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Will 2013 imac screen issues be fixed?

T

Tri-stan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 27, 2012
268
0
I have been looking at getting a new 2012 iMac on ebay but now after reading about all of the horror stories related to the various screen issues I am thinking otherwise. Screen issues such as grey patches, dust, grey clouds like watermarks.

Is it worth getting the new iMac over the old to guarantee that these sort of problems won't be present? I am a heavy user so I*will be punishing the mac doing all night rendering sessions at times for my masters work. Other than that it will be on every day so I don't know if the 2012 will be up for that given the screen is insulated between various layers of glass and plastic which don't let the LCD cool down under continued use.

Any help from old and potential new users should clear things up. Thanks in advance.
 
I hope it isn't "Lightbleed gate" a la the iPad 2 all over again. Good thing the new soon to be 21" owners will be the guinea pigs. :)
 
Tri-stan said:
I have been looking at getting a new 2012 iMac on ebay but now after reading about all of the horror stories related to the various screen issues I am thinking otherwise. Screen issues such as grey patches, dust, grey clouds like watermarks.

Is it worth getting the new iMac over the old to guarantee that these sort of problems won't be present? I am a heavy user so I*will be punishing the mac doing all night rendering sessions at times for my masters work. Other than that it will be on every day so I don't know if the 2012 will be up for that given the screen is insulated between various layers of glass and plastic which don't let the LCD cool down under continued use.

Any help from old and potential new users should clear things up. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I'm confused! And sure I get confused easy, but...

The 2012 imac isn't out yet. How can you get it on ebay?

Then you go on to ask if it's worth getting the new imac over the old to guarantee that these problems won't be present???
Do you mean the old over the new?

And what's this 2013 imac?
Is there some news I've missed out on?
Can you point me to articles?
 
i'd say the chance for light bleed will be almost 0% because the screen has no gap around it now. you know you can always take it back so you may as well go buy it when it comes out lol.
 
Right what I mean then is the difference between the 2011 thick and the 2012 slim versions of the imac and the screen problems that have plagued all models up untill the 2011 model at present. "For me by the time the slim imacs are dilivered it will be 2013 hense the confusing dates"

The worst case that I have seen is where it looks like there are grey dirty patches all over the screen and it requires the LCD to be replaced. People have been thought three LCD's with just one imac There are many different problems too, not just this grey smudge thing I have highlighted.

Well documented Greyish Smudge marks behind the glass screen: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2300580?start=885&tstart=0

In fact just plug in to Google apple screen problems In to images and a whole raft of possible iMac deaths is revealed to you. I don't know if this is a real world problem facing the screen but 60 pages on apple support page must mean something?
 
Tri-stan said:
Is it worth getting the new iMac over the old to guarantee that these sort of problems won't be present?
Click to expand...

Yes, the new 2012 has a laminated screen, eliminating the air gap where smoke/dust would get vented and trapped. This was my main reason for holding out for this latest iMac revision. That doesn't guarantee there won't be new issues, but you do also benefit from glare reduction, another peeve for many. This lamination is used in recent Retina MacBooks, and is now being applied to much larger non-Retina displays.
 
dearlaserworks said:
Yes, the new 2012 has a laminated screen, eliminating the air gap where smoke/dust would get vented and trapped. This was my main reason for holding out for this latest iMac revision. That doesn't guarantee there won't be new issues, but you do also benefit from glare reduction, another peeve for many. This lamination is used in recent Retina MacBooks, and is now being applied to much larger non-Retina displays.
Click to expand...

The screen lamination may not solve the smudge / blotchy screen as the dust may enter the LCD matrix from the rear, also heat may play its part. I guess we won't know until 6-8 months after release when this particular issue tends to manifest itself. As you state, there will be other issues this iMac revision will likely suffer from, almost all iMacs in living memory have had their own "unique" problems/issues.
 
I purchased my iMac in Jan of this year. Been using it a lot and to date don't have any dust or screen issues what so ever.

With the new iMac which eliminates that gap between the glass and display, I really don't see any problems with dust.
 
bmcgrath said:
I purchased my iMac in Jan of this year. Been using it a lot and to date don't have any dust or screen issues what so ever.

With the new iMac which eliminates that gap between the glass and display, I really don't see any problems with dust.
Click to expand...

Truly hope that's the case but if you read around the issue the gap between screen and glass isn't necessarily the only contributing factor.
 
There shouldn't be a heat issue for the screen on the 2012 iMac. In the previous models the electronic components were mounted on the back casing, with the CPU and GPU heat convecting up behind the LCD to the top vent. In the new design, the chassis is a flat plate behind the screen and the forced exhaust is adjacent to the CPU and GPU, just below the stand mount.
This will shield the display from hot spots. Also, with the glass bonded to the LCD, it will distribute and dissipate heat from the front. The air gap between the LCD and glass in previous versions impeded heat dissipation from the front.
 
drambuie said:
There shouldn't be a heat issue for the screen on the 2012 iMac. In the previous models the electronic components were mounted on the back casing, with the CPU and GPU heat convecting up behind the LCD to the top vent. In the new design, the chassis is a flat plate behind the screen and the forced exhaust is adjacent to the CPU and GPU, just below the stand mount.
This will shield the display from hot spots. Also, with the glass bonded to the LCD, it will distribute and dissipate heat from the front. The air gap between the LCD and glass in previous versions impeded heat dissipation from the front.
Click to expand...

