Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

To those who say iMacs aren't upgradeable...

Sdashiki

Sdashiki

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 11, 2005
3,529
11
Behind the lens
I say, WHO CARES!?

One of the biggest points made about Apple's current lineup is that there is no "headless iMac". Which, even to me, seems like an awesome idea.

But I also realize, that of every single apple tower ive owned, I upgraded only 2 of them. And currently those kinds of upgrades are now found in external USB/FW boxes.

I fail to see how the arguement, "iMacs suck, they arent upgradeable, and you need to spend $$$ on a Mac Pro just to get some PCI slots and an upgradeable graphix card".

How many people actually upgrade their machines, internally, past the original custom configs? Id guess the number is extremely low. Forgiving RAM upgrades of course.

Those who need upgrades need a Mac Pro, I really fail to see a middle of the road that is even needed. If you truly need a fancy PCI card, most likely you are in the business that makes alot of money, otherwise you wouldnt need such a card.

I dont know, I just get tired of people asking for a mini tower so they can upgrade...upgrade what?!
 
Well you have some valid points. I for one will probably never upgrae my iMac spar the RAM but the one grudge I have is the reallly indecent graphics card in teh machine that kinda ticks me off!

Oh an please dont come with the "oh but Im only a consumer, Ill never ever ever want to play Hellgate london or maybe even a little half life 2 because I do what My iMac tells me" stuff!
 
I have slight issues with the iMac philosophy. I think they are great computers, but one of the benefits of upgradability is that you don't need to replace the computer so often. This has environmental benefits, ultimately. Granted, technology is moving so fast that it's hard to stretch a computer beyond five years' use, but upgrading helps. I think it's a crying shame that if an internal component in an iMac dies, and it is economically unfeasible to fix it, you have to throw out everything that works - including perhaps, a very nice 24 inch display. Apple seems to say "get a whole new one - we make more money that way".

For the record, I have an original G4 Mac Mini. I like the iMacs, but what a waste of my current display. So I won't buy one, until perhaps my display breaks or becomes thoroughly out-dated. But should a Cube-like computer be released, I'd be very interested indeed.
 
Upgradeable = Repairable.

With my PowerMac, if I lose a drive, I can replace it myself. With the iMac, it's a trip to an Apple store with a biggish and fragile package. More likely than not, I can't get an appointment for that day, and when I do, I can count on leaving the machine for a while.
 
jofallon said:
Upgradeable = Repairable.

With my PowerMac, if I lose a drive, I can replace it myself. With the iMac, it's a trip to an Apple store with a biggish and fragile package. More likely than not, I can't get an appointment for that day, and when I do, I can count on leaving the machine for a while.
Click to expand...
very good point
 
Graphics card? Who upgrades theirs after CTO?

very few macs ever had another better graphix card be released for it. The g5 powermac was an exception, but the high cost of another card made it moot.

please lets not talk about anything pre-g5 in this thread.

multiple internal HDDs, awesome, the best part about my Powermac.

But with FW800, who cares, thats what I said and got my iMac and an external.
 
Sdashiki said:
Graphics card? Who upgrades theirs after CTO?

very few macs ever had another better graphix card be released for it. The g5 powermac was an exception, but the high cost of another card made it moot.

please lets not talk about anything pre-g5 in this thread.

multiple internal HDDs, awesome, the best part about my Powermac.

But with FW800, who cares, thats what I said and got my iMac and an external.
Click to expand...

You're right man, there's absolutely no merit in the ability to upgrade graphics cards and other components :rolleyes:
 
Airship said:
You're right man, there's absolutely no merit in the ability to upgrade graphics cards and other components :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Your sarcasm is right. Macs have traditionally not been gaming machines, so upgradable graphics cards weren't so wanted...but now with BootCamp, a lot of gamers can switch, and want a good graphics card...
 
Sdashiki said:
<snip>I fail to see how the arguement, "iMacs suck, they arent upgradeable, and you need to spend $$$ on a Mac Pro just to get some PCI slots and an upgradeable graphix card".

How many people actually upgrade their machines, internally, past the original custom configs? Id guess the number is extremely low. Forgiving RAM upgrades of course.

Those who need upgrades need a Mac Pro, I really fail to see a middle of the road that is even needed. If you truly need a fancy PCI card, most likely you are in the business that makes alot of money, otherwise you wouldnt need such a card.</snip>
Click to expand...
Oh boy where to begin? :rolleyes:
  1. First I have to say that iMacs don't suck, but the lack of upgrade capability extremely limits their value IMHO.
  2. You might want to restate the first line I quoted; you're not stating an argument, you are stating a fact. At the bare minimum options the price difference between a 2.0Ghz iMac and a 2.0Ghz dual Mac Pro is about $1,000(CAD). It's hard to compare Apples to Apples (pun score +1! :) ) as you get one more chip and a better graphics card, but don't a get a monitor in the deal either.
  3. I upgrade my machines and I believe Apple could entice more users to switch by providing a "pro-sumer" choice in their line up. ...Ask yourself how many PC users upgrade their computer? That means I might be in that middle-of-the-road you fail to see. I need upgrades because I find that stretching out an old computers usefull life like my 466Mhz G4 Tower. For the most part it suits my needs, and I'm not what you'd really call a power-user... more like a hobbist that likes to tinker. ;)
 
psychofreak said:
Your sarcasm is right. Macs have traditionally not been gaming machines, so upgradable graphics cards weren't so wanted...but now with BootCamp, a lot of gamers can switch, and want a good graphics card...
Click to expand...
I agree with the point you made - however, Boot Camp isn't finished yet. This will become even more significant to the Mac user base when Leopard's released.

