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Using 27" iMac without Glass (Glossy) Front Cover?

M

macaddiict

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 22, 2005
151
244
Albuquerque, NM
Hi,

I have recently upgraded from a 24" iMac to a 27". The screen is great, but after a few hours of work (this is my work machine), my eyes really begin to bother me.

Has anyone out there tried using their iMac without the front glass sheet over the LCD? What does the LCD look like?

I don't have any children around, so I'm not worried about the screen being scratched or damaged -- but if course I would eventually need to clean it just to remove the dust build up.

So - any thoughts? Anyone else considered it?

-Stephen
 
I took my glass plate of recently to put in a different hdd. The panel itself is glossy too, so you wouldn't gain anything by removing the glass.
 
When I upgraded my friend's 24" iMac's hard drive, I was amazed how much better the screen looked without the glass. There was still reflections, but they were not as bad as when the glass was there. Glare was a little less too.

The black bezel covers up the screws etc, so if you did take it off, it might look a bit ugly. You could always buy a new glass panel and cut the glass out, so you still have the black bezel.
 
Getting ready to purchase iMac and MBP 15". Should I purchase the 27" iMac or stay away from because of the problems and just buy the 21.5". I am a current pc user with a 30" screen, Gateway.
 
trjwv said:
Getting ready to purchase iMac and MBP 15". Should I purchase the 27" iMac or stay away from because of the problems and just buy the 21.5". I am a current pc user with a 30" screen, Gateway.
Click to expand...

Buy a Mac Pro instead of the iMac and use your current screen...?

Good way to highjack a thread btw ;)
 
trjwv said:
Getting ready to purchase iMac and MBP 15". Should I purchase the 27" iMac or stay away from because of the problems and just buy the 21.5". I am a current pc user with a 30" screen, Gateway.
Click to expand...

Go to a store and check it out for yourself. i can't see any problems with the 27"er at the Apple reseller I go to.
 
macaddiict said:
I have recently upgraded from a 24" iMac to a 27". The screen is great, but after a few hours of work (this is my work machine), my eyes really begin to bother me.

Has anyone out there tried using their iMac without the front glass sheet over the LCD?
Click to expand...
So you are saying the glossy reflections are bothering your eyes?

Are you sure it's just not that the screen is to bright? My eyes bothered me way back when I had a 15" CRT computer monitor, because I was on it to long (not blinking much) and the brightness was to set to high.
 
There are matte films you can buy to put over the imac screen and reduce glare. I was just looking into these about a month ago as we ponder imac purchases.
 
i dont have an imac... yet.... but one thing you might want to consider is the cooling system.

From what i have seen, the imac draws air from the bottom and exhausts it from the top.

If you remove the front glass, it is no longer going to suck in, or exhaust, air in the correct way (I assume).
 
Robbbin said:
I took my glass plate of recently to put in a different hdd. The panel itself is glossy too, so you wouldn't gain anything by removing the glass.
Click to expand...

Thank you, this is exactly what I wondered... what a shame!

I noticed the iFixIt guide said the inside screen was glossy, but it doesn't look quite SO glossy in their photos, so I was curious...

Kilamite said:
The black bezel covers up the screws etc, so if you did take it off, it might look a bit ugly. You could always buy a new glass panel and cut the glass out, so you still have the black bezel.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. However, if the LCD underneath is also glossy, I may be out of luck...

Resist said:
So you are saying the glossy reflections are bothering your eyes?

Are you sure it's just not that the screen is to bright? My eyes bothered me way back when I had a 15" CRT computer monitor, because I was on it to long (not blinking much) and the brightness was to set to high.
Click to expand...

I have thought the same thing, but it still bothers me even at its lowest brightness setting... I think it is the reflections, honestly.

unamused said:
i dont have an imac... yet.... but one thing you might want to consider is the cooling system.

From what i have seen, the imac draws air from the bottom and exhausts it from the top.

If you remove the front glass, it is no longer going to suck in, or exhaust, air in the correct way (I assume).
Click to expand...

That's a really good thought... I bet you are right that this would make a difference... Thanks!
 
Cant speak for the new iMacs but on my old 20" one i removed the glass front and it was much more easier on my eyes. The screen behind is glossy but nowhere near as much as it was with the panel on. Id say about 70% reduction. :D
 
unamused said:
i dont have an imac... yet.... but one thing you might want to consider is the cooling system.

