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iFixit Tears Apart Apple's Shiny New Retina iMac

Posted by timothy on from the good-work-if-you-can-get-it dept.

iFixit gives the new Retina iMac a score of 5 (out of 10) for repairability, and says that the new all-in-one is very little changed internally from the system (non-Retina) it succeeds. A few discoveries along the way: The new model "retains the familiar, easily accessible RAM upgrade slot from iMacs of yore"; the display panel (the one iin the machine disassmbled by iFixit at least) was manufactured by LG Display; except for that new display, "the hardware inside the iMac Intel 27" Retina 5K Display looks much the same as last year's 27" iMac." In typical iFixit style, the teardown is documented with high-resolution pictures and more technical details.

22 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. Broken link by thegreatbob · · Score: 3, Informative

    it's just a simple 'a' tag...

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    1. Re:Broken link by Georules · · Score: 5, Funny

      slashdot, news for nerds, written by people who can't even html.

    2. Re:Broken link by craigm4980 · · Score: 5, Informative

      a real link

    3. Re:Broken link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      With so much junk on /. lately I wondered where I would use my mod points, so fixing links from the summary will have to do. Mod Parent up :s

    4. Re:Broken link by r1348 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I shamefully admit clicking on it at least 10 times and cursing at my browser before realising.

    5. Re:Broken link by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 2

      A worthy commenter.

      Sometimes I think they should go above 5. You just saved a lot of people A LOT of work.

    6. Re:Broken link by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

      Even Bob the Builder would have fixed it by now.

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  2. Set the record straight by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sure, these imacs MAY use screens from LG, but when those screens are combined with Magic Apple hardware, the result is so much better than the competition. You have to use macs for graphic design because their LG screens are much more accurate than everybody else's LG screens. There's whole colors you're not even seeing unless you go mac, like blurple, the exact spot between blue and purple.

    1. Re:Set the record straight by MikeMo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I shouldn't feed the troll, but you have to know that not every screen made by LG is the same as every other one they make. In addition, the rest of the layers in he assembly have a lot to do with the visual results, and those might be different from other screens you will see in the future (there are no other 5K screens shipping at the moment). And then there's the control circuitry (an Apple proprietary chip is involved in that) and the software that drives it. So yes, the results may be much better than the competition even if LG makes those screens, too.

    2. Re:Set the record straight by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

      an Apple proprietary chip is involved in that

      I kinda figured that from the logo.

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    3. Re:Set the record straight by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      an Apple proprietary chip is involved in that

      I kinda figured that from the logo.

      You can't tell that from the logo. For example, Viewsonic doesn't make anything today. All they do is stick their logo on stuff, they don't even do cases any more.

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    4. Re:Set the record straight by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      According to TFA they are using off the shelf parts, with one that has an Apple logo slapped on it but isn't made by them. There is nothing special about it.

      Also, Dell announced a 5k monitor before the iMac was announced, which probably uses the same panel. We should be able to compare the two soon. In the past Apple displays have proven to be exactly the same as other displays with the same panel and similar glass, so I wouldn't expect any surprises.

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    5. Re:Set the record straight by gnasher719 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Also, Dell announced a 5k monitor before the iMac was announced, which probably uses the same panel. We should be able to compare the two soon. In the past Apple displays have proven to be exactly the same as other displays with the same panel and similar glass, so I wouldn't expect any surprises.

      Dell announced earlier, Apple deliverd earlier.

      Both monitors cost the same (comparing Apple's real price and Dell's announced price), but Apple's monitor contains a nice computer :-)

  3. Re:how do SSD's compare to HD's? by russotto · · Score: 2

    The only real problem taking it apart is cutting the stupid tape, which you then have to replace.

  4. Re:how do SSD's compare to HD's? by mlts · · Score: 2

    AFAIK, the jury is out on that fact. SSDs -tend- to be more predictive due to how they wear out. However, I've not seen any definite comparisons that state that a SSD will have a life longer than a HDD.

    There is one limiting factor with SSDs: Once the electrons escape the gates, that's it. No recovery is possible unlike HDDs which the magnetic domains can be present indefinitely. So, as an archiving medium where data is stashed, it isn't very good, unless the media is constantly checked and the data moved periodically.

    The a good thing to do with an iMac would be a decent SSD... as well as an external drive appliance with RAID 1, or a volume with software RAID that is similar.

  5. Re:how do SSD's compare to HD's? by kosmosik · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > The a good thing to do with an iMac would be a decent SSD... as well
    > as an external drive appliance with RAID 1, or a volume with software
    > RAID that is similar.

    To have backups is the good thing to do whatever OS or hardware you run.

  6. iMac? by koan · · Score: 2

    With Yosemite on it it's a "deskpad", oh wait it doesn't have a touch screen yet, soon... very soon.

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  7. Re:how do SSD's compare to HD's? by russotto · · Score: 2

    Many of the older iMacs you open with a plunger and/or suction cups -- remove the glass with the suction cups, then unscrew the screen. This sounds worse than it is. This one (and I think the previous one) is held together with tape; you have to use a cutting wheel to cut the tape from the side, then pry it apart. To put it back together you need to remove the tape remnants and put new tape on.

  8. Re:how do SSD's compare to HD's? by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

    Welcome to the 21st century.

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  9. Re:Mac Mini by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why the hell do people even use this garbage.

    I keep asking this question myself when I see people using Windows for anything but games.

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  10. Mac Mini sidenote by jones_supa · · Score: 4, Informative

    BTW the new Mac Mini comes with fixed onboard RAM. I wish I could see a more detailed teardown soon, would like to see how hard it is to replace the HDD.

  11. Re:how do SSD's compare to HD's? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

    And if computers were put together with robot welds and 1" steel torsion bolts, would that make them easier to repair?