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iMac 21.5" with ATI 4670 questioning

J

JayQC

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 14, 2009
43
0
Hi all, I'm new here and looking forward to participate in the community. I am currently a PC user who needs a change (which Windows 7 will not satisfy), so having previously been a Mac user, I am planning to buy an iMac 21.5" in the next week or so.

I read a lot of different forums and websites about the different issues with the iMac, but there remains some confusion. The one I am planning to buy is the 21.5" with the ATI Radeon 4670 card. I'm willing to take a chance with the screen noise issue, but I have two questions for those who own this particular iMac.

First, I would like to know if any of you have had or most importantly still have problems related to choppy flash video playback or abnormally high CPU usage, in particular on Youtube HD. I haven't been able to test this in stores which only have on display the base model w/ the 9400 (which worked fine even with 1080p flash videos, but since it may be graphics card related I prefer to ask).

Second, I was wondering about the flickering issues on the 21.5" iMac. I know the 27" now has a 2-week delivery delay likely due to problems with the screen, but does the smaller screen also has such flickering issues? More specifically, I plan to often use the iMac at or near it's lowest brightness level so I feel like I'm not staring at the sun at night ! Although, my current monitor's lowest brightness may not be the same on the iMac.

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
JayQC said:
Hi all, I'm new here and looking forward to participate in the community. I am currently a PC user who needs a change (which Windows 7 will not satisfy), so having previously been a Mac user, I am planning to buy an iMac 21.5" in the next week or so.

I read a lot of different forums and websites about the different issues with the iMac, but there remains some confusion. The one I am planning to buy is the 21.5" with the ATI Radeon 4670 card. I'm willing to take a chance with the screen noise issue, but I have two questions for those who own this particular iMac.

First, I would like to know if any of you have had or most importantly still have problems related to slow flash performance, in particular Youtube HD. I haven't been able to test this in stores which only have on display the base model w/ the 9400 (which worked fine even with 1080p flash videos, but since it may be graphics card related I prefer to ask).

Second, I was wondering about the flickering issues on the 21.5" iMac. I know the 27" now has a 2-week delivery delay likely due to problems with the screen, but does the smaller screen also has such flickering issues? More specifically, I plan to often use the iMac at or near it's lowest brightness level so I feel like I'm not staring at the sun at night !

Thanks in advance for your help!
Click to expand...

Macs have always had a flash issue.
 
o2xygen said:
Macs have always had a flash issue.
Click to expand...

I am not the one who could really argue about it, since I do not use Macs on a daily basis, but I have used other iMacs, including the ones on display at the store and they had no flash issue whatsoever, Youtube HD 1080p played without a hitch. On my dad's iMac, a 24" 2007 Core 2 Extreme 2.8 ghz with 4 gb of RAM, CPU usage did not take a big hit either.

By slow flash performance in my original post though, I really meant choppy playback or abnormally high CPU usage (corrected it).
 
JayQC said:
I am not the one who could really argue about it, since I do not use Macs on a daily basis, but I have used other iMacs, including the ones on display at the store and they had no flash issue whatsoever, Youtube HD 1080p played without a hitch. On my dad's iMac, a 24" 2007 Core 2 Extreme 2.8 ghz with 4 gb of RAM, CPU usage did not take a big hit either.

By slow flash performance in my original post though, I really meant choppy playback or abnormally high CPU usage (corrected it).
Click to expand...

I see thats what you mean, for me the flash issue means high temps and increased fan RPM while watching videos, not a big deal the sound will drown out the fan.

I think the 21.5inch iMacs are perfectly fine, theres only a few people posting problems. Most of the problems seem to be around the 27inchers, mainly the i5/i7
 
o2xygen said:
I see thats what you mean, for me the flash issue means high temps and increased fan RPM while watching videos, not a big deal the sound will drown out the fan.

I think the 21.5inch iMacs are perfectly fine, theres only a few people posting problems. Most of the problems seem to be around the 27inchers, mainly the i5/i7
Click to expand...


High temps and increased fan speed is not a concern for me, there has to be something inside that iMac making noise at some point haha.

I'll take a chance with the screen noise issue, although I'm under 30 so if it emits a low-pitch noise at brightness levels I regularly use it might become a concern !

Either way though, I can't wait to have it ! I'm currently using an impressively-speedy for its age but still atrociously slow Athlon XP 2500+ (single proc.) with 1.5 gb DDR1 RAM, it will be a humongous change for me ! :D
 
I have the 21.5" with the ATI 4670. No problems here with any of the issues you've raised. The hard drive vibrates a bit, though. The table I have my computer on is not very solid, and it amplifies the vibrations to an audible, constant hum. I don't know how normal this is. If you're going to a store, just lightly touch the display anywhere on the side and see if you can feel a vibration.

