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5 Comments on “Apple iMac MB953LL/A 27″ Desktop”

1. D. Bowman
   April 13th, 2010 at 5:54 pm

   Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/assess/R7CJP8XZ3V1HK It is hard to capture how gorgeous this notebook is in words much less video.
   
   You have to see it in person.

   I accidentally listed it on-screen as 2.26GHz, it should say 2.66GHz.

   I took a stab at a video assess.

   I hope you take pleasure in.
   
   Let me know your feedback, thanks! Rating: 4 / 5

2. B. Scammell
   April 13th, 2010 at 7:43 pm

   I became a Mac convert four years ago, when I picked up one of Apple’s new Intel-based MacBook Pro laptops. I eventually picked up a 20″ Apple Cinema Show to use at home when I want the desktop experience. Up to this top I’ve been very satisfied with Apple’s products, particularly their displays. I’ve been considering upgrading for quite some time now, and about a month ago I chose I to pick up a new 27″ iMac quad-core i5. I’ve always been wary of the notion of the “all-in-one” PC. A selling top on the new 27″ iMac is the two-way show port, which will allow you to continue by the iMac show with a new machine when the time to upgrade comes.

   First the pros:

   As far as Apple products go, the quad-core iMac represents a bargain. While not as expandable as a Mac Pro, speed benchmark tests have shown a $2k iMac to be comparable to a $2.2k MacPro, with the benefit of a built in screen. I was impressed with the machine’s speed and ability to multi-task; I could run both Mac OS X and XP via Parallels, run Aperture and Photoshop CS4 all simultaneously with no distress. The desktop space afforded by the 27″ was splendid, while having the 20″ ACD as a secondary show added to the machine’s usability.

   Now the BIG CON…

   There was only one flaw with the machine. The show was one of the primary selling points. I’m an amateur photographer, but I was immediately encountering difficulty calibrating the show’s color. I quickly determined there was a noticeable shift in color temperature from the top of the screen to the bottom, with the bottom third of the screen showing a warm and yellowish hue. I quick Google quest revealed I was not alone. Disappointed, I called Apple help and arranged an appointment at the local Apple Store. I hauled the huge machine back to the store and clarified and showed the issue. The employee behind the Genius Bar seemed genuinely surprised when I showed him and offered a replacement. To be sure the replacement wasn’t also a dud, he fired it up on the spot. This machine was worse than the first. A third machine was pulled from the stock room… same issue. The three machines are all manufactured within eight weeks of one another (the first a week 49 machine, the following a week 51 machine and the third a week 45 machine). I was sent home with the third machine offered, but last week returned it, requesting a 100% refund, which was granted. Shooting three for three, I’m under the impression that the problem is more wide-spread than Apple is willing to admit, and represents a fundamental flaw in the hardware. While the tinge is sometimes hard to notice out of the box, it grows worse with use.

   Aside from the poor-quality show I loved by the iMac, but I expect more from a product which is billed as a machine “with the ultimate show”. I would assume it will take Apple a couple of months to get to the root of the problem and fix whatever flaws exist in the manufacturing process, or the design of the machine itself. Apple has dropped the ball on this one. I would advise any person in the promote for an iMac to wait until the next major upgrade to drop your hard-earned cash on the product.

   For further reading try out out the following website. While there are users with issues other than the yellow-tinge, this was the only problem I encountered and seems to be the primary protest since Apple updated the iMac firm-ware to address the screen-flicker issue. Over again, reckon twice before buying one of these things. Apple is working on the issue, and I reckon it would behoove most consumers to wait until a fix has been positively identified and implemented.

   [...] Rating: 2 / 5

3. korova
   April 13th, 2010 at 10:01 pm

   First things first: the iMac offered on this page appears to have the Intel Core i5 quad-core processor, NOT a Core 2 Duo. In addition, a more capable quad-core processor, the i7, is available as a build-to-order option from the online Apple Store. Be sure you’re looking at the configuration you want. Apple makes four 27″ Aluminum iMac processor setups in all: two with the Core 2 Duo, an i5, and an i7.

