Apple iMac MB953LL/A 27″ Desktop

5 comments

1. 

   D. Bowman on May 11, 2010 at 9:19 am

   Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R7CJP8XZ3V1HK It is hard to capture how beautiful this computer is in words much less video.
   
   You have to see it in person.

   I accidentally listed it on-screen as 2.26GHz, it should say 2.66GHz.

   I took a stab at a video review.

   I hope you enjoy.
   
   Let me know your feedback, thanks!

2. 

   B. Scammell on May 11, 2010 at 9:43 am

   I became a Mac convert four years ago, when I picked up one of Apple’s new Intel-based MacBook Pro laptops. I eventually picked up a 20″ Apple Cinema Display to use at home when I want the desktop experience. Up to this point I’ve been very satisfied with Apple’s products, particularly their displays. I’ve been considering upgrading for quite some time now, and about a month ago I decided I to pick up a new 27″ iMac quad-core i5. I’ve always been wary of the notion of the “all-in-one” PC. A selling point on the new 27″ iMac is the two-way display port, which will allow you to continue using the iMac display with a new machine when the time to upgrade comes.

   First the pros:

   As far as Apple products go, the quad-core iMac represents a bargain. While not as expandable as a Mac Pro, speed benchmark tests have shown a $2k iMac to be comparable to a $2.2k MacPro, with the benefit of a built in screen. I was impressed with the machine’s speed and ability to multi-task; I could run both Mac OS X and XP via Parallels, run Aperture and Photoshop CS4 all simultaneously with no trouble. The desktop space afforded by the 27″ was great, while having the 20″ ACD as a secondary display added to the machine’s usability.

   Now the BIG CON…

   There was only one flaw with the machine. The display was one of the primary selling points. I’m an amateur photographer, however I was immediately encountering difficulty calibrating the display’s color. I quickly determined there was a noticeable shift in color temperature from the top of the screen to the bottom, with the bottom third of the screen displaying a warm and yellowish hue. I quick Google search revealed I was not alone. Disappointed, I called Apple support and arranged an appointment at the local Apple Store. I hauled the big machine back to the store and explained and displayed the issue. The employee behind the Genius Bar seemed genuinely surprised when I showed him and offered a replacement. To be sure the replacement wasn’t also a dud, he fired it up on the spot. This machine was worse than the first. A third machine was pulled from the stock room… same issue. The three machines are all manufactured within eight weeks of one another (the first a week 49 machine, the second a week 51 machine and the third a week 45 machine). I was sent home with the third machine offered, but last week returned it, requesting a 100% refund, which was granted. Shooting three for three, I’m under the impression that the problem is more wide-spread than Apple is willing to admit, and represents a fundamental flaw in the hardware. While the tinge is sometimes difficult to notice out of the box, it grows worse with use.

   Aside from the poor-quality display I enjoyed using the iMac, but I expect more from a product which is billed as a machine “with the ultimate display”. I would assume it will take Apple a couple of months to get to the root of the problem and fix whatever flaws exist in the manufacturing process, or the design of the machine itself. Apple has dropped the ball on this one. I would advise anybody in the market for an iMac to wait until the next major upgrade to drop your hard-earned cash on the product.

   For further reading check out the following website. While there are users with issues other than the yellow-tinge, this was the only problem I encountered and seems to be the primary complaint since Apple updated the iMac firm-ware to address the screen-flicker issue. Again, think twice before buying one of these things. Apple is working on the issue, and I think it would behoove most consumers to wait until a fix has been positively identified and implemented.

   [...]

3. 

   korova on May 11, 2010 at 10:05 am

   First things first: the iMac offered on this page appears to have the Intel Core i5 quad-core processor, NOT a Core 2 Duo. In addition, a more capable quad-core processor, the i7, is available as a build-to-order option from the online Apple Store. Be sure you’re looking at the configuration you want. Apple makes four 27″ Aluminum iMac processor setups in all: two with the Core 2 Duo, an i5, and an i7.

   Now then, on with the show. A quick look around here shows that many reviewers have already discussed the essential hardware and software features of the 27″ iMac. So, rather than repeating stuff that has already been said, I am going to focus this review on my experience of upgrading from a G4 igloo iMac that was running System 10.5.8 .