From what i have seen, the imac draws air from the bottom and exhausts it from the top.

If you remove the front glass, it is no longer going to suck in, or exhaust, air in the correct way (I assume).
Click to expand...

Not at all.. the air isn't moving across the screen! The screen is sealed in pretty much, and if you remove the glass, you are merely affecting the look/design of it, not the functionality of the actual computer.


AAPLaday said:
Cant speak for the new iMacs but on my old 20" one i removed the glass front and it was much more easier on my eyes. The screen behind is glossy but nowhere near as much as it was with the panel on. Id say about 70% reduction. :D
Click to expand...

Completely agree! When I took my friend's 24" iMac's glass panel off, I couldn't believe how much more focused things appeared.. far easier on the eyes.
 
Consider not having a window or any light source behind u,and u will not see all that reflections.
 
I found simply turning the brightness completely down stopped eye strain and the subsequent headaches.
 
the new led monitors have a good brightness control.
i have the 24" 2007 imac,and it doesnt.i mean the minimum brightness is still very light
Shades software(free btw) can help . it can bring the brightness from 0% (black scren) to 100% in addition to the imac bright. control
 
Kilamite said:
Not at all.. the air isn't moving across the screen! The screen is sealed in pretty much, and if you remove the glass, you are merely affecting the look/design of it, not the functionality of the actual computer.
Click to expand...

ahh... thats what i get for not having one in front of me...

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac-Intel-27-Inch/1236/1

i was basing it off of those pix... there looks to be a pretty nice gap all the way around the LCD panel which would let air in way easier then inlets at the bottom of the iMac.
 
Won't adjusting it up/down cut down on glare? I've no idea, since mine is in my man-room in my basement, which is dark, even with like 10 high-power recessed lights.
 
It is much better without the glass

I removed the glass panel on my 27" and the screen looks much better and less reflective now.

Some observations:
- I have to make something to cover up the border.
- Cooling does not appear to be affected
- The glass panel is very very thin, 2mm or so.
- I'm gonna try to get my hands on some anti-glare film to see what that does.
 
Jaap said:
I removed the glass panel on my 27" and the screen looks much better and less reflective now.

Some observations:
- I have to make something to cover up the border.
- Cooling does not appear to be affected
- The glass panel is very very thin, 2mm or so.
- I'm gonna try to get my hands on some anti-glare fil to see what that does.
Click to expand...

Glad to see its the same on the newer iMacs as it was on mine. I originally bought a glass cutter so that i could remove the centre part of panel and just use the black part of the glass bezel attached to the outside of it but it was lot harder to cut through the than i thought. So in the end i just continued to use it 'naked'.

Mine was a 2007 Alu iMac though and i had it for nearly two years and was happy to experiment with it. With yours id be much more careful and as the top part of the glass panel protects the isight.
 
AAPLaday said:
With yours id be much more careful and as the top part of the glass panel protects the isight.
Click to expand...

The iSight sits in a strong plastic housing and is mounted with rubber grommets. I can hit it with a hammer and it won't even scratch.
 
I wish notifications on threads like this worked properly for me (or I would remember to check back more)... what great info! Thanks for all the replies.

I don't really get glare from a window or lighting as much as I just constantly see my own reflection/my white shirt/etc. It was not a big deal initially, but I have noticed a big increase in instances where by the end of the day my eyes are tired and I have a headache since I've upgraded from an old white (non-glare) 20" iMac. Turning down the brightness does help, but not entirely.

Occasionally I'll sit down at another person's computer to do something, and I can immediately feel my eyes relaxing.

I may try to remove the glass and see if it helps. I wouldn't care if it was ugly if it helped reduce the eye strain.

Apple may get their way in the end... if I can't figure something out, I will likely buy the next Mac Pro update and just get a nice IPS non-glare screen.
 
WOW!

So I just removed the glass using the suction cups from iFixIt and was sad at first when I saw how reflective the screen below was...

But then I turned the computer on and WOW. The 27" screen is SO much nicer without the glass. I would go even further than Jaap and say that the gloss is 80-90% less reflective when you have the screen powered on.

My biggest question at this point is how to clean the now-unprotected LCD? Anyone think some LCD cleaner would do any damage??

-Stephen
 
Good to see that there is hope for some glare reduction...

... one question though for the OP: now that the glass is off, how does it compare to your old iMac's matte LCD? I'd be coming from a similar machine (original core duo imac).
 
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