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24" Gradient Issue Still!

S

solman

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 14, 2006
93
0
I just wanted to share the latest news after following this issue.

Picked up a 24" Aluminium iMac at X-Mas from the Apple store and returned it for the Gradient issue. Left side of screen brighter than right side.

Then picked up a second 24" iMac this week from my local Best Buy store and...gradient issue! So it is end of Jan '08 and obviously Apple has not solved the gradient issue. DO NOT BUY a 24" Aluminium.

Then picked up a 20" Aluminium iMac and after 8 days, all white areas on a blank page had vertical pink lines!!!. Called Apple and they agreed that definately a Hardware issue so back it went to Best Buy.

To save money, I considered a 24" Aluminium Refurb BUT isn't that where all the reject Gradient 24 inchers will end up?

How frustrating. I just want a nice Mac. Shelling out $2,000 on a computer you expect satisfaction don't you?

The Mac Mini plus the LG 246 WP is starting to look really attractive. AND for anyone that is photo oriented, the 90 degree rotating of the monitor is priceless. The savings is also a few hundred over a 24" iMac and you also don't get the horrible Glare of these glossy screens.


http://downloads.zac.ch/imac/imac_gradient_test_24.html
 
I have got a gradient issue on my 24"imac apple are sending e out a new one to swap out with my old one. Fingers crossed. If I had never been on this forum, I most likely would have taken it for granted.
 
what the hell is this 'gradient issue'?? I've just got a 24" aluminum imac and i can't see what the problem is. I have a background that is a solid colour at the moment and i cant see anything wrong.

Is anyone able to find me a photo of what this issue looks like?
 
I bought my first mac (imac 24") last week, and also have the gradient issue. I've been debating whether or not it's worth the hassle to return it.

Is this happening on ALL imac's, or are there actual imacs out there WITHOUT this issue?
 
fluidedge said:
what the hell is this 'gradient issue'?? I've just got a 24" aluminum imac and i can't see what the problem is. I have a background that is a solid colour at the moment and i cant see anything wrong.

Is anyone able to find me a photo of what this issue looks like?
Click to expand...

The imac lcd screens seem to have been made cheaply. The result is that their not lit evenly. The 24" imacs seem to have a brighter left side than the right side. When I have a webpage open, and move it from one side to the other, it's like someone has put a dimmer switch on it.

The 20" imacs seem to have the same issue, but it's a vertical gradient, not horizontal.
 
Weird they have 20" and 24" Imacs on display at the local Best Buy. I checked them out. The gradient issue isn't noticeable. Even with a flat grey image.

Might just be bad luck on your part.
 
hmmm i see what you mean

I have just moved a white block of colour from one side of the screen to the other and there is a very slight change - on the left it looks white, on the right it looks a little more dirty/grey - still white, mind you. But the change is very small, and if i hadn't gone looking for it, there is no way i would have spotted it.

I've just spent 2 days installing final cut, aperture and all my other apps. There is no way i'm boxing this thing up and sending it back - I won't notice this 99% of the time, so i'm happy overall. The benefits of having this beautiful 24" machine far outweigh any small gradient problem i might have. I dare say some people have it worse than i do, but for me at least i can live with it!
 
fluidedge said:
hmmm i see what you mean

I have just moved a white block of colour from one side of the screen to the other and there is a very slight change - on the left it looks white, on the right it looks a little more dirty/grey - still white, mind you. But the change is very small, and if i hadn't gone looking for it, there is no way i would have spotted it.
Click to expand...


That's how I spotted it. I read somewhere about it, checked it out on my machine, and there it was. Now I can't help BUT notice it!

That's why I'm wondering whether this is common to all imac displays, or if it's something that can be fixed? If it's common to all displays I can learn to live with it, but if it's something that can be fixed, that I have to decide whether it's worth the trouble to return the computer.
 
LOVE my 24" iMac. It's my first and so far, loving it! There is some backlight bleeding in a dark room w/ a black screen but I don't see how that will ever cause a problem. I have no noticable gradient and yes I ran the split screen test.

Sorry for those that have problems but to say "don't by a 24 inch iMac" is just crazy.
 
Can someone please link to somewhere that lets us 24" iMac owners test for the gradient issue? I would like to do the test as soon as my new one comes in, so I can return it if need be.

Thanks!
 
I'm really starting to believe a lot these computers have this problem.

I am on my third 24" iMac and they've all had this problem... I'm done with them now. This third one is the worst, the gradient problem is obvious, it's got backlight bleeding, and there's a spec of dust or something behind the screen.

The screen in these iMacs are crap and I'm not going to deal with them for the price you pay for it.
 
Ive had a 24" imac, and havent really noticed anything with the display....Guess Ill need to do some testing over the weekend. ANy advice on how to do that?
 
I've had my 24" Aluminum iMac for a month now.

I have not noticed any issues at all with it.

