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iMac 27 i7 Arrived (june build date). Some thoughts:

H

hellobye

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 8, 2006
11
0
Hey everyone

Before pulling the trigger to buy a new imac I had been lurking these forums to prepare for every common
issue i'd encounter. (Yellow tint screen, high pitch noise, etc).

I went ahead, hoping for the best and ordered it.
The computer arrived 2 days ago.

This post is for those who are waiting, and just a general report since my computer serial revealed that it was built in June 2010.

Serial Lookup:

Serial number: Q002307xxxx
Name: iMac Intel (mid 2009-i7)
Group1: iMac
Group2: Intel
Generation: 8
ModelCode: imac_mid_09
CPU speed: 2.8GHz
Family name: A1312
Screen size: 27 inch
Screen resolution: 2560x1440 pixels
Memory - number of slots: 4
Factory: Q0 Please tell us where this machine is manufactured.
External link: Technical specifications by apple-history.com
External link: Repair guide by iFixit
Model introduced: 2009
Production year: 2010
Production week: 23 (June)
Production number: 268 (within this week)
Uitbreidingen: Uitbreidingsmogelijkheden van dit apparaat



My profession is doing music and design work. Its my main income and ive been
doing this for almost 10 years.

These issues play an important role for me BUT I cannot yet say if
the issues I have hinder my work yet since ive only owned it for 2 nights.
Take this report for what it is.




Screen:

There is a slight difference between the bottom 1/3rd of the screen and top 1/3rd.
The bottom is warmer and the top is cooler. The middle or the top seems to be the most neutral in my opinion.

When i did the grey-band test (there is a post in this forum with a link to the test and lots of posts about it)
I could tell the bottom gray is yellower/warmer.
It's very slight and not annoying at all compared to user photos of their horrible yellow tints.

I've dealt with worse color shifting/color representation using the couple
23" apple cinema displays i used to use (purple fringes, pink parts of the screen etc).
The work I've produced on those monitors did not have any issues.



High Frequency Noise:

Some people have been complaining about iMacs emitting a high frequency pitch/noise
that comes from the computer (not the speakers) when user is adjusting the monitor brightness.
In my research people have mentioned that their flat panel LCD TV's also suffer from this as well.

The high pitch noise that people are suffering with is very apparent on my computer.
When the screen is at its 100% brightness (highest notch) there is no high pitched sound.
If I reduce to second brightest notch and 3 notches below from that the noise is very apparent.
Piercing to a point you will get a headache. I cant imagine working with that sound in my head.
The lower screen brightness below the -3, notches brings no noise.

Its weird and aggravating issue.

However during night time, i keep the brightness pretty low. Day time i keep the brightness at max or middle.
It seems like the issue can be worked around in my day to day use... but its very odd thing to work around.
I dont believe that customers should work around this issue but... whatever.


Build:

The base of my imac shipped slightly bent!


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This probably will reduce my resell value (down the line).
If i didn't have this issue I would be very on the fence if i should return it for a replacement.


Overall:

Screen is beautiful. No dead pixels.
The machine is fast. Cubase, Live, Reason, CS4, all run extremely well.
I was running first generation mac pro 2.66 with 12 gigs of ram before. Its snappier than that machine by far even though my imac only has 4 gigs of ram. I havent done any large projects on it yet since ive only owned it for 2 days.

I ordered my machine from macconnection.
Customer rep will contact me tomorrow (monday) to talk about a replacement.



Hope this helps in any for for those who are waiting.
 
I would def get a replacement because of the screen and bent base stand. Its sad how Apple doesn't have any quality control anymore. How they ask you to give them so much money and they give you a poorly built product in return.
 
ouimetnick said:
I would def get a replacement because of the screen and bent base stand. Its sad how Apple doesn't have any quality control anymore. How they ask you to give them so much money and they give you a poorly built product in return.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree about the QC. but i guess theres not much we can do about it.

I requested to talk to someone about a replacement.
The bent base is a no brainer for a return.

I hope its another June 2010 build.
 
hellobye said:
Yes I agree about the QC. but i guess theres not much we can do about it.

I requested to talk to someone about a replacement.
The bent base is a no brainer for a return.

I hope its another June 2010 build.
Click to expand...

