Customer Reviews

Apple iMac MC510LL/A 27-Inch Desktop (OLD VERSION)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First things first: the iMac offered on this page has the dual-core Intel Core i3 processor. A configuration with a quad-core i5 processor is also sold by Amazon. In addition, an even more powerful quad-core processor, the i7, is available as a build-to-order option from the online Apple Store. Be sure you're looking at the configuration you want. Apple makes four 27" Aluminum iMac processor setups in all: an i3, two with the i5, and an i7 (see the Comments on this review for a link to Apple's official tech specs).


Now then, on with the show. Many reviewers of the previous release of the 27" Aluminum iMac have already discussed the essential hardware and software features. So, rather than repeating stuff that has already been said, I am going to focus this review on my experience of upgrading from a G4 igloo iMac that was running System 10.5.8 .

Migration Assistant
*I used a Firewire 400 to Firewire 800 cable to move the contents of my old computer to the new machine with Migration Assistant.
*The process was virtually seamless, with only a few minor adjustments necessary to the transferred data. Only four applications required reinstallation: ClamXav, iTunes (due to the Soundflower plugin--in any case, no music was lost or damaged), Microsoft Expression Media 2, and a Juniper Networks remote access program (part of a corporate telecommuting package).
*Rules for Little Snitch, a third party utility, need to be reestablished.
*Customized preferences for Spotlight must be reentered.

Magic Mouse
*iMacs now come with a wireless mouse as standard equipment. The Magic Mouse is a vast improvement over the Apple Mouse (aka Mighty Mouse) because it doesn't have a roller ball that eventually stops working. In fact, there aren't any external moving parts on the Magic Mouse, other than the on/off switch.
*Exposé and Dashboard functions are now on the top row of the keyboard, not on mouse buttons.
*If you're interested in the new Magic Trackpad, you'll have to order it separately. It doesn't come as standard equipment right now.

Keyboard
*The chiclet style keys took me a little while to get used to, but now I prefer them to traditional "long stroke" keys.
*For some reason, Apple has made a compact laptop keyboard the standard iMac keyboard (Steve Jobs must be nostalgic for the original 1984 Mac keyboard). Anybody who relies on Page keys for navigation or on a numeric keypad for data entry is out of luck.
*An extended keyboard with Home/Pg Up/Pg Dn/Delete keys and a number pad is available as a build-to-order option, along with additional memory and other treats, at the online Apple Store.

Audio System
*Optical digital audio input and output requires cables or cable adapters with 3.5mm plugs. Standard size TOSLINK connectors won't work. Also, digital audio I/O is run through the microphone and headphone ports. It is consequently impossible to use headphones or an external mic when the computer is setup for optical digital audio use.
*The speakers are a weak point in the design. They are small, underpowered, and sound tinny. I think the igloo iMacs had much better sound. If I recall correctly, they had a specially tuned amplifier--plus the speakers were fairly large and were not built into the computer housing. Users who use their iMac as their main music source or who work with music and sound will want to buy a separate pair of speakers.

Using the computer: screen, fan noise, heat, Rosetta
*This iMac is all about the gigantic 27" screen. It's incredibly sharp and bright, with better-than-HD resolution. Excel users will love being able to see columns A-AE and rows 1-95 all at once at 100% zoom. No more wasting time scrolling around and splitting windows. Photos, movies, and graphics all look absolutely fabulous.
*I initially thought I would hate the glossy finish on the screen, especially after seeing how much glare demo models at the Apple Store showed. But, as it turns out, the shiny glass isn't distracting at all in my home office. That said, anybody who hasn't ever seen a glossy screen computer in person should go check one out before placing an order.
*Something that I miss from my igloo iMac is the ability to move the screen both from left to right (x-axis) and up and down (y-axis). Aluminum iMac screens can only be swiveled up and down, in a fairly limited range.
*Under most conditions, the computer runs very quietly. Fan noise is normally inaudible.
*The top of the computer can become noticeably hot to the touch. Not hot enough to cook the proverbial egg, but definitely warmer than most other electronic devices (except for the original PlayStation3, otherwise known as the Sony Spaceheater).
*PowerPC applications run well under Rosetta. Once it is downloaded automatically, upon demand, it runs invisibly.


Bottom line: it's the screen, the SCREEN, THE SCREEN!! Massive amounts of screen real estate, combined with fast performance, make the 27" Aluminum iMac a true joy to use for both work and play. One star penalty for not making an extended keyboard standard and for the terrible built-in sound system.

