My 2011 iMac finally died. Wtf

[ApplePieAlaMode]

hey lovely iMac users. I'm pissed. I have (had) one of those lovely 27 inch 2011 iMac pieces of crap that had cascading events of dying parts only to succumb to its final resting place this week. My issue was similar to many 2011 iMac problems relating to it going into sleep mode randomly and not waking up. This awesome issue with the 2011 model has been completely ignored by Apple for years. First they said it was my graphics card. Got it replaced. Didn't work. Then they said it was my HD. Got it replaced. Didn't work. Then they said it was my power supply. Nope. Now they are telling me it's the logic board?! (With a $1000 repair cost!!).

I'm done. I'm finally saying goodbye to this piece of crap and I'm not repairing it any longer. AppleCare, and Apple executives have been no help in my years of issues (phone support, Genius Bar, and higher-up execs) Anyway, to make a loooooong story short, what do you all recommend I get now. I'm a photographer, videographer, and musician and use my Mac for editing all three. I've been hearing maybe the Mac mini is a good option?? (Adding my own killer monitor, and disk drive).

Recommendations please???? Thanks!!!

 

[bent christian]

I do not consider a dual core processor suitable for encoding video in 2016.

 

[MrAverigeUser]

hey lovely iMac users. I'm pissed. I have (had) one of those lovely 27 inch 2011 iMac pieces of crap that had cascading events of dying parts only to succumb to its final resting place this week. My issue was similar to many 2011 iMac problems relating to it going into sleep mode randomly and not waking up. This awesome issue with the 2011 model has been completely ignored by Apple for years. First they said it was my graphics card. Got it replaced. Didn't work. Then they said it was my HD. Got it replaced. Didn't work. Then they said it was my power supply. Nope. Now they are telling me it's the logic board?! (With a $1000 repair cost!!).

I'm done. I'm finally saying goodbye to this piece of crap and I'm not repairing it any longer. AppleCare, and Apple executives have been no help in my years of issues (phone support, Genius Bar, and higher-up execs) Anyway, to make a loooooong story short, what do you all recommend I get now. I'm a photographer, videographer, and musician and use my Mac for editing all three. I've been hearing maybe the Mac mini is a good option?? (Adding my own killer monitor, and disk drive).

Recommendations please???? Thanks!!!

buy an "old" upgradable and serviceable "classic" MacPro 2008-2012. You will never ever regret. You change RAM, Disks and even many different Xeon CPUs (up to 3,46 MHz and 12 core !) as you like, you swap in PCI-modules, you choose any monitor on earth to work with, you can now choose most of any VideoCard you like if you are willing to invest in EFI-modified Videocards (look at MAcVideoCards.com) and it is a not only a bargain, it is a real pleasure to work with.

And: Here at MacRumors there are many enthusiast who will help you to do anything you want to with it.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

hey lovely iMac users. I'm pissed. I have (had) one of those lovely 27 inch 2011 iMac pieces of crap that had cascading events of dying parts only to succumb to its final resting place this week. My issue was similar to many 2011 iMac problems relating to it going into sleep mode randomly and not waking up. This awesome issue with the 2011 model has been completely ignored by Apple for years. First they said it was my graphics card. Got it replaced. Didn't work. Then they said it was my HD. Got it replaced. Didn't work. Then they said it was my power supply. Nope. Now they are telling me it's the logic board?! (With a $1000 repair cost!!).

I'm done. I'm finally saying goodbye to this piece of crap and I'm not repairing it any longer. AppleCare, and Apple executives have been no help in my years of issues (phone support, Genius Bar, and higher-up execs) Anyway, to make a loooooong story short, what do you all recommend I get now. I'm a photographer, videographer, and musician and use my Mac for editing all three. I've been hearing maybe the Mac mini is a good option?? (Adding my own killer monitor, and disk drive).

Recommendations please???? Thanks!!!

Well if staying with Apple the 5k 27 inch iMac is your best bet, best screen, best graphics apart from a Mac Pro and best form factor for tidiness.(a 5k screen from Dell uses two thunderbolt ports to connect and costs at least $1600 on it's own).

