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Considering iMac, but have a lot of concerns.

N

NewEyesOpen

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 9, 2009
158
0
West Virginia
Hey guys,

I'm definitely considering the iMac but I've come across so many issues on these forums as well as some other Mac related forums that it's making me reconsider my iMac purchase.

First up is the Hard Drive failure issue. Obviously, anything electronic will fail, that's a given. But, it seems as though the iMac HDD fails at a greater rate than any other hard drive out there. I also read that an additional reason why these HDD's are failing is because of over heating. I feel that this stems from the iMac's build design. (Heard a lot of the same issues on the MB and MBP, too.)

Let's not forget the almost rampant logic board failure issues as well.

I wouldn't mind upgrading the HDD myself, as I've done it on a MacBook, but after researching how to do it on an iMac, it seems like an EXTREME headache and to be honest, it scares me. It seems like there's a greater risk of damaging the system.

I want to do my music recording on whatever Mac i end up getting as well as my school work which will consist of writing papers for the most part and a little bit of on line research when I'm not in the library and/or archives.

Can anyone alleviate my iMac/MacBook Pro woes when it comes to these issues? I still intend to buy a new system in September when Snow Leopard comes out, also.
 
i've not read up on drive failure issues, but if it's of any help, my imac came with a 640gig wd blue drive.
 
Funny thing. At work we support over 200 iMac's - 2007 through to 2009 models and out of those we've had 2, yep - just two that had Hard Disk failures.

The thing about forums is this. Mostly, people only post to ask questions, get assistance or whine about their failed hardware; you don't often hear people saying 'I have a 3 year old iMac and it's running fine'. So don't read too far into Hard Disk failures. They happen - yes. But not more or less than for any other iMac or even PC. ;)
 
To add, theoretically, HDD A is no better that HDD B and both are equally reliable. Sure people will complain about failed HDD's, it will happen, nothing is perfect. A HDD in a Mac is not more reliable than a HDD found in a reg. computer from Best Buy or Dell.
 
<Knock on wood>

I guess we should start a thread based on iMac positives. I have not had a HDD failure. I have a screen that is fine. My mouse and keyboard work as they should I bought mine in Fall 08. Occasionally when i reach heavy flash/animated sites (and normally when i have 10+ Tabs open) Safari will crash (3 & 4).

All in all a great machine.
 
I bought my iMac around October 2008, the base 2.4GHz 20" model, and I have had zero issues. It's worked like a dream, in fact the only issue is a single dead pixel I got on the display around a month ago, but I barely notice it and it can happen with any LCD so it's really not an issue for me.
 
I'd love to hear some positives about the iMac and maybe some better stories of how great their performance and longevity CAN be.
 
I bought my al iMac in august 2007 (2.8 ghz) the day they were released. It's had zero issues and is the best computer I ever owned.
 
NewEyesOpen said:
I'd love to hear some positives about the iMac and maybe some better stories of how great their performance and longevity CAN be.
Click to expand...

My original Bondi iMac is still going strong. I think I am the third owner and it belonged to Emroy University.

If you do simple OS maintenance and hardware upgrades, it will last you a long time.
 
Shake 'n' Bake said:
My original Bondi iMac is still going strong. I think I am the third owner and it belonged to Emroy University.

If you do simple OS maintenance and hardware upgrades, it will last you a long time.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't mind to hardware upgrades like RAM and HDD, but the HDD upgrade on the iMac, especially the new ones seem like a HUGE headache and I'd be scared to death to break or ruin something.
 
NewEyesOpen said:
I wouldn't mind to hardware upgrades like RAM and HDD, but the HDD upgrade on the iMac, especially the new ones seem like a HUGE headache and I'd be scared to death to break or ruin something.
Click to expand...

The original Bondi iMac was poorly designed for upgrades. Just to add some RAM you have to do this (couldn't find any documentation on this).

1. Remove outer bottom case (almost impossible to put back on properly).

2. Undo some cables and screws.

3. Lift the whole logic board and bottom of the computer out.

4. Open the RAM cage and add some RAM.

5. Do those steps backwards to reassemble.
 
Shake 'n' Bake said:
The original Bondi iMac was poorly designed for upgrades. Just to add some RAM you have to do this (couldn't find any documentation on this).

1. Remove outer bottom case (almost impossible to put back on properly).

2. Undo some cables and screws.

3. Lift the whole logic board and bottom of the computer out.

4. Open the RAM cage and add some RAM.

5. Do those steps backwards to reassemble.
Click to expand...

Atleast upgrading the RAM on the new iMac's is easy. The HDD, in my opinion is another story. Maybe you guys have more guts than I do, but at this point, I really don't think I'd want to mess with it. I'm willing to learn and do more research on it but I'd want to be really confident.

