New iMac disassembled
By Ryan Block 
posted August 8th 2007 10:31PM
posted August 8th 2007 10:31PM
Update: Looks like we took down (Engadgeted?) Kodawarisan's site. Sorry guys! They sent us a mirror to use though, go here.
posted August 8th 2007 10:31PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
I Bet these will melt too!
hmmm the chin is there for a purpose - to dissipate heat..
the cooling fan for the Heat Sink blows the hot air on it.
which could not have been done if it was fully covered by the screen...
Love them, or hate them. It does amazes me how Apple manages to cram so much into such relatively small spaces. I guess there's a reason, after all, for the J. Leno chin.
The guy didn't show how he removed the screen glass. I know he used the suction thing, but is the glass glued or screwed to the unit? Anyone?
I'm sure it's glued.
It's actually held on with magnets. My friend at a local 3rd party mac shop told me all about it today .
Magnets???
Hmm, maybe that's why the guy in the pictures just pulled the glass off with that suction thing and didn't show/mention anything about removing screws. That's very interesting. Now, at the risk of sounding ignorant, wouldn't all those magnets needed in order to support the weight of the glass be a bit of an issue with the hdd? Hdd is still magnetic media, right? And magnets are also used for erasing magnetically stored media. I'm really curious as to how Apple managed to deal with this potential challenge.
HDD's are actually a lot better shielded from magnetism than most people make them out to be. They aren't floppy disks- there is actually a faraday cage around the actual platters and whatnot to prevent magnetic destruction. This, coupled with the fact that the Hd was in the middle of the screen, probably means they've got plenty of safety buffer built in, between the physical distance and the magnetic protection.
you know, there are high-power magnets just centimeters from the disks in your hard drive. they drive the voice coil for the read/write arm. if those aren't a danger, the ones holding the screen aren't either.
and JD, faraday cages are for lightning and electricity, not magnetism.
...and "faraday cage" was the wrong term to use in the first place. Hard drive cases are magnetically shielded whereas faraday cages provide EM shielding. They are used to keep EM from getting "out" or getting "in". Saying they are for lightning and electricity misses the point.
Yeah, I knew faraday cage wasn't the right term, but you got it, lol. Thanks for correcting me, though. But yeah, the magnets driving the arm would be a much greater danger than any magnet holding a glass screen on, in any case.
Whats the point of a desktop if you cant upgrade it? Might as well get a laptop.
Most people just buy a new computer if they are looking for a upgrade.
A laptop does have the comfort of working with a 24" screen, real fullsize keyboard and mouse. The iMac's are also great because you don't need the 'box' that regular computers have.
Explain to me again why there's no way to stick 2 internal hard drives in anything but a Mac Pro? Seriously kids, internal hard drives are not reliable enough to have 500GB device without backing it up...
A very small percentage of the total PC market sees "upgrading their computer" as an activity worth their time and money.
The vast majority of PC users (PC meaning personal computer, Apple or otherwise), see their computers as tools to be used in support of some other activity worth their time and money.
Apple doesn't make an upgradable desktop other than their largest Mac and there are far more use for desktops than MacPros are suitable for. Most people never upgrade their machines anyway.
Because the type of people who buy Macs often don't know how to upgrade.
Neither do most people that buy PCs, but it is true that many people who have no knowledge of technology buy a Mac because of the look and status they believe it has and have too much many.
And before you flame me I didn't say everyone that owns a Mac is thick, I said technophyls often choose a Mac over a PC.
Lets please not feed the trolls. They have been hungry as of late -.-
Yes! I've been waiting for this.
...aaand the server is overloaded. Hooray.
Service Temporarily Unavailable
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.
So what do we call it when Engadget overloads a server? Engadged?
All the trappings of a regular PC? Hardly. It's more of a laptop/desktop hybrid. My Thinkpad, which actually is a laptop, is easier to take apart/upgrade. Sad really. Still a nifty device for those who don't tinker though.
Apple designs it that way. How else are they going to get people to upgrade their systems in 4 years?
So you can probably upgrade the CPU, at the cost of voiding your warranty. RAM...nach. Hard drive of course. Basically for the non techy who wants to have their iMac upgraded in a few years (When the 3 year warranty expires.) all they need to do is find a geek and buy a new CPU, hard drive, and RAM and they are golden. GPU is another matter, but as always people don't buy iMac's to game on.