Other than that any good gaming pc and a 4K screen and move over to another OS.

The Mac mini has a dual core mobile processor and a fairly vanilla iGPU. If you want any sort of 4K ability for video editing the in the next few years then a quad core and a good GPU are a must.

 

[MistrSynistr]

From these forums it seems like all Apple Products in 2011 were rife with issues.

 

[ApplePieAlaMode]

I do not consider a dual core processor suitable for encoding video in 2016.

Ya, that's what I as thinking. Ugh, it was more of the price tag that I was dreaming about. Oh well. You are right.
[doublepost=1455638736][/doublepost]

buy an "old" upgradable and serviceable "classic" MacPro 2008-2012. You will never ever regret. You change RAM, Disks and even many different Xeon CPUs (up to 3,46 MHz and 12 core !) as you like, you swap in PCI-modules, you choose any monitor on earth to work with, you can now choose most of any VideoCard you like if you are willing to invest in EFI-modified Videocards (look at MAcVideoCards.com) and it is a not only a bargain, it is a real pleasure to work with.

And: Here at MacRumors there are many enthusiast who will help you to do anything you want to with it.

Great idea! Lemme research this a bit and see what's out there and who's selling. I'm not super techy as far as replacing my own hardware but I'm sure I can figure it out and with you're help too!
[doublepost=1455638899][/doublepost]

Well if staying with Apple the 5k 27 inch iMac is your best bet, best screen, best graphics apart from a Mac Pro and best form factor for tidiness.(a 5k screen from Dell uses two thunderbolt ports to connect and costs at least $1600 on it's own).

Other than that any good gaming pc and a 4K screen and move over to another OS.

The Mac mini has a dual core mobile processor and a fairly vanilla iGPU. If you want any sort of 4K ability for video editing the in the next few years then a quad core and a good GPU are a must.

Ya, that's what I'm thinking with the dual core. Interesting point about the 5K monitors and price. Thanks! That leans me more towards the iMac 5k if image quality is high on my list. I'm just so scared of a new iMac given my horrible experience. Ugh
[doublepost=1455638937][/doublepost]

From these forums it seems like all Apple Products in 2011 were rife with issues.

Right???

 

[bent christian]

Ya, that's what I as thinking. Ugh, it was more of the price tag that I was dreaming about. Oh well. You are right.

For a few hundred more, you can get the 21.5" 2k version with an SSD and connect your current monitor. I do a fair amount of amateur video encoding with high bit rate SLR footage. The 21.5" model I have holds up fine with only 8GB of RAM. The new iMacs are really fast. I understand your hesitation on spending thousands on new Apple technology. Probably not the wisest investment.

 

[Lankyman]

buy an "old" upgradable and serviceable "classic" MacPro 2008-2012. You will never ever regret. You change RAM, Disks and even many different Xeon CPUs (up to 3,46 MHz and 12 core !) as you like, you swap in PCI-modules, you choose any monitor on earth to work with, you can now choose most of any VideoCard you like if you are willing to invest in EFI-modified Videocards (look at MAcVideoCards.com) and it is a not only a bargain, it is a real pleasure to work with.

You could almost be describing a Windows PC i.e. something that no matter what happens your average user can always tinker around with and get it working again - often like new (or better).

I wonder why most of Apple's range isn't like that?

 

[MrAverigeUser]

To have an idea about the wide range of possibilities with MacPros look at no. 2 +3 of the pinned Threads in the MacPro forum.
Apart from "design" there ar nothing but Cons about the neither service friendly nor upgradable iMac-system...

 

[Lankyman]

From these forums it seems like all Apple Products in 2011 were rife with issues.