This was a transition from the PC for me, and I was originally going to get a Macbook, until a friend convinced me to try the all-in-one iMac. Great decision, and this has been a perfect experience. I've never had a machine go from in-the-box to in-use in such a short-time. My first reaction when I opened the box was "uh oh, where are all the cables and books?" It set up in no time. The display is nothing short of amazing, it's surprisingly intuitive for someone coming from a PC, and it comes with a stunning array of features like chat, photo apps, utilities, etc. It's nice to be able to turn it on, and use it in seconds instead of several minutes waiting for things to load. I've not had a single software or application conflict or install problem. The Time Machine backup runs silently and reliably in the background, so backing up is not a huge deal like it was for me before. The built-in web camera is clear and the sound is excellent. I use this with photo apps that get memory intensive, and it works remarkably well with them. I would definitely recommend this.
The only negative I can think of at all is that my financial software, Quicken, is not available in a comparable version for the Mac - there is a version of Quicken for the Mac, but it doesn't have the features that I need that the Windows version has. The other negative is that iWork doesn't substitute for Microsoft Office -- I can't create spreadsheets in it and have them open up in Excel, so if you really have to use Microsoft Office, you will need to buy the Mac version of it instead of trying to move between Office and iWork.
Small things though, and it is worth working around them.

What a computer this is! I bought an iMac to replace my Toshiba laptop. I believe this is one of the best investments I've ever made. Sure you can buy a Windows computer for substantially less, but what have you got? A computer that crashes constantly and never lives up to the hype that Microsoft puts out. Windows Vista and Internet Explorer are a constant irritant. And I've used Windows 7 and can't say it's any better than all of the previous versions.

What a breath of fresh air from Apple. One reason I replaced my Toshiba laptop with the big 27" iMac was because I almost never took the laptop off my desk. I have another at work, so it wasn't necessary to move it. The big screen is nothing like you have seen before. I also got the Airport Extreme and hooked up the printer so we can print from any computer in the house. This is a really handy and nice feature, especially for our daughter's homework. The wireless keyboard and mouse is great. I also ordered the trackpad. It's easy to maneuver the pointer around the screen, and you can do so much more with it than a regular touchpad e.g. you can use 1, 2, 3, or 4 fingers to navigate. I also got 8GB of RAM on this particular model.

Do yourself a favor and get the iMac with the 27" screen. The i3 processor is very fast and handles anything I do. Another plus, you don't have to worry about viruses on Apples. Thats quite a savings right there. You only live once, so do it right. I bought my first Apple product about a year ago -- an iPod. Results count, and I'm a believer now. I just wish I hadn't waited so long. As I noted above, I also got the Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Simultaneous Dual-Band) (MC340LL/A) to go with my iMac, and I can recommend that as well.

There are many ways to debate the Mac vs. PC debate. However, it really comes down to just a couple of things to me: 1) product quality; 2) customer support; and 3) price. The iMac comes in two sizes, the 21.5 inch and the 27 inch. Then they come with just a few different configurations that matter to most people. First, the size of the hard drive, which is either 500 GB or 1 TB (I am ignoring the 2TB and the solid state options for most people). The next thing is the chip, which is core duo, core i3, i5 or i7. They are all pretty fast, but get faster the higher the chip on the list. The video card matters next, both in speed and cache. Each time you step up with an Apple iMac you get a bigger hard drive, faster chip, and better video card. For most people, the 21.5" base model will be an excellent machine. The 27" screen is huge, and you will find that a lot of the screen space you don't use day-to-day. The hard drive space at 500GB is enough, and it is easy to expand with an external hard drive. However, if you don't want an external drive, then get the 1 TB, which should give you plenty of storage. If you are going to work with video editing and such, you may want to get the faster graphics video card and chip. I got the Core i5 and it is really, really fast. The product is of excellent quality. Well better than the plastic junk from HP and Dell. Customer support? I called and talked to someone in the US that spoke English, was helpful, and could resolve any issues. Not someone in India trying to be of help. Excellent way to go Apple. The price, well, you get what you pay for. It is more expensive to buy an Apple, but the product and support is clearly better. You will not be frustrated. Highly recommend this computer to anyone.

This mac is amazing and the 27" screen just makes it better. I upgraded from a iMac G4 and the performance is a huge boost. With a 3.2Ghz processor and 4GB of standard RAM it's one fast computer with lots of capabilities. I would suggest buying it from Apple because it's free shipping and you can customize it beyond what you can believe. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a new computer or upgrading their old mac. The display is so big you have to see it in person. Also, it comes with Boot Camp installed so all you need to run Windows is a disc to install it. Overall a great computer and one I would recommend to someone looking for a computer.

