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Exchanging 24" imac for...A MINI. Need opinions!

R

rpeters83

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 31, 2007
104
0
I guess it's the anal-retentiveness of me but my 24" screen is bothering me. There isn't really a brightness gradient, but I do have the color shift issue (bluer hue on left, warmer/yellow hue on right) and some minor backlight issues (on the top left and bottom left).

Now, I have a dirt-cheap 19" LCD that is miles better than this screen in my opinion and is absolutely perfect. It is also matte. I also have lots of external storage.

Since I'm getting fed up with how the 24" screens are, and it seems like exchanging it for another one will bring me another faulty screen, I was thinking about saving the $1000 and buying a maxed out mini.

Your thoughts? I don't think I'd miss the gaming (I only had one game) and I can always purchase a wireless-N card for it (until I hardwire it). Thanks!
 
Try the 20" iMac, the viewing angle problem will probably drive you insane ... and you'd lose touch with reality.

Or buy a white 24" iMac, there may be some new ones out there, or refurbished. Though the possibility of a slight scuff would probably create a Monk like episode.

The new white 24" was an option many people tried.
 
Apple is letting you do this?? When did you buy it? Are they charging a re-stocking fee? :)

I'm thought about selling my 24" and buying a mini and a Dell 2407WFP-HC display. I've got a mini at work with a Dell 1907FPv display (which is absolutely perfect) and I love the combination.
 
djc6 said:
Apple is letting you do this?? When did you buy it? Are they charging a re-stocking fee? :)

I'm thought about selling my 24" and buying a mini and a Dell 2407WFP-HC display. I've got a mini at work with a Dell 1907FPv display (which is absolutely perfect) and I love the combination.
Click to expand...

It's from CompUSA. And why not? It's defective. It's a known issue and there's even articles about the issues. I'm not paying for a low-quality machine.
 
Good for you. I have tried new aluminum 24 and the glossy screen REALLY bothers me.

For those reviews I read earlier when it was just releases, saying the glossy does not bother them by reflecting, I believe they are either blind, or have low sensitivity.
 
phytonix said:
Good for you. I have tried new aluminum 24 and the glossy screen REALLY bothers me.

For those reviews I read earlier when it was just releases, saying the glossy does not bother them by reflecting, I believe they are either blind, or have low sensitivity.
Click to expand...

i actually like the glossy. it's just the color shifting and backlight bleeding that bugs me!
 
rpeters83 said:
I was thinking about saving the $1000 and buying a maxed out mini. ... Your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Minis are good if you can live with the slower, small-capacity 2.5" disk drive.
The only other OS-X option is a previous-generation white C2D. That was my
'plan B' after returning one 20" and one 24" ALU because of the ugly displays.

Amazon still has the white 20" models @ $1200, NEW w wireless kbd/mouse.

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MA759LL...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1196372978&sr=8-1

Amazon also had the white 24" priced at $1500, until they sold out.
Macmall.com still lists the white 24" @ $1450 -- but they would be
my LAST choice of vendors due to their ridiculous "no returns" policy.

Google "MA456LL/A" for other possible sources.

good luck,

LK
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Yeah, Amazon had the White 24 via Small Dog for $1500, which is where I got mine.

I just checked the other day and apparently Small Dog is completely out of the White, any version.
 
Leon Kowalski said:
Minis are good if you can live with the slower, small-capacity 2.5" disk drive.

LK
Click to expand...

Not to forget Intel GMA950 integrated graphics making the game options a bit more limited. :p

And getting the 2.0GHz version with the Superdrive isn't exactly cheap either.
 
Minis feel slow compared to iMacs - mainly because of the hard drives. If you're okay with being limited to a 2.5" drive, more expensive memory, and needing a putty knife to open it up, go for it.

But honestly, it's a good sized step down, based on my experience.
 
rpeters83 said:
It's from CompUSA. And why not? It's defective. It's a known issue and there's even articles about the issues. I'm not paying for a low-quality machine.
Click to expand...

Well if it IS a "low-quality" machine apparently you already did. :p

If you could be so kind as to post a link to the "articles" about the issues I'd be grateful. I saw the Tom's Hardware (not known for their love of Apple) article about display issues on some 20" machines that included ONE paragraph about reported gradient issues on 24" screens (which you already you said your screen doesn't have).

Aside from that I've not seen a single "article" from any reputable sources and I have YET to see one about yellow tints or color-shifting on the 24" aluminum iMac screens.