To the OP-

I have never upgraded a Mac before, and I honestly don't see a need to in most cases, besides increasing RAM. However, gamers may want a better graphics card for their games, and that need I can understand, given how much the Mac gaming market has grown with the advent of Boot Camp.
 
Try adding more than 3GB to an iMac, going RAID on the SATA bus, adding more USB/FW Ports, adding up to 8 displays to the beast, all those PCI-Express upgrades in the future, etc.

Right now the biggest advantage of the Mac Pro is 2 high power capable video card slots and two additional low power slots.

Plus the configurable PCI-Express bus allows you to set how you want the bus configured instead of having one AGP video slot and slower 4 PCI slots as we had with those old plastic towers.

I think the Mac Pro will get more video card upgrades this time around than any of the machines in the past -- just because you don't always have to get rid of you old card to add a new one if you stick with the same brand card, and watch your power use.

Plus a lot of people are skipping USB/Firewire and going directly to external SATA drives.

---

Note: How can you forget RAM, when right now it is among the single biggest performance boosters around -- especially as programs start to take advantage of the larger memory spaces. And if FCP updates its memory space, working with a video in memory will sure be a boost over HD limited speeds.
 
i've owned ibooks, powerbooks, macbooks, powermacs, about everything except an imac. My arguement against is, that if i want a desktop it would be for power only. The imac and mbp are so close that other than needing a large screen, i would rather pay for the portability. So while the imac is a foundation product, i will never own one. And upgradablity has a lot to do with that.

I thnk the fact that the mac pro line offers that it definately provides the line with a longer life, and suits the consumer's needs so much more. Upgradability in my opinion is a must. Often minute features find their way into new products and people don't really need to upgrade but one component. They should have that flexibility.
 
Sun Baked said:
Try adding more than 3GB to an iMac, going RAID on the SATA bus, adding more USB/FW Ports, adding up to 8 displays to the beast, all those PCI-Express upgrades in the future, etc.
.....

Note: How can you forget RAM, when right now it is among the single biggest performance boosters around -- especially as programs start to take advantage of the larger memory spaces. And if FCP updates its memory space, working with a video in memory will sure be a boost over HD limited speeds.
Click to expand...


well, if you need ALL that, you dont need an iMac, you need a MacPro, its that simple.

RAM, right now, 3GB is plenty, and I really dont see the avg user needing more than 2GB for normal performance.

as for gaming...that remains to be seen, but my point was that Macs notoriously dont have cards available for upgrade. before you know it, apple switched the card slot type, and now offers a better card than your current machine. if you want a better card, you have to buy a new machine. its the sad truth.

my G5 powermac had the ability to upgrade only until AGP fell out of favor. So if I wanted a newer model card, I needed a new mac.

so, while upgrading the graphix card is a HUGE plus, it never happens. And those who do, get a Mac Pro. Its sad the current iMac cards are so weak, but when someone says, "yes but the 24" has an upgradeable graphix card", show me another one.
 
Upgrades also potentially make your computer last longer by making it newly powerful enough to handle whatever you use it for.

But my biggest problem with the iMac is the built in monitor. If I'm going to pay for a 24" flat screen, I'd want to use it on my next two computers at least.
 
miloblithe said:
But my biggest problem with the iMac is the built in monitor. If I'm going to pay for a 24" flat screen, I'd want to use it on my next two computers at least.
Click to expand...

Exactly. It feels like a waste to pay for a large LCD that I don't need.
 
Well, I guess this is true for a lot of folks, but there is a real need to allow for upgrade ability.

Real world example. I have an iMac Core Duo in my Kitchen that I can't possibly get a wire to. I have a need for wireless "N" capability, yet with the iMac philosophy, I need to buy a new machine in order to get this capability, since no 3rd party makes a USB dongle just yet.

FWIW, an Apple "N" card cost me $49 but I probably threw away my 2 year Apple Care just because I opened the case.

I would also argue the external disk thing. You need yet another power cord and a place to put it. More wires, more mess, just goes against that nice clean iMac image.

It would be nice to be able to pop it open and plug the bigger drive in. There's no reason they couldn't engineer a way to pop off the back of the machine to expose the hard drive mount, and for that matter the CPU Ziff socket for those of us that do upgrade the machines. If they did that, it would certainly reduce the need for a mid-tower or headless mac.

The iMac doesn't suck, its a very nice machine, but it could be a little better.
 
People on this board are not, by and large, average computer buyers. We're the type of buyers who actually would upgrade drives and RAM and graphics cards

But the OP is right in that the vast majority of computer buyers never upgrade aything more than RAM, if that. That's why Apple sees no need for a midrange tower.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back