iFixit tears down the latest generation iMac to reveal LG display, removable GPU
iFixit got its hands on the newly announced 21.5-inch iMac and tore the all-in-one down to its screws and casing. The teardown analysis reveals the latest iMac has the same LG-manufactured LED display used in the previous generation iMac and a Thunderbolt port similar to the port found on the latest MacBook Pro models.
Good news for those that enjoy taking apart their iMac hardware as the magnetically held glass front is easily removed using suction cups, and the LCD is only held in by a few screws. Once the display is removed, the RAM, hard drive and optical drive are easily accessible. Interestingly enough, iFixit noticed a small opening for the optional SSD drive which can be mounted underneath the optical drive.
The logic board is a bit more difficult to remove as you need to disconnect several connectors and apply upward and outward pressure to jiggle it out of the casing. iMac owners don't have to worry about a fried processor or graphics card contributing to the early demise of their machine as both the GPU and the CPU heat sink can be removed from the logic board. If a problem with either component develops, you could easily replace the AMD graphics card or Intel CPU if you want.
Overall, iFixit gave the latest generation iMac a 7 out of 10 repairability score with 10 being the easiest to repair.