Then again, I'm sure once you tell CompUSA that there are dozens of posts about this on the Macrumors forums and Apple forums they will just high-tail it to give your money back.

Best of luck to you.
 
Sounds like a great idea to me. Get the $599 mini and a $60 external burner. Add a Firewire drive if you need one.
 
And, just pop the thing open and throw in a nice 7200rpm 200gig drive and you are golden. (Don't forget to stuff it with RAM while you are in there)

Thats what I did. I love my Mini =D
 
akm3 said:
And, just pop the thing open and throw in a nice 7200rpm 200gig drive and you are golden. (Don't forget to stuff it with RAM while you are in there)

Thats what I did. I love my Mini =D
Click to expand...

Are there any good articles on doing this that you would recommend?
 
akm3 said:
And, just pop the thing open and throw in a nice 7200rpm 200gig drive and you are golden. (Don't forget to stuff it with RAM while you are in there)

Thats what I did. I love my Mini =D
Click to expand...

The Mini is a fine solution for many depending on their needs. It's a great way for Windows switchers to get a Mac at minimal cost retaining their existing keyboard/mouse/display, etc. But the dealbreaker for me is that no amount of hardware tweaking will ever improve the Intel onboard GMA.

So long as that's not an issue for you I say go for it.
 
Howdy...

I did almost exactly the same thing. Had a 24" iMac. Took it back twice and got new ones. Finally got store credit...

I bought a 1.8Ghz C2D MacMini. Added 2GB RAM, and ran a SATA cable from the internal interface to an external ESATA drive. 500GB 7200RMP 3.5" drive.

Also purchased a 24" Samsung monitor, and I'm still $500 below my iMac price.

It's a little slow and has integrated graphics, but I'm using it mostly as a server/surfer/email/TV Recorder, and for that it works just fine. I have a MBP for when I need more power, and I can hook the MBP up to the 24" monitor (something I couldn't do with the iMac)..

I also greatly prefer the non-glossy Samsung screen to the glossy iMac, although it isn't as bright.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. With memory and external SATA drive, the Mini feels very snappy. I will likely sell it in 6 months if something better comes out with fewer bugs...

...or maybe I'll just keep it and put the difference towards a new 'ultra-portable' MBP... :)

Best,

Ben
---------------------------------------------------------
neo-fight.tv - {The Weekly Technology Podcast}
 
neoben said:
...and ran a SATA cable from the internal interface to an external ESATA drive.
Click to expand...
Can you still use the internal drive after doing that? I'd like to do it but would prefer that the internal drive is still the boot drive.
 
Why would you want such a slow drive to be your boot drive.

I don't know if there's a way to do both, but I removed the internal drive, and have it sitting on the shelf for the day I decide to sell the Mini...

I boot from the uber-fast external SATA drive...

Best,

Ben
---------------------------------------------------------
neo-fight.tv - {The Weekly Technology Podcast}
 
neoben said:
Why would you want such a slow drive to be your boot drive.
Click to expand...
I don't need to do anything uber-fast. The boot drive has all of my libraries, fonts, email, etc., and the external drive contains the majority of my large files such as photos, music and videos. It's the way I like to organize things.

Thanks for the answer though. Seems like I saw reference to a hack somewhere with which one could use both the internal and an external SATA drive on a mini.
 
iDave said:
I don't need to do anything uber-fast. The boot drive has all of my libraries, fonts, email, etc., and the external drive contains the majority of my large files such as photos, music and videos. It's the way I like to organize things.

Thanks for the answer though. Seems like I saw reference to a hack somewhere with which one could use both the internal and an external SATA drive on a mini.
Click to expand...

Well, if you don't need it fast, I'd just stick with an external FW or USB drive. No point in messing with your internal HD in that case.

By the way, my boot drive STILL has all my libraries, fonts, email, etc.. on it. It's just that my boot drive happens to be outside the Mini enclosure.

For me, it's made my Mini a lot more responsive on things like spotlight searches and launching apps.

Best,

Ben
---------------------------------------------------------
neo-fight.tv - {The Weekly Technology Podcast}
 
neoben said:
Well, if you don't need it fast, I'd just stick with an external FW or USB drive. No point in messing with your internal HD in that case.
Click to expand...
Point taken. Many of the cheap drive enclosures these days have USB and eSATA ports. I'd rather use eSATA even if I don't think I need it uber-fast? :) Just pondering the options.
 
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