So, assuming that we will not hear from Apple on this for a while. It would be interesting to know if the country of origin has anything to do with this. Mine came from Ireland. 3.6 10-core i9, 32 GB, 5700 XT 16 GB, nano-texture glass. The $5,000 question: to return or not to return before it's too late?
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iMac 2020, 5700XT - graphical glitch?
- Thread starter torifile
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Personally, I would not order anything until we have an official response from Apple. I really needed a faster machine for work, considered the iMac Pro for a bit, and then opted for this. I guess I would return it, have the money returned back to my bank account, and then just wait.
Yes, I've had it happen in both light and dark, and just tonight I had it happen twice in dark mode, once on the left half of the screen about two-thirds down, and about 5 minutes later, once on the right half of the screen also about two-thirds down. It's really pronounced when you have a dark desktop wallpaper, and that's all where it appears. I have yet to see it in any app windows, active or otherwise, only over the desktop wallpaper.
Why is this kind of stuff happening, Apple? Why does this feel like I ordered a friggin' Dell full of cheap components that just does not work 100%? Why would something like this be overlooked and rushed? I would rather wait an extra six months so you can get it right. No problem. Get it right. Test it. Waiting is better than me thinking that I have a great new iMac that works, waiting is better than me sitting here for hours installing all the software I need on it, waiting is better than having to deal with returning this, waiting is better than having this whole experience be tainted like this.
And if I’m not mistaken, the current beta of Big Sur isn’t compatible on 2020 iMacs yet correct? Including the most recent beta 6? I’d really like to know if the white line glitch happens there. It almost feels like seeing if it gets fixed in the next macOS release is our only hope because I don’t know if Apple will do anymore supplemental updates for Catalina at this point.
Replicate it with them doing a face time using iPad camera? - since the white line glitch probably cannot be captured otherwise. Or both at the same time to prove the problem exists and is hardware related (or at least not a messed up frame buffer).
You can make the MacBook Pro use dGPU using gfxCardStatus or by connecting an external display. When you connect an external display, the dGPU is used for the internal and external display.
I do not know if Big Sur beta 6 is compatible. If not, is it not compatible because of these new AMD cards? Or for some other reason? The T2 chip? Something else?
And, for some of us, Big Sur fixing this issue isn't necessarily an option right away. Why? Because that's a whole new operating system and many audio plugin manufacturers, for example, traditionally do not have the capacity (being smaller dev studios) to instantly update their software to work on Big Sur if things radically change. So, I, for example, typically wait quite a long time before upgrading and certainly don't do so in the middle of a project.
I know I shouldn't assume anything (making an "ass" out of "u" and "me") but I did assume that this, potentially the last Intel-powered iMac, would be compatible with the current macOS that has been out for a considerable amount of time. But then again, these cards didn't officially come out until earlier this month. So, is it an Apple fix? Is it an AMD fix? Will there be a fix for Catalina or will Big Sur be the fix? Will it just be ignored and the iMacs shipping a month from now will not have any issues? I didn't consider myself to be "an early adopter" with this iMac but I guess that's how it's turning out to be.
So, to make sure I didn't spend 5k on something that will annoy me every day, I guess the safest bet is to just return this and wait a bit longer.
Don't get me wrong, I wholeheartedly agree that updating to a new OS is not something to be taken lightly for those who use their machine for work. I was just thinking from the perspective of seeing if there is hope that this is just a software fix that can be done to correct the issue. Big Sur is currently our only glimpse of that possibility. If it's gone in Big Sur, then that shows promise, and Apple could eventually roll out supplemental updates for Catalina even after Big Sur launches.
I have 8 days until my return window closes but I'm inclined to keep the iMac, crossing my fingers that it's software related and therefore easily fixable. If I return it and order it again and they send it to me in another 2-3 weeks if not longer, who's to say the glitch won't still be there. And maybe that replacement machine has another far more maddening problem or issue that would pretty much require another exchange, when this machine is literally perfect with the exception of this glitch. I don't think I want to go through all that hassle. The older I got, the lesser my tolerance for gambling became
I do hope that it's a software fix. But "hope" is not a plan. And how horrible is it that we feel like it's become a gamble? That this is the best we may get? That returning and ordering again would potentially give us something worse? Hmm. I think I have 8 days as well.Don't get me wrong, I wholeheartedly agree that updating to a new OS is not something to be taken lightly for those who use their machine for work. I was just thinking from the perspective of seeing if there is hope that this is just a software fix that can be done to correct the issue. Big Sur is currently our only glimpse of that possibility. If it's gone in Big Sur, then that shows promise, and Apple could eventually roll out supplemental updates for Catalina even after Big Sur launches.