This is my first Apple computer and I had been toying over a Macbook Pro or an iMac. I decided going with an iMac instead because once I compared costs to specs, the iMac won hands down (I bought an iPad for mobility instead of the MacBook Pro).

I haven't used a desktop in over 10 years, but this has been everything I wanted. The 27 in screen is amazing and the i3 processor really allows me to multitask. It's easy enough for me to switch back and forth and have multiple programs on the screen instead of having to open and reopen programs. I'm not a gamer so the i3 processor was more than enough for me, along with the 1TB of memory.

The Mac OS did take some getting used to since I've been a PC owner my whole life, but after a couple of weeks, it was smooth sailing. Surprisingly, the Mac OS is so simple, you think it's hard. How do you delete a program? Just drag and drop it into the trash. That is so much easier than Windows. There are some minor things I'm still trying to get used to, but it will come in time.

One of the best purchases I've made - you won't regret it!

Well, after all these years with a PC, experience with the Ipod Touch and the Ipad tempted me to develop apps on the Mac. The new computer was stressful initially as even the simplest tasks had to be relearned, but after about two weeks, the 27 inch screen, clean lines, and intuitive aps have won me over. I still use the PC often because of years of acquired software, but I like my time on the Apple as well.

This computer is great. The screen is wonderful. Color is vivid and black is so deep to the point that reading text is a treat. I originally purchased a Samsung P2770H and I am so glad I returned it. The black of that monitor is terrible and everything just feels cheap compared to the gorgeous Apple display. Despite being in the lower end for iMac in the 27inch series, this machine is very fast. 2560x1440 is the way to go for a monitor with this size. 1080p is just NOT enough. I don't know who defined 1080p as "full HD" but I think that is for TV only, not monitor because you are supposed to be sitting close to your monitor. I also don't care for the matte screen of the DELL U2711. The matte screen from DELL makes text looking not smooth, and looking like they are connected by individual dots. Just pick one of the sample pictures with lots of leaves in this computer and you'll be amazed at how much detail this computer can show. It is still a long way to go from the 326 PPI of the iphone but for most cases, this resolution of 2560x1440 plus the 27 inch screen is good enough, and you simply can't find a better resolution for the consumer market nowadays. The DELL U2711 list price is even more expensive.

That said, my screen has a serious problem. The second day after I received it, when I turned it on, it has a bulk of vertical colored lines on the left side of the screen. I looked up online and found a few discussions about a very early version of iMac having this problem with a serial number starting at W8. My machine also has a serial number starting from W8, so I guess the same old problem happens again. This time it is a little different because for my computer, the vertical lines will disappear after several minutes of use, but still I think it is defective and the problem is nothing minor. Still torn between letting Amazon replace it or letting Apple fix it. I am not sure whether another machine I receive from Amazon will have the same problem, and am not sure how well Apple can fix it either. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Also I would like to complain the delivery by UPS. UPS sucks. I paid for 2nd day delivery before Thanksgiving and I picked it up one week after. For several days the online status just show "out for delivery", and then it didn't come at the end of the day. They finally made an attempt while I was at work and no notice or whatever is left at my door. I had to look up online constantly so that I can pick it up as soon as it is available. Shame on them, and I am so sad that UPS is the default delivery from Amazon.


Update: got the replacement from Amazon and no problem so far. I am really happy about my purchase. I think everyone should own one of these. Best computer in the world. The screen is just amazing and it is super fast. The apple software are direct and easy to use. It takes sometime learning if you transfer from Windows but once you get the idea, it works perfectly without the extra hassle that is typical Windows.

As indicated by many others, a great product. My only negative is that one should consider one's needs more carefully than I when purchasing. If to do over, I would have gotten the 21" screen since I do not watch movies/videos much and don't need large number of concurrent files open to work on. Can get a beautiful screen (reflections are no problem for me at all in a well-lit--both natural and artificial--room) with a big savings by just downsizing the system. Love the standard wireless keyboard/mouse and the big improvent in typeface and speed compared to my old "mini".

I have wanted an Apple computer for a very long time. I could no longer tolerate Microsoft products and the PC's that run those products. Bought mine 2 days ago. Super easy to set up. An amazing, superior product to any PC. They are pricey computers, but are worth every single penny. Screen produces amazing images! If I was a billionaire, I would buy every American who wanted one, an Apple computer, just so I could attempt to bankrupt Microsoft and Bill Gates. However, since both of those scenarios will never happen, I'll just have to keep on dreaming. Goodbye PC and Bill Gates. One of the happiest days of my life!!! If you are hesitant about the price or the product, get one. This is money well spent!