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Apple 27-inch iMac, 2020 update, and why you should not touch it with a pole
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    image

    Updates

    • 10th-generation Intel “Comet Lake” processors, six- or eight-core
    • Some issues with cooling system, especially if you also choose better GPU, throttling and high noise
    • Last iMac to use Intel chips, and thus will have shortest service life (around 3 years tops)
    • T2 chip and proprietary PWM controllers making it impossible or costly to repair
    • Mostly fully soldered and always encrypted SSDs (if something happens - all data will be gone), options
      • 256GB, fully soldered on, unrepairable, encrypted
      • 512GB, fully soldered on, unrepairable, encrypted
      • 1TB, fully soldered on, unrepairable, encrypted
      • 2TB, fully soldered on, unrepairable, encrypted
      • 4TB, presently removable, using proprietary connector, will become soldered as soon as new NAND chips will be more dense
      • 8TB, presently removable, using proprietary connector, will become soldered as soon as new NAND chips will be more dense
    • 8-128GB of upgradable RAM, again use SO-DIMM modules (horrible choice with so much empty space inside!)
    • Radeon Pro cards, low powered, notebook class ones
      • Radeon Pro 5300
      • Radeon Pro 5500 XT
      • Radeon Pro 5700
      • Radeon Pro 5700 XT
    • 5K, billion-color Retina display with option of $500 nano coating (around $3 to make for Apple)
    • New, but still cheap and dark 1080p webcam (around $4 total cost with lenses from manufacturer)
    • “Studio quality” mic array (meaning that it is few $0.2 chinese tiny microphones, Apple opted to use EQ instead of better hardware).
    • Entry level model margin is above 200%, top model reaches 450%

    Top config sample

    • 3.6GHz 10-core i9
    • 128GB of RAM
    • 8TB of storage
    • Radeon Pro 5700 XT with 16GB of memory
    • nano-texture coating on the display
    • 10 gigabit ethernet
    • Price is $8,800…

    I had nice references on prices of Threadripper based workstations with 1080 Ti (very cheap and more performance than AMD), it will be around 1/3-1/6 of this cost with same specs (depending on CPU you will prefer, same pefrormance will be around 1/5).

  • 12 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Look how horrible is construction from engineering point of view, especially cooling and CPU-GPU relative placement, lack of proper cooling for VRM components

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    5K (5120 x 2880) panel with Apple’s nano-texture glass, which is a matte coating that is applied at a deeper (nano) level instead of just on the exterior like other display makers. This allows the screen to have a matte, non-reflective texture, without sacrificing contrast, which many matte displays do.

    Actually Apple nano structure is fully opposite - they just reduced pitting of the surface and such and called it nano level.

    All contrast change perception comes only from matte display physics that always rises black levels if you have light source. Whole thing of matte screen is that it reflect external light into almost all directions, including small part that goes into your eyes. And this is also why glossy screen always look more contrasty, as if all reflection goest to any place but your eyes - blacks will be intact. But if reflection goes to your eyes... bad :-).

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Apple economics

    • 128GB (4 x 32GB DIMMs) – $2,600 at Apple checkout
      • $599 for OWC compatible SODIMM at Amazon
      • $360 for good 3200Mhz full size DIMMS (7.2x times less!)
    • 64GB (4 x 16GB DIMMs) - $1,000 at Apple checkout
      • $269 for OWC compatible SODIMM at Amazon
      • $220 for good 3200Mhz full size DIMMS (4.5x times less!)
    • 32GB (2 x 16GB DIMMs) - $400 at Apple checkout)
      • $135 for OWC compatible SODIMM at Amazon
      • $110 for good 3200Mhz full size DIMMS (3.6x times less!)
  • AzoAzo

    I would rather build a new Hackintosh. I have an 8 core 16 thread X99 Hackintosh @4.4GHZ that I built back in August of 2015 that still works wonderfully today. I changed the graphics card 4 times since 2015, simply not possible with an iMac. I also have 4 hard drives in my case along with 2 SSD's and a PCIe SSD running the OS. Again simply not possible with an iMac.

