Interesting. I've heard the Mac Pro may be designed with Apple Silicon in mind, so the chips would slide in.
That might be worth a consideration, I'm sure it is. Has the iMac not lived up to expectations?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iMac 2020, 5700XT - graphical glitch?
- Thread starter torifile
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Interesting. I've heard the Mac Pro may be designed with Apple Silicon in mind, so the chips would slide in.
That might be worth a consideration, I'm sure it is. Has the iMac not lived up to expectations?
I think the iMac would be awesome minus all the weird graphical glitches. My only other complaints would be the obvious things like it runs hot and there’s no upgradability, besides the RAM. The Mac Pro barely ever gets above like 40c yet the iMac can oftentimes be around 60c. Colossal difference in cooling! This worries me about the longevity of the iMac. Not to mention that I think Apple hit it out of the park with the Mac Pro design. It’s a beautiful machine. A real work of art. It’s lovely to slide the case off and be able to upgrade any component easily. The inside is SUPER clean and tidy. IMHO it’s their best design ever.
The Mac Pro is not designed with Apple Silicon in mind, that said it would be possible for Apple to design a motherboard that would fit inside that case.
The biggest limitation with the iMac design is it is impossible to access the motherboard and fans without removing the screen. A difficult process that involves cutting away tape and disconnecting cables. Very easy to destroy the screen which Apple might then decide not to repair. You could also touch the exposed power supply and electrocute yourself.
Aside from upgrades this makes it difficult to clean the dust from inside the machine. Dust build up will make the cooling system less efficient as the Machine gets older. It will get slower and noiser over time. The Mac Pro does not have this problem and comes with a much better cooling system, you may never hear the fans. You can also swap out the GPU without returning the whole machine. You can even swap out the SSD and it is also possible to change the CPU. This is a bit more involved but still easier and safer than accessing the motherboard and fans of the iMac.
There are two major advantages the iMac has over the Mac Pro, It's very compact compared to a Mac Pro and it's also inexpensive compared to a Mac Pro.
It is not a limitation. It is by design.
If you wish to, at some point in the near or distant future, seriously upgrade a machine that you purchase today, iMac is not a good choice for you. It never has been. That is the allure of the machine also: it is literally just a screen on your desk. Minimal. Lovely. If you want upgradability and hardware choices, and you have the time to tinker with such things, then please do not choose an iMac. Choose any PC or choose a Mac Pro.
For those of us who did choose this iMac, knowing its design-driven constraints and being 100% okay with them, it is all the more frustrating that the system -- a very finite amount of known components -- does not work as advertised. Personally, I just wanted a fast screen on my desk that just works.
'Never' isn't the best word: With the old G5s you could undo a few screws and take the back off, providing easy access to the RAM, hard drive, DVD drive, etc. Even the G3s weren't *too* tricky to get into. Only later did they move to the 'need to take the screen off' design, although I admit that it's been like that for the majority of the iMac's life.
Not sure why I'm talking about early iMacs in a thread about brand-new ones though
Ok. Fine.'Never' isn't the best word: With the old G5s you could undo a few screws and take the back off, providing easy access to the RAM, hard drive, DVD drive, etc. Even the G3s weren't *too* tricky to get into. Only later did they move to the 'need to take the screen off' design, although I admit that it's been like that for the majority of the iMac's life.
Not sure why I'm talking about early iMacs in a thread about brand-new ones though
But, in 2020 I am so not concerned about having access to the inner workings of the machine. If I did, I would not have opted for an iMac. I literally just want something that works. With zero hiccups. No messed up corners, no white lines. Because I do not need any more distractions in my little world. And I used to build my own PCs before I purchased my first Mac Pro: the all-aluminum first Intel ever beauty of a thing. Hmm. That is still in a closet somewhere... or the garage... and it is so heavy that it will keep my house from flying into the Hollywood sign if there is ever a tornado in these parts.
Last edited:
I think we are losing focus on the topic on this thread. If you want to debate non-topic stuff, do it thru direct messages.
iMac 2020 i7 8Core, 5700XT 16GB, 8GB Ram, nano display.
White line showed immediately on 1st start without migrating over, and windows corners glitch that's showing only on FaceTime that've seen so far, that corner glitch is weird it has a few pixels that move on it.
White line showed immediately on 1st start without migrating over, and windows corners glitch that's showing only on FaceTime that've seen so far, that corner glitch is weird it has a few pixels that move on it.
Just got mine unpacked, seen the white lines several times already.
NKurtar, there are MANY graphical glitches in safe mode. Just try dragging an open window and moving it around the screen.
I was told by Apple that while in Safe Mode, only essential drivers are loaded. But you would think even without drivers, window dragging on such a powerful machine would still be smooth.
I was told by Apple that while in Safe Mode, only essential drivers are loaded. But you would think even without drivers, window dragging on such a powerful machine would still be smooth.
It's not entirely fair to label these as glitches. They are expected issues with drawing complex windows when nothing is loaded to make it smooth.
ToriFile, I agree they are expected because Apple has made it expected..... and truly is nothing to worry about.
However, i still find it odd that simple window dragging produces intense window glitching in Safe mode. My brain during corona might be failing me, but i seem to remember back during the OS8 and OS 9 days, when you booted into safe mode, everything dragged fine. My point is in 2020, the graphics card is so powerful, and therefore a simple task like dragging a window should run smoother.
In fact, when I first discovered the White Line of Doom, i was told by an Apple tech to boot into Safe Mode. And i remember telling them that something was wrong because of the window glitching (but then they explained that was normal). So i already had in my mind from somewhere deep into my past Apple life, that window glitching in Safe Mode is not normal.
Last edited:
I notice it less on sunny days. I'll just slide my desk closer to the window and pretend everything is fine.
I read a tip somewhere (maybe upthread) to use a utility like SwitchRes to create a custom resolution very close to the default, but larger or smaller by a few pixels in either dimension. According to the post I read—sorry for the lack of sourcing—this offers almost identical scaling to default space while also solving the glitching problem. I have no idea about the corner thing, I'm talking strictly white line.
Be sure to collect your check from Apple for doing their job for them. 😉
Still amazed 23 people/voted they don't have any glitching with the 5700XT
Yeah, simply not buying it. At all... They just haven’t noticed yet, are using a second display or have set a different resolution.
Honestly, do y'all think Apple will fix this issue? Or will they just say F the people who bought the highest spec gpu since the fewest amount of people will most likely purchase it? I'm starting to believe the latter...