Still tossing around the idea of getting the 15" MBP and waiting a couple years and getting a MacPro to do my recording on and just use garage band for the time being to get my ideas into digital form.
 
NewEyesOpen said:
I'd love to hear some positives about the iMac and maybe some better stories of how great their performance and longevity CAN be.
Click to expand...

Well, the iMac's at work get a really good workout every single day - some are very close to 3 years old and none have ever failed - from that batch! :cool:
 
In 25 years of Mac ownership, I have had exactly one HDD failure. Counting every computer I've owned, built, or sold (that adds up to a couple hundred), maybe three or four, total.

To reinforce what many others have said, the number of folks reporting problems still represent a minute fraction of those having no problems, and not posting to tell us about it. I wouldn't worry any more about the HDD in a Mac than I would a $50,000 HP server. All mechanical devices have a failure rate, and with HDD's it's miniscule.

Buy. Enjoy.
 
MacAndy74 said:
Funny thing. At work we support over 200 iMac's - 2007 through to 2009 models and out of those we've had 2, yep - just two that had Hard Disk failures.

The thing about forums is this. Mostly, people only post to ask questions, get assistance or whine about their failed hardware; you don't often hear people saying 'I have a 3 year old iMac and it's running fine'. So don't read too far into Hard Disk failures. They happen - yes. But not more or less than for any other iMac or even PC. ;)
Click to expand...

Exactly. It's sad to see that but it's very true.

For the OP, the G4 iMac in my sig has it's original everything in it and no failed HDD.
 
NewEyesOpen said:
I'd love to hear some positives about the iMac and maybe some better stories of how great their performance and longevity CAN be.
Click to expand...

Sure, why not? Now that you've thrown out a bunch of totally unsubstantiated negative allegations.

Why don't you refer us to all these failure stories of yours?

I've been in these forums for a few years now and don't recall seeing any such thing about HD failures. It's pure rumor, gossip and innuendo.

I had to get the LCD panel replaced on my mid-2007 iMac (purchased release date 8/7/07) but never had any HD problems.
 
auto123 said:
imacs are pretty expensive and you could actually make a gaming pc that could kick crysis's butt (in vista) for half that of a mac
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/build_a_500_pc_play_crysis_40fps
Click to expand...

Since when are iMacs gaming rigs? I doubt many iMac buyers count the frame rate in Crysis as a critical criterion for purchase.

That's a great article though and thanks because I was planning to build a PC gaming machine. They are separate entities.

imacs do look good (if its flavored), otherwise i can't think of any advantage an imac has,
Click to expand...

How about OS X? :p
 
I never had or heard first hand of any issues with what you are worried about.

As you said –*all technology has a failure rate but when you're researching online very few people take their time to post about how happy they are with a product, and it never ever going wrong. Which is exactly the case for the vast majority of macs as any PC.

Apple's design does lead to components being tightly integrated in the casing but they do design around this problem – the imac is a relatively cool machine, and if you're looking at it for music –*it's also makes little noise.
 
auto123 said:
imacs are pretty expensive and you could actually make a gaming pc that could kick crysis's butt (in vista) for half that of a mac
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/build_a_500_pc_play_crysis_40fps

imacs do look good (if its flavored), otherwise i can't think of any advantage an imac has,
-Tyler
Click to expand...

You're just jealous because you can't afford Mac. I can play Crysis with mostly high settings, only few mediums with about 30-40 fps. Macs aren't gaming rigs.

Comparing Windows and OS X is same as comparing Fiat and Ferrari. OS X runs circles over Windows
 
SaSaSushi said:
Since when are iMacs gaming rigs? I doubt many iMac buyers count the frame rate in Crysis as a critical criterion for purchase.

That's a great article though and thanks because I was planning to build a PC gaming machine. They are separate entities.



How about OS X? :p
Click to expand...
well the pc (gaming aside) would have more raw power than the imac, and if its an intel platform a retail version of os x can be installed via the chameleon boot loader.

thankfully for me I have an AMD machine so I won't trouble myself with os x on my main computer.
 
SaSaSushi said:
Since when are iMacs gaming rigs? I doubt many iMac buyers count the frame rate in Crysis as a critical criterion for purchase.

That's a great article though and thanks because I was planning to build a PC gaming machine. They are separate entities.



How about OS X? :p
Click to expand...
I'd take the $500 gaming machine as a grain of salt for advice. Not to mention the HD 58xx is coming soon as well.

nVidia has rebrands on anything short of GT200 series.
 
Eidorian said:
I'd take the $500 gaming machine as a grain of salt for advice. Not to mention the HD 58xx is coming soon as well.

nVidia has rebrands on anything short of GT200 series.
Click to expand...

I am at most a casual gamer. I was looking to build something that has reasonable (cutting edge not necessary) ability to run current game titles at decent frame rates for the lowest price possible.

I think that was the target audience for the article as well.
 
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