   Now then, on with the show. A quick look around here shows that many reviewers have already discussed the essential hardware and software features of the 27″ iMac. So, rather than repeating stuff that has already been said, I am going to focus this assess on my experience of upgrading from a G4 igloo iMac that was running System 10.5.8 .

   Migration Assistant
   
   *I used a Firewire 400 to Firewire 800 cable to go the contents of my ancient notebook to the new machine with Migration Assistant.
   
   *The process was virtually seamless, with only a few minor adjustments necessary to the transferred data. Only four applications required reinstallation: ClamXav, iTunes (due to the Soundflower plugin–in any case, no music was lost or hurt), Microsoft Expression Media 2, and a Juniper Networks remote access program (part of a corporate telecommuting package).
   
   *Rules for Small Snitch, a third party utility, need to be reestablished.
   
   *Customized preferences for Spotlight must be reentered.

   Magic Mouse
   
   *iMacs now come with a wireless mouse as standard gear. The Magic Mouse is a vast improvement over the Apple Mouse (aka Mighty Mouse) because it doesn’t have a roller ball that eventually stops working. In fact, there aren’t any external tender parts on the Magic Mouse, other than the on/off switch.
   
   *Exposé and Dashboard functions are now on the top row of the keyboard, not on mouse buttons.

   Keyboard
   
   *The chiclet style keys took me a small while to get used to, but now I prefer them to traditional “long stroke” keys.
   
   *For some reason, Apple has made a compact laptop keyboard the standard iMac keyboard (Steve Jobs must be nostalgic for the original 1984 Mac keyboard). Any person who relies on Page keys for navigation or on a numeric keypad for data entry is out of luck.
   
   *An extended keyboard with Home/Pg Up/Pg Dn/Delete keys and a number pad is available as a build-to-order option, along with additional memory and other treats, at the online Apple Store.

   Audio System
   
   *Optical digital audio input and output requires cables or cable adapters with 3.5mm plugs. Standard size TOSLINK connectors won’t work. Also, digital audio I/O is run through the microphone and headphone ports. It is therefore impossible to use headphones or an external mic when the notebook is setup for optical digital audio use.
   
   *The speakers are a weak top in the design. They are small, underpowered, and sound tinny. I reckon the igloo iMacs had much better sound. If I recall correctly, they had a specially tuned amplifier–plus the speakers were honestly large and were not built into the notebook housing. Users who use their iMac as their main music source or who work with music and sound will want to buy a separate pair of speakers.

   By the notebook: screen, fan noise, heat, Rosetta
   
   *This iMac is all about the gigantic 27″ screen. It’s incredibly sharp and sharp, with better-than-HD resolution. Excel users will like being able to see columns A-AE and rows 1-95 all at once at 100% zoom. No more wasting time scrolling around and splitting windows. Photos, movies, and graphics all look absolutely fabulous.
   
   *I initially thought I would despise the glossy end on the screen, especially after seeing how much glare demo models at the Apple Store showed. But, as it turns out, the shiny glass isn’t distracting at all in my home office. That said, any person who hasn’t ever seen a glossy screen notebook in person should go try out one out before placing an order.
   
   *Something that I miss from my igloo iMac is the ability to go the screen both from left to right (x-axis) and up and down (y-axis). Aluminum iMac screens can only be swiveled up and down, in a honestly restricted array.
   
   *Under most conditions, the notebook runs very quietly. Fan noise is naturally inaudible.
   
   *The top of the notebook can become noticeably hot to the touch. Not hot enough to cook the proverbial egg, but certainly radiator than most other electronic devices (except for the original PlayStation3, otherwise known as the Sony Spaceheater).
   
   *PowerPC applications run well under Rosetta. Once it is downloaded automatically, upon demand, it runs invisibly.

   Some early buyers have reported show problems
   
   *Periodic screen flickering (Update: Apple unrestricted downloadable fixes for this on 21 Dec. and 1 Feb.)
   