Not at all - the mid-2011 21.5" models are widely regarded as some of Apple's finest work. Touch wood, mine's never missed a beat.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Ya, that's what I as thinking. Ugh, it was more of the price tag that I was dreaming about. Oh well. You are right.
[doublepost=1455638736][/doublepost]
Great idea! Lemme research this a bit and see what's out there and who's selling. I'm not super techy as far as replacing my own hardware but I'm sure I can figure it out and with you're help too!
[doublepost=1455638899][/doublepost]
Ya, that's what I'm thinking with the dual core. Interesting point about the 5K monitors and price. Thanks! That leans me more towards the iMac 5k if image quality is high on my list. I'm just so scared of a new iMac given my horrible experience. Ugh
[doublepost=1455638937][/doublepost]
Right???

Yeah those AMD cards in the 2011 macs were all a bit of a bust, it's not actually the card but the solder used that was the issue. The move to unleaded solder for mobile graphics cards did not take into account how constant heating and cooling would degrade the lead free solder until it split from the board. Thats why there are so many stories of people getting a few more months by baking the board in an oven and reflowing the solder. The actual dGPU's themselves are pretty good.

These issues seem to have continued and preceded the 2011 issue with NVIDIA cards in the MacBook pros and have shown up in affair few Windows laptops as well, although the large nature and huge cooling, plastic casing etc in many gaming laptops mitigated this effect. The industry seems to be gradually greeting a grip on dGPU's in mobile devices but they still have some way to go and the GPU manufacturers have a long way to go on power consumption and thermals themselves ( NVIDIA have been a few years ahead on this over AMD in the last few years it's a pity that Apple went with AMD as we won't get decent performance at low TDP from AMD until juneish).

The 5k iMacs have been pretty solid so far, but you have to remember that there is a reason computer manufacturers only give 3 years warranty and that's because they know that the rates of failure begin to rise sharply after this point. It's annoying but you may want to consider selling them just before the AppleCare runs out and getting a new one every 3 years. You'll probably get back around half on a Mac after that time and on a $3000 iMac that means a cost of around $500 a year or $10 a week, not bad to have that sort of machine for that price and a new one every 3 years.

 

[bent christian]

You could almost be describing a Windows PC

Yup. Unless the user has restraints on space or some other specific need the iMac serves, I would not recommend these systems for general production work. One can do much better with PC hardware. There has not been a marked difference between OSX and Windows functionality for quite sometime, so the OS is negligible.

 

[robeddie]

I do not consider a dual core processor suitable for encoding video in 2016.

All the 2011 iMacs were 4-core i5 or i7 based. In fact the processor scores on geekbench come in fairly competitively with the newest models, except for the highest end.

The last time Apple made dual core iMacs was in 2010.

 

[bent christian]

All the 2011 iMacs were 4-core i5 or i7 based. In fact the processor scores on geekbench come in fairly competitively with the newest models, except for the highest end.

The last time Apple made dual core iMacs was in 2010.

The OP was asking about Minis.

 

[ApplePieAlaMode]

Yeah those AMD cards in the 2011 macs were all a bit of a bust, it's not actually the card but the solder used that was the issue. The move to unleaded solder for mobile graphics cards did not take into account how constant heating and cooling would degrade the lead free solder until it split from the board. Thats why there are so many stories of people getting a few more months by baking the board in an oven and reflowing the solder. The actual dGPU's themselves are pretty good.

These issues seem to have continued and preceded the 2011 issue with NVIDIA cards in the MacBook pros and have shown up in affair few Windows laptops as well, although the large nature and huge cooling, plastic casing etc in many gaming laptops mitigated this effect. The industry seems to be gradually greeting a grip on dGPU's in mobile devices but they still have some way to go and the GPU manufacturers have a long way to go on power consumption and thermals themselves ( NVIDIA have been a few years ahead on this over AMD in the last few years it's a pity that Apple went with AMD as we won't get decent performance at low TDP from AMD until juneish).

The 5k iMacs have been pretty solid so far, but you have to remember that there is a reason computer manufacturers only give 3 years warranty and that's because they know that the rates of failure begin to rise sharply after this point. It's annoying but you may want to consider selling them just before the AppleCare runs out and getting a new one every 3 years. You'll probably get back around half on a Mac after that time and on a $3000 iMac that means a cost of around $500 a year or $10 a week, not bad to have that sort of machine for that price and a new one every 3 years.

