Nude Apple iMac pics leaked to web
Suction cup fantasy
Photos Yes, you can open an iMac.
Yesterday, Apple announced a new iMac family, and by this morning the good folks at iFixit had already got their hands on a 20-incher, gutted it, and learned some interesting facts about the all-in-one desktop.
For one, although the processor "appears to be socketed," there's a warning printed on its heat sink that will discourage you from removing it to find out.
There's a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo beneath that warning
Also, although it only requires the removal of one Phillips-head screw to access its two SO-DIMM slots, which can accept up to 8GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM, it takes one hell of a lot more work - and tools - to upgrade your hard drive.
You'll need to suck the faceplate free from its 14 magnets
First you need a pair of dent-puller suction cups to remove the iMac's glass faceplate, which is held in place by 14 magnets. Then you'll need a T9 Torx driver to remove the 12 screws that secure the front bezel and the eight that hold the LCD panel, and a T6 to remove the display cable.
Without its front bezel, the iMac is less Apple-slick
Which all must be done before you get to the SATA hard drive - which is clipped rather than screwed in place, making swapping it out a snap. Literally.
The 20-incher comes with 320GB 7,200rpm SATA drive
If you want to remove the logic board - perhaps to ignore the aforementioned warranty warning - you'll also need a T10 (10 screws) and a T8 (two screws).
The logic board bears a passing resemblance to New Guinea
All this screwing around reveals that the iMac's display is an AU Optronics M201EW02 with a 1000:1 contrast ratio, that the 8x double-layer DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW drive - which Apple calls a SuperDrive - is for the first time a SATA and not a PATA model, and that the backlighting, as we already knew, uses cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs), and not the LED backlighting used in Apple's MacBooks and its LED Cinema Display.
If you'd prefer a numeric keypad on your keyboard, Apple will oblige for free
Finally, after looking at these and more photos on the IFixit website, we gotta say that we agree with their conclusion that Apple's white-plastic Mighty Mouse looks mighty cheesy next to the aluminum iMac and Apple Keyboard. ®
Photos produced with permission from iFixit.
COMMENTS
Keypad
Most people don't need it. But they are faster for numerical entry. You can buy a USB one for laptops or desktops though.........................................
I have to say that the criticism of the lack of one seems needlessly bellicose. I had thought that the era of the mainframe style "BattleShip" keyboard had passed.
@David Halko
David,
Seems you're spending an inordinate amount of time in various bedrooms... Care to explain?
@raving angry loony
"I have not used the keypad on a keyboard in over 20 years, yet I'm still stuck having the fucking useless thing stick out, without a choice."
I'd reckon you're not an accountant, or have a job that doesn't require extensive number entering. Because I use it very frequently, and most of my colleagues use it as well.
@ Pierre
"Mac's are crap and expensive" Ah the failed mating call of the soon to be extinct lesser-green-eyed-vista-troll.
The keyboard is full size, with full size buttons and everything! It only looks small because the monitor is some what larger then the ones you are used to seeing in your cube farm.
@Martin - positioning the iMac
Martin says, "These things are going in the living room instead/next to the TV."
Right on!
I don't see people upgrading the motherboards in their televisions.
I do see a lot of iMac's in bedrooms INSTEAD OF televisions...
I am seeing more MacBooks in bedrooms lately, though... replacing older iMac's.
It seems iMac's are showing up on the desktops of a lot of businesses, now a days. They seem to make a good computer for a receptionist in small businesses, since they run MS Office and require next to no software maintenance.