   *Color temperature differences between the top and bottom of the screen
   
   *See the Apple Help discussion boards for fine points (links in the Comments area below)

   Bottom line: it’s the screen, the SCREEN, THE SCREEN!! Massive amounts of screen real estate, combined with quick performance, make the 27″ Aluminum iMac a right joy to use for both work and play. One star penalty for not building an extended keyboard standard and for the terrible built-in sound system. Rating: 4 / 5

4. Busy Executive
   April 13th, 2010 at 10:50 pm

   I have the 27″ iMac with the 2.8 Ghz Intel i7 processor, and so far, I’m absolutely pleased with it.

   The “out of the box experience” was just about perfect. Minimal packaging, and after lifting the system, keyboard and mouse out of the box, it was up and running in under five minutes. Very impressive…batteries already installed in the keyboard/mouse (I have the wireless ones) and everything “just worked”.

   I was a small nervous about the small wireless keyboard, but now that I’ve been by it a while, it’s really very excellent. The keys have a excellent feel, and although it looks somewhat flimsy, it’s not. The wireless connection (Bluetooth) works splendid, and I like that I can go it around on my desk any time I want. Same for the mouse…the new mouse design is cool, and being able to just run my fingers over it rather than having a scroll wheel is very handy. It works smoothly and I like it better than the Microsoft wireless mouse I had been by up to now.

   The system comes with built-in wireless networking, which seemed to work splendid with my 802.11N Cisco/Linksys router. I’ve since switched to the wired connection as I have Gigabit Ethernet in my home…it also works flawlessly. On the network, it’s connected to my Windows systems, my networked printers – even my DVR – lacking incident. From an application perspective, it’s worked 100% perfectly with everything I’ve tried, including VMware, Microsoft Office for Mac, Photoshop, etc. It comes with Snow Leopard pre-installed.

   The show is simply stunning, whether running traditional applications, looking at movies, editing photographs, etc. It’s sharp and crisp corner to corner, and huge enough to comfortably run about any two apps side by side. Indeed, it’s very nearly too huge (by no means thought I’d say that!)…I find I need a small more distance between my eyes and the monitor to take it all in. Next to my (admittedly 3 year ancient) Dell LCD monitor…well, it’s no contest. I’m hoping to figure out how to connect another PC and a few HDMI devices to the monitor, by the Mini Show Port input (which is more hard than it sounds, since you need VGA/DVI/HDMI to Mini Show Port conversion, and few of these devices seem to be available).

   As for performance, my i7 2.8Ghz is scoring about 8500 points on the “Geekbench” benchmark – the fastest iMac ever, and within striking array of a quad-core Mac Pro. It’s quick – blindingly quick – in day to day use, and at least so far, I place of protection’t found anything that really taxes its limits.

   Splendid machine and it comes with my highest recommendation! Rating: 5 / 5

5. E. Harkins
   April 14th, 2010 at 12:36 am

   I bought my i5 quad core iMac a couple of weeks ago and I like everything about it…except for the noisy fan. The power, speed, screen size and gorgeous show resolution are all top notch. So is the massive storage provided by the 2 TB hard drive. But I was surprised by the noise of the fan and the fact that it runs constantly at that noise level. That no doubt is because of the heat of the quad core processor and perhaps because I loaded it up with 8GB of RAM, but it is very unusual for a Mac product. When you see it at the Apple Store you don’t notice the noise. But in the silent of a home setting it is very noticable. Over again, that is the only downside I have with this otherwise splendid new Apple iMac.

   UPDATE: The nearly continuous fan running on high speed is not habitual. Apple service told me a faulty sensor is to blame and it will be replaced no charge. It’s a let-down to have an annoying problem right out of the box, but Apple service picked up my phone call is less than 2 minutes, diagnosed the issue in small order and scheduled a time for me to bring it in to an Apple Store for service the next day. That is splendid responsiveness. A++ and 5-stars for that. Rating: 4 / 5

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