New iMac thread, please post thoughts/experiences here (2 Viewers)

[Ted Todorov]

Originally Posted by Carlo Medina
And I think the jury is still out on whether 10.6.2 fixed the graphics issues. Some say yes, others say no, and some are intimating that perhaps those for whom it didn't work may have run the System Update and not the full Combo Updater version.

Unless there is a fundamental bug in Software Update (that I sure haven't encountered, and I've never run a combo update -- but I've been running Mac OS X and have installed every update since before 10.0.0) that should not make any difference whatsoever.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

My iMac was due to arrive via FedEx Monday.

Looked at the tracking number this morning to
find that it had just arrived at my local office,
though it would not be delivered until Monday.

Was not going to let it sit for 3 days. So I
called FedEx and arranged a pickup. Came
home an hour later with my new i7.

Have not really had time to play around with
it. I had to get my mail up and running and
install Office. I can say that thus far, there
are no issues with the computer. It runs very
quietly and I don't hear the hard drive at all.

As for the magic mouse, I am not especially
impressed at the moment. At the highest
tracking speed it still tracks a tad slow. I plan
to install ZOOM MOUSE which is free. Many
people have reported significant improvement
with tracking after installing that software. The
mouse is not uncomfortable, the scroll feature
is neat as you use two fingers to initiate it. I
really need more time to learn the functions
before I make a call on it.

Can't say that this iMac i7 with 8GB ram is
any faster or slower than my Mac Pro. I can
say it doesn't seem slower. I need to do some
heavy multitasking and work with iMovie and
Photoshop to get an idea of performance under
duress.

I will say this....

I gave up a Mac Pro with a 30" Dell screen for
this iMac mainly for one single reason -- THE

DISPLAY. I know there are haters in this forum
of glossy screens, but I live for them. This display
is so f-ing beautiful. It reminds me of the old CRT

displays but better. The images are extremely
sharp and the colors just pop off the screen. This
iMac is just beautiful.

 

[Sam Posten]

I saw it in store this week and agree it's beautiful, it makes an awesome mirror too! =p /jk, n an office I'm sure you will never notice it the way most of us do with a laptop.

 

[Craig S]

FedEx just dropped off my new baby! As usual, Apple beat their shipping estimate. Unfortunately, I've gotta go right back into work, and I've got plans this evening with an actual human friend, so probably won't be able to even unpack it until late tonight or tomorrow. Will report back then, but what I'm reading on the MacRumors forums (and Ron's report) has me expecting good things...

 

[Ted Todorov]

Enjoy, Craig & Ron!

 

[Todd H]

So jealous! It will be a while before I upgrade my old 20" iMac. Until then I'll have to live vicariously through you guys.

 

[Craig S]

First impressions:

I ordered 4 GB of Crucial RAM to expand the new iMac to 8GB. $95 shipped vs. the $200 Apple was asking for the upgrade was a no-brainer. Luckily the RAM arrived yesterday as well. Nothing to do with the iMac, but the blister-packaging Crucial is using now has the SO-DIMMS locked into the plastic tray with a death grip - had to pry the suckers out with a flathead screwdriver. Anyway, outside of that upgrading the RAM was painless. Put a soft towel on the table and lay the iMac on it screen down. Use a small Phillips-head to unscrew the three screws holding the RAM access panel on. Don't worry about losing the screws, they stay attached to the panel. Pull the plastic tab out and insert the new SO-DIMM directly above one of the existing ones. It won't go all the way in, but just apply gentle pressure with your thumbs alternating between each side, and after a few seconds it'll pop down into place. Repeat for the other SO-DIMM, then replace the tabs and the panel. That's it - 10 minutes to save $100 bucks. Me likey.

Damn, this thing is quiet. The old white iMacs have this little light in the lower right (behind the semi-translucent plastic) that glows when you turn them on. That obviously won't work with the aluminum case. So without the light I actually thought I had a dead machine when I pressed the power button the first time and seemingly nothing happened for a few seconds - until the familiar Apple sound played and the screen lit up. Again - REALLY quiet.

The display is freakin' awesome. No other way to describe it. If you're in a store and you want a good look at the kind of color and detail this thing has, go to the Desktop preference pane and assign the Snow Leopard Prowl pic from the Nature category as your background. It's a beautiful picture of the big cat in the high mountains, and it's rendered superbly on this new display.

It's almost overwhelming to have so much screen space. For many people the 27" model will eliminate the need/desire for a dual-monitor setup (nice to know I have the option if needed, however).

I like the Magic Mouse. Scrolling without a wheel or ball is nice and smooth. Only drawback is the lack of a third button equivalent. I'm very used to clicking on the Mighty Mouse button to bring up Expose and I miss that. However, that seems very fixable with a driver update. For example, I would think they could detect a two-finger click and make that an assignable action. That would take care of me. Hopefully there's more to come from Apple with the Magic Mouse.