My old early 2006 didn't do this.
 
mapleleafer said:
I have the 21.5" with the ATI 4670. No problems here with any of the issues you've raised. The hard drive vibrates a bit, though. The table I have my computer on is not very solid, and it amplifies the vibrations to an audible, constant hum. I don't know how normal this is. If you're going to a store, just lightly touch the display anywhere on the side and see if you can feel a vibration.

My old early 2006 didn't do this.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Does the vibration and noise of the hard drive seem as bad to you as what's reported by many for the 27" ?

I read somewhere that putting a rubber sheet under the iMac can help with the vibrations.
 
JayQC said:
Anyone else able to inform me ? :-/
Click to expand...

I have no problem with the iMac 21.5" with ATI card, works like charm, no screen issues or heat issues. You tube HD plays with out a hitch.

But a note, i live in Portland, OR and it is winter here, heat not a problem, let us see what happens in the summer when the temps go up.
 
I also wanted to chime in. I currently own 21.5" base model and do not have issues you are concerned about. I run youtube HD perfectly and that's on lower quality GPU. And not only youtube. Trailers on Apple website in 1080p run amazingly well as well. I think Radeon will do just fine as far as video playback even though GPU are not directly related to video performance much. Maybe I am wrong about this. I believe Apple always had issues here and there with flash. Maybe not all computers were affected by it. Not sure. I also read that Adobe released beta 10.0 Flash, which seemed to drop CPU utilization rates by half on some flash intense application. I have not updated to that version yet as I have not experienced any issues with my imac so far. But as soon as Adobe releases final version, I think I am going to go for it. Maybe they already did. Need to check it out
 
Update 10.6.2 fixed the flash stuttering issue. Plus, as someone said above, a flash 10.1 beta is out that definitely helps flash performance. Buy it now, I guarantee you wont regret it.
 
Thanks for your inputs. I also read about the yellow tinge issue, which seems to affect 21.5" iMacs, anybody has it? if so how noticeable is it ?

I'm thinking unless someone does work which needs precise screen colors it shouldn't be an issue, unless it's really noticeable with everyday tasks.
 
My 21.5" iMac with ATI GPU works great.

Have had no issues with Flash video playback, and the yellow screen tinge nor high CPU temps.

It is a great machine so far!
 
crackbookpro said:
My 21.5" iMac with ATI GPU works great.

Have had no issues with Flash video playback, and the yellow screen tinge nor high CPU temps.

It is a great machine so far!
Click to expand...

Great, i'm going to buy one next week, have to finish a paper for school first, I know for a fact that it would be very counterproductive to have a brand new iMac just waiting to be used before I hand in my paper :D
 
I have that machine and it works great. I do have the yellow tinge, however, but it is very, very subtle - so am overlooking it for now.

If I were you, I'd wait until the issues were sorted out (that's if you don't need a computer right away). :)
 
Tenshi said:
I have that machine and it works great. I do have the yellow tinge, however, but it is very, very subtle - so am overlooking it for now.

If I were you, I'd wait until the issues were sorted out (that's if you don't need a computer right away). :)
Click to expand...

I don't need it right away, but I was hoping to take the time to properly set everything up during vacation, rather than in two months mid-semester !

I've read on another thread that the yellow tinge can worsen over time as well, so maybe I'm better off waiting for revision B or at least when I see on these forums that the issues have been resolved. That's a bummer really, I'm also concerned that the store where I am planning to buy the iMac sells a lot more base models so may have very early production units of my specific model, unless Apple recalls them.
 
I am a recent convert to the iMac from a PC. I have the 21.5 / ATI. It is amazing, so far no problems. My advice ..... don't wait this is a great machine. I was reluctant to get the magic mouse but IMHO this an outstanding new piece of equipment.
 
airbusking said:
I am a recent convert to the iMac from a PC. I have the 21.5 / ATI. It is amazing, so far no problems. My advice ..... don't wait this is a great machine. I was reluctant to get the magic mouse but IMHO this an outstanding new piece of equipment.
Click to expand...

I am also reluctant about the magic mouse, mostly its comfort, but then I saw a thread on these forums about a free app called BetterTouchTool which adds several gestures to it and am looking forward a lot to try it !

Good to hear you didn't have any problems with your iMac, I'm still a little concerned about the yellow tinge, more so since it can apparently develop over time, but I might still buy mine next week, we'll see :p
 
Imac problems

Hi everyone i just bought the imac 21.5inch,1TB,ATI hd graphics proccessor and i want to know what problems it might have and how will i understand it tha theres a problem with the imac?send me an email to johntrelos@gmail.com thanks a lot!!!!
 
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