I have 8 days until my return window closes but I'm inclined to keep the iMac, crossing my fingers that it's software related and therefore easily fixable. If I return it and order it again and they send it to me in another 2-3 weeks if not longer, who's to say the glitch won't still be there. And maybe that replacement machine has another far more maddening problem or issue that would pretty much require another exchange, when this machine is literally perfect with the exception of this glitch. I don't think I want to go through all that hassle. The older I got, the lesser my tolerance for gambling became
FYI. To follow up on my testing.......I changed the iMac Display resolution from DEFAULT to 2048x1152 and the horizontal line glitch hasn't happened since. It's only been a day and I was out most of last night, but sure hope were onto something here. It would be great if a few of you could also change your display resolutions and see if the horizontal white line goes away. (the corner issue still remains).
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I contacted support. They said clear Nvram and SMC. Waste of time.
I asked if they know about the problem and is it software or hardware.
They said Apple know about it and its software. Its not just the 2020 iMac its other Macs.
This means they don't know it's a common issue on the 2020 5700 Xt's yet as they would of advised support to take back the units and replace/repair or says don't worry it will be fixed in next update.
They are just lumping the graphical issues with all the other graphics glitches like the MacBook Pro 16's ect have had with Catalina.
What has been your experience with support?
I asked if they know about the problem and is it software or hardware.
They said Apple know about it and its software. Its not just the 2020 iMac its other Macs.
This means they don't know it's a common issue on the 2020 5700 Xt's yet as they would of advised support to take back the units and replace/repair or says don't worry it will be fixed in next update.
They are just lumping the graphical issues with all the other graphics glitches like the MacBook Pro 16's ect have had with Catalina.
What has been your experience with support?
I think because the iMac chassis hasn't changed in years you were lulled into a false sense of security. On the inside its very new, 10 gen CPUs, T2 chip, brand new GPU architecture (which first appeared in the 16" MacBook Pro).
The safe bet would be to buy an iMac Pro.
I am sure Apple knows about the problem. They may or may not know the root cause.
If these are software problems, they are probably right to lump them in with the MacBook 16 issues. They share the same GPU architecture and are probably using the same drivers. Calling it a Catalina problem is a bit misleading though, previous versions of MacOS did not support this GPU architecture. If they did they would probably have the same problem.
If I'm interpreting that correctly...
It sounds like Apple knows that there are various graphical and video card issues with macOS in general, regardless of its name or version number, and regardless of which specific cards we might be pointing out as having issues. And they have chosen to collectively lump all of these together. Makes sense from their point of view.
My old iMac is still running Mojave so I do not have a point of comparison directly with Catalina. Maybe I would've seen issues on my old iMac, too? But it has an Nvidia card, so probably not.
To us I guess this simply means that we will not know if there is anything wrong specifically with the Pro 5700 XT. We will find out when Apple deems it has fixed "all issues" and releases either a) an update for Catalina (they should continue to support Catalina) or b) Big Sur. And if that does not fix the issues for us Pro 5700 XT users, then we will know it is specific to our card.
So, that's the gamble.
I tried switching to the various scaled resolutions, including 2048 x 1152. I was simply paying attention to the sharp/flashing corners issue which is happening in all of the scaled modes. I did not stay in any of them for a prolonged period of time because I figured that since the corners issue was present, the white lines would appear sooner or later, too. But of course the two can be (and probably are) unrelated. Even though I still think that both are related to transparency somehow.
Not every Level 1 tech in Apple is going to be aware of all the problems affecting each and every Apple device. That doesn't mean that the relevant Engineering team at Apple is unaware of the problem.
I am running Mojave with an Nvidia dGPU in my 2014 MacBook Pro. Definitely no issues with window corners but I have had more serious issues with Interface Builder in Xcode which made it non-functional. I believe the new Navi architecture has experienced plenty of driver issues on both Windows and MacOS. Specifically though, someone on this thread has been reporting very similar issues with the very similar 5600M in their 16" MacBook. What surprises me is that no one has reported issues with the other Navi GPUs available on the new iMac.
Right now I am only aware of 3 Mac product lines available with Navi GPUs, the Mac Pro (with an optional card), the 16" MacBook Pro and this new 27" iMac. They all shipped with Catalina and they were all launched within the last year.
Logged a few hours this morning/afternoon and still no horizontal line glitches with the 2048x1152 resolution.......
So are you keeping it? How frequently were you seeing the lines in the regular "Retina" mode?
Well I returned mine (with a 5700 XT) and ordered a new one with the 5700. I haven’t seen the white line (yet at least) but I have seen a flickering of the FaceTime upper right corner. But once only and never after that. Oh well... my best guess is : software problem for all 5xxx graphics cards PLUS a hardware/driver-specific bug for the XT version of the graphics card.