Why does its build date even matter? Even if its from december 2009, if its not defective, and has been sitting in a box unused, and in perfect condition, who cares if its 6 or 7 months old? It has the same power and performance as one that was built yesterday.
Its likely that you will get one built in either May or June though.
just want to know, why does build date matter?
 
ouimetnick said:
Why does its build date even matter? Even if its from december 2009, if its not defective, and has been sitting in a box unused, and in perfect condition, who cares if its 6 or 7 months old? It has the same power and performance as one that was built yesterday.
Its likely that you will get one built in either May or June though.
just want to know, why does build date matter?
Click to expand...


I figure that the latest built ones has certain issues fixed or tweaked.
I would not mind if I got one built in 2009 if it was perfect, but when apple claims the screen issue was fixed, id rather have a computer that was built after they announced that message (hence latest).
 
Yep, I'd send them a picture of the damaged stand IMMEDIATELY

Why ... because if isn't documented it'll come back to haunt you later as customer abuse.

So yes squeal loud and hard now, to get it documented in their database, and take a new machine or keep the machine if the give you an iPad as compensation.
 
hellobye said:
I figure that the latest built ones has certain issues fixed or tweaked.
I would not mind if I got one built in 2009 if it was perfect, but when apple claims the screen issue was fixed, id rather have a computer that was built after they announced that message (hence latest).
Click to expand...

Well there is an extremely high chance you will get one built in May or June, after they announced the "fixed" the problem, although many folks say the problem still exists
 
thanks for the information, all much appreciated. particularly glad to hear your screen is "good enough".

I have a question on the grey/yellowing issue though. Is this something that gets/can get worse over time? Or if it's noticable but minimal, you are in the clear?

What I'm really asking I guess is if you receive a monitor displaying some discoloration, is it best to ask for it to be replaced right away even if it's not so bad, on the basis that it will become worse down the road?
 
Sorry about your computer. The stand makes it a no-brainer to replace.

I just got a similar machine, and I have the brightness problem too. Debating whether or not I should return it...I never use the machine below the maximum brightness though. The sound for me starts maybe 4-5 notches down from maximum. My old iMac had a "hum" on lower brightness settings, this is more of a "buzz", hard to describe. It's not particularly loud but I would be annoyed with it if I had to work on lower brightness. The sound seems to be coming from the upper part of the machine.

Interestingly, as I was installing updates, changing the brightness did not produce the sound. Also, when on a low brightness setting, "scrolling" with the mouse accentuates the sound.
 
@OP the stand is definitely grounds for replacement. however, your screen sounds to me to be at the acceptable end of the yellow tint issues. any replacement could just as well be worse than it could be better.

tough call.

queshy said:
Also, when on a low brightness setting, "scrolling" with the mouse accentuates the sound.
Click to expand...
Oddly, i get this with an old Viewsonic monitor i have. drives me up the wall, i'd love to know what causes it.
 
I agree with everyone else, send it back - a bent stand is something that ive never seen before, and also how it could become bent is slightly worrying.

I sent mine back the other day due to yellow screen issue. also had the high pitch noise people are talking about. My screen was March build, so im hoping my next is abit more recent than that.

fingers crossed (which we shouldnt have to do when buying a mac!)
 
queshy said:
Interestingly, as I was installing updates, changing the brightness did not produce the sound. Also, when on a low brightness setting, "scrolling" with the mouse accentuates the sound.
Click to expand...

Just thought i'd add to the discussion that my late 2006 white macbook has a similar, hard to describe sound when i have it off the power source and at low brightness. Mine however will stop making the squealing noise if i scroll up or down a page. It only makes this noise occasionally though, most of the time it is quiet.

I'm not sure what it means that it happens to my old macbook too, but it's interesting...
 
To hellobye or others with screen issues

Thank you for your post above. Could you post photos of your screen. I would be curious if you, or anyone else who is going to receive a replacement ends up in better shape vis-a-vis the screen and noise issues. I would also like to know if the horizontal shadow-like bar across the bottom of some screens appears on yours as well. It is most visible with full white or light-grey desktop background.
Best of luck and thanks for any further info.
 
Arggg, don't know if I should return this one for the buzzing problem...I could just live with it. The replacement will probably have some other problem.
 
its astonishing to stroll back in here and learn these problems still exsist! i gave up back in feb and opted for a macbook pro
 
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