Not much else to say at this point. I decided not to do the migration thing from my old iMac because it has over 4 years of cruft on it. So I have a long day of software loading coming up, not to mention some minor surgery on my computer hutch so this beast will fit!! I'll report back with more impressions this evening!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]The display is freakin' awesome. No other way to describe it.
[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]
No, there isn't. Best thing about this iMac. Sheer beauty
and brilliance!


Happy to hear you are enjoying your Mac, Craig.

[/COLOR]

 

[Darren Lewis]

Congrats Craig and Ron, and welcome to the iMac Club!

I was initially a bit nervous about going for an all-in-one but I can honestly say that two years later, my iMac (the initial Aluminium model) is the best computer I've owned. Not just because of OS-X, but the build quality, quietness and display all combine to make the iMac a truly excellent machine.

One thing though, make sure you update to 10.6.2 if you're on SL as it has a fix for the new iMac displays

this update addresses video playback and performance issues for iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009) and iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) computers that may occur in some situations while AirPort is turned on

Ron, I'd be very interested in your experience having come from a Mac Pro to the iMac. I had always considered that eventually I'd migrate from my iMac to a Mac Pro as I became more of a power user, particularly as I develop my interest in video editing and move over to HD.

 

[Craig S]

Hey Darren. This is actually my 3rd iMac. I had a G5, and then bought the very 1st Intel iMac in Jan of 06, which is what I'm upgrading from now. Also, no worries on the performance issues - the i5 & i7 iMacs are shipping with 10.6.2 already installed.

 

[Parker Clack]

I have had the new 21.5 iMac now for a couple of weeks and simply love it. I had last years model for about a year, gave it to my wife and got the new one. I just couldn't have a 27 inch monitor setting on my desktop. It is just too big.

I am glad to hear that both Craig and Ron love theirs too. I am sure that Ron will not regret for a moment going from his Mac Pro to the new iMac in performance and the screen blows all others away.

 

[Sam Posten]

BOOM, baby: http://www.macrumors.com/2009/11/14/core-i7-based-27-imac-benchmarks-show-significant-improvements/

 

[Carlo_M]

Those benchmarks are what I had hoped for with the i7. Though real world results won't be as dramatic, one of the programs I use heavily (Logic Studio) does make excellent use of multiple cores.

Now I just want to hear a few more testimonials from other i7 iMac owners on those mac forums to make sure the display/video driver issues really are non-existent on the i7s...

 

[Sam Posten]

Boom confirmed:
http://gizmodo.com/5407204/benchmarked-the-quad+core-i7-imac-is-super-fast

Too bad it doesn't have Blu or it would be on my desk.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Geez, like it's hard to buy an external burner if and
when Mac announces it will support the format?


Some still say Mac will never support Blu-ray.

 

[Sam Posten]

I am not convinced the hdcp chain will allow ROM playback from an external device if and when apple supports it. I don't technically need a new computer. So I'll stick to my guns until they wake up and when they do I'll get a fast new desktop in addition to blu. I can afford to be patient and a critic for a while...

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I have spent the last few weeks on the various Mac
forums on the Internet talking about the new iMacs.

As far as Blu-ray is concerned, outside of Home
Theater Forum, it's an entirely different world out there.

I was shocked to find that the majority of people on
the forums when discussing Blu-ray and Apple did not
care for the format.

Most don't own Blu-ray players. Many see BD as
a temporary format that will not live for many more
years. Many think that movie downloads are where
we are heading. Most of all, people don't want to
watch Blu-ray movies on their PC.

While there are those that agree that BD would be
great to archive home movies off a camcorder, I
was again surprised to see that those of us that
wanted it for that purpose were in the minority.

Many feel that Apple doesn't see BD as an
important format and through iTunes, is hoping
to promote the downloading of movie content.

Frankly, for me, Blu-ray is not a life and death
situation. If and when Mac announces support
for it I will buy an external drive. I can't see Apple
not making the use of such drives incompatible
with their BD upgrades.

 

[Sam Posten]

I hear you. But I don't shop for other people, I shop for me. For friends and family I can happily point them to the 21/27 and say "PLEASE go get this, you will love it"

But with a Mac Pro that I love like a kid, and a MacBookPro thats a joy to use I'm SET. Speed bumps aren't really a driving factor for me. But you combine those with a full Blu support line including writing to blank media and I'll budge for sure. I'll have to save up but I'd be motivated to do it personally where I am not currently.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Originally Posted by Sam Posten

I am not convinced the hdcp chain will allow ROM playback from an external device if and when apple supports it. I don't technically need a new computer. So I'll stick to my guns until they wake up and when they do I'll get a fast new desktop in addition to blu. I can afford to be patient and a critic for a while...

The worst any HDCP difficulties will cause you to use third party software, which works NOW without any help from Apple, with external BD drives (MakeMKV + Plex).

 

[Carlo_M]

Ted - am I understanding you correctly? Can you point me to somewhere that has users successfully using external BD to the current gen iMacs? If so, that removes one of the obstacles to my purchasing an i7...

Originally Posted by Ted Todorov

The worst any HDCP difficulties will cause you to use third party software, which works NOW without any help from Apple, with external BD drives (MakeMKV + Plex).