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.
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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...
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you idiots i don't care about the screen and ssd mount what i care about is power thats why i am building my own cause non are powerful enough short of a super computer i will keep you updated about how it goes . though i do need a lot more power does not mean i have to get rid of mac os x oh no i am going to build a hacantoish .
May 06 2011 at 10:02 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyAny further details on the SSD mount/harness? Is it like the previous version where you had to buy the mount/harness + difficult install, or is all the hardware now present for simple plug/play?
May 04 2011 at 1:52 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI keep asking this hoping someone will know the answer. If Apple has the best displays (IMHO) and LG makes the iMac displays (in this case), why can I not find an LG display on sale anywhere that looks as good as an iMac or ACD.
Why would LG make such good tech and not sell it themselves as a standalone display.
LG does make decent displays, such as the LG E2370V-BF LCD monitor (http://www.lg.com/us/computer-products/monitors/LG-led-monitor-E2370V-BF.jsp). They're not quite as good as the iMac screens probably because Apple has a patent on the screen design, and LG just does the legwork for them. I'm just postulating on that, as I can't say for sure if the screen is truly "Apple exclusive".
You could always get your hands on one of these displays, figure a pinout for the motherboard connector, hook up a power supply, and try to cobble something together to use it as a standalone display. Not sayin' it'd easy, but it's theoretically possible.
Thanks JHam. Appreciate the input.
May 04 2011 at 6:26 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe interesting part about that teardown is that it has 3x3 MIMO antennas for 450Mbit/s 802.11n wireless.
May 04 2011 at 12:07 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe only and really only thing stopping me from buying one for the past few years is no hdmi input along with the 27 apple display, my desk is my escape destination to do work, play games, and watch some tv away from everybody. I currently have a 27 inch samsung display, connected with my Mac book pro, ps3(useless at this point), apple tv. I would love to put this baby on my desk and cut the clutter, no hdmi... No sale ... A shame really, put a hdmi input on these things and see sales sky rocket because I know no one just want a 27 in pc that they can't plug in a gaming system in.
May 04 2011 at 11:55 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyRead up on Thunderbolt.
May 04 2011 at 12:04 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyNothing there really, I'm not interested in buying adapters thst run afountm in the 100$ range that only scale down to 720p and have latency, im not interested in connecting my Mac book pro to it( also there is speculation that only the new MacBook pros with thunderbolt can connect in target display mode) im not intrested in mirrioring 2 extra displays ... so unless your reading something im not link it please, all I want is two connect 2 hdmi devices to it at full resolution.
Now if only they would make 10.6.7 available for them so you could play Portal 2 on them. :p The custom OS build for the 27" at least was based on 10.6.6 and doesn't yet let you update to 10.6.7 just yet.
Oh well. I'll just have to install it on my old MBP if I really want to try it that badly.
The CPU may be socketed, but that GPU looks like a custom board to me; I don't think you'll find something to fit that socket over at Best Buy.
It's called MXM. It's a standard for portable GPUs much like PCIe. While it is removable/replaceable, it's targeted more for service/repair/PC builders than user upgradability.
Just a standard MXM module, nothing fancy going on there.
May 04 2011 at 12:02 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe graphics chip has been removable for a while now.
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TUAW (or The Unofficial Apple Weblog) is a website devoted to tips, reviews, news, analysis and opinion on everything Apple.
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