    On a side note. I have upgraded to the latest version of OSX every single time with minimal issues, more often then not no problem at all upgrading just like a regular Mac. Not bad for a 5-year-old computer!

    Hackintosh 1.png
    1946 x 1688 - 805K
    Hackintosh 2.png
    1952 x 1692 - 778K
    Geekbench 1.png
    1668 x 1784 - 508K
    Geekbench2.png
    1674 x 1574 - 426K
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @Azo

    And X99 systems are very cheap on Aliexpress, btw.

  • kristofermankristoferman

    $8800?!?!

    What kind of asshole would pay that

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @kristoferman

    How long ago you saw stock market pices for leading US companies?

    Due to huge influx of free money it is now good nice for such computers.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    One thing that doesn’t feel modern at all with the 2020 iMac is logging in. Unless you have an Apple Watch and use it to unlock your computer, the only way to get in is to type out your password like an animal. Apple’s T2 chip controls Touch ID fingerprint login on Mac laptops, but Apple opted not to add a fingerprint sensor to the keyboard or a Face ID array in this iMac

    Nice fast review. Much better is to send your 3d face scan and your fingertips to Apple, err, NSA.

    https://www.theverge.com/21356416/apple-imac-27-2020-review-price-specs-features

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Good reviewer in the past, but it is literally pain to see his videos for last half year. Now he is just the same, product of SEO and clone factory.

  • 4CardsMan4CardsMan

    @Vitally_Kiselev - I know you hate anything Apple, but people do not buy things on tech specs - they buy them by how they make them feel. A Mac will never match the specs of a custom-built PC, but then, you don't have to build it or constantly update it. A better comparison would be a Dell or HP PC - but then you have to run Windows (echh!). I used to be an IT consultant, spending most of my time on Windows. After I retired, I bought a Mac and never looked back. I'm now running a 2011 Mini server, upgraded to 16 GB RAM and SSD's. It's too slow for 4K and unsupported for the latest OS, so I will replace it soon, either with a 16" Macbook Pro, or a 24" iMac when it comes out. I am fully capable of building a Hackintosh, but life is too short for this old man to go through the hassle of building, troubleshooting, and constantly updating drivers. BTW, I'm with you about Max. Since Youtube demonetized his channel, he's become a hopeless fanboy of the latest fad (R5 being the current rage).

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @4CardsMan

    I know you hate anything Apple, but people do not buy things on tech specs - they buy them by how they make them feel. A Mac will never match the specs of a custom-built PC, but then, you don't have to build it or constantly update it.

    I think it is dumb thing to hate things based on brand or anything like this. Even worse is all this "lets hate Apple" level stuff that can be only ok for may be 10 year old.

    Apple making lot of superb things and showing to lot of corporations how bad their designs are. Of course, they also make lot of bad engineered things. Yet, they are ripping their users (here nice libertarian thing can be to tell that "they are paying such price", but no, it is lie, as it is huge marketing and propaganda machine, frequently already at kindergarden level, that allows to do it, not only products qualities).

    May be your perception is such because Apple is now hallmark of decaying capitalism and capitalist approach. It has simple motto - "we have such options and such prices, choose one, pay and fuck off" aka "none of your business". We are now near such huge revolutionary change that most people do not even understand how big it will be. And new motto will be - "all is my business and if I want I can go in, get free education, instructors and means of production and change things".

    So, don't understand all this mantra of "saving time" and such. If you so much want to save time to build Windows desktop PC - order from lot of companies who will do it for you, good and cheap. From my personal view I always choose solutions where I can talk to real developers (I mean mostly software, but lot of custom and non standard hardware I use are also such), change stuff and tune things according to my needs.

    P.S. For me personally it is only FCP X that has any value in Mac OS X infrastructure.

    BTW, I'm with you about Max. Since Youtube demonetized his channel, he's become a hopeless fanboy of the latest fad (R5 being the current rage).

    Max is businessman, efficient. But this makes any blogger extremely weak, as to get maximum profits on youtube you need to do exactly the saame that thousands are already doing... just little better, little faster and with better promotion.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Issue with top GPUs overheating already started to materialize with consequences

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