That answer gives me confidence :D:apple:
 
drambuie said:
There shouldn't be a heat issue for the screen on the 2012 iMac. In the previous models the electronic components were mounted on the back casing, with the CPU and GPU heat convecting up behind the LCD to the top vent. In the new design, the chassis is a flat plate behind the screen and the forced exhaust is adjacent to the CPU and GPU, just below the stand mount.
This will shield the display from hot spots. Also, with the glass bonded to the LCD, it will distribute and dissipate heat from the front. The air gap between the LCD and glass in previous versions impeded heat dissipation from the front.
Click to expand...

Interesting, so the new design does separate / isolate the screen from the components with a panel? If that's the case then this should go a long way to resolving this long running issue. Happy days for new iMac owners:)
 
It looks like a very efficient thermal design with a short heat pipe to the radiator, which is attached to the exhaust duct, with a substantial looking blower fan. There's no depending on convection here.

It's hard to tell how the HDD is cooled, but having the heat producing components exposed to the airflow may be sufficient.
 
I am in no doubt going for the 27 inch 2012 iMac now even thought it will break the bank, hopefully it will be here by the end of the year. It has to be bullet proof. Can't have this thing fail on me and leave an awkward repair out of warranty.

As for the design I feel I can trust it more now, I think I am sold on it. So internally it has simplified components, a better cpu gpu exhaust, laminated screen aiding lcd cooling and reducing dust, more efficient components and a better overall case circulation.

You may notice on the 2011 iMac there is a large gap between the gpu and it's associated fan relaying on the movement of air not air pressure to force it throught. After this the air relies on convection to move out of the case.

Now that I look at it more and more the 2011 iMac has a load of small faults that build to make the machine overall less reliable and less efficient. The new 2012 iMac is so much more refined and simplified. I was so close to buying the old one glad I didn't. Now all that has to be done is wait 2 months and keep my fingers crossed.

It goes without saying. The more you have to pick at things the more it comes undone.
 
Tri-stan said:
I am in no doubt going for the 27 inch 2012 iMac now even thought it will break the bank, hopefully it will be here by the end of the year. It has to be bullet proof. Can't have this thing fail on me and leave an awkward repair out of warranty.

As for the design I feel I can trust it more now, I think I am sold on it. So internally it has simplified components, a better cpu gpu exhaust, laminated screen aiding lcd cooling and reducing dust, more efficient components and a better overall case circulation.

You may notice on the 2011 iMac there is a large gap between the gpu and it's associated fan relaying on the movement of air not air pressure to force it throught. After this the air relies on convection to move out of the case.

Now that I look at it more and more the 2011 iMac has a load of small faults that build to make the machine overall less reliable and less efficient. The new 2012 iMac is so much more refined and simplified. I was so close to buying the old one glad I didn't. Now all that has to be done is wait 2 months and keep my fingers crossed.

It goes without saying. The more you have to pick at things the more it comes undone.
Click to expand...

I hope you are correct but only real world use will confirm these assumptions. The 2011 iMac design is the same as the 2009 iMac and one would have thought Apple would have taken these things into consideration when this design was engineered. No doubt the 2012 iMac will have its own set of "issues"' this seems part of the course with Apples iMac designs in recent years.
 
Tri-stan said:
Right what I mean then is the difference between the 2011 thick and the 2012 slim versions of the imac and the screen problems that have plagued all models up untill the 2011 model at present. "For me by the time the slim imacs are dilivered it will be 2013 hense the confusing dates"
Click to expand...

You got it right. Its the same idea of buying a 2013 car in October or november in 2012. :cool:
 
Tri-stan said:
I have been looking at getting a new 2012 iMac on ebay but now after reading about all of the horror stories related to the various screen issues I am thinking otherwise. Screen issues such as grey patches, dust, grey clouds like watermarks.

Is it worth getting the new iMac over the old to guarantee that these sort of problems won't be present? I am a heavy user so I*will be punishing the mac doing all night rendering sessions at times for my masters work. Other than that it will be on every day so I don't know if the 2012 will be up for that given the screen is insulated between various layers of glass and plastic which don't let the LCD cool down under continued use.

Any help from old and potential new users should clear things up. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Your use of "2012" aand "2013" in this post is downright confusing. No one knows anything about the iMacs that were just announced beyond what's listed on www.apple.com/imac and what was shown off at the keynote. Stay tuned though, the 21.5" iMac comes out this next month and the 27" comes out in December. We won't know anything until they're out.
 
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