There is plenty official and unofficial expansion. People bitching about expansion need to STFU and realize these systems are for the non-techy who couldn't give less of a shit about tech specs. People who don't know the difference between a GB and a Ghz.
It really is amazing that folks really do have a hard time wrapping their mind around the concept that there are people out there who don't give a shit about how many MB's of VRAM they have in their computer and only care about if the system can do what they want. Yes Billy. there are people who don't care about OCing their system to get a few extra FPS in WoW.
You're post is the best I've read in a long time.
I meant "your" instead of "you're".
Sorry about that little oversight on my part.
Yes it amazes me how many people bitch about how they can't upgrade the iMac, they still can't understand or believe that 90% of the home users & 99% of business buy a new machine when the old one doesn't cut it anymore with the exception of adding more Ram. Wake up!!
You, sir, speak the truth. Thank you.
There are even people (like me) who DO know the difference between a GB and a GHz (and are software engineers and hardware hackers) but who still DO NOT give a shit about how many MB's of VRAM they have in their computer and only care about if the system can do what they want :)
In three years there will be no current processor or memory that will be compatible with this machine. Nice try, fanboy.
@cr
I can still find faster ram and cpu's for my 4 year old hp and I'm sure I'll stil be able to find faster parts for the mac in 3.
And even if people dont buy iMacs to game on.. they still hold up. Last year at school we were running XP on an intel iMac and playing CS:source and COD2 all the time and it handled the games perfectly well. Sure it wasn't a bagillion FPS and yadda yadda... that the gamming addicts always drool over.. but for a typical gamer they work just fine.
@ craig... no where in the post was there even a hint of Fanboy-ism.. you troll.
No! No disassemble!
+ 5million points for the Short Circuit line :)
gotta love those movies! NUMBER 5 is ALIVE!
The iMac is a computer for people who are not inclined to tinker. The idea is *ease of use.* It makes sense for Mac to design a computer that is very compact, although the internals are difficult to access, since 99% of people do not want to DIY replace parts. PC makers have it all wrong--no need to ship a computer in a large tower with lots of empty space and easy access when the vast majority of people will never even open the thing up!
[quote]People bitching about expansion need to STFU and realize these systems are for the non-techy who couldn't give less of a shit about tech specs.[/quote]
.
If apple phased out its OS and sell this as a windows machine I would buy one tomorrow.
TROLL!!!
Seriously, you can run Vista on it, go for it.
Like using an antique Katana to chop wood...
if apple did this it wouldn't be the same OS X you know on a Mac. because apple controls hardware too, they know their software will "just work." I forget where the quote came from but it was:
"People who are really passionate about their software, design their own hardware."
I'm going to rephrase that.
If Apple sold a version of the iMac with only Vista installed I would buy one tomorrow.
lol @ iMacSheepPro.. coming on here an voting down all the posts which put down Apple and their God Steve Jobs.. even at the slightest.
you want one so bad don't you? lol and to the guy that would buy a mac if it had windows, well you could put windows on it but the MAIN reason for buying a mac (unlike a lot of people that think its cause theyre 'pretty') is because of the best OS out there
It also looks like the chin is there as a speaker-surface. Check out the two speaker vibrating thingees in the bottom corners.
You people really believe the average person tears open their PCs and upgrades them. Not really. Most of the people I know that had them would usually take them to the shop to have them upgraded if they bothered to upgrade at all. These iMacs are supposed to be like toasters. Sit 'em on your desk and use 'em. That's it.
But the REAL question here is ...
Does it BLEND ?!
I'm pretty sure it's a computer, not a blender.
"People bitching about expansion need to STFU and realize these systems are for the non-techy who couldn't give less of a shit about tech specs. "
Not all mac users are newbies. Many are power users who appreciate the quality of build and design. The simple fact is, Macs don't need to be upgradable. They don't have a rapid depreciation due to operating system upgrades like Windows machines do. Instead, a Mac is designed to last for many years. Older machines remain capable. They don't "get slow" like Windows machines do. The only thing a mac user really needs to add over time is RAM. CPU power just isn't as much of an issue in the Apple world.
As for other peripherals, Macs either come with everything you could possible want, or else it can be added via USB or Firewire.
right...
that's why apple introduces updated products every few months...
Every year, you mean.
And you know why the do that, there's no need to mention it.