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Teardown of New 4K 21.5-inch iMac Reveals Removable RAM and Modular CPU
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Will make logic board replacements cheaper for them as they can whip out your existing CPU and RAM and reuse it....
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They saved $$$ on R&D again by using old kit with some updated internals and passed on these savings to the customers. No. Wait. It's more expensive so how does that work then? Ah. It's the logo on the front. Badge engineering ain't cheap these days. Got to say that casing made me buy my 2011 i7 iMac back then. 6 years later and identical looks persist. Is that clever marketting or a cynical disregard for existing Apple loyalists. Actually. It was a trick question. Its both!. Pass me my wallet. I reckon this is a double bluff - it really is a new product and we are meant to think it isn't. I can't risk it - I'm having two. Get in!
Sounds like a good plan. Does anyone know if you can out user home directories on external drives? Early on with OS X it was a problem, but have not tried lately.
I wonder what the actual difference in cost is to apple for a 1TB 5400rpm hard disk vs say a 512gb laptop style (whatever thats called, the blade type) SSD. I would guess that it can't be much...just the weight savings could offset the cost difference to them with shipping if the SSD saves like a pound per unit
There's always going to be complainers, and not exclusive to Apple products. But that doesn't negate the value of legitimate criticisms. That is progresses' fuel. If we all just praised every thing "just because" companies would have no incentive to improve product.
So yes, it's great these models don't have soldered RAM and possibly could even take a CPU upgrade. But still would be better if Apple reintroduced the concept of relativity easy user upgrades for these items.
And honestly 5400rpm is absurd on a "premium" computer. 7200 drives are just as cool these days. Apple is just trying to save pennies and nickel and dime.
The iMac is quite heavy, replacing the disk shouldn't make a big difference overall.
But they ought to put at least Fusion drive standard on their products since they cost more than a grand. My iMac improved dramatically since I replaced the old drive with an SSD. Selling an high priced machine without SSD in 2017 is ridiculous
It's a small step in the right direction. If Apple really care about the environment as much as they claim, then they should be eager to extend product life cycles by simplifying upgrades.
For that price, SSD should be standard.But wouldn't you be able to swap with a SSD?
To me, this modularity may indicate that Apple could be planning to release new upgraded models more often: faster CPU and more memory, using the same circuit board and other components.
Then again, offering a 5400 RPM hard drive, or anything but a SSD is insulting!
Then again, offering a 5400 RPM hard drive, or anything but a SSD is insulting!
The 5200 HD is really quite remarkable. Anybody who has gone from a 5200 drive to an SSD, as I did when I replaced the drive in my 2012 Mac mini, will know how enormous a difference this makes to the performance of a computer. Shameful profiteering from Apple.
Yes, a fusion drive.
Which will be fine for many people and use cases. And will save those purchasers some money. Need a full SSD? No problem. Simply upgrade your purchase. A win for all.
The base HD simply isn't for you (or most readers of this site). It's there as a cost savings for the enterprise, education, entry level mom and pop users, etc.
Why do people not get this? Realize that you are not an entry level consumer. Shell out the $100-200 for a better drive and stop complaining.
According to Apple's website, one can upgrade the 21.5 iMac's RAM at a later date, but only through an Authorized Apple dealer.
So if you're not inclined to do this yourself, and don't want to void your warranty, it's an option.
Ideally, it would have had the same simple latch as the 27", but it's better than before...baby steps I guess.
So if you're not inclined to do this yourself, and don't want to void your warranty, it's an option.
Ideally, it would have had the same simple latch as the 27", but it's better than before...baby steps I guess.
It's shouldn't cost more. Maybe they can dig in to their 40% margins.
I can buy two pretty well stacked PCs for the same price. Maybe they don't need aluminum enclosures.
Because technology progresses, even for base models. Or it's supposed to. It's similar to Apple sticking with the 16GB iPhones for so long. We're already paying a premium to go Apple, and a lot of us feel that we shouldn't "have" to pay an additional premium to get above outdated specs.
Sorry, but when my sister's $199 Lenovo mini-tower has a faster HDD than a ~$1300 4K iMac, I call BS.
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But aren't SSD's pretty much at physical drive prices these days? It has got to start becoming harder to source vast quantities of freshly produced 5400 rpm drives than SSD's any day now. At 256 GB, which price difference are we even looking at, if any? $30? If that hurts too much and the iMac entry price doesn't I don't know what to say.
Folks are complaining because Apple markets and prices their devices as the best products in the market. For the "entry-level" price, Apple could easily include an SSD and still maintain a huge profit margin.
If Apple wants to make money on HD upgrades, they should make SSD standard and offer an upgrade to a PCIe SSD.
And people are conveniently calling it a hard drive ignoring the fact that it's a fusion hybrid. Which is fine for many uses.
Still, by conveniently ignoring that and intentionally not "getting it," it provides a whine-worthy opening to rag on Apple.
You're right, although Apple has always had a "premium performance at a premium price" reputation. They've never chased low-end machines, and frankly a $1,299 4K iMac is not going to be the first choice for most low-end entry-level purchasers.
Enterprise users who justify a Mac will get exactly the one they want at any price. Enterprise users who can't will get the same old Dell as everyone else.
Mom and pop will get a Chromebook or a an iPad these days.
Budget customers will keep using that Toshiba laptop.
I just don't see who the market is for a $1,299 computer that has a 1TB non-fusion, non-SSD drive. Nobody who cares about the $100 savings Apple is passing along would be buying a $1,299 computer.
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Only if you pay for the $1,499 model.