c. I used SMC fan control on my 2010 to keep the temps under control, but the 2011 works fine for HOURS.

On my PC, my processor (intel i7 860) gets over 70c, and the videocard (ATI 5870) gets over 90c.

The danger zone for intel processors is in the 100c range and the ATI video chips can handle between 105c - 145c before thermal shutdown.

 

[81Steven]

My iMac is a 24" early 2009 and when I play games locks up and crash.
I have to use smc fan control in osx and another prog in bootcamp.

I'm thinking buy a new iMac in the next year but I don't understand why apple can't manage heating problems natively in osx setting fans faster when imac overheat