   Migration Assistant
   
   *I used a Firewire 400 to Firewire 800 cable to move the contents of my old computer to the new machine with Migration Assistant.
   
   *The process was virtually seamless, with only a few minor adjustments necessary to the transferred data. Only four applications required reinstallation: ClamXav, iTunes (due to the Soundflower plugin–in any case, no music was lost or damaged), Microsoft Expression Media 2, and a Juniper Networks remote access program (part of a corporate telecommuting package).
   
   *Rules for Little Snitch, a third party utility, need to be reestablished.
   
   *Customized preferences for Spotlight must be reentered.

   Magic Mouse
   
   *iMacs now come with a wireless mouse as standard equipment. The Magic Mouse is a vast improvement over the Apple Mouse (aka Mighty Mouse) because it doesn’t have a roller ball that eventually stops working. In fact, there aren’t any external moving parts on the Magic Mouse, other than the on/off switch.
   
   *Exposé and Dashboard functions are now on the top row of the keyboard, not on mouse buttons.

   Keyboard
   
   *The chiclet style keys took me a little while to get used to, but now I prefer them to traditional “long stroke” keys.
   
   *For some reason, Apple has made a compact laptop keyboard the standard iMac keyboard (Steve Jobs must be nostalgic for the original 1984 Mac keyboard). Anybody who relies on Page keys for navigation or on a numeric keypad for data entry is out of luck.
   
   *An extended keyboard with Home/Pg Up/Pg Dn/Delete keys and a number pad is available as a build-to-order option, along with additional memory and other treats, at the online Apple Store.

   Audio System
   
   *Optical digital audio input and output requires cables or cable adapters with 3.5mm plugs. Standard size TOSLINK connectors won’t work. Also, digital audio I/O is run through the microphone and headphone ports. It is consequently impossible to use headphones or an external mic when the computer is setup for optical digital audio use.
   
   *The speakers are a weak point in the design. They are small, underpowered, and sound tinny. I think the igloo iMacs had much better sound. If I recall correctly, they had a specially tuned amplifier–plus the speakers were fairly large and were not built into the computer housing. Users who use their iMac as their main music source or who work with music and sound will want to buy a separate pair of speakers.

   Using the computer: screen, fan noise, heat, Rosetta
   
   *This iMac is all about the gigantic 27″ screen. It’s incredibly sharp and bright, with better-than-HD resolution. Excel users will love being able to see columns A-AE and rows 1-95 all at once at 100% zoom. No more wasting time scrolling around and splitting windows. Photos, movies, and graphics all look absolutely fabulous.
   
   *I initially thought I would hate the glossy finish on the screen, especially after seeing how much glare demo models at the Apple Store showed. But, as it turns out, the shiny glass isn’t distracting at all in my home office. That said, anybody who hasn’t ever seen a glossy screen computer in person should go check one out before placing an order.
   
   *Something that I miss from my igloo iMac is the ability to move the screen both from left to right (x-axis) and up and down (y-axis). Aluminum iMac screens can only be swiveled up and down, in a fairly limited range.
   
   *Under most conditions, the computer runs very quietly. Fan noise is normally inaudible.
   
   *The top of the computer can become noticeably hot to the touch. Not hot enough to cook the proverbial egg, but definitely warmer than most other electronic devices (except for the original PlayStation3, otherwise known as the Sony Spaceheater).
   
   *PowerPC applications run well under Rosetta. Once it is downloaded automatically, upon demand, it runs invisibly.

   Some early buyers have reported display problems
   
   *Sporadic screen flickering (Update: Apple released downloadable fixes for this on 21 Dec. and 1 Feb.)
   
   *Color temperature differences between the top and bottom of the screen
   
   *See the Apple Support discussion boards for details (links in the Comments area below)

   Bottom line: it’s the screen, the SCREEN, THE SCREEN!! Massive amounts of screen real estate, combined with fast performance, make the 27″ Aluminum iMac a true joy to use for both work and play. One star penalty for not making an extended keyboard standard and for the terrible built-in sound system.

4. 

   Paul Chin on May 11, 2010 at 10:26 am

   First of all, Amazon did a great job shipping this computer to me, being a prime member I was able to get it shipped the next day for $3.99. I also saved a lot of money since I don’t have to pay CA sales tax which is almost 10%.