For the OP to say .....
DO NOT BUY a 24" Aluminium.
Click to expand...
...is wrong IMHO.

Better advice ---->Go to an Apple Store to buy your 24", have them take it out and fire it up to test it BEFORE you walk out with it.

By the way, the first one they brought out for me was the one I took home!!!!
 
I think it is wrong to assume all 24" imacs will have as bad a gradient issue as you've had, I still think the benefits of the 24" iMac far outweigh the idea of buying a mac mini and an external 24" monitor. At least at the mini's current spec. I was choosing between either the mini with a 24" and lots of extras, an 24" iMac or a base spec mac pro with a 20" external.

I'm so glad i choose the middle option, even despite a very small problem with my screen.
 
gradient test.... http://www.zac.ch/wiki/imac:display

pixel test.... http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/10793

The black screen of the pixel test can also be used to see backlighting. The corners may look brighter in a dark room. I did have this but just can't see it being a problem.

I had no dead pixels or gradient problem.

While I'm at it....

A great RAM test.... http://memtestosx.org/download/index.html

A screen calibration tool... http://www.bergdesign.com/supercal/ (I haven't done this yet)

Enjoy.
 
No gradient problem here!

I just got my 24" aluminum iMac at the local Apple Store this past Monday. I've worked in the master control/engineering department of broadcast television for 30 years. My eyes are trained to spot monitor imperfections. I DO NOT have a gradient problem with my monitor.
Call me lucky, I guess. This is one fine monitor/computer!
Morod
 
First AL iMac I bought back when they first came out had a terrible gradient problem...

That went back...

Got one in early November I think it was... Perfect!
 
Well, I just ran the gradient test and the pixel test on my one week old imac.

The left side may be a HAIR brighter than the right side.

I did notice after the pixel test what looks like a red pixel stuck in the on position. One single red dot in the white, blue, and green screens.

Neither of these is really a deal breaker for me, but Im probably going to exchange this anyway.

ugh...kinda wish I had never saw this thread.
 
glocke12 said:
Well, I just ran the gradient test and the pixel test on my one week old imac.

The left side may be a HAIR brighter than the right side.

I did notice after the pixel test what looks like a red pixel stuck in the on position. One single red dot in the white, blue, and green screens.

Neither of these is really a deal breaker for me, but Im probably going to exchange this anyway.

ugh...kinda wish I had never saw this thread.
Click to expand...

You sure it is not dust? Dust can look like a dead pixel..

Pop the glass off with a suction cup and give it a rub.

I have had 2 white imacs with no dead pixels.

And 2 AL imacs with no dead pixels. But both AL imacs had dust under the screen which made the look like dead pixels.


I have had other panels that actually had dead/stuck pixels. Trust me, the dust can look like a dead/stuck pixel!
 
"Pop the glass off with a suction cup and give it a rub."

Dude, is that safe????lol...I dont think I have a suction cup anyway.....

It might be dust, I ran the pixel test again, and it changes colors (its blue against red, etc.)
 
I decided to take mine back to the apple store tonight. The gradient issue was harder to see in the lighting of the apple store, but it was apparent enough that the manager replaced the imac without any argument. So, thumbs up for apple service.

My new imac looks wonderful. The gradient issue is gone. yay!
 
I love my imac. i have no gradient issue. but i have the same problem as with all imacs, the uneven backlighting, but i get over it, its not like im the only one, ALL imacs have uneven backlighting, but i dont have a gradient issue. Plus I've got a Seagate HD inside it, compared to the exact same imacs as mine that my friends have with the same specs, but with WD HD's, theirs are slow, my Seagate is faster. And they have like 430GB of free space, and i have 405GB. plus, if you compare the specs, the Seagate is better for fact, but the WD's maybe a little more quite.
 
bluedoggiant said:
... if you compare the specs, the Seagate is better for fact,
but the WD's maybe a little more quite.
Click to expand...

Some Seagate models are faster than some WD models -- and vise versa.
Both companies make a range of drives with different price/performance
tradeoffs. Currently, Seagate's top-of-the-line 500GB to 1TB drives are
faster than any similar size WD drives -- but Apple doesn't seem to use
top-of-the-line Seagate drives in iMacs (at least, I haven't seen one yet).

OTOH, I have seen iMacs with factory-installed 750GB WD7500AAKS
drives -- which are significantly faster than the Seagate 7200.10 family
products supplied with many iMacs.

...sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you,

LK
 
bluedoggiant said:
I love my imac. i have no gradient issue. but i have the same problem as with all imacs, the uneven backlighting, but i get over it, its not like im the only one, ALL imacs have uneven backlighting, but i dont have a gradient issue.
Click to expand...

This is interesting. I thought i had a very slight gradient issue, but it could well be (and probably is) just uneven backlighting, if all imacs have this then i'm OK with that. I'm not going to return it.

Phew! Come on everyone, even with uneven backlighting, the iMac is still a gorgeous bit of kit!
 
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