Love this reply. THANK YOU! This hits the nail on the head and really describes what I think the real issue going on is. Of course if you tell these facts to Apple they just poo poo around it, and suggest THEY know more about their own products and why this theory is wrong. I've also found that being a girl, they assume I'm a dumb ass and therefore am clueless to what is wrong with my computer. Anywho...I'm leaning towards to 5k...ugh the price tag kills me...but at heart, I am a Mac OS girl and can't deal with Windows. Thanks for the tips on the "3 year plan" and resale. Sometimes I just want to say F you Apple for making us have to do this. (Yet we continue to buy).

 

[MrAverigeUser]

hey lovely iMac users. I'm pissed. I have (had) one of those lovely 27 inch 2011 iMac pieces of crap that had cascading events of dying parts only to succumb to its final resting place this week. I've been hearing maybe the Mac mini is a good option?? (Adding my own killer monitor, and disk drive).
Recommendations please???? Thanks!!!

The OP was asking about Minis.

No, he wrote to abandon iMac and is searching for recommendations about alternatives.
The Mac mini is just one he mentioned, far away from having done the decision to purchase one…

and his answer about other users and my proposition of a classic Mac was POSITIVE. Even for alternative iMac models proposed by others. so what?

 

[ApplePieAlaMode]

Not at all - the mid-2011 21.5" models are widely regarded as some of Apple's finest work. Touch wood, mine's never missed a beat.

That may be true with some models. Mine was the 27inch i7 which has had so many problems!
[doublepost=1455643165][/doublepost]

No, he wrote to abandon iMac and is searching for recommendations about alternatives.
The Mac mini is just one he mentioned, far away from having done the decision to purchase one…

and his answer about other users and my proposition of a classic Mac was POSITIVE. Even for alternative iMac models proposed by others. so what?

Yes, I'm open to all options. Suggested the mini because maybe it was a cost effective solution. But I'm hearing the dual core might not be the best option for photo/video/music editing. I'm open to getting another iMac. Just scared. I'm a Mac OS lover though so going to PC is not an option at all.
[doublepost=1455643315][/doublepost]

The OP was asking about Minis.

Honestly I'm open to all suggestions. I'm just trying to see what most people are using/recommending these days for doing similar work (editing). But..I'm trying to be cost effective. (Basically I'm cheap LOL) but, as well all know. Apple owns us and our money so we are outta luck in that regard. Hahahaha

 

[bent christian]

Honestly I'm open to all suggestions. I'm just trying to see what most people are using/recommending these days for doing similar work (editing). But..I'm trying to be cost effective. (Basically I'm cheap LOL) but, as well all know. Apple owns us and our money so we are outta luck in that regard. Hahahaha

I have used OSX machines for years in my work. My wife uses one for development. We have had these machines around for a while, alongside Windows Linux in the house. I bought my first iMac in 2015 due to space restrictions. I am really happy with it. The lack of cables and clutter is great, and it looks nice on the desk. But I won't kid myself - one can do much better. There is no magic here. The iMac is essentially a luxury entertainment device, as compared to what can be done with a PC. A quad-core processor (any quad-core processor), 8GB-16GB of RAM and an SSD can do all of what you mentioned. The rest comes down to personal preference.

 

[ApplePieAlaMode]

I have used OSX machines for years in my work. My wife uses one for development. We have had these machines around for a while, alongside Windows Linux in the house. I bought my first iMac in 2015 due to space restrictions. I am really happy with it. The lack of cables and clutter is great, and it looks nice on the desk. But I won't kid myself - one can do much better. There is no magic here. The iMac is essentially a luxury entertainment device, as compared to what can be done with a PC. A quad-core processor (any quad-core processor), 8GB-16GB of RAM and an SSD can do all of what you mentioned. The rest comes down to personal preference.

Thank you! That's what I figured. Im glad to hear yours has been working good for you. I'm (desperately) hoping that if I buy another iMac that I will be happy and it won't crap out on me. I like your evaluation of it being a "luxury entertainment device" haha. It's true!

 

[robeddie]

The OP was asking about Minis.

Ah.