   Computer is awesome. The screen is the best thing about it, I can fit about three windows (firefox, word, excel etc) at one time at the highest resolution. It’s also nice that that the iMac is finally in 16:9 ratio which is the HD video standard. Wider is better for multitasking as well. Fortunately, I didn’t have any of the screen issues some early buyers had, at least not yet. Mine was purchased early March and so far no screen problems.

   Now for the obvious flaws. This computer will not wake up from sleep mode by moving the mouse or typing on the keyboard! The only way it will wake up from sleep mode is if you turn the computer on and off using the power button on the back. I checked forums to find a solution and it seems like this is a very prevalent problem. The only solution offered by apple care is a replacement or to reinstall the Mac OS. Both solutions seem like a huge hassle so I will just wait until they release a firmware update to fix this but until they do I have my sleep setting at 3 hours.

   The slot loading superdrive is also a problem since taking a CD out without scratching it is like playing operation. The slot drive is very narrow and it’s easy to scratch a CD against the metal edges of the opening.

   USB input placement is also inconvenient since they are on the lower back of the iMac, which is exactly the most difficult place to reach. Would have been a lot more convenient if they placed at least one USB input on the side of the computer. Again, I don’t see why this was so obvious to Apple.

   Also with such a beautiful screen, I find it disappointing that Apple made it so difficult and expensive to plug in an HDMI device such as a PS3 into it. There are no solutions offered by Apple but there are some third party devices and converters that will allow you to do this but they are quite pricey and iMac won’t be able to get sound from the HDMI source.

   Overall this computer is a great value, even when compared to PCs. No other manufacturer has a computer with a screen this large, a quad core processor, 512mb video card, 4gb ram (easily upgradeable), for under $2000. Especially since a 30″ cinema display goes for $1700, I don’t see how they managed to trim three inches and put a computer into it for $300 more.

5. 

   Busy Executive on May 11, 2010 at 10:34 am

   I have the 27″ iMac with the 2.8 Ghz Intel i7 processor, and so far, I’m completely happy with it.

   The “out of the box experience” was just about perfect. Minimal packaging, and after lifting the system, keyboard and mouse out of the box, it was up and running in under five minutes. Very impressive…batteries already installed in the keyboard/mouse (I have the wireless ones) and everything “just worked”.

   I was a little nervous about the small wireless keyboard, but now that I’ve been using it a while, it’s actually very good. The keys have a good feel, and although it looks somewhat flimsy, it’s not. The wireless connection (Bluetooth) works great, and I like that I can move it around on my desk any time I want. Same for the mouse…the new mouse design is cool, and being able to just run my fingers over it rather than having a scroll wheel is very handy. It works smoothly and I like it better than the Microsoft wireless mouse I had been using up to now.

   The system comes with built-in wireless networking, which seemed to work great with my 802.11N Cisco/Linksys router. I’ve since switched to the wired connection as I have Gigabit Ethernet in my home…it also works flawlessly. On the network, it’s connected to my Windows systems, my networked printers – even my DVR – without incident. From an application perspective, it’s worked 100% perfectly with everything I’ve tried, including VMware, Microsoft Office for Mac, Photoshop, etc. It comes with Snow Leopard pre-installed.

   The display is simply stunning, whether running traditional applications, looking at movies, editing photographs, etc. It’s bright and crisp corner to corner, and big enough to comfortably run about any two apps side by side. Indeed, it’s almost too big (never thought I’d say that!)…I find I need a little more distance between my eyes and the monitor to take it all in. Next to my (admittedly 3 year old) Dell LCD monitor…well, it’s no contest. I’m hoping to figure out how to connect another PC and a few HDMI devices to the monitor, using the Mini Display Port input (which is more difficult than it sounds, since you need VGA/DVI/HDMI to Mini Display Port conversion, and few of these devices seem to be available).

   As for performance, my i7 2.8Ghz is scoring about 8500 points on the “Geekbench” benchmark – the fastest iMac ever, and within striking range of a quad-core Mac Pro. It’s fast – blindingly fast – in day to day use, and at least so far, I haven’t found anything that really taxes its limits.

   Great machine and it comes with my highest recommendation!